Green Spreader Stickers
 

On a separate thread, Ami recommended using molasses as a spreader sticker for Actinovate.
I had intended to use plain old dish soap as my spreader sticker. But now I'm wondering if that's even a safe option (in regards to the organisms in the Actinovate).
As a rose grower, I've always considered dish soap a low impact and green-ish method to get some of the nasty stuff we combat the plethora of fungus that plagues roses to stick to their leaves.
But for my vegetables, I try to be as organic as possible, and I definitely don't want to render the live organisms in my MycoGrow and Actinovate useless.
So what's the deal... Is molasses the only/best solution on the path I've chosen? Is dish soap acceptable/safe? Are there other spreader stickers that can be used as an alternative?

Whatever you do, don't use anti-bacterial dish soap.:no:

Seventh Generation, Green Works and Murphy's Oil Soap have all been mentioned before here on TV as acceptable natural vegetable based soaps to use as spreader-stickers. You definitely don't want to use "detergents".
Molasses would probably be better since it also provides a food source for the bacteria and it provides some mild nutrient value to the plant.

Mike,

No answer, but a question. What brand of dish soap, and at what rate for use on roses as a spreader/sticker? Do you use on the blooms or just foliage?

Thanks,
Steve

[QUOTE=RayR;267669]Whatever you do, don't use anti-bacterial dish soap.:no:

Seventh Generation, Green Works and Murphy's Oil Soap have all been mentioned before here on TV as acceptable natural vegetable based soaps to use as spreader-stickers. You definitely don't want to use "detergents".
Molasses would probably be better since it also provides a food source for the bacteria and it provides some mild nutrient value to the plant.[/QUOTE]

I've always used the old original Dawn dish soap.
It doesn't say anything about being anti-bacterial on the label. It does say that the surfactants are biodegradable, though it doesn't say what exactly they are. It also says that it's phosphate-free.

The one reservation I have about molasses is that I don't want my plants to be more tasty than they already are for the wildlife that raids my garden every night! :shock:
Even with all the chicken wire reinforced pickets and deer netting that surounds my garden, the critters that can scale the fencing still get in an dine on the ripening fruits.
It'd be funny if it wasn't such a big problem!

[QUOTE=Heritage;267671]Mike,

No answer, but a question. What brand of dish soap, and at what rate for use on roses as a spreader/sticker? Do you use on the blooms or just foliage?

Thanks,
Steve[/QUOTE]

As I mentioned above, I'm using plain old Dawn.
I don't use much, maybe a couple drops per gallon of fungicide mix.
And I just use it on the foliage. I always try to keep stuff off of the blooms so that I harm the bees as little as possible, and also to avoid spoiling the blooms with a bunch of splotches.
I do spray the blooms when absolutely necessary, like when I'm treating a Thrip infestation. But I do it as little as possible, and later in the evening.

[QUOTEThe one reservation I have about molasses is that I don't want my plants to be more tasty than they already are for the wildlife that raids my garden every night! :shock:
][/QUOTE]

Never had a problem with foliage eaters. But at work got a big Rat :panic:(so the satcomers till me) that prefers beefsteaks to foliage. He may get a couple tomatoes but not enough to worry about. Ami

[QUOTE=amideutch;267877]
Never had a problem with foliage eaters. But at work got a big Rat :panic:(so the satcomers till me) that prefers beefsteaks to foliage. He may get a couple tomatoes but not enough to worry about. Ami[/QUOTE]

I'm not 100% sure what exactly is easting my tomatoes every year. But from the looks of the damage, it sits within the plant and creates a large mashed down area. Then it takes several bites out of all the adjacent fruits.
I've always assumed it's a raccoon.

When do you foliar feed versus pouring a dilute over the soil...versus letting it soak it up in a bottom feed? p.s. I've been thinking of using the Dr. Bronner's Organic Peppermint Oil soap but I do like the idea of them getting nutrients from something like molasses.

Personally, because I live in an area with high humidity, I never foliar feed tomatoes (or roses) because of the risk of fungus. But I do foliar feed just about everything else every two weeks.
Last year I started using Neptune's Harvest fish and kelp blend, and it seemed to work very well.
This year will be my first year using Actinovate. And I plan on using it as a soil drench when I plant out, and then every couple of weeks as a fungicide spray for the rest of the season.

You could try this:
[url]http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Dish-Soap[/url]

[QUOTE=dice;269588]You could try this:
[url]http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Dish-Soap[/url][/QUOTE]

Dice, that would definitely seem to be a "greener" alternative to plain old dish soap.
However, I wonder about it's compatibility with Actinovate and other "live organism" based products. I seem to recall reading that Actinocate is not compatible with copper based fungicides, and Seventh Generation dish soap lists gluconates as an ingredient, which I would assume could include Copper Gluconate.

No copper there, the gluconates used in a cleaning product would be there to chelate mineral deposits and not contain metals themselves.


Quote from Wikipedia article on [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconates"]gluconates (Gluconic acid)[/URL]
"Gluconic acid occurs naturally in fruit, honey, kombucha tea, and wine. As a food additive (E574[2]), it is an acidity regulator. It is also used in cleaning products where it dissolves mineral deposits especially in alkaline solution. The gluconate anion chelates Ca2+, Fe2+, Al3+, and other metals."

There is also Yucca Extract:
[url]http://www.groworganic.com/therm-x70-yucca-extract-gallon.html[/url]

I do not know who has it in smaller quantities, or if you can make your
own. Their recommendation is 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of that specific
product.

[QUOTE=dice;270513] There is also Yucca Extract... [/QUOTE]

Do you think the Yucca Extract would attract the animals like molasses does?

You can get B'Cuzz Foliar Boost which is yucca and quillaja extract in smaller quantity. Harvest Moon Hydroponics has it on [URL="http://www.hmoonhydro.com/product_info.php?products_id=82"]sale mail order for $10.00[/URL].