Tips for Using Plant Ash in Orchid Cultivation

Our cultivatedorchidsDuring potting or repotting, the initial substrate is always prepared to suitorchidgrowth at a pH of around 6.6 (substrate manufacturers also pay attention to this important point, so most orchid growers do not need to re-test this). Over the days and months incultivationmanagement, with the use of acidic organic fertilizers, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, theorchidgrowing medium shifts from its initially suitable pH level to slightly acidic or extremely over-acidic, thereby causing a massive proliferation of acid-loving fungi. We know that things reverse when taken to extremes, so the ecological balance inside the pot is disrupted, and in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment these fungi attack the plants, causing various harmful disease symptoms such as: stem rot,soft rotdisease, southern blight, etc. Once these diseases appear, we often use many kinds of pesticides (synthetic chemical preparations), but most are far from satisfactory. Therefore, many orchid enthusiasts exclaim: "Why, when water management is reasonable and medications are rotated, can stem rot,soft rotdisease and southern blight still not be cured?" "All diseases are best prevented; treatment is only a remedy." If the above symptoms cannot be prevented and are allowed to occur or spiral out of control, then in the season of rapid orchid growth under high temperature and high humidity, they will cause varying degrees of "yield reduction" - a result no orchid enthusiast wants to see. The fact that "everything has its natural counter" in nature has been recognized by people. Just like highly venomous animals such as venomous snakes and pufferfish - why do they carry potent venom themselves yet never get poisoned? They must possess within their bodies a detoxifying substance that counteracts it (the fact that everything has its natural counter has now been recognized by scientists; it is said that Japanese scientists are searching for a counteracting antidote in pufferfish and have listed it as a key research project - if successful, people will then be able to eat pufferfish without worrying about poisoning). It is just that our science and technology have not yet been able to extract these self-counteracting antidotes from venomous animals. But we humans can already use the principle of natural counteraction to find counteracting substances in the external natural world - for example, for fungi that prefer to live in acidic environments, use alkaline substances to counter them; for fungi that prefer alkaline substances, use acidic substances to counter them. In this way, the reproduction rates of two types of fungi with different preferences can be balanced, thereby achieving the goal of increasing crop yield, income and efficiency. The following is a summary of some of my insights from using plant ash, offered for the reference of orchid enthusiasts: 1. On the selection of plant ash Plant ash is best when fully carbonized (fully carbonized rice husk ash is also acceptable); fully carbonized ash is ink-black. Plant ash that appears whitish is the result of excessive burning, and this type is lighter in weight and not preferable (specifically referring to the content of potassium and alkaline components). 2. On the various scientific uses of plant ash 1. When potting, directly add 10% carbonized plant ash into the substrate and mix, but this effect is very slight. This type of use can be said to have few advantages and many disadvantages. Disadvantage: it can only neutralize for a short time, but fresh substrate will not have excessive acidity anyway; due to daily water management, plus plant ash being light in specific gravity and small in volume, it will quickly be washed away by water (here specifically referring to granular substratecultivation), and by the high-temperature, high-humidity plum rain season the acidity will rebound, so the harm continues as before. 2. During the plum rain season, sprinkle plant ash directly on the pot surface and, combined with water management, let it gradually penetrate into the pot, so as to neutralize the acidity inside the pot and suppress the fungi that depend on an acidic environment to survive. Advantage: it can greatly reduce the surviving population of acid-loving fungi, allowing orchids to safely pass through the high-temperature, high-humidity plum rain season. However, this method is not the best. Disadvantage: difficult to fully penetrate, highly polluting, and plant ash ends up everywhere with the water flow. 3. During the plum rain season, mix plant ash directly into water for watering or pot soaking, to achieve the purpose of neutralizing acidity. But this method is also not very good. Advantage: short-term neutralization. Disadvantage: the alkaline substances in the plant ash are washed away by subsequent water management before they have fully decomposed, so the effect is very slight. 4. Dilute the clarified stock solution leached from plant ash with water at 500 times, and spray once every 10-15 days during the high-temperature, high-humidity plum rain season; this effect is very good. Advantage: the spray is uniform and contacts a wide area of the plant surface. Disadvantage: it treats the symptoms but not the root cause. 5. Dilute the clarified stock solution leached from plant ash with water at 500 times, and water or soak pots with it twice during the high-temperature, high-humidity plum rain season; this effect is also very good. Advantage: it can thoroughly neutralize the acidity within the substrate, thereby achieving the purpose of suppressing acid-loving fungi. Disadvantage: still cannot treat both symptoms and root cause. 6. Dilute the clarified stock solution leached from plant ash with water at 500 times, and during the high-temperature, high-humidity plum rain season adopt a dual attack of "ground and air combined operations", leaving acid-loving fungi nowhere to hide, so as to largely suppress or kill them. Through spraying and watering (at this time pot soaking is best; for small areas pot soaking can be used, for large areas watering is better), the substrate in the pot, the entire orchid plant, and the equipment and items in the orchid yard and orchid room can all be fully contacted, achieving the purpose of comprehensive prevention. Adopting the same operation twice throughout the entire plum rain season can allow orchids to safely pass through this dangerous yet stimulating growing season. This last point is the most efficient and has been proven reliable every time. Objective: May the vast number of orchid enthusiasts suffer fewer losses and reap more gains during the high-temperature, high-humidity plum rain season. Interested orchid enthusiasts may as well give it a try and see for themselves whether it is true or not. Note 1: For high-quality plant ash leachate, soaking for 12-24 hours is best. During soaking, to obtain a clean leachate, never soak it loose; wrap it in gauze so the plant ash cannot freely disperse. In this way, the clarified stock solution leached from the plant ash is easy to obtain, and it also makes the subsequent spraying work more convenient (this refers to the requirements for small-area use; for large areas it is a different matter). Note 2: Soak 1 kg of plant ash in 10 times its amount of water to make the stock solution, but in practice most people make it by feel; if the specific gravity is slightly greater there is no harm - it will not produce a negative effect. However, during use, one must always remember: [it cannot be mixed with acidic pesticides or fertilizers]. Orchid enthusiasts can boldly apply the above experience. Note 3: Solemn declaration: the above prevention and treatment methods are not omnipotent; not all diseases can be prevented - for example, "anthracnose" simply cannot be prevented (nor can alkaline-loving fungi). The scientific management method should be alternating medication for prevention and treatment. In the final analysis, "all diseases are best prevented" - do not wait until disease breaks out to treat it, for then it is too late. To prevent misleading orchid enthusiasts, this declaration is made first. (Wan Yunkun)