Another tidbit from a conference report:
"Alison Kutz-Troutman of Sound Horticulture in Bellingham, WA www.soundhorticulture.com , related her experiences with controlling powdery mildew in greenhouse-grown plants with compost teas. Alison uses kelp extracts as a compost tea additive and also side-dresses with azomite, a rock dust product widely available from organic product suppliers. She thinks that bi-weekly or even tri-weekly applications of compost teas are sufficient. Alison related a story about the effectiveness of her compost teas in controlling powdery mildew. While she was away on a trip, her greenhouse-grown sage plants were left unsprayed, and were 90% covered with powdery mildew when she returned. She applied undiluted compost tea twice a week and within a couple of weeks mildew was completely gone.
Swearing by kelp
Several veteran organic farmers I talked to swear by kelp products, whether in compost teas or as a stand-alone foliar spray. Nearly all of the kelp extracts used in agriculture come from the common North Atlantic kelp species Ascophyllum nodosum. Kelp contains some 60 naturally occurring major and micro nutrients, carbohydrates, and 18 amino acids, vitamins and naturally occurring growth promoting substances. Mannitol, a chelating agent that potentiates the transport of cations like calcium and iron into plant cells, is one of the primary beneficial compounds in kelp.
A number of companies harvest kelp from the coast of Nova Scotia where the tides fluctuate by 20-30 feet. Kelp under these conditions is alternately dried out, frosted, stretched, and wetted, and therefore contains a number of compounds that apparently enable plant cells to withstand these stresses."
From:
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/talking_shop/1103/wa_tilth1.shtml
Swearing by Kelp
I use the kelp as foliar spray. I get it from Parks Seed its called Sea Magic. A old timer gardener told me about it some time ago and I started using it. He said he had the best veg garden of his life when he started using it.
Delisa
on my shopping list
tea versus spray? pros and cons?
roxroe i am going to use both this year. The tea gets some good nutrients going in your dirt.
I'm going to use both too - some in the soil, some as a spray. This stuff sounds fantastic!
I have a sample packet of this. It says it contains natural growth substances that promote better growth, more blooms and bigger better tasting crops and helps plants resist insects and disease. The packet I have weighs just over an ounce and makes 250 quarts. Maybe I will spray it on part of my plants this year and see if I can tell the difference between sprayed and unsprayed in the rows.
I just ordered a 10.7 oz. bottle of concentrated kelp from Gardens Alive. It makes something like 350 gallons. It was $19.95 plus $5.95 S&H AND they had a $20 coupon on the cover, so it only cost me $5.90.
I'm really looking forward to using it.
Maxicrop is one of the best kelp products I've used in the greenhouses...
unfortunatly I do not believe organic farmers can use it anymore. Always changing regulations ya know.
Hmmm...that's news to me. I have a bottle of it and the only ingredient is seaweed, nothing more. Seaweed is still an acceptable "organic" product to use.
I wonder if they are now adding something else to MaxiCrop now. (This bottle is a yr or so old.)
just reiterating what an organic veggie growing friend told me.
Hmmm...I just perused the NOS regs, no mention of it there. If you see your friend again soon would you mind asking for more info? Thanks!