Wow! Jeff's posts are incredible!
My fertilizers are pretty simply incomparison, but I have always top dressed my Brugs & Roses with Composted Cow Manure and about 1 cup Epson Salt, watered in well...
I use a systemic rose fertilizer and ocassionally use Miracle Grow alternatling the three. They seem to like it and it's cheap on my budget.
MsCritterkeeper
Home Recipes for Brugs/Dats
Heya friends.
The MAIN reason I came about that post was for a home made way of ending rootrot, the killing of plant pathogens(at that time) was just an extra bonus/side effect. After having a HUGE plant in a HUGE pot that just came inside for winter, well my wife watered it just as we did when it was outdoors. With out the sun, it's impossible for a plant to absorb the same amounts of water. This was my Favorite ficus tree and the rootrot was soo bad, you could smell the stagnant/rotting smell when walking near the plant! That's bad! I was able to grab the the trunk of the tree and the pot fell off revealing how bad the problems was. The pot was atleast 14 inches tall and the bottom 5 inches looked completely rotten. I tried flushing in w/o the water tray under it and that didn't work. I literally stumbled across Saffer's Liquid O2 and watered it w/ that. In 1 day, the odor was gone so I inspected the roots to find white for the most part.
Keep in mind I'm 1 of those guys who sees a product or say trellaces etc...I mentally think about how I can duplicate stuff for a fraction of the price. I used to be an iron worker and fabricator, I can't roll into a building w/o looking at the structure and figuring out how it was done.It drives my wife crazy because I always have to understand everything!LOL
Anyhow, I saw the ingredients on the Liquid O2 and a light bulb above my head lit up. Then my brain just kept dreaming up other ways to use H2O2. I found that when you use H2O2 added to water every time you water, YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORRY about ROOTROT EVER again. It's literally impossible to over water when using this stuff. I experimented more by placing a tall saucer under another plant and over filled the pot and left the saucer completly full of H2O2. This left the botttom 3-4 inches of the roots submerged, and I had a plant just like the submerged 1 and took care of it as anyone would normally. The submerged plant was able to absorb more oxygen while under water! HMMmmmm Well I explained it to a group of other grower's I had met online and we all played w/ it w/ excellent results no matter what/how we did it. This was6-7 years ago and now I'm seeing more and more products just like the stuff we were making! Copycats!LOL
I now know that using foodgrade H2O2 is great for cleaning anything you would normally clean w/ chlorine bleach or to sterilize hydro systems between crops. You can dilute the H2O2 to soo many different stregnths, you can use it everywhere safely.
You guys do wonders for me and my thoughts! When I get a pat on the back from someone(you guys), it just makes me want to do more and create more gadget's we can all use. Plus you save my poor wife from having to listen to all my ideas! LOL It's sad but true. She only cares about the end result's and wants it when she has a problem. She always comes to me after the fact complaining about a problem that I had already found a solution for and already told her about! LOL
I've also learned to make "Ozone Cannons" for oxidizing airborne pathogens etc. just as the H2O2 does underwater pretty much. That led to me making Ozone machines for under water use in ponds etc. for awesome water clarity and purity. If anyone would like more info on this stuff or has other ideas/problems, please let me know. I may already have the answer, if not, I'll atleast look into it to see if it's feasible to do/make.
Thanks for the ear friends and the compliments. It means more to me than you'll ever know! Sitting in this darn wheelchair leaves me w/o that feeling of accomplishment I was used to when working in the fabrication and iron working fields. It's a high in itself that I thrive on like adrenalin;).
Adios for now, JD
After refreshing this post I realized i just scrolled the page AGAIN. If this post isn't useful and just taking up room, don't be shy! Tell me please and I'll happily edit it down to size;).
Thanks, Jeff
Your posts are amazing Jeff! Don't bother editing....we can always use our scroll button if we feel the need :-)
Ozonater for ponds....is this something I could make myself?
I have one I use on my Marine Reef aquarium, and one attached to my hot tub, but never thought about putting one in my pond.
Enlighten me sir :-)
RikerBear
I would be intrested in knowing about it JD....I just killed all my fish in my little pond cause I didn't do something right. Yep all 12 of them and I am still sick about it here almost 2 weeks later..... Now have 5 new test subjects and so far so good....
But would like any information I can get about keeping the water clean...
Dee
riker I've been looking online for better/cheaper means of ozone production for water in ponds/ spas etc.. Right now, the most economical way of introducing ozone to your pond would be just like the 1 on you spa or reef system. It's a lightbulb(UV) in a crystal sleeve and the water is pumped around/past the bulb right?
Dee, this would be the same 1 I'd recomend for your pond too. We could probably make 1 ourselves but I think the store bought one's would be your best bet. My Ozone cannons work exactly like the 1's I described above except air is passed by the bulb instead of water. As of right now, I'm not comfortable in trying to make 1 waterproof or tell you guys how to do it. These units are cheaper than the ballast/bulb combo's I made for air. I did a web search for these units not long ago, I can't remember who was the cheapest. That's where I'd start and I'd use the same 1 for your pond as you would for a spa/reef tank. Which ever one is the cheapest is the way I'd go.
Are you guys using any kind of biological filtration on your ponds? Dee I'd bet the farm that's your problem. Dee if you could describe to me the size of your pond,water capacity in gallon's, pumps, and filtration if you have any. Your fish killer is amonia over load due to fish poo and probably over feeding. I could probably design you a small and economical biofilter that you could make and install yourself for much less than any pond equipment dealer.
Riker. If you know enough about maintaining your reeftank to do it yourself, we could probably figure out something for your pond. I've seen a small "Tetra" brand ozonator less than 1 foot long and maybe 4 inches in diameter make a filthy pond crystal clear overnight. The 1 I'm trying to make uses corona discharge to make ozone at MUCH higher levels than UV made ozone.
I think we have a water garden or pond forum here. We need to take this there.
Riker, I'll email you w/ my idea tomorrow.
WE NEED A BALLAST FROM A NEON SIGN, it doesn't matter if the sign works or not. We just need that kind of power so we can create ozone on a level to where we literally inject it into the water via a venture like the 1 in your protien skimmer. If anyone here has access to a neon sign I could get, please let me know.
Dee, please get me that info I asked for and I can tell you how to fix your pond water. That's another major hobby of mine, fish and reptiles. I've desined several filtration systems for people and thats what you need. If you can, take a sample of your pond water to a pet store and ask them to test it for you. Your amonia levels should be off the charts and who knows where your PH went. But we can fix it;).
Goodnight all, Jeff
Not exactly JLD.....a UV bulb with water pumped around it is actually a UV sterilizer. An Ozone Generator actually produces and elecrical arc releasing ozone.
My reef system does in deed pump water past the release of the ozone, sterilizing the water in the process.
Hmmm, now you having me thinking though.............
RikerBear
JLD_II wrote:
riker I've been looking online for better/cheaper means of ozone production for water in ponds/ spas etc.. Right now, the most economical way of introducing ozone to your pond would be just like the 1 on you spa or reef system. It's a lightbulb(UV) in a crystal sleeve and the water is pumped around/past the bulb right?
Heya riker. You have me confused.
I'll figure it out. Let me know what your thinking and maybe show or tell me what model generator you have so I'll know what were talking about. The terminology in generating ozone is a little fuzzy depending on who you ask it seems.
Thanks, Jeff
This message was edited Mar 31, 2004 8:27 PM
You can get them either air stone infused or venturi dependant on ones set up.....mine is airstone infised.
I also have an UV sterilizer......there is no light emitted from my ozoninator. Inside the glass cylander are two electrodes, and arc is generated between the two producing the ozone. The ozone is than forced out of the cylander by pumped air, infising it inot the pumped air and than on into the aquarium filter system.
The UV sterilizer is a long tube with a high power UV bulb inside, and water is pumped along it and back inot the aquarium....no arc, no ozone, just UV light. Uv light kills many varieties of bacteria, spores, fungi, and some some bodies parasites.
Now go have more coffee :-)
Marc
All I can say guys ...Is "MY poor lil fishy."
They just get ...water.lol
Amazing truly, amazing...
My fresh water fish just get water too Lottie....but the fussy expensive saltwaters get whtever they want...they are SO spoiled :-) Did I mention expensive???? LOL
My clown trigger was nearly $150.00 three years ago....I would bet that now he is over 7 inches he would pull at least $500.00
I have not tried any of these recipes but they look interesting.
http://groups.msn.com/ASquareFootGardening/bugzapstonics.msnw
That's incredible, a fish that cost that much (holy macrel) and I thought my birdies were expensive.
I'd give that lil fishy whatever he wanted/needed too, Marc!
Well, now that I think about it, my goldfish are pretty spoiled too, I guess, they have their own indoor pond room $$$ haha.
Guess I should pay attention to the lesson on hand...
Hey, show us a pic of that fishy. Bet those tanks are a real beauty.
Here is a pic of Bozo the clown trigger.......
Sorry for hy-jacking the thread :-(
Marc
Delecie, those are great. What a find. I've got to bookmark that site for future use. Thanks so much for adding this to the thread. I'm sure lots of people will get some good out of some of those recipes.
OOPs! So Sorry everybody...guess we should move this to the pet/pond forum ...Nice pic of Bozo...all the more reason to have great post like JLD's & yours on the finer points of clean water manangement...
Our apologies group.
I still need a ballast from a neon sign to make my own hi output corona discharge ozone generator. This will be very cool, I can't wait to make this 1 and deciding how I want to deliver the ozone. Airstone or venturi style...Hmmm
http://www.hydroponics.com.au/back_issues/issue36.html
http://www.ozonesolutions.info/info/cd_vs_uv.htm
The 2nd link there describes the kind of bulb inside your sterilizer. I have 1 that works just like it, the 1 I'm going to build will be like your generator but I can'r decide if I want it to be pumped or venturi style.
Very sweet fish you have there man, I'm partial to the picasso trigger fish or the mandarin golbie(sp).
This message was edited Mar 31, 2004 8:25 PM
Ooops! I wasn't aware there was a pond forum. See Ya's there too. My apologies to the group.
JD
Sorry for the hi-jack Brugie :-(
Hey, it all fits together. No problem here. I've done my share of "hi-jacking" too. LOL!! Just enjoy.
You're welcome Brugie. I'm looking forward to trying a few of the recipes also. :-)
Great looking recipes, Delecie. Thanks for the site. I bookmarked it.
great recipes - thanks, I printed them out and will try to use them this spring/summer ~ cheers!!
The balast is no problem; but it will cost you $75 to $150.
You will not find one for free. I have a good friend who does neon and that was his advice.
For what it's worth! Good luck.
Twin, I musta been 1 lucky guy. My last ballast was off a beer sign, Pabst blue ribbon I believe. The neon was already broken. Would you ask him what a 5000v to a 7000v ballast would cost? Anything in that ballpark would work. I'm going to build a corona disharge unit. It's soo easy and the parts minus ballast cost is less than 10$. It would be more if I could find a pane of quartz about 5"x7". Quartz is more consistent than a glass pane and when the voltage passes through it, it doesn't get damaged where I've seen glass get pinholes in it. I need to get w/ my buddy who's a liquor wholeseller, I know he has a broken sign or 2. I've thrown a couple away before knowing I had a use for the darnit.
I'll keep looking, please ask your friend and see what ballasts like I mentioned run. I'll look at Granger's too, I have an acct. there and have bought UV lamps from them in the past.
Thanks, JD
Bump
Shirley, thanks for bumping this up! I'm always running late around here and miss some of the posts! I need all the help I can get with my new brugs and all of these things are great! I'll be checking back many times for these recipes!
Happy Easter!!!!
Brin :)
I have an excellent site I've been using for years to order any kind of beneficial insects, nematodes, and on and on. They sell Praying mantis, lady bugs, predators for every pest imaginable. www.planetnatural.com
They stand behind everything and have excellent customer support. Thay forgot to ship me some bugs 1 time even though his invoice said different. I had the bugs on my front porch the next day. They helped my clear my yard of ALL grubs, japaneese beetles(junebugs). Please check them out if you like to be eco-friendly and not having pests run the show.
If you have a pest, they have the solution. Please check them out before getting out the diazanon or insecticidal soaps.
I had spidermites indoors 1 year, I started off using saffer's soap and it did well for a month or so. Then the mites began bathing in it or eating it and laughing at me. So I had to step up again to neem oil, the laughter continued ringing in my ears. I ended up using AVID since I was indoors, I wouldn't want to use it outdoors since it kills so well. But AVID is only around 300$ per pint or quart, I only neded a few drops literally. That kept mites managable but I know I heard some elder mites in there giggling and gossiping behind my back so I killed all the plants! I showed them didn't I? EEWWW I get angry just remembering them.
I'm no tree hugger but I have noticed I don't see any Hornytoads ever and the regular toads and bullfrogs are almost extinct here imo. At the lake house, we had tons of awesome tarantula's that warmed themselves on the asphalt road every year of my childhood. Then a greenhouse opened 1 mile up the road and you know the end of this sad tale.
Now I go easy on pesticides if I have to use them at all.I've noticed a massive decrease in population of any critter that feeds on insects. I miss my lil critters:(
I miss big frog legs almost as much
This message was edited Apr 10, 2004 12:13 PM
oh yeah...I'd miss those hairy spiders too......
If I had them around I'd never leave the house...unless they came in the house......
Will keep this one on the front for new members for a while.
JLD, I remember reading that on a website, is this your site? Wow, that's a lot of work! http://www.quickgrow.com/gardening_articles/hydrogen_peroxide_horticulture.html
Here is a lot more info about H2O2 http://www.h2o2.com/intro/faq.html#2
I'm still hesitant to use H2O2 on my plants though because of the reaction of it with the proteins in the plants. Hydrogen peroxide kills any living cell it comes in contact with, but most living organisms produce a catalyst that changes the H2O2 into harmless water + oxygen(the bubbles when you pour H2O2 on a cut). My question is: How much damage is done before the catalyst works?
I haven't found any plant tissue damage at all. I'm sure at the concentration we use, its turned into )2 before any damage can be done. I've seen it used in hydro on bare roots and they just get whiter and more healthy every time. If the ratio of the mix was stronger...I'd say don't do it. I hadn't used it on cuts until this year and I think its very helpful there too. It kills the immediate pathogens it runs into on the surface of things but hasn't slowed anyone down at all. The cuts are actually doing better imo, w/ theextra O2 the cuts seem to less likely to get all wilty. I need more coffee before I can try to explain more;). Just think about the amount of H2O2 in the solution. Out of the bottle its only at 3.5% then we add a few spoons of that to a gallon of water. I don't have the math but I'm sure the peroxide is merely a trace at that point.MO JAVA...BBL
OH, OK, now that makes sense. I misunderstood. You aren't using it straight out of the bottle, but diluting it? Did you know plants make H202 on their own? I found that when looking for some info last year.
Sue, I think this will work for your mites too.
Finchlady says: "Aphids, earwigs, etc. - when I moved my brugs outside a few weeks ago, somebody yelled loudly - "lunch over here". And in a couple of days the damage was showing. I used a spray of rubbing alcohol and water in a 1:1 ratio with a shot of dish soap and sprayed well - top and underside of leaves and down the trunks. I repeated every few days and no more damage. "
Yes, massively diluted. And yes, plants do create tons of different chemicals,acids etc. Humic,... Its all part of a healthy living ecosystem living underground w/ your plants roots. I have some notes on this kreb cycle but its very hard for me to follow let alone everyone else. Look into the sugar/acid cycle or kreb cycle online, it's facsinating.
Happy growing
Kaufmann mentioned agricultural molasses. If I can't find, would regular molasses do the trick?
Morph: You should be able to find it. Also called horticultural molasses. I was told not to use plain old food grade, but I did not ask why. For one its so thick that I don't know what you would thin it with to get it to a usable consistancy...
I have seen recipies use regular molasses. It's the sugar content that feeds the microbes. Horticultural molasses might have some addtional trace elements but I think you could sub the regular food grade stuff without any problems. I used it last year in a compost tea mixture. It is thick but it will disolve easy enuff.
NO don't try reg. molassis. I can't remember why exactly. I've never used the molassis, my recipe called for "raw sugar" instead which is still full of molassis. Raw sugar is darker and hasn't been processed. I bought it at the grocery store. If your trying to make the sugar/acid recipe, I have 1 for you that I used alot. Get the "raw sugar"(the box even says raw sugar on the label) and you can get the citric acid at any home brew store. The DIY brewery stores, they sell it in powder form.
My recipe was equal parts of sugar and acid to 500ml's of water. I think it was 1 oz. of each but I need to look. If you already have a recipe, I think using raw sugar as you would the molassis would work great. I'll get my act together and find all the details for this, it's driving me crazy.
Jeff
I think horticultural molasses is the same thing as black strap molasses. They didn't have it at the feed store here.