swords Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 Hi folks, I've been feeding my Nepenthes aproximately every 14 days for the last six months or so and gotten very good results with no feeding related pitcher casualties. So recently I have switched to a weekly feeding schedule, every monday or tuesday-depending which day I have off (my job alternates it's schedule every week). I've noticed that combined with a good growing climate not only does feeding facilitate an increase in each new leaf and pitcher but the rate of growth and water uptake seems to be higher. Anyone else notice such things with increased feeding? people always talk about overfeeding and rot but this has yet to happen on any plant that I've fed carefully (so long as the prey doesn't stick on the pitcher walls and is fully submerged in the fluid all goes well. I generally feed my small plants 2 week old crickets and adult crickets to the larger pitchered plants. I buy them live from the reptile shop in bags of 100 each size and freeze/store 'em. In summer I also use swatted flies and transported ladybugs as additional treats. I let the ladybugs find their own way into the pitchers. I figure while they're alive they will eat up any pests they run across while they are cruising my plants. Since it's not a pinned topic on this board, how often do you folks feed? And with what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 For some time now, I've felt that people don't feed their plants enough for optimum growth. In the warmer months, I fertilize all my plants with a drenching of fish based fertilizer every week or two. And as my plants are in an open greenhouse (what with the fish smell) my plant are either covered with bugs or full up to the top. I have a Nep which I haven't posted a picture of yet that for some reason ants really like. I'll try to show how it is litterally packed to the brim. I've also been known to sprinkle osmocote around. Now, as a control, there is a large commerical grower in my town, who's climate is the same as mine except his greenhouse is sealed and artificially cooled, so there aren't many bugs, and he never feeds. His plants are fine, and award winning, but I notice that mine are greener and (how do you remove personal bias :) ) "lusher". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowyFalcon Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 I feed on a random schedule. Whenever I have extra time. I would guess that on average each plant gets fed every other week. SF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinliew Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 I have no real feeding schedule because it's hard to get food for my plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted December 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 Colin, I'll admit I have no experience shopping in Singapore but if there are reptile shops or pet shops around they usually sell prey crickets for the animals. These are generally a few cents each (or even cheaper by the 100s). I just freeze and store two sizes of them for use when I wanna feed the plants. One thing I do on summer evenings is set out Flypaper strips under the lamp by my front door and pick the catchings off them the next day with my feeding forceps. You'd be surprised how easy most of the things come off. This has to be the easiest way to catch bugs for plants growing indoors but it is hit or miss depending upon insect activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 I'd say that I feed all my carnivores about fortnightly. That's all sarras, drosera and neps... I think it does them well as i didnt feed one capensis for about 4 or so months and the one i did feed really overtook it growthwise. i also feed crickets but i feed the crickets fish flakes for a few days before i feed them to anything else, this is mainly to benefit my frogs who eat most of the crickets but im sure that it makes the crickets a healthier product for plants too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted December 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 Ah, "gut loading"! Unfortunately I don't have space for that but the shop feeds the crickets on some sort of dry dog/cat food looking stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 That loading really works. I had a turtle go blind, the doc said vitamin A in the meal worm food, and it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 How awful! By saying "it worked" do you mean your turtles vision returned or do you mean no other turtles have had the same blindness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinliew Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Josh, I haven't had time to shop around for crickets, but I think that's definitely on my "to do" list, as well as perhaps buying the occasional guppy as a "power food" ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted January 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Hi Aaron, Yes, I feed every pitcher which is active (not drying) and not full (obviously the oldest ones' fluid is full of dead bugs after a couple months and any more food put in will just rot). I determine a pitcher is feedable if I can shake it lightly and feel the fluid sloshing around. If possible shining a flashlight behind a green, yellow or pink pitcher will work to see how deep the fluid level is. Highly patterned, dark red, purple or black pitchers are hard to see into so you'll need to do the shake test if they aren't large enough to look in. Fluid levels of pitchers are generally 1/6th -1/3rd full upon opening and before feeding. After feeding and shaking a few times the fluid appears to rise a little and then fall back down to the normal level as it's absorbed. It only seems to take a week for this fluid level activity to happen so I'm experimenting with keeping the fluid level high by continuous feeding with smaller meals. Make sure the food you're feeding is "size apropriate". Just cos a pitcher is 3" doesn't mean you can stuff a 1" long adult cricket in there unless it's a 3" N. rajah, bicalcarata or merilliana pitcher which holds a lot of fluid for a small pitcher. Any dead insects sticking out of the fluid pool will decay and cause the pitcher to rot. Feeding small pitchers 3" high or less you must be careful to experiment with size and amount of prey. I like "pinhead sized" and 2 week old crickets until pitchers are generally 4" high. Large adult pitchers are much sturdier and can handle adult crickets(because they also have a larger amount of fluid). I will be posting a detailed feeding article sometime soon on www.jurassic-gardens.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SydneyNeps Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Josh, One of the advantages I find of growing my plants outside is that they are remarkably adept at catching their own food. It's interesting to note that different species attract different insects. I have a khasiana that collects cockroaches and crickets like made, and others that the ants and moths love. I can't say whether it makes any difference or not, as I have no way of measuring what they catch by themselves. However, particularly in smaller plants, the increase in size of each leaf and pitcher can be amazing. Strong sunlight helps a great deal more than anything else. The only time I feed extra is when I'm checking my plants and I find grubs, or when my cats have found a cockroach, I feed it to a plant before they can eat it. Hamish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted January 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Unfortunately here on the Minnesota tundra I don't have any sort of outdoor growing luxury! It's -25*F right now outside my window and by mid august it'll be 110*F! So my plants all grow indoors directly under high intensity lighting and climate controlled conditions. I am only doing the full on feeding in this manner since all other growing conditions are in perfect alignment for continuous growth (or have been for the last 2-3 years). I agree that feeding can not be considered the sole impetus that makes your plants grow. Feeding simply supplies the nutrients for increased photosynthetic activity. Increased photosynthetic activity (and hence generation of energy for growth) can not happen without both bright light and proper nutrients. A rise in either (food or light) requires a rise in the other or the effect of just one will be nullified. A big floppy etoliated plant with small pitchers that's growing under only 2x 40 watt fluorescent tubes will not grow bigger pitchers when fed more if the lighting is not also correspondingly increased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agustin franco Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 Hi Josh: I Just want to ask you a question regarding your plants. if i am not mistaken you mentioned that sometimes, your plants are without feeding for months with no adverse effect on pitchers or plant themselves!!. Was i interpreting the right message or not?. Thanks Gus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted January 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 I'm not sure which post you refer to, one from the old Garden Web or old PFT posts? In my early days I did not feed very often, if at all! People always warned about overfeeding or saying it "isn't necessary". True, you can grow your Neps without intentionally adding prey. At least I didn't for my first year or two of growing Neps. Nowadays though, I can see that my Neps did not perform so well when they were starving. I'm basically just realizing the true value of feeding Neps in the last year or so myself. I've found that all those warnings are a bit overrated so long as you are careful (or you are able to simply let them catch their own- i.e. growing outside). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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