I started this blog so my daughters could find all of our family favourite recipes in one place. It has actually grown into more than just the family favourites but also other recipes we've tried out in our kitchen. I don't like to fill up the post with alot of chatter. Sometimes there's a little story to tell, but usually I like to get right to the point. So this is for them, but hope you find some recipes that you like as well. I'll be sharing a lot of recipes, and along the way you'll find some crafty things and maybe some helpful hints too! Welcome!



Saturday, May 22, 2021

Orchid Re-Potting

An amateur orchid grower's journal on re-potting and this orchid's journey back to beauty ... a lesson in patience.


I'd had this orchid for nearly 3 years and with just one flower stem it kept flowering and flowering. Then, the last time the flowers started to fade and fall off the stem went yellow and dried up too. I cut the stem off and decided it might be time to re-pot. This was on December 4, 2020.


I found a clear container just a teenie bit bigger than the original. I poked extra drainage holes in it then started the job.
Here's the orchid medium I used.


The roots looked pretty healthy to me so I just removed as much old medium from the roots as I could by picking at it and running under tepid water, leaving all the root system intact. Then I started to add the new medium. I used a chopstick to help move the pieces of bark into place.


I stood the newly potted orchid in a decorative pot in a northwest facing window and crossed my fingers 🤞


A little while later a new leaf started growing!


Then one day I noticed this little green nub! That was March 2nd, 2021.


And it was growing!


But the leaves were pretty droopy.
I read that this could be from either over or under watering (jeez, I had to pick one)! So I decided it was under watered. For 2 weeks on watering day (once a week) I sat the pot in room temperature water for about 15 minutes, them removed it to drain completely. This didn't seem to be helping. 

So I gave it a drink of very diluted coffee and sprinkled about 1 tsp used coffee grounds on top of the potting medium. Went back to watering by just letting tepid water run through for a minute or so as I had done in the past. Also making sure it drained well and was not sitting in any standing water.

April 2, 2021
One week after the caffeine treat the leaves started to perk up, they are stiff now not pliable like before. And just look at that flower spike! Also it seems to be happier beside this curtain in an east facing window.


April 8, 2021 ... OMG!!!


April 28, 2021 ... Anticipation!


May 13, 2021


Patience really is a virtue!

May 22, 2021 ... Success 🙂





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