How Can I Improve the Taste of Container Grown Tomatoes?

[amideutch]

Ray, this should explain in a little more detail how Actinovate works. Ami

http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p0...50_061_062.pdf

[dice]

I would guess that Actinovate and Biozome function quite
differently. The bacteria in Actinovate exudes some compound
that weakens cell walls in some disease-causing fungi (disease
control when not outcompeted by native bacteria in soil), and
it extends filaments into the soil similar to ecto-mycorrhizae
that seems to extend the reach of roots, transporting nutrients
into the root zone.

Biozome uses a different class of more primitive organisms,
archea, that are especially effective at breaking down both
organic and mineral compounds into water soluble components
that the plant can absorb. The nutrients in "slow release"
compounds in fertilizer, in organic and inorganic soil
amendments, and in mineral compounds native to the soil,
are decomposed quickly by the archaea in Biozome into
something that the plant roots can absorb.

Googling Actinovate, one finds a lot of research that shows
very inconsistent results with Actinovate in native soils. In
a lot of cases it does nothing to control some targetted
soil pathogen (like cotton root rot, etc). In other cases, it
reduces damage from a pathogenic soil organism only where
it has help from some other soil amendment. It seems to have
a much better chance of controlling pathogenic soil fungi in
container mixes than in native soils, but even then there is
no guarantee. Some disease-causing soil fungi seem to be
"Actinovate-proof".

Examples:
http://peanut.tamu.edu/Homepage/Todd...biocontrol.pdf

[rnewste]

....Wondering out loud if a "cocktail" of the two would be a good combo tea for a soil drench???

Ray

[amideutch]

All I can say is Actinovate works for me, in containers or soil as well. Dice, have you tried Actinovate yet? Ami

[amideutch]

Ray, Good afternoon. I know awhile back I asked Thomas G. at T&J Enterprises about Biozome and how it would work with mycorrhiza and he didn't see any reason why they would not compliment each other. Just like his Microbe Tea and Actinovate. I add the Actinovate to the Microbe Tea and aerate it for 12 hours and apply as a foliar. Food and Fungicide in one app. Love it. Ami

[rnewste]

Regarding ordering Biozome, on their Company website they list it as a 2 pound bottle for $20.00.

https://biozome.com/pages/preorder.html

On The Fertile Garden site they show it as a 3 pound box for $19.95. Which is accurate??

http://www.fertilegarden.com/ViewPro...uctGroupID=368

Also, do you know of any other mail-order sites that carry it?

Ray

[dice]

Dice, have you tried Actinovate yet?

No. I grow almost all of my plants in the ground, and even
my container mixes tend to have compost added, get drenched
with compost and/or manure teas, etc. So I don't have much
in the way of pre-sterilized container mix environments.
Actinovate would have to compete with a lot of native
organisms in the soils around my plants.

Ray's results with the snow peas show the effect it can have
in enhancing growth for plants in containers with what was
initially probably a fairly sterile container mix, and I have
seen similar documentation of results with other plants in
containers where disease suppression was not really the
point of the research. In those tests, Actinovate was functioning
similar to mycorrhizae, enhancing nutrient availability to the
roots of the plants.

I would expect that Actinovate and Biozome can cohabitate.
From the Wikipedia article on archaea, that seems to be their
normal mode of behavior. Archaea are not fungi, and they would
probably not be disabled by the bacteria in Actinovate the
same way that some fungi are, nor would they find a live
bacteria like streptomyces lydicus particularly tasty themselves
(there is a lot of lower hanging fruit in soil than a live bacteria
with intact cell membranes).

A petri dish test with both in it would be interesting.

[newatthiskat]

Ok when to that place that was supposed to sell Actinovate in Tyler and they did not have a clue what I was talking about. So no dancing
Kat

[amideutch]

kat, The following have it mail order. For just Actinovate try TCS from the link below.

http://www.tcs-hydroponics.com/

Now this site has "Action Iron" as well as "Actinovate". The actinovate is sold by 2ea 2oz packets for $40.00. The 3 pounds of Actino-Iron is either $9.95 or $19.95. The individual in charge of sales/marketing, Richard Gerhart was very helpful when I had questions and if you ask you can probably buy the Actinovate by the 2oz package. Here's the link. Ami

http://www.prolawnsystems.com/

[sprtsguy76]

Thought this might help with taste.
http://www.groworganic.com/item_F235...wder_3_Lb.html

http://www.groworganic.com/item_F240...uid_Quart.html

http://www.groworganic.com/item_PFM7...amin_C_Lb.html

http://www.groworganic.com/item_PSA8...Food_Grad.html

Damon

[rnewste]

NOTE: I posted this in another Thread, but it applies to this Thread as well:

Last night I ordered an Ozone Generator for aquatic applications. Should be here in a week. Now, just need to figure out a manifold tubing distribution system to send the Ozone to the 16 tomato EarthTainers, and how long per day to run it. (Yes, when I was a kid I went crazy with my Erector Set).



I am going to experiment with everything possible this season to try to keep the 'Tainer water reservoir as pristine as possible.

Need to check-in with Ami and dice to see what potential impact the Ozone will have on the bio's like Actinovate. Goal is to kill the nasties, but not harm the good guys (or I will at least have to reapply the Actinovate more frequently). Small price to pay for a "clean house".

Ray

[dice]

I doubt that will affect organisms up in the container mix,
just those that are alive in the water in the reservoir. The
Actinovate, mycorrhizae, etc on/in the root system should
be fine.

You can buy these for hot tubs, and I remember a pilot project
in Afghanistan where a Canadian aid organization installed a
wind generator to power an ozone generator to disinfect the
village well water. That is all that this sort of ozone generator
does, disinfect water. It might have some effect on bacteria in
the outermost part of the wicking basket, but ozone gets used
up as it reacts with organic matter. By the time the water wicks
into the center of the wicking basket or up past it, it will be
ozone-free.

[rnewste]

dice,

That is what I was hoping. I want to "neutralize" the sulfur-dioxide aroma (and what is causing it) with the Ozone treatment - or at least, that is my goal. I've got to figure how long, and what frequency that I need to apply the Ozone generation in the water reservoir.

Ray

[amideutch]

Ray, when you get done with all these mods and new ferts, your going to have to start carrying a big stick to protect yourself, as those Tainers are going to be ALIVE and KICKIN. And your going to end up with a honorary degree of distinction from TIT, (Tainer Institute of Technology). I'm going to have to brush up on the ozone from the aquarium days. Ami

[amideutch]

Ray, came across this paper on ozone/mycorrhiza. Heres a link. Ami
http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/...pdf&images=yes

And another;
http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut...a/belowgro.pdf.

And here's a cut and paste of another study, just the first paragraph. Ami

Tomato seedlings inoculated with the vesicular—arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus fasciculatus,
were exposed for 3 h to 15 parts 10~* (294 jig m~') ozone twice weekly or to 30 parts 10~*
(589 /tg m~^) ozone once per week, for 9 weeks. Mycorrhizal infection was reduced by 46 and
63 % in the 15 and 30 parts 10"* ozone treatments, respectively. The total dry weight of
mycorrhizal plants was significantly reduced in the 30 parts 10~* ozone treatment but dry weights
of non-mycorrhizal plants were not affected by any ozone treatment. In a second experiment,
3-week-old seedlings of tomato inoculated with G. fasciculatus were twice exposed to 30 parts
10~* ozone or filtered air for 3 b with a 7-day interval. Soluble amino acids in root exudates and
root extracts were significantly reduced in mycorrhizal plants exposed to ozone. The amino acid
content of non-mycorrhizal exudates was not reduced by ozone but was significantly increased
in root extracts. Levels of reducing sugars also declined in root exudates and in root extracts
of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants exposed to ozone. A greater amount of photoassimilated
'•'COj was retained in leaves and less translocated to roots 4 h after fumigation with ozone.
Labelled leaves exhibited no leaf injury until 8 h after exposure to ozone and showed only 10
to 20% chlorosis after 24 h.