Giving your Neps a coffee treatment

[rainforest]

Of course being the pro-advocate for fertilizing nepenthes, I would say forget the coffee and just use the seaweed ferts. The meain reason for using seaweed ferts is usually due to the fact that it is probably the mildest form of natural obtainable nutrients known. Their composition in a stable fertilizer product is mild yet very effective. I have seen great results as one would expect from a more costly specific horticultural chemical product.
The seaweed blend is also very soluble and does not have the detergent or strong odor of so many other "natural" fertilizer products. A feature that I like most. The use of coffee has that coffee odor that I am not particularly fond of and don't want to experience it around my plants.
For the seaweed product, I would use it as a recommended application rate as indicated on the bottle. Dilution should always begin as a fraction thereof and work your way to a recommended strength.
Always flush your media out with plain water like a day or so later after the fertilizing treatment. Avoid getting the fertilizer into the pitchers, although if some does get in, it will not harm the plant, I seriously doubt this can be said about coffee which may burn or destroy the natural flora in the pitchers if it got in. Aside from the nutritive elements of coffee there is also caffeine which we do not have enough evidence whether it is safe for the plants. The seaweed fertilizer does not have caffeine.

M

[jgriffin]

I have one knock against seaweed fertilizer.
Apparentlly, it smells just good enough for a unattended dog to chew the cap off a big bottle of it.

[dvg]

Java java jumping bean
black is better than with cream
ain't just my Neps that crave this mix
truth be told...I need my fix ;D

dvg

[rainforest]

I have one knock against seaweed fertilizer.
Apparentlly, it smells just good enough for a unattended dog to chew the cap off a big bottle of it.

Dogs love coffee more than they do seaweed. If your dog chewed up a bottle cap (for which I do not know how a dog knows that the cap is the source from which the liquid comes out from-unless it was a fabricated dream scene) I wonder what they'd do when they smell the coffee remains on your plant.

Strangely unless you're a slob and get that seaweed fertilizer all over the outside of the bottle how does a dog know that it is the bottle from which the seaweed fertilizer comes from. I guess keeping the bottle at ground level would make any items a chance for dog chewing.

BTW, got a photo of this bottle cap for proof? SERIOUS MINDS WANNA KNOW!

I hope you like the taste of seaweed fertilizer bottle cap since you'll probably have to chew it yourself to show us the proof of this hilarious story.

M

[jgriffin]

Well, we took a crappy photo with the cell phone...if you are really that curious. I do not know how to post it, though(kind of embarrassing). I can email it to anybody who wants to post it.
It's not liquid, it's dry. It looks like sand or seasoning salt with osmocote mixed in. I did not expect that.
As far as the slob part, I had not opened it yet. It's brand new. We have three dogs-two dachshunds and one beagle. My money is on the beagle. The USDA actually uses them to sniff out stuff in boxes, etc.
The boys(as we call the dachshunds) have been known to take the occasional item out in the back yard.
Yes, I left it sitting on the floor. That is as ground level as it gets.

J

[rainforest]

Please assure me that your dogs aren't the ones that actually sniff out drugs and contraband from mail and packages, cause I'm sure you'd get a lot of lawsuits when federal agents start tearing into boxes looking for contraband only to find seaweed fertilizer in it. ;D

It's not that difficult to post an image on here. You just need a server, try photobucket for unlimited image downloads. You can find them at www.photobucket.com. Apply as a new member and begin your downloads of photo images.
You may either paste and copy the image tags directly or if you have a Mac, you can just highlight/click on the tag and it will be memorized and you'll just need to place the cursor to the image loading icon (resembles a butterfly above between the URL and the icon that appears like a mail envelope) above and hit command v to paste the link into it.
Yes, we'd all like to see this crap, ahh I meant cap. Especially since these came from highly trained sniffing dogs we trust our government insured to help protect us from contraband and illegal drugs, etc.


Just ask away if you have any further questions on how to post photo to this site.

M

[jgriffin]

Well, here you go. Sorry for the laundry in the background...

s1021.photobucket.com/albums/af331/kplants/dog%20chew/?action=view¤t=IMAG0024.jpg

[kakamac]

Thanks everyone for your replies and for answering my questions regarding fertilizing. I'll implement a fertilizing schedule once I have my new greenhouse up and running. How long does it take for the fertilizer to kick in and the results to show? Thanks again.

Jade

[marka]

Jun 25, 2010 12:56:47 GMT -10 rainforest said:

Of course being the pro-advocate.
M

one of many, going back well into the early 70s and beyond...

[jgriffin]

Dogs like coffee more than seaweed? I had no idea..
1) Was there an experiment on this?
2) Why do drug traffic people use coffee to mask the smell of the drugs? You would get hyper-mellow dogs(unless the drugs were speed).
3) I take it coffee for dogs is bad, sort of like chocolate?

[rainforest]

I'll play along

Strangely the dogs really wasn't attracted to the seaweed ferts because of its smell because a brand new bottle of seaweed extract has an inner top that needs to be peeled off before use.
Next time leave a cup of coffee at the same location where you left the seaweed fertilizer at and see if the dogs will be attracted to as well. Whether it's bad for them or not, the idea here is, "Will they be attracted to the coffee?"

Coffee masking the drugs is not a behaviorial learned for drug sniffing. The dogs are only seeking drugs and get rewarded for it, it doesn't get rewarded for finding coffee. Drug smell can mask the smell of some drugs but again, if trainers would train the dogs to sniff for coffee, you'd get the same behaviorial instincts as you would for drugs.

M

[jgriffin]

Nah, I think I'll play along and believe you.
I really do not know, but once when the dog did get some chocolate, she had the shakes. I stayed up to make sure she was okay.
Now, I am guessing the caffeine had something to do with that..
Of course..there is decaf..

[amori]

(Just thought I'd let you know, dogs are sensitive to theobromine in chocolate, not so much the caffeine)

[jgriffin]

Thanks Amori, good to know!

Joe