FIWH's adventures with lacto bacillus and fermented ferts

[itchybromusic]

Foliar spraying in this case is more to do with your IPM system , integrated pest management , than actual feeding

Lacto , neem , essential oils, Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Lemongrass, Thyme, Clove, Cinnamon, Peppermint 

Aloe Vera , Potassium Silicate

Also compost teas but compost teas are a little difficult to get right , what's the compost , what's in it , what were the worms fed

I found bagged worm castings at Vasilis Garden Cafe & sms'd the producer , he told me he feeds his worms pig shit & dried dog food

I'm no expert but i don't know if i would be happy using worm castings from dried dog food , my understanding is that if the dried food 

is full of preservatives the worms won't eat it & it will just break down in the castings not ever making though the worms gut  

 

if your prepared to buy a microscope & learn what the micro beasties look like so you know what your brewing

& when they are at there most prolific , you will prob do well at brewing teas otherwise it's a bit hit & miss IMHO

 

BTW the worm casting guy was producing worms for fishing the castings were just an added extra income for him 

[Frank Reynolds]

yeh itchy that's true, although with a IPM system you are trying to do everything possible to restrict the amount of spraying, and only spray when the pests and or disease build up to a certain 'damaging' level. why I mentioned enviormental conditions being most important in regard to PM.

 

Start your own worm farm, feed em pumpkin it turns them into super eating machines! but seriously i've been feeding mine pumpkin my god do they love it.

[itchybromusic]

Hey there Frank , No & Yes

I'm just getting in to this so you might know more than i Frank , but here go's

 

No , in this IPM system you are spraying weekly in veg & 1 or 2 weeks in flower 

depending on strain as a pre emptive measure & not waiting for probs to arise  

The idea is to build a large beneficial micro life on at least 80% of the complete leaf surface 

hence attacking / eating any non beneficial that tries setting up house 

along with trying to grow a plant as healthy as pos so it can have a go at protecting itself 

you also use essential oils as deterrents & things like shrimp / crustacean meal in your 

soil mix for the chitin , which we've chatted briefly about before

 

Pumpkin Absolutely , I might go a little far sometimes but i blend all my kitchen food scrapes 

including plenty of pumpkin for the worms , it's like a mass orgy towards the end of the food 

i also find blending enables you to feed more & they turn it over faster 

 

Here is a C & P Frank from another forum by a guy calling himself ClackamasCoot 

i've been spending some time checking his posts out  

 

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Maybe sharing different approaches will be helpful for everyone, i.e. taking a different look at making the best use of the materials you have to work with.

Neem (or Karanja) products are at the center of my IPM program. Neem meal (aka cake) is used in the soil mix and I also use it to make a tea in conjunction 

with kelp meal. As a bio-nutrient accumulator, neem meal is on par with the heavies like alfalfa, kelp, comfrey, borage, stinging nettles, etc. and what 

distinguishes one from another are the unique compounds that they create. Only brown kelp species create Alginic acid & Mannitol. Alfalfa creates 

Triacontanol but Comfrey does not and so on and so on.

 

Neem creates over 360 compounds of which around 30 function as a pesticide and/or fungicide. So with this one material I have two problems covered. 

Another compound that we want to see in our soil is an enzyme called Chitinase (Pronounced Kite-In-A's) Many organisms create this enzyme including 

bacteria. The reason that we add crab meal is for the Chitin (Kite-In) As bacteria degrade this polysaccharide this enzyme is created and it's this enzyme 

that gives us the pesticide benefit - not the Chitin directly.

Well, in my studies I learned that sprouted seeds release this enzyme that was encoded by the parent plant. So besides the enzymes that enhance the 

resin levels, the enzymes teas play a role as a growth regulator by degrading the eggs preventing the larva from maturing.

I also top-dress the containers with a mix of chopped leaves with vermicompost. Plants that I've used successfully include comfrey, borage, peppermint, 

spearmint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, stinging nettles and always a bit of neem meal. Having that layer prevents a number of problems as far as insects 

& equally important the powdery mildew curse in the PNW.

I also make fresh teas using different plant leaves - lavender, spearmint, peppermint, oregano, thyme, borage, comfrey and my new favorite, yarrow. 

In fact when I spray with neem oil rather than mixing with plain water I use a botanical tea in its place. Some of the compounds in these leaves will kill 

on contact whereas neem oil does not. It works in a completely different way so by using botanical teas as the base you're getting a double whammy 

against the invaders.

Besides spraying above the soil I also lightly mist the top of the soil with any combination that I mentioned.

Powdery Mildew free since 2009 and as close as you can get to being free of Spider Mites in the PNW for over 2 years. The results speaks for itself.

 

 

[Frank Reynolds]

I guess we are looking at it from different aspects I suppose.

 

but from what I have learnt and my experience granted more aimed towards larger scale potted production, Integrated Pest management systems, is sort of a check list of things that largely evolve around preventative measures that aim to address pests and diseases from every having a foothold in your crop and only spraying if the level of pests becomes damaging to your objective at hand, While still being efficient and sustainable. I don't believe the addition of excess products whether it being organic or synthetic sprayed or added otherwise, can ever be more efficient or sustainable than practising exclusion, controlling your environment properly and other general preventative measures other than adding a organic or inorganic chemical to kill of insects or deter them. 

 

I personally haven't had a pest or disease problem (even the dreaded gnats) inside for the last 4 or 5 grows, and I never spray my indoor plants as a preventative. I rather focus on things like, not coming out from digging around the veggie patch and then working on my indoor plants, I guess a form quarantine if you will. getting my watering regime down pat not only to deter root issues but also to have a healthy plant that will resist problems better etc. I even have spider webs all over the intake flaps to my tent, I leave them there as a further insect filter + much more

 

That being said if I did find a problem during vegetative growth or early flower, and i can't simply cull because I need smoke etc etc then I will implement a regime to combat that specific outbreak, and subsequently be on the lookout for further pests afterwards. 

[itchybromusic]

sweet mate

Love your insect filter

[forgetiwashere]

Ipm is just integrated pest management.

Its anything that you do in your regular schedule or your environment to prevent and control pests

[itchybromusic]

Should have shut the F up & let you say it FIWH

That sums it up allot better than i 

[forgetiwashere]

7 days later and i have perfect curds and whey.

 

Skim the curds off the top and add 1litre of mollases per litre of whey.

 

Thats it i now have storable lacto bacillus serum. Tomorrow i start my bokashi bran fermenting.

 

 

 

 

[forgetiwashere]

Ok so now i innoculate some coco with the lacto serum to make my bokashi bran.

 

Basically just 2 parts coco 1 part brown sugar or mollases. Add 1tblsp of lacto serum per litre of coco/sugar mix.

Add enough chlorine free water to make it wet to help keep it anaerobic.

Pack it into a bucket or container and close it up. You want it as anaerobic as possible. Leave this for another month to ferment then you can start using it in your bokashi system.

 

I used smaller containers so i can keep them handy by the bokashi.

 

Edited May 24, 2015 by forgetiwashere

[itchybromusic]

Small container is a good choice mate , fill to the top so less air as poss 

 

have heard so many different time frames for making bokashi bran/coco

2 wks , 3 wks , a month & time depends on temp 

how will you decide it's done FIWH ?