Ray Barkalow of First Rays: Biological Products Based on Beneficial Bacteria and Fungi to Enhance Plant Growth

Ray is informative and entertaining. Being a scientist and engineer with over 45 years of orchid-growing experience, Ray has a unique “take” on orchid growing, challenging the “historical knowledge” (or mythology) about orchid culture, and attempting to use science and logic to explain it or debunk it.

He has a website (https://firstrays.com/) with loads of information for all levels of orchid growers.

A recent interest of Ray’s is in the area of plant nutrition and water quality, their impact on our plants, and how they relate to our feeding and watering programs:

• Origins of our plants

• Their natural growing conditions, and water & nutrient supplies

• Plant evolution impact

• Sources of irrigation water – good & bad

• Practicality of Reverse Osmosis

• Selecting and using fertilizers