This was posted by Howard_A. For some reason GW would not pop it up, so I copied my clip and pasted it. This post was originally supposed to continue the thread "Best Way of Knowing When to Water" by Valkyrie66. It got out of hand and turned into an essay. Knowing when to water is an important part of good orchid culture. Most orchid growers are very concerned about overwatering, a few are also concerned about underwatering. The concern is warranted but IMO the methods that are usually employed to solve the problem cause more problems than they solve. Here's why. If you live in a place where there are rocks find one and turn it over. No matter how hot and dry everything else might be you can usually find a zone of relative cool and moist under that rock. An orchid in its natural state has a rapid wet/dry cycle and its roots exposed for most of their surface dry off quickly, but don't quite reach dessication because of the (usually) high amount of humidity. A potted orchid on the other hand is like that rock. Moisture is trapped by the piled up bark mix and the container. Clay is semi-porous and does dry out faster than plastic (about 2x as fast) but compared to a mounted orchid even a clay pot is much more retentive of water. For this reason I do not think it is reasonable to believe that you can avoid overwatering potted orchids. To be potted is to be overwatered, period, end of story! Well, no, of course it is not really the end. The vast majority of cultivated orchids are potted and most of them do just fine. So, what gives? It would appear that overwatering is not the instant death that we think it is. Here is my analogy. Potted orchids are like fraternity (sorority) pledges treading water in the school pool during a hazing. Pledge A from NYC ate nothing for breakfast and had only a smoothie in the afternoon. S/he treads water for six hours before losing consciousness. Pledge B from Idaho ate a nutritious breakfast containing all five food groups and is able to tread water for 18 hours by which time everyone is bored stiff and have wandered off. [no pledges were harmed during the ritual]. If we accept that our potted orchids are all treading water why do some lose the fight to stay afloat (rot) and some thrive? Stamina and conditioning. Ever since I learned to 'drownproof my 'chids' (give them stamina) I have not lost any to the dreaded root rot. Well lit and warm. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall. That is the secret to raising drownproof orchids. Bark, CHC, Sphag? Clay pot, plastic pot? These become matters of availability and aesthetics rather than survival strategies when you let the orchids environment determine its ability to survive overwatering. Warm is a relative thing as is 'well lit'. In summer there isn't usually too much problem with keeping orchids warm and some (intergenerics, Masdie's) orchids will be too warm and a little (a lot) stressed but winter, a phenomenon mostly unknown in the regions from which the bulk of the orchids we grow come from can be a trying time. Phalaenopsis which were in their glory during the Dog Days of August when indoor temps even with AC hovered around 80F are going to be at a metabolic standstill when indoor temps (even with central heat) are 65F. So, now I have all these fabulous, fit, drownproof orchids that I cannot overwater, great, how often should I water them? One or two times per week is just about right. More will not be a problem except that more is, well, more, more of your time, more of your water, more of your fertilizer (you do fertilize don't you?). So for the smallest pots (under 2") or clay pots up to 6" try 2x/wk and see what happens. For plastic pots full of sphag 1x/wk. What, its not dry in a week, it takes more like 10/12/14? days before that nasty sphag is dry. 1x/wk. You are growing drownproof orchids. Tell me again, how do I know they really got the message that they are waterproof. They will be growing. If you can't tell whether they are growing or not they aren't and you need to give them the pep talk again (bump up the light or add a couple hours to the run time). What do you do if you just can't get it together to put up CFL lights and/or buy a space heater? Drain the pool. Your weakened 'chids can't drown if there is no water in the pot. It is far, far better that you do not water an orchid that is stalled for the winter any more often than once in a month or even two months than to cause its certain death by watering once per week "like the book says". It will be quite a bit worse for wear next Spring but it just might live. Better, of course, is to hang even a minimal amount of constant (12 - 16 hrs) flourescent light over the 'chids. The slow, steady input of artificial light keeps energy in the plants and that is what combats overwatering, not choice of pot or potting medium or waiting X days for watering or sticking sharp bits of wood into the mix. After reading all that you might think I make a pretty good argument for mounting all your 'chids. As with most 'cheats' it doesn't work. Unless your humidity is at tropical levels and you have the luxury of time or income to arrange for frequent applications of water to the mounts they will suffer dessication (drying out). That is just as bad as rotting from too much water. So, in the end knowing when to water comes down to light. It all comes down to light. H

Let's say mushrooms are growing in a corner of my compost. Since this corner is exposed to more air than the center, I would think that moisture is causing the mushrooms (I noticed them today...didn't see them yesterday). However, this corner is, by virtue of being less "surrounded" by other material, allowed to dry quicker. So, that considered, I would think that it could be more a sign of anaerobic digestion, in that I tend to ignore the corners (especially those closest to me) when mixing my heap with a shovel. I'm not concerned at all, I'm just curious (which is what led me to this site, by the way!) Thanks, Tom.

There is a forum for mushrooms try there they will recognize it....

Mushrooms are actually a boon as the "root" system helps with the nutrient content in the area they grow. Saying that though they like really damp areas wich may pose a problem to the other plants in the garden. Are you overwatering? Are you getting enough sun? If you pick them they will just grow back. As long as the conditions are good for the plants you want I dont see a problem, others may have better knowledge though.