Originally Posted by
raybark
First, let me say I don't like "controlled release" fertilizers. One simply has no control over what the plants are getting.
As much as is possible, I try to take cues from nature.
In the wild, orchids get fed every time it rains, which can be several timeas a day in places. The solution is pure rain water that has cascaded through the forest canopy and trickled down branches and tree trunks, where it picks up whatever airborne detritus has collected and plant exudates and those coming from various molds, fungi, and bacteria. Analyses have shown it to be no more than about 15 ppm dissolved solids, with most of that being nitrogen.
That is why I started my frequent-but-dilute feeding regimen - 25 ppm N at every watering.
You're never going to get more growth out of your plants feeding MORE FERTILIZER or LESS FREQUENTLY. The latter is simply unhealthy (think about you only having one meal a week...), and the simple fact is that while a plant might absorb more nutrients, it doesn't use them. Water is the true driving force for growth.
If you do some calculations using the chemical processes within an plant, in order to gain 1 kg of mass, it has to absorb and process approximately 200L of water, but only 10g of N-P-K nutrients, and again, only about 1-2% of that is other than nitrogen.
I would also recommend shifting the nutrient mix toward nitrogen. I use K-Lite, which is a 12-1-1 formula containing 10% Ca and 3% Mg, along with all of the minor elements. I'm reasonably sure it's not available in your part of the world, but you can approximate it by using 50/50 calcium nitrate and Epsom Salts and adding 5% of your current blend, which would yield something in the neighborhood of an 8-1-1 with plenty of Ca and Mg. Your current mixing rate of 0.5ml/L would give you around 20 ppm N, which would be great for daily irrigation.
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