Discussion forum for environmentally-friendly alternatives to replace synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.
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March 25, 2010 | #16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
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I think what they were saying is the Azospirillum makes more existing nitrogen available to the plant thus eliminating the need to up the concentration of nitrogen due to the inabilitity of the existing root structure to make use of the existing nitrogen in the soil. Ami
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March 25, 2010 | #17 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Abilene, TX zone 7
Posts: 1,478
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Ami,
I see you use Actinovate and Mychogrow together. The antifungal properties of the Actinovate will not negatively affect the mycorhyzzae? |
March 25, 2010 | #18 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NY
Posts: 113
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You spray the Azos in the root zone, Ami explained it perfectly, plus, it will aid in forming the massive root colonies that Mycorrhiza helps to form.
Actinovate will not harm the Mycorrhiza. |
March 26, 2010 | #19 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
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creister, as bohica has said Actinovate will not harm mycorrhiza and in fact they work together. I also put Actinovate in my Microbe Tea (from T&J Enterprises) prior to the the 24 hour aeration (Brew cycle). After which I apply as a foliar and soil drench with a hose end sprayer. Microbe Tea is not Compost Tea but does require aeration like CT to activate some of the ingredients. 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!' Last edited by amideutch; March 26, 2010 at 09:59 AM. |
March 26, 2010 | #20 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Abilene, TX zone 7
Posts: 1,478
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Thanks for the answers. I am using Actinovate and mycogrow this year for sure, and am now considering the Azospirillum.
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April 9, 2010 | #21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Abilene, TX zone 7
Posts: 1,478
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Mixed up a batch of mycogrow and actinovate along with molasses, seaweed, fish emulsion, apple cider vinegar and liquid humate. Watered plants with it last night in prep for transplant on Saturday. Will also use Ami's dip method when I transplant.
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April 9, 2010 | #22 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Garner, NC
Posts: 183
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MycoGrow™
Hi Ami,
I am about ready to order but wanted to be sure which product. From the Web site: MycoGrow™ Soluble MycoGrow™ Soluble is similar to Plant Success™ Tabs but is more concentrated, containing more spores and more species, plus other beneficial organisms. Consisting of powdered spore mass rather than tablets, MycoGrow™ Soluble is great for adding to rooting media or commercial potting soils. Sold in one pound and one ounce increments. An ounce is sufficient to treat 125–250 plants covering approximately 250 square feet. One ounce HMSO1O $5.95 Buy MycoGrow™ For Vegetables A blend of endomycorrhizal species selected specifically for vegetables, 1 ounce of MycoGrow™ For Vegetables is mixed with 1 gallon of water for a water drench. This product can also be banded in rows or side dressed before plantings, or mixed directly in pots and trays. Sold in one pound and one ounce increments. One ounce HMVG1O $4.95 Buy Thanks, Howard P.S. Already ordered the Actinovate and the Azospirillum! Thanks for all the great info everyone! Quote:
Last edited by TheClaw; April 9, 2010 at 02:06 PM. Reason: added a P.S. |
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April 9, 2010 | #23 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
Posts: 5,041
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Howard, looks good to me. You got exactly what I have. Now all you need is some Exel LG or Agri-Fos for your other fungicide for foliar applications opposite the Actinovate and you be good to go. Ami
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September 1, 2010 | #24 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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I was wondering about rhizobia's ability to overwinter in soil
(or oversummer in my case, since I was wondering about the inoculants for last winter's cover crops, whether they would still be there), and I turned up this fairly detailed research summary on populations of Azospirillum in "bulk soil" (without plant roots to provide a rhizosphere): http://www.bashanfoundation.org/gmaw...teractions.pdf Near the end of the document, it also has an excellent description of how azospirillum behaves in a rhizosphere, around plant roots.
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-- alias Last edited by dice; September 3, 2010 at 01:56 AM. Reason: trivial |
September 2, 2010 | #25 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
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Dice, very good article! Thanks for sharing. 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!' |
September 3, 2010 | #26 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seattle
Posts: 581
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Dice, thanks for the link. I have always been a firm believer in cover crops 'after the season', and that article gave reassurance. The cover crops will probably grow better with the left over Azos, and by providing a new set of roots into the soil, the cover crop would help hold the Azos within the root zone for next spring's crop. The cover crop roots will provide the meal they need to keep from dying off or going dormant and getting leached away by the winter/spring rains.
FYI, Actinovate has a commercial version (ActinovateAG) which is sold in larger packages. It is OMRI certified. I am not certain if the concentration is the same, or stronger, but they refer to application rates in ounces per acre! 3-12 oz (86-336grams) per acre (4 046.856 4224 m2)! Here is a link: ActinovateAG.brochure.pdf (application/pdf Object) Last edited by RinTinTin; September 3, 2010 at 06:24 PM. Reason: Added metric conversions |
September 3, 2010 | #27 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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Actinovate has a minimum soil temperature of around 53F or
something close to that. Down 10', the soil is always at that temperature, but the top foot gets quite a bit colder than that in northern winters, so I do not know if it would survive until spring on the roots of cold-tolerant winter cover crops. Maybe. Other beneficial microbes will, though. Many rhizobia, including nitrogen-fixing rhizobia that infect root nodules in cold-tolerant legumes (vetches, winter dormant alfalfa, fava beans, many clovers, etc), and free nitrogen fixing bacteria (azospirillum, azotobacter, etc) that merely inhabit root zones (without stimulating nodulation in legumes) can apparently take colder temperatures without being eradicated from the soil (although they are not very active at cold temperatures). So it seems to me, too, that keeping a diversity of live roots in the typical rhizosphere of your crop plants through winter and summer keeps populations of beneficial microbes high. That paper described azospirillum populations for example as 100 times higher in a root zone (rhizosphere) than in bare soil without live roots. It lives mostly on stuff exuded from the roots of plants. I bet that is true of many other beneficial microbes as well. The roots are where they find their food in greatest abundance. I had read long ago that plants needed nitrogen in nitrate form to use it, but the nitrogen fixed by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia in the nodules on the roots of legumes is ammonia compounds. I wonder whether the legumes use it directly or convert it to nitrates internally before use. High levels of ammonia in tomato plants has been implicated by some studies as a contributing factor in BER. There are some archaea from the sea (part of Biozome) that use ammonia compounds as an energy source and produce nitrates as a metabolic byproduct. There may be bacteria or other microbes in the soil that do this as well.
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-- alias Last edited by dice; September 5, 2010 at 03:48 PM. Reason: clarity;sp |
September 4, 2010 | #28 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
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Another detail:
Dirt is a very competitive microbial environment: http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/1/19
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September 5, 2010 | #29 |
Tomatovillian™
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Here is a a good article on Nitrogen Fixation. Ami
http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research...s/nitrogen.htm
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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!' |
September 5, 2010 | #30 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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Here is a good summary on soil microbial life that mentions
nitrifying (converts ammonia to nitrates) and de-nitrifying (converts various nitrogen compounds back to nitrogen gas) bacteria and the conditions that are conducive to the activity of de-nitrifying (evil) bacteria: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...ems/M1272.html edit: Looking at the rates at which ammonia and other nitrogen fertilizers are converted to nitrates listed in the document above, winter legume cover crops are not likely to leave enough ammonia behind to contibute to BER in a summer tomato crop. By the time the legume is mowed in late spring, before the tomatoes (or whatever) are planted, the only ammonia still remaining in that form is likely inside the root nodules or adjacent to them. Within a few weeks, before flowering and fruit set in the subsequent row crop, other bacteria convert it to nitrates (unless the soil is waterlogged, in which case conversion goes the other way, back to nitrogen gas that escapes into the atmosphere).
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-- alias Last edited by dice; September 6, 2010 at 10:23 PM. Reason: clarity;ps |
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