The April issue of Agriculture Magazine is now off the press. Make sure to get a copy so you won’t miss the very useful and inspiring stories of successful agri-people.

Foremost is the husband and wife team of Edwin and Gina Veneracion who operate a five-hectare orchid farm in San Rafael, Bulacan. They are so successful that they don’t have to go out and sell their dendrobiums and other orchids. Instead, they just wait for the buyers to go to their place for their regular purchases. Buyers come from as far as General Santos City in Mindanao and as far as Laoag City in the north.

Why? Because they grow such beautiful orchids which they sell at very much lower prices than the competition. For instance, flowering dendrobiums in Size 4 pots with four or five flowering stems are sold at only P50 to P60 per pot.

The story also details the fertilizing regimen that the Veneracions follow. There is a different formulation when the orchids are young. In the first two weeks after arrival of the seedlings from Bangkok, they are planted immediately and hormone is sprayed on them every two days. After the first two weeks, the seedlings are sprayed with a solution containing high nitrogen. This is a mixture of Peters 30-10-10, Peters STEM (soluble trace element mix) plus hormone (Superthrive). The solution consists of 400 grams of Peters 30-10-10, 200 grams of STEM and 50 ml Superthrive mixed in 200 liters of water. Spraying is done every week until they are five months old.

After the 5th month, two different formulations are applied alternately every week. The first is a solution of 400 grams Peters 20-20-20, 200 grams of STEM and 50 ml Superthrive mixed in 200 liters of water.

The other solution consists of 400 grams of Peters 10-52-10, 200 grams of STEM plus 50 ml Superthrive mixed with 200 liters of water. This has a high phosphorus content which induces flowering. This is also called bloom booster.

When the flower spikes start to come out, two formulations are also applied alternately every week.

The first formulation consists of 400 grams Peters 20-20-20, 200 grams of STEM and 50 ml Superthrive per 200 liters of water.

The other formulation has a higher potassium content. This consists of 400 grams Peters 15-15-30, 200 grams STEM and 50 ml Superthrive per 200 liters of water. The high potassium content makes the flower stems longer and also enhances the color of the flowers, according to Edwin.