Well I ask because Ive had my Phal in sphag moss since I bought it a year and a half or so ago. Havent seemed to have a problem with it. Recently I moved the phal outside (2 leaves, no spike, lost it flowers and i cut the spike last Aug) after repotting it. Ive noticed that outdoors down here in Miami the sphag stays humid waaaaay longer than indoors. I only need to water once a week, where as inside after 3 days it would be almost bone dry. I havent seen any new growth yet, although the center where the leaves connect is turning a brighter green, almost as if it is going to sprout another leaf hopefully. Ive seen other phals planted in bark/lava rock/ and even these weird looking balls (almost like tiny coconuts) and theyve all had success. I thought maybe my phal isnt too happy in the moss. But the leaves are a nice color, and very strong so, maybe im just impatient. I think its alot happier outside in the warmer air and shaded eastern sunlight. We'll see what happens! p.s. its potted in a clay pot with strips along the sides for good aeration and drainage. Not too tight in Sphag. I allow to dry completely before I water. I empty out a bottle of purified water onto her (zephyrhills) and allow her to drain completely. Then I lightly mist with a mixture of pure water/20-20-20/SUPERthrive (all diluted into a gallon of H2O). And let her do her thing!

I've been using the same fertilizer from Sun Bulb more than 20 years. The product is called orchid plus. On the package it indicates no urea. A few years ago the AOS endorsed it. Written on the package. For what that is worth. It is difficult for me to get my arms around what is right or wrong. I do know that my plants seem healthy and strong. The question is if I change what I do will it improve the plants. That means change anything including feed. So I decided to call Sun Bulb and they sent me an email from Robert Palmer, their master grower. This is his response about urea. Dear Harvey: Tina asked me to contact you about the no urea in Orchid Plus. Using a fertilizer with Urea tends to drop the media ph very low after extended use. It will not harm your orchid if you are using a fertilizer that contains Urea, we are not making that claim at all. Many orchids are grown mounted or in the case of vandas in a basket with no mix or media whatsoever. In these cases all fertilizer runs off on the ground immediately . This does not allow for the urea to be converted to the ammonia(NH4+) or nitrate(NO3-) ions. Urea can be taken through the foliage but the plant responds better and faster using nitogen in the nitrate and ammonia forms. Roots do not take up nitrogen in the urea form. Low temps in the winter especially slow down the conversion process of nitrification by the soil microbes. I hope I have explained this properly to you. Using any fertilizer is better than using nothing even if the fertilizer contains urea. Sincerely Robert Palmer I believe that from now to the end of time this subject will continue to be debated.

depends, 90% of the time shovels, pruners, mattock, other odd tools yes, sometimes shovel stays in my compost pile for a few days. Wheelbarrow is almost never away, I usually tip to the side. Hose, most of the time rolled away, but if its out for some reason and it starts to rain, it stays there till its dry. Plastic Buckets used for weeding and other stuff, never.. they stay out all year , they live in the garden I think.. I dont worry about them they were free from sams years ago, eventually the weather will wear them away, but not for quit awhile, then Ill throw them into the recycling bin. Silverkelt

hello this forum mayb closed i am looking for only natural and organic growing mediums, i have used lava rock on and of since about 1983, the first time i used it right as it came from the bag that lasted till about 88, i got some free time on my hands and i pulverized my lava it was about 2 - 5 gal buckets worth when i gave up i still have that batch i just rinse it well if i want to use it i have had real good luck just using it as a normal water as needed medium, our thinking was such great things come from the islands and had seen the great flowers there , pinapples come from there so,,, why not grow in it as long as i keep it well drained and no obstructions on the drain holes it has been some good medium, but i never really had much time to actualy set up a real hydroponics system like u see now days it was just ur bare knuckles pump the water in and cover the medium and drain it out well, since then i have been tryn to utilize some water and slopes and grow fish and plants in our ponds and i have ignored lava rock till the last few yrs but now i am really looking into growing only organic in truly only organic containers and anything touching the water and its been very tricky since my wife does cancer treatments and my background is environmental i have looked at cancers and sickness as a result of what we eat and whats in all of what we digest and the containers that touch it and what its grown in and watered with,,, so,, my point? i have used lava rock but consider it somewhat inert but with my chemistry background and knowing whats in all the water and whats gonna be in the fish excretions from gills and excrement's it will have some affect on anything in lava rock that might dissolve up to the point my fish algae coats it with that slim, so my concern? i saw one blog where the blogger says lava rock gives off dangerous chemicals ,,, but its blog to me seemed to b pushing claycorn ,,yet its man made from who knows what and is imported from china i also see that it starts out and may stay with a p h of 8 my lava rock in and 7 ph filtered tap thru 3 charcoal filters shows 8 depending on whose eyes u use, ,,i see where the most fertile lands on earth are in volcanic soil but upon checking cancer rates in these areas i find that many say they have high thyroid cancers in those areas of course the people are exposed to more than the soil yet i found a very few isolated volcanic areas where no cancer existed but they say its from the general diet high in certain elements,, since lava rock numbers i have seen imply 66% silica, 16% aluminum. 10% iron,, lists only 10 total elements i am wondering if i should be concerned with the aluminum, and its possible affects on humans causing dementia, n Alzheimer and no i do not want to hear its a metal and it will not react i am talking pure submersion in my fish ponds and in my grow beds ,, i have stayed with what i think is river rock for now since thats what i ve always used for fish, (and its probly all conglomerate of marble (igneous limestone), granite, quartz, limestone, with one pebble or 2 or lava rock) but since i am planning on eating the fish and i am tryn to remove all man made items such as plastics, vinyls, pond liners, additives in my fish food and meds and hormones not used and all fish treatments removed ( if they die they get blended for chum), are there any other obsessive people who can give me any reason to not use lava rock over man made clay balls for grow medium my brother n law is sure that the clay balls have been developed by the professionals, my son who is helping with the learning is too young to do anything except as what the hell are ur talking about old man? i have not finalized my choices but i see the professionals as only there to part me with my money and sell me some snake oil when it comes to clay made pellets, ,, so do i have to worry about the aluminum, or any of the other 7 items aside from the silica i know i should not breath when i pound it to a pulp, i am tryn to be as true and pure organic as can knownly be and growing inside greenhouses and enclosed ponds not sure how i m gonna get the birth control pills outs the water if its not truly well water but has been slipped in from the lake if my charcoal filters won t remove it except to maybe us my springs that have p h of 6 and drill my own well, of course when i add the wrong things to drop the ph it actually draws out more of my alkalies but i have probly always grown my crops in a ten due to growing in this east texas iron ore and sand , and in central texas dirt and here i have always added gypsum to cancel out the chlorine added to the tap water if you can sort this out and it gets past censors please let me no if anyone out there can shed some lite on my determination to use all lava rock and river rock and white marble or limestone rock