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ORGANIC
COMPOST ACTIVATOR |
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IMPORTANT UPDATE
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NOTE: If you have a tip that you would like to share please feel free to send it to The Professor. He's always looking for good tips to pass along. CLICK HERE to send tip.
If you need a good safe organic fungicide simply mix 2 tablespoons of Baking Soda per gallon of water, spay the plants liberally. This puts an alkaline coating on the plants which doesn't allow the fungus to grow and is completely safe for both plants and animals.
There is an effective, safe, completely organic pest control that is easy to make and use. Simply mix 2 tablespoons of dish soap and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil per gallon of water. Spray the plants liberally with mixture. This solution works by blocking the insects ability to breath, smothering it. The mixture is a contact killer, which means that you have to spray it directly on the pests in order to kill them. So you may have to make repeated applications.
To help insure a better success rate with your cuttings it is a good idea to "purge" the nitrogen out of your mother plants before taking the cuttings (clones). Simply drain your reservoir and water the mothers with pH adjusted water only (no nutrient) for a few days, this forces the plant to feed off the excess nitrogen that the plant stores within itself. The end result is that the cuttings will root quicker, and start growing faster.
When you need to adjust the pH of your nutrient solution and you're out of adjuster you can use white vinegar to adjust your solution down, and baking soda to adjust it up. NOTE: Using these to control pH is fine on a temporary basis, however, they are not very stable and could cause problems if used on a full time basis.
IDEAL TEMPERATURES FOR CUTTINGS
The success rate for cuttings can be greatly effected by the temperature of the plant and the temperature of the root zone. For most plants the air temperature around the plant should be between 70 - 75 deg. F. The root zone needs to be a bit warmer, with a temperature between 78 - 80 deg. F. Propagation mats are available that will raise the root zone temperature to the proper levels.
ADD DISHSOAP TO FOLIER SPRAYS
When you are mixing a spray for your plants, weather it's for pest control or folier feeding, add a teaspoon per gallon of ordinary dishsoap to the spray. This will break the surface tension of the water and allows the spray to cover the plants completely instead of "beading up"
FREE GREENHOUSE PLANS
This weeks tip was sent in by one of our customers (Thank you Eric). The following link takes you to a site with free plans for a great little greenhouse that you can build yourself out of easy to find inexpensive materials. CLICK HERE for greenhouse plans.
Beer makes an excellent organic compost activator, pour a couple of cans on the compost pile every couple of months. The yeast in the beer is the active ingredient.
Using organic nutrients in hydroponic systems is becoming very popular. The addition of organic fertilizer is reported to drastically increase both the flavor and/or aroma of the plants. When using organics it is very important that you provide good aeration of the nutrient solution. Aeration is important in any nutrient solution, but lack of it in an organic solution can mean a stinky, stagnant mess. Remember- there is no such thing as too much aeration.
ORGANIC ROOTING HORMONE
You can use Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed as a 100% organic rooting hormone. This method isn't as fast as the regular rooting hormones, you have to soak the cuttings for 1 to 24 hours in full strength Liquid Seaweed (Regular rooting hormones need only be dipped for a few seconds).
The light energy produced by grow lights deminishes very rapidly, I have measured about a 50% reduction in light energy per foot of distance. Flourescent bulbs are the worst as they lose almost all their energy within a few inches.
As a result of this loss of energy it is important to keep your grow light as close as possible to your plants, 1 to 2 inches for flourescent bulbs and High Intensidy Discharge (H.I.D.) lamps need to be as close to the plants as possible without burning them. This height will vary depending on the size of the HID light. For more detailed information about lighting for your garden CLICK HERE.
An easy way to add many types of organic fertilizers to you hydroponic
reservoir is to make a "tea bag" out of an old pair of panty hose. Put the
fertilizer into the panty hose and tie it shut. Hang the tea bag in the reservoir and
suspend it directly over the air stone.
Aeration of the reservoir is very important, especially when you are using organic
nutrients.
Organic Treatment for Blossom End Rot
Spraying (misting) your plants with milk is reportedly a good totally organic cure for blossom end rot. Apparently its the calcium in the milk that does the trick. If you are growing in soil you can pour the milk directly on the ground around the plants instead of spraying the plants.
In a past tip I stated that a great compost activator was to pour beer on the compost. To answer the question that was raised by a some of you.....Yes it will still work if you pass it though your kidneys first. But don't blame me if you get arrested for indecent exposure, I will deny any knowledge of why you are peeing on your compost pile. :o)
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