Commercially available orchid fertilizers can be very expensive. But did you know that you can fertilize your orchids with home remedies? However you feed your orchids, regular fertilizing is important to keep them healthy and encourage blooms. With the right knowledge and some homemade orchid fertilizer, you can get your plants to bloom. Let's explain how to make it yourself.
Homemade plant nutrition for orchids
An orchid fertilizer is essential for the growth of your orchid. It provides the nutrients it needs to promote flowering, healthy stems, shoots, leaves and roots. There are a number of natural orchid fertilizers that you can easily make at home.
Fertilize orchids with home remedies: Crushed eggshells
Storing eggshells and themUse as orchid fertilizer, is the cheapest and most efficient way to provide your orchids with calcium.
Crush the eggshells into as small pieces as possible or use a mortar to grind them into a powder. Then sprinkle it over the bark in the pot.
Another method is to heat 1 liter of water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. While the water is boiling, grind 12 eggshells with a mortar or pestle. When the water boils, turn off the heat and add the eggshells. Soak the eggshells in the hot water overnight. Then pour the mixture through a sieve into a spray bottle. Mist the orchids weekly to provide them with calcium, potassium and protein.
How to make orchid fertilizer from used coffee grounds?
Since most species of orchids are epiphytes and their roots are adapted to obtain nutrients and moisture from the air and environment, you can spray a mixture of diluted nutrient-rich fertilizer on their roots.
A liquid fertilizer is the best choice because it is easy to dilute and can be applied directly to the bark and roots without damaging the leaves.
To make coffee grounds as fertilizer you will need the following things:
- 2 cups used coffee grounds
- Bucket
- Water
To make orchid fertilizer from coffee grounds, follow these steps:
- Add the used coffee grounds to the bucket.
- Fill the bucket with clean, non-calcified water, just enough to cover the coffee grounds.
- Let the mixture sit for 24 hours.
- Filter out the coffee grounds from the nutrient-rich mixture.
- Pour the ground liquid into a sealed jar and store it in the refrigerator.
- Dilute one part of the mixture with three parts of water and fertilize your orchids once a month during the growth phase.
Fertilize orchids with home remedies: Use a tea bag
But what if you are a tea drinker and not a coffee drinker? Well, you're in luck. Coincidentally, you can also use tea bags to fertilize your orchids because tea increases the amount of nitrogen in the potting soil.
The high nitrogen content in tea is enough to meet your orchid's growth needs.Popular orchid substratessuch as pine or fir bark are susceptible to bacteria that compete directly with the orchid for available nitrogen.
The tea bag supplements the nitrogen content of the growing medium and ensures that there is enough left for the orchid. Orchids also like the high concentration of tannic acid and tannins in tea. Adding tea bags to the potting substrate simulates the orchid's natural growing environment.
Home remedies other than orchid fertilizer
- Potato or rice cooking water:The cooking water of both potatoesas well as riceprovides valuable nutrients for orchids: rice water is a good source of vitamin B (brown rice is better because the husk of brown rice also contains niacin, thiamine, riboflavin and folic acid), potato water contains calcium and potassium. Save the cooking water from potatoes and rice and store it in the refrigerator. About every two weeks, take the water out, let it warm to room temperature, and then give it to the orchids.
- Fertilize orchids with Epsom salt:To provide your orchids with magnesium-rich nutrition, mix one teaspoon of Epsom salts with 2 liters of water. Do not use scented Epsom salt, such as that found in foot or body washes, but instead use the form available in the garden section of hardware stores. Soak the orchid roots in this solution for 10 to 20 minutes. You can do this once every 3-4 months.
- Molasses:Mix a teaspoon of molasses in two liters of water and water your plants. This gives the orchids a much-needed dose of potassium. It is used in horticulture andpromotes flowering.
- Cow's milk:It is ideal for combating fungal diseases to which orchids are susceptible. It is also a good source of protein for them, but it must be diluted in the ratio of 1 part milk to 4 parts water. Or, get into the habit of rinsing your empty milk bottle with water and using it to water your orchids every two weeks.
- Aspirin:Mix one 500 mg aspirin tablet with 1 liter of lukewarm water. Make sure that the tablet dissolves well in the water and mix everything well. Aspirin contains salicylic acid, which occurs naturally in trees such as willow bark. It promotes root growth. So use this recipe for orchids that need growth. You can also use it as a tonic for weak or sick orchids. Whether the orchid is struggling with disease, serious rot problems, or pest infestation, this treatment can give it the boost it needs to fight back. Administer once a month if necessary.
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