K-Lite Trial Parameters

[Ray]

Applied solution: 75 ppm N at every watering (I will track that off line).

Will be applied to all plants:

• Paphs and phrags in S/H culture, maybe a few in Orchiata bark.
• Phals in S/H culture.
• Catts in Orchiata.
• Vandaceous plants in LECA, EcoWeb, or nothing at all.
• A variety of stuff mounted on EcoWeb or virgin cork bark.

I figure the plants in s/h culture will be the "deficiency bellwether", although I'm not expecting any.

I just installed a new customer-built 200 gpd, 2:1 RO system, and will be putting in a new Dosmatic pump tomorrow or Friday, so expect to start the first of the year.

 

[Rick]

Are you using straight RO for your makeup water Ray?

What is your rate of application or renewal? Obviously SH is almost continuous, but renewed/flushed how often?

For bark and mounted plants how often are they fertilized and what happens between fertilizing events?

 

[biothanasis]

Sounds like a good plan!!!!

 

[Ray]

Are you using straight RO for your makeup water Ray?

What is your rate of application or renewal? Obviously SH is almost continuous, but renewed/flushed how often?

For bark and mounted plants how often are they fertilized and what happens between fertilizing events?

Yep, straight RO.

The rate will be TBD. Everything in the greenhouse gets watered at the same time, dependent mostly upon the sunniness, unless it's been so gray for so long I just cannot wait. This time of year, it has been about 1-2 times a week, and everything gets absolutely flooded.

There is a fogger in the greenhouse to keep the RH up, but no additional misting or other irrigation is done to anything in between waterings.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I got my fertilizer today...thanks Ray! I'll start using it this weekend. I'm loking foreward to finally going back to a 1 scoop fertilizer, instead of mixing MSU and CaNO3.

 

[keithrs]

I will also be starting just after the start of the new year.

My setup:

RO with tap added.

75 PPM N @ every watering

I will be watering almost all plants.(I have a few terr. that are on a organic diet) Most are in Rock, LECA, CHC, or moss with mixtures of different amendments.

All grown outside under 55% shade cloth with the exception of seedlings and Mex. which are grown indoors on a bakers rack with a room humidifier, watered 2 twice a week.

Outside temps are from 34-110 but mostly in-between 50-75 in the fall-winter and 60-90 in the spring-summer.

I will be stoping by the aquarium store to pick up KH/ALK test kit.

I test PH, Temp, and TDS of the water with every watering.

I won't be adding any supplements intel I get the just of how this fertilizer performs(around May or so) with the exception of a sticky agent.

I have about 50/50 mix of mounted ver. potted plants. I only have two Paph in my collection @ this time. I have mostly Aussie Den.s and Catt. alliance with a mixture of others. I might wait intel March for the Aussie to finish blooming intel I start on them.

 

[jtrmd]

I got my fertilizer today...thanks Ray!

I will also be starting just after the start of the new year too.

My setup:

tap water

75 PPM N @ every other week to 1x a month depending on weather,and 100 ppm N just about every watering in the spring/summer.I flush with plain tap water every third watering,if I remember.

75% of my plants are in bark,and the others are mounted.

temps are from 50-75 in fall-winter and 70-90 in the spring-summer.

I dont add any supplements


Ray-I was wondering if sometime down the line I need another pound or two,will there be some avaliable,or are we waiting to see the results?

 

[Ray]

Got the new metering pump in yesterday, and it was nice and sunny today, so I started.

Mixed 5# to make up 15 gallons of concentrate, and am metering that at 67:1 to give me 75-80 ppm N. I borrowed an EC meter, got 0.01 mS with my plain water, 0.54 with the fertilizer (right in the ballpark), and the applied solution pH was 5.7.

Nothing has croaked in the last 6 hours!

 

[gonewild]

Nothing has croaked in the last 6 hours!

Have you seen any improved growth yet?
Are they whistling a happier tune?

 

[cnycharles]

the usps tracking this morning said my box wouldn't be here today, but now says it's delivered! guess I'll have to go and pick it up and try it out. I know my plants will be happy if I just give them some feed on a regular basis

 

[SlipperKing]

Got my as well today. Thanks Ray. Will figure on 75 ppm of N as well. That might help the comparison between growers

 

[keithrs]

Got mine today! Thanks again Ray.

 

[Rick]

I was out of the office the last 2 days, so mine is probably sitting on my desk.

I'll have to go in tomorrow and check:wink:

 

[Ross]

Got mine yesterday!

 

[Ray]

OMG!!! It's AMAZING!

Went to the greenhouse this morning, and everything was still there - just like yesterday.

Getting serious for a moment, I think I'm likely to fall under the "spell" that befalls a lot of growers with "something new".

Over that last few months, I have not been particularly good about keeping up a reasonable watering/feeding and general care regimen, thanks primarily to health issues and the turmoil of the Holidays. Now that I have gotten past all that, and have installed a new RO system and metering pump, and we have begun this trial, I imagine I will be far more attentive, and I expect my plants to do better. So can I attribute that to the fertilizer? Probably not.

I remember seeing this when the MSU fertilizer hit the scene - it was absolutely magic to some, when in reality, they just got more conscientious.

I am not in a position to have "control plants" getting my old regimen while we do this. Is anyone doing so?

 

[cnycharles]

I don't know if I'll have a control.. if they start looking good then I'll know that something is better! of course I'm repotting almost everything into orchiata plus other stuff so i'm sure that will help.

Ray, on another note, I saw that you suggested to make a stock solution since the fertilizer parts aren't evenly placed... If I put one pound into one gallon of water, how much stock do I need to place into a gallon of water to reach approx. 75ppm of N? My city water has an extremely low tds, also, so whatever amount you would put into your water would be the same for mine (for a final tds reading). I'm not sure if my meter reads micro-siemens

thanks,
charles

 

[Hera]

Suggestion time. Maybe the trialers should all purchase the same plants (variety of species and hybrids) from the same stock and conduct trials on control and new fertilizer plants. Side by side comparison and same plants in same conditions should give reasonable feedback. If everyone buys the same stock of will allow for the dissimilarity of water, environment etc. You'll be conducting mini experiments within your own environment and the larger results of the overall experiments can be compared between you. The plants wouldn't have to be expensive or exotic. Just something that you are all familiar with and grows reliably.

 

[gonewild]

OMG!!! It's AMAZING!

I am not in a position to have "control plants" getting my old regimen while we do this. Is anyone doing so?

Ray you have enough history and experience to know if the fertilizer has a different effect than when you were last fertilizing on a good schedule. Sure if you haven't been fertilizing then any formula will give increased growth but you will know if there is a significant difference with the K-Lite.

 

[Ray]

Ray, on another note, I saw that you suggested to make a stock solution since the fertilizer parts aren't evenly placed... If I put one pound into one gallon of water, how much stock do I need to place into a gallon of water to reach approx. 75ppm of N? My city water has an extremely low tds, also, so whatever amount you would put into your water would be the same for mine (for a final tds reading). I'm not sure if my meter reads micro-siemens

thanks,
charles

The info on page 6 of the "K-Lite Trial" thread will help: Click Here

 

[Ray]

Ray you have enough history and experience to know if the fertilizer has a different effect than when you were last fertilizing on a good schedule. Sure if you haven't been fertilizing then any formula will give increased growth but you will know if there is a significant difference with the K-Lite.

Maybe so Lance, but the scientist in me wants to be "cleaner" about it.