Technaflora seaweed extract - Page 2

JamesL · April 4, 2012

John,
Thanks, good to know.

Chance,
Thanks as well. With your humidity levels in Tampa I take that as gospel. Humidity level here is absolutely awful as well once summer hits. John in AL you must have the same humidity problem.
People seem to like Serenade as well, for blight and powdery mildew, although some of the reviews I have read indicate it is better as a preventative than a cure.

Are either of you using Actinovate? I am doing my growing in containers ala Raybo's earthtainers. Raybo is an advocate, and I have read several recent threads on it as well as mycorrhizae. In particular a "dip" method combo of the 2 by amideutch, and or as a soil drench. The word is that you might not see any disease. Although with 90% humidity, mildew is tough to avoid.

James

chancethegardener · April 4, 2012

I do use Actinovate+Mycogrow+Biotamax and highly recommend them as well. One good thing I have observed about these products is that the plants in the raised bed where I apply them as a soil drench are literally disease-free and are vigorous.

Recently I started using Great White at the time of transplanting (dusting the roots) but this is not a fungicide. While the microorganism content is diverse, as Ami indicated before, smallest jar of Great White goes a long way (I purchased the jar last year and the label says it expires in 2014). So if you want to finish one pack in one growing season and you want to boost the microbial activity in the soil, use Actinovate.

One thing I would recommend you to use especially with tomatoes is Neptune's Harvest crab shells. With crab shells I have observed a boost in amount of flowers/fruits. It has 23% Ca and 1.3% Mg in it. It also has chitin which is said to promote the growth of bacteria that eats the disease-causing bacteria. I think Ca also helps the uptake of other nutrients as well as photosynthesis.

JamesL · April 4, 2012

The crab shells look interesting. I like the NPK. Most of the Ca products I have looked at seem to have a very high N content as well.
This might be worth a test run in a container as well.
How are you applying it? Mixed into beds or containers at the beginning of the season? I am assuming it is just crushed shells?
It suggests that it should be added as 2% of volume in potting mix which would apply to containers.

If you haven't seen these - Raybo did a test on Ca - worth a read.
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=19973
He did a related one on Epsom salt (Mg) as the relationship between Ca and Mg are intertwined.
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=19955

John3 · April 4, 2012

Just a note on crab shells-
"The presence of chitin in the soil makes it a natural biopesticide that is non-toxic to birds, animals, fish, and plants.

Just so happens that Japanese Beetle grubs and grubs in general, have jaws made of Chitin, which is dissolved by chitinase bacteria. So, not only is crab shell a good slow release fertilizer, it can kill off grubs, indirectly ..."

chancethegardener · April 4, 2012

For the raised beds, I applied 1 month in advance; however, I have found out that crab shells don't take much time to dissolve in the soil so I decided to add a handful of them into the pots before transplanting and I think it works. Also, I will make a new bed today and I will add them into this bed and see how it works. And yes, they are in the form of crushed shells.

John, chitin also exists in the cells of fungi too, doesn't it?

John3 · April 4, 2012

My understanding chancethegardener (and I'm not a pro at this) is that they do but I don't know which ones except they would have to have chitin for the chitinase bacteria.

I would think they would work on the fungi first then reproduce then go on hunting for chitin which many grubs have.

JamesL · April 4, 2012

Great stuff gents! I think I might have to test drive this product as an alternative to the Ca "Snack" I was planning to do.

chancethegardener · April 4, 2012

James, Amazon has it in relatively smaller packages (4 lbs.). If you have Amazon prime membership, then shipping is free.

JamesL · April 4, 2012

Thanks for the heads up!

amideutch · April 5, 2012

Good thread gents. Good information being passed!!

Quote:

Are either of you using Actinovate? I am doing my growing in containers ala Raybo's earthtainers. Raybo is an advocate, and I have read several recent threads on it as well as mycorrhizae. In particular a "dip" method combo of the 2 by amideutch, and or as a soil drench. The word is that you might not see any disease. Although with 90% humidity, mildew is tough to avoid.

One thing to remember about disease control is prevention. Once the disease gets established it is very hard to eradicate. A product I have been using with Actinovate is EXEL LG which is fungicide containing Phosphorous (not phosphorus the nutrient) Acid. It is Bio friendly and is a systemic (fights disease from inside the plant). It is totally compataible with the Actinovate bacteria which was confirmed in lab tests by the makers of Actinovate. So you can mix the two together and apply as a foliar during the course of the growing season as a preventitive and add a little molasses to act as a spreader sticker. Ami

JamesL · April 5, 2012

Ami,
Thank you for that tip as well. I am trying to do as much preventative work and planning as possible this spring. When summer really gets moving I will have less time and I have no doubt my plants will suffer from a fair amount of benign neglect.
All my free time, if you can call it that, is at night, not really conducive to in-ground growing.
If it wasn't for finding Raybo and the Earthtainer system and then Tomatoville, I would no doubt be where I was this time last year - not growing anything at all!
FYI -I used the "cold treatment" you espoused and the plants are looking great. A very healthy shade of purple....

chalstonsc · April 5, 2012

Yes, thanks for the good info.....

Tracydr · April 5, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by chancethegardener

For the raised beds, I applied 1 month in advance; however, I have found out that crab shells don't take much time to dissolve in the soil so I decided to add a handful of them into the pots before transplanting and I think it works. Also, I will make a new bed today and I will add them into this bed and see how it works. And yes, they are in the form of crushed shells.

John, chitin also exists in the cells of fungi too, doesn't it?

Now, I just need a reasonable way to crush my crab shells after eating them. Great excuse to eat more crab and lobster!
Save shells for the bisque broth, than crush somehow for the tomatoes!

augiedog55 · April 5, 2012

tracy, i like the way you think.. You have to eat more crabs,shrimp and lobsters to help your tomatoes...Brilliant

JamesL · May 2, 2012

Chance,
FYI - I ordered the Technoflora and the Neptune Harvest Crab shells.
The best price per pound for the crab shells is to order direct from Neptune.
It is a 50lb bag, but free shipping. $78 for the bag, or $1.56 a lb.
4lb bag wasn't going to cut it and the amazon shipping costs for the 12lb bucket put the cost well over $3 lb.
I will use it in the flower beds if I don't like it with the tomatoes, but I doubt that will be the case.

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April 4, 2012	#16
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	John, Thanks, good to know. Chance, Thanks as well. With your humidity levels in Tampa I take that as gospel. Humidity level here is absolutely awful as well once summer hits. John in AL you must have the same humidity problem. People seem to like Serenade as well, for blight and powdery mildew, although some of the reviews I have read indicate it is better as a preventative than a cure. Are either of you using Actinovate? I am doing my growing in containers ala Raybo's earthtainers. Raybo is an advocate, and I have read several recent threads on it as well as mycorrhizae. In particular a "dip" method combo of the 2 by amideutch, and or as a soil drench. The word is that you might not see any disease. Although with 90% humidity, mildew is tough to avoid. James

April 4, 2012	#17
chancethegardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: WV Posts: 604	I do use Actinovate+Mycogrow+Biotamax and highly recommend them as well. One good thing I have observed about these products is that the plants in the raised bed where I apply them as a soil drench are literally disease-free and are vigorous. Recently I started using Great White at the time of transplanting (dusting the roots) but this is not a fungicide. While the microorganism content is diverse, as Ami indicated before, smallest jar of Great White goes a long way (I purchased the jar last year and the label says it expires in 2014). So if you want to finish one pack in one growing season and you want to boost the microbial activity in the soil, use Actinovate. One thing I would recommend you to use especially with tomatoes is Neptune's Harvest crab shells. With crab shells I have observed a boost in amount of flowers/fruits. It has 23% Ca and 1.3% Mg in it. It also has chitin which is said to promote the growth of bacteria that eats the disease-causing bacteria. I think Ca also helps the uptake of other nutrients as well as photosynthesis.

April 4, 2012	#19
John3 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alabama 7.5 or 8 depends on who you ask Posts: 727	Just a note on crab shells- "The presence of chitin in the soil makes it a natural biopesticide that is non-toxic to birds, animals, fish, and plants. Just so happens that Japanese Beetle grubs and grubs in general, have jaws made of Chitin, which is dissolved by chitinase bacteria. So, not only is crab shell a good slow release fertilizer, it can kill off grubs, indirectly ..."

April 5, 2012	#26
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	Ami, Thank you for that tip as well. I am trying to do as much preventative work and planning as possible this spring. When summer really gets moving I will have less time and I have no doubt my plants will suffer from a fair amount of benign neglect. All my free time, if you can call it that, is at night, not really conducive to in-ground growing. If it wasn't for finding Raybo and the Earthtainer system and then Tomatoville, I would no doubt be where I was this time last year - not growing anything at all! FYI -I used the "cold treatment" you espoused and the plants are looking great. A very healthy shade of purple....

April 5, 2012	#27
chalstonsc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: sc Posts: 339	Yes, thanks for the good info.....

April 5, 2012	#29
augiedog55 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: oak grove mo Posts: 406	tracy, i like the way you think.. You have to eat more crabs,shrimp and lobsters to help your tomatoes...Brilliant

May 2, 2012	#30
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	Chance, FYI - I ordered the Technoflora and the Neptune Harvest Crab shells. The best price per pound for the crab shells is to order direct from Neptune. It is a 50lb bag, but free shipping. $78 for the bag, or $1.56 a lb. 4lb bag wasn't going to cut it and the amazon shipping costs for the 12lb bucket put the cost well over $3 lb. I will use it in the flower beds if I don't like it with the tomatoes, but I doubt that will be the case.