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From brneise@andrews.edu Fri Nov 29 15:42:27 1996
Subject: Re: RO Water?
To: ahicks@nmt.edu (Aaron Hicks)
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Fertilizers
Nitrogen. It is important to use the correct type of nitrogen. Urea is
one type, but it is a slow-release type that should be
avoided. Nitrogen should come primarily from nitrates (nitrate salts),
with 25% or less from ammonium. Zuma Canyon and
Dyna-Grow are two examples of fertilizers using the correct type of
nitrogen. Orchid Hunter 8/91 Most useful to plants
when new growth is nearing completion (Rentoul, Specialist Orchid
Grower, 179 ) Miracid was originally developed as
an orchid food.
My friend, Rick Hendrickson, a chemical engineer from Purdue, joined me
on 11/24/95 for some preliminary chemical
analyses of a number of orchid fertilizers I had on hand, especially to
check for total dissolved solids (in parts per million)
and pH. The experiment was conducted in my kitchen and not in a
laboratory, so some of the measurements may be
approximate rather than exact, but perhaps they give some general ideas
for comparison. Additional work was done in
February 1996.
The water used was reverse osmosis water with a total of 20 ppm of total
dissolved solids. It is also, of course, unbuffered.
Diamond Grow 8-4-8 has 3.16% ammoniacal nitrogen and 4.84% nitrate
nitrogen. It is labeled to be used at the rate of 1
t./gal. in the winter and 1 T./gal. in the summer. No micronutrients
listed.
1/4 t. 5.90 pH and 160 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.90 pH and 230 ppm TDS
1 t. 5.90 pH and 350 ppm TDS
Dyna-Gro 10-5-5 has 3.4 ammoniacal nitrogen and 6.6 nitrate nitrogen,
and lists 4 micronutrients.
1/4 t. 5.7 pH and 210 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.2 pH and 340 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.6 pH and 510 ppm TDS
Dyna-Gro 7-9-5 has 2.25 ammoniacal nitrogen and 4.75 nitrate nitrogen,
and lists 11 micronutrients.
1/4 t. 5.2 pH and 150 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 4.6 pH and 290 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.2 pH and 600 ppm TDS
1/4 t. of 7-9-5 and 1/8 t. Dyna-Gro pH Up (0-0-8):
6.9 pH and 170 ppm TDS
1/2 t. of 7-9-5 and 1/8 t. Dyna-Gro pH Up (0-0-8):
6.0 pH and 440 ppm TDS
1/4 t. of 7-9-5 and 1/4 t. Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt (0-0-3.7):
6.5 pH and 200 ppm TDS
1/2 t. of 7-9-5 and 1/4 t. Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt (0-0-3.7):
6.3 pH and 600 ppm TDS
Dyna-Gro 3-12-6 has 0.5% ammoniacal nitrogen and 2.5% nitrate nitrogen
and 11 micronutrients listed.
1/4 t. 4.6 pH and 110 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 3.9 pH and 260 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.0 pH and 490 ppm TDS
1 T. 3.6 pH and 1240 ppm TDS
Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt 0-0-3.7
1/4 t. 9.1 pH and 30 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 9.6 pH and 60 ppm TDS
1 t. 9.7 pH and 80 ppm TDS
DynaGro Pro-TeKt 0-0-3.7 mixed with Dyna-Gro 7-9-5 at the rate of 1 t.
of Pro-TeKt
1/4 t. 8.5 pH and 210 ppm TDS
1/2 t 7.1 pH and 340 ppm TDS
1 t. 6.2 pH and 620 ppm TDS
DynaGro Pro-TeKt 0-0-3.7 mixed with Dyna-Gro 7-9-5 at the rate of 1/2 t.
Pro-TeKt
1/4 t. 7.4 pH and 200 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 6.4 pH and 390 ppm TDS
1 t. 6.0 pH and 600 ppm TDS
Hi-Yield 3-6-3 has 1.78% ammoniacal nitrogen, 0.90% nitrate nitrogen and
0.33% urea nitrogen.
1/4 t. 6.3 pH and 120 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 6.3 pH and 220 ppm TDS
1 t. 6.4 pH and 280 ppm TDS
Hi-Yield African Violet Food 3-9-6 has 2.41% ammoniacal nitrogen, 0.59
nitrate nitrogen.
1/4 t. 6.3 pH and 170 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 6.4 pH and 320 ppm TDS
1 t. 6.5 pH and 560 ppm TDS
GrowMore 6-30-30 has 2.5% ammoniacal nitrogen, 3.3% nitrate nitrogen and
lists 5 micronutrients.
1/4 t. 5.6 pH and 210 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.35 pH and 360 ppm TDS
1 t. 5.1 pH and 670 ppm TDS
GrowMore 17-8-22 Bromeliad has 7.35 ammoniacal nitrogen, 9.55 nitrate
nitrogen and three listed micronutrients.
1/4 t. 5.3 pH and 260 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.1 pH and 520 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.9 pH and 1000 ppm TDS
GrowMore 20-10-20 has 8.8% ammoniacal nitrogen and 12% nitrate nitrogen
and lists 5 micronutrients.
1/4 t. 4.8 pH and 240 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 4.8 pH and 500 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.5 pH and 840 ppm TDS
Adding 1/8 t. of Dyna-Gro pH Up (0-0-8):
7.3 pH and 350 ppm TDS
Adding 1/8 t. of Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt (0-0-3.7):
6.6 pH and 320 ppm TDS
GrowMore 20-20-20 Orchid has 3.9% ammoniacal nitrogen, 5.7% nitrate
nitrogen and 10.4% urea nitrogen.
1/4 t. 5.3 pH and 140 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.1 pH and 360 ppm TDS
1 t. 5.0 pH and 620 ppm TDS
GrowMore 30-10-10 Orchid has 2.0 ammoniacal nitrogen, 3.2% nitrate
nitrogen and 24.8% urea nitrogen.
1/4 t. 4.9 pH and 130 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 4.9 pH and 220 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.9 pH and 290 ppm TDS
Miracle Grow 15-30-15 has 6.8% ammoniacal, 8.2% urea, and 6
micronutrients listed.
1/4 t. 6.0 pH and 180 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 6.3 pH and 340 ppm TDS
1 t. 6.5 pH and 750 ppm TDS
Peters Super Bloom Booster 10-50-10 has 6.57 ammoniacal nitrogen, and
3.43 urea nitrogen. 7 trace elements are
listed.
1/4 t. 5.5 pH and 140 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.0 pH and 280 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.7 pH and 530 ppm TDS
Peters Excel 15-5-15 Cal Mag. I threw away the initial packing (paper)
without writing down the analysis. A book lists 2
micronutrients and trace elements. This fertilizer comes dry, but I
store it partly diluted.
1/4 t. 3.2 pH and 590 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 2.9 pH and 1140 ppm TDS
1 t. 2.6 pH and 2,000+ ppm TDS
1/8 t. plus 1/8 t. of Dyna-Gro pH Up (0-0-8): 6.4 pH and 300 ppm TDS
1/8 t. plus 1/2 t. of Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt (0-0-3.7): 6.2 pH and 410 ppm
TDS
Peters 5-50-17 has all ammoniacal nitrogen, and no listed
micronutrients.
1/4 t. 5.4 pH and 190 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.0 pH and 340 ppm TDS
1 t. 4.8 pH and 590 ppm TDS
Peters Peat-Lite Special 20-10-20 has 8% ammoniacal nigrogen and 12%
nitrate nitrogen. 7 trace minierals are listed.
422 lbs calcium carbonate per ton.
1/4 t. 5.9 pH and 400 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.7 pH and 645 ppm TDS
1 t. 5.5 pH and 1170 ppm TDS
Peters Orchid Plant Food 30-10-10 has 1.58% ammoniacal nitrogen, 2.69%
nitrate nitrogen, and 25.73% urea nitrogen.
7 trace minierals are listed.
1/4 t. 5.5 pH and 80 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.3 pH and 140 ppm TDS
1 t. 5.2 pH and 270 ppm TDS
Schultz 19-31-17 has 4.2 ammoniacal nitrogen, 1.4 nitrate and 13.4 urea.
1/4 t. is the recommended dilution.
1/4 t. 6.3 pH and 120 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 6.3 pH and 230 ppm TDS
1 t. 6.3 pH and 500 ppm TDS
Wilder 1-3-2 has 0.4% ammoniacal nitrogen and 0.6% nitrate nitrogen.
Claims to have 30 micronutrients. 450 lbs. calcium
carbonate equivalent per ton.
1/4 t. 3.5 pH and 060 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 3.4 pH and 110 ppm TDS
1 t. 3.4 pH and 210 ppm TDS
Wonderlizer 6-25-25 (Rod McLellan) has 4.0 ammoniacal nitrogen, 2.0
nitrate nitrogen, and iron is the only trace element.
1/4 t. 5.8 pH and 290 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 5.6 pH and 600 ppm TDS
1 t. 5.5 pH and 1300 ppm TDS
Wonderlizer High Growth (Rod McLellan). The label is so old I can't read
it anymore!
1/4 t. 6.6 pH and 380 ppm TDS
1/2 t. 6.8 pH and 700 ppm TDS
1 t. 7.0 pH and 1460 ppm TDS
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