I am a bit surprised - yet again - at the nonchalant way that some vendors handle the labeling of their products.
I have often expressed my dismay at the way RepotMe marketed their "Feed Me" brand of liquid fertilizer. It was nothing more than the MSU powder dissolved in water, yet the label indicated it was the same formula as the powder used. As they recommended one ounce per gallon for 125 ppm N, that means it was just one pound of MSU powder dissolved in a gallon of water, making the solution something along the lines of 1.5-0.3-1.8, which would be labeled as a 1-0-1 formula. Not labeling as such was both deceitful and illegal. Apparently they either caught on, or a regulatory agency got to them, because they don't appear to be selling it any more.
Now - much to my surprise - I find that Orchids Limited's Green Jungle Orchid Food seems to fall into that same arena.
It is labeled as a 1-0-1, and according to the very limited information on the label, is derived from potassium nitrate. Potassium nitrate, KNO3, is 38.7 weight percent K and 13.9% N, so in a weight ratio, the ELEMENTAL formula would be 1-0-2.79. But, in fertilizers, the K is expressed as K2O, which is 83%K, meaning that the label should be 2.79/0.83=3.36, making it not a 1-0-1 formula, but 1-0-3.36, legally labeled as 1-0-3. That may seem like a minor discrepancy, but for an equal nitrogen level, that's more than triple the potassium, and that can have a negative impact on your plants.
It might just be a mistaken assumption that since there is one "N" and one "K" in the molecule, it's a 1-0-1, but still...
I have often expressed my dismay at the way RepotMe marketed their "Feed Me" brand of liquid fertilizer. It was nothing more than the MSU powder dissolved in water, yet the label indicated it was the same formula as the powder used. As they recommended one ounce per gallon for 125 ppm N, that means it was just one pound of MSU powder dissolved in a gallon of water, making the solution something along the lines of 1.5-0.3-1.8, which would be labeled as a 1-0-1 formula. Not labeling as such was both deceitful and illegal. Apparently they either caught on, or a regulatory agency got to them, because they don't appear to be selling it any more.
Now - much to my surprise - I find that Orchids Limited's Green Jungle Orchid Food seems to fall into that same arena.
It is labeled as a 1-0-1, and according to the very limited information on the label, is derived from potassium nitrate. Potassium nitrate, KNO3, is 38.7 weight percent K and 13.9% N, so in a weight ratio, the ELEMENTAL formula would be 1-0-2.79. But, in fertilizers, the K is expressed as K2O, which is 83%K, meaning that the label should be 2.79/0.83=3.36, making it not a 1-0-1 formula, but 1-0-3.36, legally labeled as 1-0-3. That may seem like a minor discrepancy, but for an equal nitrogen level, that's more than triple the potassium, and that can have a negative impact on your plants.
It might just be a mistaken assumption that since there is one "N" and one "K" in the molecule, it's a 1-0-1, but still...