San Francisco Flower Mart

SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!!! I can finally relax, and enjoy my orchids....not.  Next year will be my junior year which means SAT, which also means SAT camp.  Instead of re-potting and watching my orchids grow, I have to be stuck at SAT camp doing mock SATs, stuffing my brain with grammar, and doing Algebra 2 all over again.  I'm actually beginning to question if I understand English now. Anyways....two weeks ago, my dad and I made a trip to Berkeley, CA, and then San Francisco, CA.  At Berkeley, we went to two hydroponics stores both located on University Avenue. One is called Berkeley's Secret Garden and another one is called Berkeley Indoor Garden.  They carry rooting hormones like Superthrive which is go-to for rootless orchids, and LECA for hydroponic gardening.

the hydroponics pellets

Okay, hydrponics.  I really don't know how to use it, but I'm going to experiment it on some of my orchids....I just need to see which ones.  Essentially, it's just clay pellets that have been expanded to have little holes and tunnels in them to absorb and hold water.  From internet sources, the benefits of the clay pellets is that you don't have to worry about root rot or decaying orchid medium.  You could use the pellets over and over again.  The reason I'm scared of using this medium of growing orchids is because I have to place the pot in an inch of water or so for the pellets to constantly absorb water to send to the roots.  This may result in root rot, which I'm scared to risk.  Anyways, until I find some more room in my growing area and clear plastic pots, I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon.

The orchids set up in front of the shops

After our trip to Berkeley, we crossed the Bay Bridge to go to one of my favorite places, the San Francisco Flower Mart.  The San Francisco Flower Mart is located on 640 Brannan Street and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 3pm to the general public.  THE BEST PLACE TO BUY PLANTS AND/OR FLOWERS!!!! I thought my local Farmer's Market orchids were cheap, the orchids located at the mart were ridiculously cheap.  Minimum of thirteen bucks for a three feet long Oncidium with two to three spikes.

Orchidholic, a vendor at the Mart

There are six shops that sell orchids, most of them specializing in phalaenopsis.  Still, you can find some rarer or unusual orchids for less than thirteen dollars or extremely large specimens for thirty dollars or less. For example, they have ondontoglossums, oncidiums, miltonias, miltoniopsis, dendrobiums, slipper orchids, and even the finikier orchids like the coconut orchid and the masdevallia.  I would definitely recommend going here to get your first orchid because you can get a beautiful orchid without worrying about accidentally killing it and losing twenty to forty bucks.  If you're not into orchids, there are plenty of potted plants and cut flowers that one could buy.