bacillus thuringiensis

[NicolasGarcia]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance.
I have a question, they have given me a lot of bacillus thuringiensis and since I have a lot of quantity, I would like to know what is the expiration time, so I can take advantage of it during the next seasons whenever it is effective with the passage of time.
Thank you.
Nico

[Whwoz]

Nico, I take it there is no expiry or use by date on the container. Depending on the variety of BT, the active agent within the mix is a bacterial spore or spore plus para-sporal crystal. Both of these will survive for years without a problem, and if needs be you can split up the bottle into smaller lots and freeze no problems. That is how we microbiologists store cultures long term

[NicolasGarcia]

Thank you very much Whoz.
I will distribute the bacillus content in small tightly closed glass jars and I will be able to use it in my next seasons.
Thanks friend.
Nico

[brownrexx]

When you are ready to use the frozen product, allow it to return to room temperature before opening the jar so that condensation does not form on the powder. Maybe put a notation on the jar so that you don't forget.

[bbjm]

Don't want to hijack Nico's thread, but have a BT related question. I've read that people inject BT in the stem of squash plants where SVB worms are present. I have had great results using Bill's method of sprinkling a bit of Sevin on the stem, but want to be prepared if one gets passed me. My question is what is used for injecting? Are there syringes available? Where? I've always assumed the sale of them are highly regulated and have never seen any at a store. Maybe I haven't looked in the right places. Thanks.

BL

[brownrexx]

Syringes are avail anyplace that sells medications for animals like horses. I think that they are available at Tractor Supply.

I inject my squash stems with Thuricide which is a bt solution that I purchase.

I also succession plant my summer squash so that the second crop is growing before the first one might die. Sometimes they get infected anyway even with injections but it takes weeks for the plants to die and I always get plenty of squash. I do not use Sevin. I garden organically.

[bbjm]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

Syringes are avail anyplace that sells medications for animals like horses. I think that they are available at Tractor Supply.

I inject my squash stems with Thuricide which is a bt solution that I purchase.

I also succession plant my summer squash so that the second crop is growing before the first one might die. Sometimes they get infected anyway even with injections but it takes weeks for the plants to die and I always get plenty of squash. I do not use Sevin. I garden organically.

I try to garden organically as well, but the squash bugs and early blight have kicked my behind three years running. I'm looking for alternatives to Sevin and Daconil. I'll get there -- I hope. I want the syringe so I can try injecting BT rather than using the dust to stop the SVB. Thanks for the info.

[jtjmartin]

I've picked up syringes at Southern States.