Anyone used Tomato Thrive?

creister · November 24, 2009

Has anyone out there used the Thrive line of products? If so, what are your opinions?

amideutch · November 25, 2009

THRIVE Microbial products is made by a Canadian firm. They don't list the ingredients for their products at the company site so I don't know. $15.00 for 16oz (1 Pint) and they don't tell you whats in it! Go to Fungi.com and check out 'MycoGrow Soluble' and 'MycoGrow Gel'. The Soluable and Gel products retail for $5.95 per ounce and The Gel makes 32oz and they list their ingredients. Ami

tessa · November 25, 2009

if your thrive is the same as my thrive....
then that is a chemical fertilizer as far as i'm aware.
not green gardening.

Salty_Dog · November 25, 2009

Is this the one you mean?

geeboss · November 27, 2009

Tomato Thrive

markstowe · November 27, 2009

Zamzows Thrive, Thrive Extra with Concentrated Mushroom Compost Fraction and Thrive bloom are great products......I had fantastic results with them this year.
Dr. Jim Z's Super Tomato Maker is excellent also

creister · November 30, 2009

The product I was questioning is what geeboss has a picture of. Heavily promoted by Howard Garrett, aka the Dirt Doctor. He usually has very good organic gardening advice.

Lavendulafleur · December 8, 2009

I agree with amideutch.

"Tomato THRIVE with Mycorrhizal Fungi" seems suspect to me when *any* gardening additive doesn't list ingredients.

It appears to be an expensive specialized snake oil for us tomato devotees when you can merely add the mycorrhizae yourself from a more reputable source such as www.fungi.com.

Yet another company attempting to cash in on the micro-organism with mycorrhizae craze a la Dr. Earth and Espoma lines. (Dr. Earth has been focusing on this for a while. Espoma only in the last couple of years.) How long has Tomato THRIVE been out?

Lovely colorful label, though.

creister · February 24, 2010

I have only seen it promoted in the last 6 or so months.

creister · February 24, 2010

The THRIVE in question is produced by Alpha Bio Systems.

amideutch · February 24, 2010

This is copied from the Alpha Bio Systems website. There is nothing there on the contents of the product. I've been doing research on microbial products the last couple weeks and if you can tell me what you are looking for maybe I can help. Here's the cut and paste from the Thrive website. Ami

THRIVE products are a liquid blend of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria. They create a healthy, productive environment that is essential for superior plant growth and vitality.

The complex micro-organisms in THRIVE make it much more effective than products containing just mycorrhizae. THRIVE works from the roots up. The microbial activity introduced into the soil stimulates root growth, mass and length.

Thrive can be used with all types of fertilizers. In addition to enhancing the bioavailability of fertilizer and decaying organic matter, the bacterial in THRIVE colonize on the hair like structures of the plant root to increase nutrient absorption and stimulate growth. The result is more resilient and robust plants that are better able to withstand transplant stress, excessive heat and disease. Increased flowering and fruit bearing is also common.

THRIVE can be mixed with water or applied directly to the soil. THRIVE contains no fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide. THRIVE is safe to use around pets when used as directed and will not interfere with other treatments. The bacteria in THRIVE will remain viable between 35 and 120 degrees with as little as 18% soil moisture.

And this is from the Dirt Doctor Site. Notice that they have 8 different Thrives at the Dirt Doctor site and only one from the Alpha Biosystems site. So who is manufacturing the Thrive Clones?

Alpha BioSystems Announces Licensing Agreement with Howard Garrett, the Dirt Doctor

Wichita, KS – Dec 15, 2008 – Alpha BioSystems (ABS) announced today that an agreement has been reached with The Dirt Doctor to recommend and endorse the entire line of all natural products being introduced for Spring 2009 at retail stores nationwide. ABS manufactures a proprietary blend of all natural microbial products that enhance the growth of plants, clean up pet odors and clear ponds large and small naturally without the use of chemicals. The products include: Tomato THRIVE, Flower THRIVE, Vegetable THRIVE, New Plant THRIVE, Turf THRIVE, Liquid Thatch Remover, Tree & Shrub THRIVE, Compost THRIVE, Clean Pet THRIVE and Aqua-One.

creister · February 24, 2010

Ami,

I am looking for a product that will aid in my gardening efforts. Increased health and production from tomatoes as well as beans, cucs, and summer squash. I believe that the myco fungi do help enhance these things.

I use Howard Garrett's site as one resource to help in my organic knowledge and efforts. That is where I saw this product that I had never heard of before. Anyway, any reccomendations you have I will surely give a look into.

Dewayne mater · March 9, 2010

Creister, I bought it at Calloways in Lewisville as it was the only myco product they were carrying and I was ready to get what I needed right then. (weren't carrying actinovate, but in negotiations for some now with multiple vendors) Of course C's was very excited about the product. The alpha biosystems web page has this generic comment about the thrive family of products:

Thrive / Terra-One™ Buy it here! THRIVE products are a liquid blend of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria. They create a healthy, productive environment that is essential for superior plant growth and vitality.

The complex micro-organisms in THRIVE make it much more effective than products containing just mycorrhizae. THRIVE works from the roots up. The microbial activity introduced into the soil stimulates root growth, mass and length.

Thrive can be used with all types of fertilizers. In addition to enhancing the bioavailability of fertilizer and decaying organic matter, the bacterial in THRIVE colonize on the hair like structures of the plant root to increase nutrient absorption and stimulate growth. The result is more resilient and robust plants that are better able to withstand transplant stress, excessive heat and disease. Increased flowering and fruit bearing is also common.

THRIVE can be mixed with water or applied directly to the soil. THRIVE contains no fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide. THRIVE is safe to use around pets when used as directed and will not interfere with other treatments. The bacteria in THRIVE will remain viable between 35 and 120 degrees with as little as 18% soil moisture.

They also have a MSDS sheet on it here calling it Thrive/Terra One:
http://www.alphabiosystems.com/galle...a-One_MSDS.pdf

Hope it works because I'm going to use it!

Do you just use as a soil drench or is it also useful by some other means?

Dewayne mater · March 10, 2010

I've scanned and uploaded the images off of a thrive bottle (fairly poor scanning job, sorry). If you blow up the pdf, maybe you can tell what the active ingredients are. If so, what do you think of this product?

creister · March 11, 2010

I hope it is good, as most of Howard Garretts info works well. I don't know enough about this product or others to comment. I used myco's two years ago, and had a very productive year.

If I use it, I am using it as a soil drench only, applied right to the base of each plant.

November 24, 2009	#1
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	Anyone used Tomato Thrive? Has anyone out there used the Thrive line of products? If so, what are your opinions?

November 25, 2009	#2
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	THRIVE Microbial products is made by a Canadian firm. They don't list the ingredients for their products at the company site so I don't know. $15.00 for 16oz (1 Pint) and they don't tell you whats in it! Go to Fungi.com and check out 'MycoGrow Soluble' and 'MycoGrow Gel'. The Soluable and Gel products retail for $5.95 per ounce and The Gel makes 32oz and they list their ingredients. Ami __________________ 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!'

November 27, 2009	#6
markstowe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 13	Zamzows Thrive, Thrive Extra with Concentrated Mushroom Compost Fraction and Thrive bloom are great products......I had fantastic results with them this year. Dr. Jim Z's Super Tomato Maker is excellent also __________________ Mark

December 8, 2009	#8
Lavendulafleur Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: So Cal Posts: 10	I agree with amideutch. "Tomato THRIVE with Mycorrhizal Fungi" seems suspect to me when any gardening additive doesn't list ingredients. It appears to be an expensive specialized snake oil for us tomato devotees when you can merely add the mycorrhizae yourself from a more reputable source such as www.fungi.com. Yet another company attempting to cash in on the micro-organism with mycorrhizae craze a la Dr. Earth and Espoma lines. (Dr. Earth has been focusing on this for a while. Espoma only in the last couple of years.) How long has Tomato THRIVE been out? Lovely colorful label, though. Last edited by Lavendulafleur; December 8, 2009 at 08:10 PM. Reason: Additional information

February 24, 2010	#11
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	This is copied from the Alpha Bio Systems website. There is nothing there on the contents of the product. I've been doing research on microbial products the last couple weeks and if you can tell me what you are looking for maybe I can help. Here's the cut and paste from the Thrive website. Ami THRIVE products are a liquid blend of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria. They create a healthy, productive environment that is essential for superior plant growth and vitality. The complex micro-organisms in THRIVE make it much more effective than products containing just mycorrhizae. THRIVE works from the roots up. The microbial activity introduced into the soil stimulates root growth, mass and length. Thrive can be used with all types of fertilizers. In addition to enhancing the bioavailability of fertilizer and decaying organic matter, the bacterial in THRIVE colonize on the hair like structures of the plant root to increase nutrient absorption and stimulate growth. The result is more resilient and robust plants that are better able to withstand transplant stress, excessive heat and disease. Increased flowering and fruit bearing is also common. THRIVE can be mixed with water or applied directly to the soil. THRIVE contains no fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide. THRIVE is safe to use around pets when used as directed and will not interfere with other treatments. The bacteria in THRIVE will remain viable between 35 and 120 degrees with as little as 18% soil moisture. And this is from the Dirt Doctor Site. Notice that they have 8 different Thrives at the Dirt Doctor site and only one from the Alpha Biosystems site. So who is manufacturing the Thrive Clones? Alpha BioSystems Announces Licensing Agreement with Howard Garrett, the Dirt Doctor Wichita, KS – Dec 15, 2008 – Alpha BioSystems (ABS) announced today that an agreement has been reached with The Dirt Doctor to recommend and endorse the entire line of all natural products being introduced for Spring 2009 at retail stores nationwide. ABS manufactures a proprietary blend of all natural microbial products that enhance the growth of plants, clean up pet odors and clear ponds large and small naturally without the use of chemicals. The products include: Tomato THRIVE, Flower THRIVE, Vegetable THRIVE, New Plant THRIVE, Turf THRIVE, Liquid Thatch Remover, Tree & Shrub THRIVE, Compost THRIVE, Clean Pet THRIVE and Aqua-One. __________________ 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!'

November 25, 2009	#3
tessa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: perth, western australia Posts: 1,031	if your thrive is the same as my thrive.... then that is a chemical fertilizer as far as i'm aware. not green gardening.

November 25, 2009	#4
Salty_Dog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Lorne, Australia Posts: 188	Is this the one you mean?

November 27, 2009	#5
geeboss Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fairfax, VA Z7 Posts: 524	Tomato Thrive

November 30, 2009	#7
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	The product I was questioning is what geeboss has a picture of. Heavily promoted by Howard Garrett, aka the Dirt Doctor. He usually has very good organic gardening advice.

March 9, 2010	#13
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Creister, I bought it at Calloways in Lewisville as it was the only myco product they were carrying and I was ready to get what I needed right then. (weren't carrying actinovate, but in negotiations for some now with multiple vendors) Of course C's was very excited about the product. The alpha biosystems web page has this generic comment about the thrive family of products: Thrive / Terra-One™ Buy it here! THRIVE products are a liquid blend of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria. They create a healthy, productive environment that is essential for superior plant growth and vitality. The complex micro-organisms in THRIVE make it much more effective than products containing *just* mycorrhizae. THRIVE works from the roots up. The microbial activity introduced into the soil stimulates root growth, mass and length. Thrive can be used with all types of fertilizers. In addition to enhancing the bioavailability of fertilizer and decaying organic matter, the bacterial in THRIVE colonize on the hair like structures of the plant root to increase nutrient absorption and stimulate growth. The result is more resilient and robust plants that are better able to withstand transplant stress, excessive heat and disease. Increased flowering and fruit bearing is also common. THRIVE can be mixed with water or applied directly to the soil. THRIVE contains no fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide. THRIVE is safe to use around pets when used as directed and will not interfere with other treatments. The bacteria in THRIVE will remain viable between 35 and 120 degrees with as little as 18% soil moisture. They also have a MSDS sheet on it here calling it Thrive/Terra One: http://www.alphabiosystems.com/galle...a-One_MSDS.pdf Hope it works because I'm going to use it! Do you just use as a soil drench or is it also useful by some other means?

March 11, 2010	#15
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	I hope it is good, as most of Howard Garretts info works well. I don't know enough about this product or others to comment. I used myco's two years ago, and had a very productive year. If I use it, I am using it as a soil drench only, applied right to the base of each plant.