Foliar Feeding and Fungicide Question

[hunter]

For those of you that use Daconil and foliar feed with fertilizer, what interval between applications do you follow?

Does it even make sense to foliar feed if using Daconil? I'm not sure how a product like Daconil might affect/prevent the intake of fertilizers such as Liquid Seaweed.

I certainly wouldn't want to be inadvertantly washing off one while applying the other!

Thanks!

[Mischka]

Chlorothalonil (Daconil) coats the outer leaf epidermis and will inhibit uptake of nutrients through the stomata.

I grow between 450-800 plants here annually and I alternate each week for foliar feeding and spraying Daconil throughout the season.

This routine works very well for me.

I foliar feed with SeaStart or Maxicrop and add a wetting agent to it.

Ortho's version of Daconil, Garden Disease Control, has a wetting agent (adjutant) in it so there's no need to add your own.

Hope that helps. :wink:

[carolyn137]

Hunter,

Alternating as Mischka suggested works well.

What you don't want to do is to mix Daconil with anything else b'c a certain # of molecules/ml are needed to coat the spore attachement sites on the leaf surface, and adding other things to the Daconil reduces the effective number of Daconil molecules.

I do know of some folks who use combo sprayings but many years ago when I called Ortho to ask about this they explained the dilution issue to me very clearly, and it makes sense to me.

[hunter]

Thanks for the great responses Mischka and Carolyn!

[tanagerzoo]

Mischka,
Just curious--you foliar feed every 2 weeks? Fertilizing is one area that I haven't gotten figured out in my own head yet. Everyone has a zillion ideas on that end :wink:
But you foliar feed as opposed to fertilizing via watering?

I have fish emulsion and if it ever dries out around here enough, I plan to give them a nice foliar feed.

My garden is amended with bunny poo and mushroom compost (natural "soil" is red clay) and I really worry about over fertilizing and just haven't figured out a good balance.

Christine

[Mischka]

Originally Posted by tanagerzoo

Mischka,
But you foliar feed as opposed to fertilizing via watering?
Christine

Yes, I do.

Each spring, I have a local farmer deliver 3-4 truckloads of aged manure prior to tilling. I mix it in well with the existing soil (I till 1 foot deep) and then lay down the soaker hoses in a zig-zag fashion. I then cover the entire area with water-permeable black poly sheeting and I'm done.

The plastic has micro-pores in it and water can get through it, so you could put the soaker hoses on top of it. The reason I put the soaker hoses down under the plastic is because I tripped over them a LOT when I put them down last. :wink:

I foliar feed every two weeks with seaweed extract via a backpack sprayer. I am looking to supply trace elements
to the tomato plants so I use seaweed extract because it has no major amounts of NPK in it, unlike Miracle Gro, Peters, etc. I've tried alternating fish emulsion with the seaweed applications and I wasn't as pleased with the results...or the smell that attracted skunks and raccoons.

If I didn't have well-amended soil, I would root feed weekly with MG. I do use it when watering my container plants and hanging baskets.

Foliar feeding does increase vigor and yield. I've tested it here many times and the plants that weren't sprayed have never done as well as the ones I did feed in this manner.

Do you HAVE to foliar feed? Absolutely not. I enjoy maximizing my yield and seeing the look on peoples' faces when they see tomatoes hanging over their heads as they walk through the growing areas.

[hunter]

Sorry to dig up an old topic, but along the lines of foliar feeding... When is the best time of day to spray? I have historically sprayed in the early evening to avoid "sun scald," but I don't know if this is considered good practice or not.

Thanks!

[Mischka]

The best time to spray is early morning; well before the sun is up high enough to cast strong rays. I usually set my alarm for 5 A.M. and am done by 7. This includes the time to mix up the seaweed-based fertilizer as well as the Daconil. I use a 55 gallon plastic drum to do this; I fill it with water the night before so that the cold well water has a chance to warm up....don't want to shock the plants.

I add the seaweed concentrate or Daconil the same morning I plan to spray, using a paint mixing attachment that works with my electric drill. I've tried adding the Daconil to the water on the night before, but found that it settled out of the water and was a pain to remix it properly again.

After it's mixed, I use a hand pump to fill my backpack sprayer. Each plant gets a thorough soaking, making sure to spray the underside of the leaves. I'd suggest wearing some sort of eye protection - one gust of wind and you'll quickly find out how much seaweed or Daconil can sting your eyes.

If you're not able to spray in the early morning, the second choice would be to spray right before dusk. You want your plants to have time to dry before the coolness of the evening sets in. A cold/wet/dark environment invites fungal diseases.

[Full Moon]

Mischka, Do you mix the seaweed concentrate at full strenght or a weaker solution.

[Mischka]

SeaStart or Maxicrop are both perfect for use at full strength on tomatoes and that's what I use. If my plants look stressed, I will also double the amount of SeaStart that I use.

I don't double the amount of Maxicrop, as I use the powdered concentrate and I've noticed that it really thickens the mix a tad too much for it to pass through my sprayer nozzle properly.

I've tried diluting the seaweed concentrate at 1/2 the recommended rate and found that the results weren't quite so spectacular.

I should also mention that I add one of those "natural" hand dishwashing liquids as a sticker/spreader at the rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon of spray mix.

It is very important that you use some type of sticker/spreader so that the seaweed spray breaks the surface tension of the foliage and adheres to it, rather than beading up and dripping worthlessly to the ground below.

There are products especially designed to do this, but I've found that the dish soap is just as effective and more economical.

Ortho's version of Daconil already has "Weather-Stik" added to it so there's no need to add your own sticker/spreader. :wink:

Let me also stress that you will have significantly better results if you spray the undersides of the leaves. As I mentioned earlier, this is where most of the stomata are located.

[hunter]

Thanks for the great responses! Is there a particular brand of dishsoap that you have used with success, or is it basically any soap that isn't antibacterial, etc.?

[Full Moon]

Thanks guys that is great. That's going to be my feeding regime for next season I'm not sure yet about the Daconil I will have to do a bit further reading\seraching on that.

[Full Moon]

One more question....do you start to foliar feed at transplant or do you wait for fruit set? I am thinking tranplant but thought I'd better ask.

[feldon30]

Is your foliar feed your only means of fertilization? In other words, did you plant the tomatoes into rich compost-laden soil? I didn't start foliar feeding with kelp concentrate until fruit set.