Home Recipe for Orchid Fertilizer

Orchid Feeding Requirements

• Orchids do best when they are fed the proper balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, given in a water-soluble formula. According to the Orchid Lady, the belief that orchids need high-nitrogen fertilizers has been disproved by recent studies, and a 7-9-5 NPK fertilizer--the numbers indicate the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium--is optimal. Because most orchids in nature grow above the ground and are fed and watered by rain runoff, they get their nutrients in a very diluted form. This is the reason for the "Weakly, weekly" rule of thumb for fertilizing orchids--for best results, you should give your orchids well-diluted feedings every seven days.

Recipes

• To make sure your orchids get enough calcium and potassium, try using liquefied eggshells. Boil 20 eggshells in a gallon of water and let them steep for eight hours. Strain out the eggshells, store in a covered container, and use weekly. Another way you can supply your orchids with calcium and potassium is to use diced potatoes that have been boiled for several minutes along with chunks of fresh banana. You can also fertilize your orchids with water in which rice has been cooked; this provides extra vitamins. Make sure the rice water has cooled down to room temperature before using. Other ingredients popular in homemade fertilizers include molasses, which contains potassium; Epsom salts, which contain magnesium; and dried, crushed chicken bones for calcium and potassium.

Precautions

• If you are unsure about the welcome your orchids will give to your homemade concoction, there are ways of hedging your bets. Use a cheap or less-prized orchid as a guinea pig. Or, for extra insurance, you can dilute some store-bought fertilizer with water and add that to your mixture. Watch for over-fertilizing, whether with homemade or commercial fertilizers. Signs include whitish crusts on the potting media--a sign of salt buildup--blackened roots, and leaves dying at the tips.