thank you, Louis. I have been using a seaweed extract product for a couple weeks now, and while it's too early to tell with most of the orchids, as I'm sure you know, the faster-growing non-orchid plants have responded really nicely - passifloras, Ming, prayer plants, jasmine, all looking robust. as mentioned above, no more alaska's in my livingroom

the pH thing; the labels on the acid ferts say boric acid. i suspected it wouldn't matter what the source was so much, at such low levels, and i am comfortable with a more organic, home remedy approach. i have to live in among the things too. and if the studies were accurate, the grower's attitude and confidence in the caregiving do in fact make a difference.

btw, I also feed the gang some miles davis mixed with tom waits, ocassionally Kottke, they seem to like it

pete