Discussion forum for environmentally-friendly alternatives to replace synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.
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October 26, 2009 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 692
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Micro-organisms
I have been hard at work this year, trying to get a handle on ACT, Activated Compost Tea, which has been bad enough.
Now I've discovered much more of interest in EM, Effective Micro-organism and IM, Indigenous Micro-organisms. Does anyone else have an interest? Discussion and observations would be good! |
October 27, 2009 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Logan, UT
Posts: 207
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I've participated in alot of BIM discussions over at gw, lots of good reading over there.
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October 27, 2009 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
Posts: 5,041
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We have had several discussions on Microbial Biofertilizers and mycorrhizae in particular. Also the symbiotic relationship established with the root system enhancing nutrient uptake but also disease resistance of the plant as well. In fact the only place I can get molasses at a reasonable price here in Germany is from the EM product suppliers. Check out the sticky at the top of this forum for web sites on the subject. Ami
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Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!' |
October 27, 2009 | #4 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 692
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Quote:
What I was hoping for was information from individuals who have been to the woods to prepare their own EM & IM. How and if it worked? What plant extracts were useful in disease or insect control? Getting definitive information from this site is like pulling hens teeth! Very hard work and never easy. |
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October 27, 2009 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
Posts: 5,041
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If you have anything to share please do. Some of what you are talking about is beyond the scope of most backyard gardeners. If you have any references to share that to would be appreciated also. Ami
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Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!' |
October 28, 2009 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,540
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"What plant extracts were useful in disease or insect control?
Getting definitive information from this site is like pulling hens teeth! Very hard work and never easy." What diseases? What insects? What crops? What conditions? You have to ask very specific questions if you want very specific answers. *Definitive* does not apply to organic gardening, in my experience. Every year has different challenges -- heat waves in Feb., cold snaps in April, etc. Even looking at tomato varieties I've grown a few years, they're amazing some years and duds other years. So I try a whole bunch of different strategies, a few new things each year, and see what works each time. I make at least 300 gal. of compost a year and use it liberally, and over time my garden seems to have fewer problems that need intervention. So much depends on timing -- I've found I can avoid having any cucumber beetles and squash bugs in my community garden plot if I plant cucurbits later than I want to (to avoid the first hatching), and if I choose varieties carefully. Some varieties are pest magnets. But this year I had hardly any cucumbers, maybe because we never got the heat waves that came every month last year. I heard Michael Pollan on the radio the other day mention that crop rotation is a powerful tool in monocultures. Plant potatoes one year and wheat the next, and the Colorado potato beetles emerge in a wheat field and say, what's this? Planting a different rice variety every 10 rows in a rice monoculture makes a difference. He also mentioned that for a conventional farmer, an explosion of a plant-eating bug means lots of spraying. For an organic farmer, it means that the bug-eating bugs will have lots to eat, all you need do is wait for them to arrive. (I've found that approach almost always works for aphids.) The main disease prob in the comm. garden is rust on raspberries. So many gardeners neglect their raspberry patches that no matter what I do, the rust will blow in from all directions. I've tried teas made from comfrey, cornmeal, borage, etc. This year I read that extra PK and straw mulch can help. So I added greensand and phosphate rock and, fortuitously, there were bales of free straw available last week. The only "pests" I do anything at all to foil are birds and snails/slugs. For birds, I use netting and cloches to protect seedlings from Sept. to May, and all summer on the blackberries. I also learned there's no stage at which peas are safe from birds in my garden, so they're always under cover. Birds also like to dig in new compost, so I put down the compost a week or so before I plant to prevent new seedlings from being uprooted. For snails and slugs, I use iron phosphate-based bait such as Sluggo in my cold frames (they love tiny pepper and tomato seedlings, I learned this spring). I rarely need to use it otherwise. Oh, and this time of year the squirrels are busy squirreling away nuts in my garden, so I protect all new plantings with hardware cloth and other squirrelproof strategies. This year they've especially enjoyed digging holes near the bean roots, so I had to start protecting them a couple months ago. |
October 28, 2009 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Logan, UT
Posts: 207
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I have not been to the woods, but I do have a worm bin. I have made a concoction of steamed brown rice - then I add uncooked ground wheat germ/oat bran/flax seed molasses put it all in a cheap nylon stocking and bury it in the worm bin for 4-10 days, basically until I'm ready to brew some AVCT.
I've never looked at my AVCT under a microscope but I'm sure it's good for the soil. A lot of the things I have done this year don't have any scientific proof to my knowledge, but they do make sense. I have made many concoctions such as LB lacto bacillus, BIMs from corn, tomato, cucurbits(cuke-watermelon-squash), banana, potato, (pest deterrent) aloe-garlic-onion-hot peppers, most of them w/ the fruit and even parts of the plant. I have found that the smaller the stuff(blended) is faster to ferment-putrify. I add molasses to them during the growth/capture of BIM. When I make my AVCT's I add about 1/4 cup ea, 1/2 cup of the LB,kelp/fish emulsion/liquid rare earth/molasses. The stocking off BIM from the worm bin, some worm castings. I can't say any or all of it has/hasn't worked. I did have a successfull tomato/pepper year. Lots of powdery mildew on cucurbits, but I got kind of lazy w/ any treatment programs. SVB took out my acorn squash, I'll plant them later next year. If you haven't read it all yet, GW would really be the best place to gather alot of info. I had a lot of good conversations w/ bluetranes and others there last winter. Start w/ Why I love the internet, really it's on topic |
October 29, 2009 | #8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: South Carolina Zone 8a
Posts: 1,205
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Quote:
So did giving estrogen to post menopausal women, and look how well that worked out. |
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October 30, 2009 | #9 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 692
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Quote:
A like minded individual, I was begining to think I was alone on this site. Thank you for the links, perhaps I should move over to GW? Here is a link for the 'non-believers' who might want to look at new ideas, rather than stick in the mud. http://www.apnan.org/APNAN%20Manual.pdf It's a long article, but well worth a read. I have one question. I make cheese during the winter which produces quite large amounts of whey, perfect for the new gardening ideas, provided to will store. How can I keep it healthy until next spring, as we can't garden in the snow which is just about due. |
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October 30, 2009 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: eastern washington
Posts: 53
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no way are you alone beeman! there are discussions on Idig as well. that's where i started reading about LB, EM/BIM. there were links to GW and other places. i found it fascinating.
i make my own dog food and use a lot of brown rice. when i wash it i save the liquid and let it sit for a few days and then add molasses to it. i mix one tablespoon plus (i eyeball it) to a gallon of water and used it on container plants this summer. i also used it here and there in the gardens like on the cukes and some pepper plants that were looking yellow and not healthy. the plants really responded to the mixture applications. i was very pleased with it. i am now using the LB on our plants inside the cabin...lemon, avocado, banana, etc... they all are staying lush and healthy, so far. i tried making EM/BIM early this summer. i thought it was a way to use up old fruit and peelings and such. it ended up with a wispy black threaded mold all over the top of it, something that i didn't think looked as it should. the smell wasn't right either. i was told that what one puts into the EM/BIM is what one gets out of it. so, i figure the fresher the veggies, fruit, etc... i put in it, the better. i didn't have time to try it, but am definitely planning on doing so come spring. RJ_Hythloday's post reminds me of the article written about Gil Carandang, a philipine farmer... http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20040401/Hamilton in his book/brochure, he mentions making a batch of brown cooked rice and, i can't remember the details exact now, but you put it in a container and slightly bury it in the woods where there's lots of activity and after so long dig it up and introduce it in your garden soil, compost, whatever, and the quality will improve. very exciting!
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much sunshine, bunkie. |
October 30, 2009 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: South Carolina Zone 8a
Posts: 1,205
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If preferring actual peer reviewed science to snake oil and woo! woo! pseudoscience is being a stick-in-the-mud, consider me happily immersed hip deep in soft, wet earth.
Init funny how every one of these sites folks throw at me trying to *cough, cough* enlighten me are either commercial sites, or link back to commercial sites? |
October 31, 2009 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Langley, BC
Posts: 768
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I'm with you Blue on preferring science to anecdotal hype. For anyone wanting an objective discussion on organic gardening I would recommend Jeff Gillman's The Truth About Organic Gardening (2008). He is a professor of Horticulture at the University of Minnesota and specializes in entomology. After reading the part on compost and manure teas I will never use them again. They can contain many dangerous pathogens if not brewed correctly.
Alex
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October 31, 2009 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
Posts: 5,041
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Blueaussi, if you don't have any information constructive or beneficial pertaining to this thread please refrain from the sarcasm. What peer reviewed science are you referring to, organic or inorganic? The site beeman referenced to is an excellent site on EM. Ami
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Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!' |
October 31, 2009 | #14 | |||
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: South Carolina Zone 8a
Posts: 1,205
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Quote:
Deal? Quote:
Quote:
The site beeman referred to is hosted by folks that are selling EM products. No references to check their science. A google of "Effective Microorganisms" turns up more commercial sites, all of whose references refer to papers presented at EM conferences and not published anywhere else that I can find. Oh, there was a Wikipedia article that had all kinds of flags for problems and who's references were, you guessed it, commercial sites. A cursory google of debunking EM turns up lots of references to the patents Dr. Higa applied for in the US and more commercial sites. That was about all the energy I was willing to put into researching EM. Now, I am a big ol' tree hugger. My paper towel addiction not withstanding, I actively pursue ways to live greener. So, I'm more than a little interested in learning about natural and organic ways to improve the soil and thus my gardens. My inner biologist loves the idea of utilizing natural cycles of soil bacteria to improve the soil and health my gardens, so, yeah, I was interested in EM. I mean, seriously, science geekery and garden geekery all at once...Yee Haw! However, I want a little actual science behind my tree hugging, not sales pitches or gut feelings. Ok, struggling with sarcasm again, so I'm ending this. |
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October 31, 2009 | #15 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: eastern washington
Posts: 53
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so, velikipop and blueaussie, did you read the article i posted about Gil Caradang? here, i'll post it in its entirety below. he's a full time farmer, Fulbright scholar, and scientist with down-to-earth hands on experience. he is spreading his wealth of knowledge to all farmers, gardeners, caretakes of the earth on creating their own essences to improve their crops and replenish their fields, instead of having to purchase from corporations.
as i posted before, i have experimented with a couple of his concoctions and they work! is this not 'scientific' enough for you? Quote:
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much sunshine, bunkie. |
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