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Orchids are a very popular family of plants in gardening for their pretty flowers, although they have the unfortunate reputation of being very difficult plants to care for. While it is true that some members of this family require very specific care, most orchids that you can buy in specialized stores are plants that require fairly basic levels of care. But even in these cases, the fertilizer is a key point in almost all of them. These plants need a suitable fertilizer and applied correctly to develop well and survive for a long time.
If you want to learn how to make homemade orchid compost, join us in this Green Ecologist article.
Type of orchid compost - what is it like?
The fertilizers for orchids They seek to supply the plant with all the chemical elements that it would find in its natural habitat but which, on the other hand, are not present in a common substrate for plants or in the soil of a garden.
The most important of them are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, vital elements for the formation of plant structures and tissues. Also calcium, magnesium and sulfur are very important. All these elements must be present in the orchid compost, although always in adequate quantities, since an excess of them can be as harmful as their absence.
How to make compost for homemade and natural orchids
You can save a lot of money on chemical fertilizer, while you reuse, if you take advantage of some of the waste products that are generated at home to contribute some extra nutrients to your orchids. These are some of the best homemade products that we recommend if you want to learn how to make compost for homemade and natural orchids.
Eggshells
The empty shells of the eggs you use can be a rich supply of calcium that your orchids will certainly appreciate. In order to take advantage of them, you need to wash them completely and let them dry overnight.
Then, with the help of a mortar, crush the shells until they are finely crushed, into a powdery texture. Sprinkle the eggshells on the substrate, and the water itself will be the one that makes the dust penetrate into the substrate when you water.
Cooking water
You can use the cooking water for potatoes or rice to provide extra calcium, potassium and vitamin B to your plants, but only if you have cooked them without salt. It is vital that you pay close attention to this point, because no matter how little salt you have used in cooking, if you take something and use it with your orchids you will severely damage them and you can even kill them. Save the cooking water of your potatoes and rice only when you have cooked them without any added salt, and water them every two weeks with it.
Cow milk
It also can provide calcium to orchids through cow's milk. If the milk is diluted in water, with 20% milk and 80% water, the orchids can be watered with it every 15 days.
Epsom salts
A small tablespoon of these salts diluted in 2 liters of water provides the plant with an extra magnesium that it will appreciate. It can be watered with them every 15 days, although it is necessary that the salts used do not contain flavorings.
Used tea bags
Green tea bags or other types of tea, if possible organic, that have already been used in infusions can be dried to give your orchid, or other plants, additional nutrients. Once dry, open the bag and spread its remains around the base of the plant. This form of subscriber can be applied Once a month.
When and how to use orchid compost
Orchids are somewhat delicate plants when it comes to the supply of nutrients. An excess of some nutrients will be as detrimental to the plant as a shortage of them, so special care must be taken to respect the subscription periods specified here.
When it comes to liquid fertilizers, enough with incorporate them into irrigation water of the plant. With the solid fertilizersInstead, the easiest thing to do is spread them across the top of substrate and let the irrigation water itself penetrate the elements to the depth of the roots. In addition, it is better not to use more than two of these contributions mentioned above at the same time. If you see that your orchid seems to dry out or weaken, wash the pot to remove accumulated elements and lower the dose of compost.
Now that you know how to make orchid compost, we also recommend you learn here How to make orchid substrate.
If you want to read more articles similar to Compost for orchids: how to do it, we recommend that you enter our category of Cultivation and care of plants.
