Is whiskey fo ryou to drink while spraying? LOL! The recipe sounds like the tom's will be happy! Thanks fo rposting!

Substitute molasses for baby shampoo and it will be better yet. Use a couple tablespoons mixed with warm water to thin before adding. Baby shampoo is used as a spreader/sticker while the molasses will do the same thing and give more to your plants. I doubt the whiskey does much of anything at the dilution it comes out of the hose end sprayer. Interesting recipe though. Ami

Maybe whiskey kills bacteria on the plant or in the soil. Remember those Westerns where whiskey was poured over some poor sap's saddle sores to prevent infection?

Miesenbacher,

Why would molassas (mostly suger) act as a wetting agent? Is it the suger or something else? I'm trying to learn here because I mix up a foliar spray and use a commercial spreader sticker which is so powerful it clogs up my sprayer
while doing what it is supposed to do. It is also difficult to impossible to remove from the tomatoes if sprayed anywhere near harvest time.

Another question for you. You do a lot with container growing, I'm going to try 7 this year in addition to my regular garden. Can I expect a reduction in foliage deseases on the container grown plants, or do I need to give them the same spray treatments I do the garden plants?

Larry, i'd treat them the same. I grow in containers and in the ground and what effects one usually effects the other : )

Ask and ye shall receive. Here is an excellent piece on molasses from our cannabis friends. As far as growing in containers or hydroponicaly, they get into it deep using organic or inorganic ferts. Check out some of their forums as there is a lot of good information to be had on growing in general.
Your second question. Use a good soiless mix for your containers and when planting out use Actinovate and Mycorrhizae sprinkled on the root ball or in the hole. Will not only assist in soil borne disease prevention but will enhance the nutrient uptake of your plants. You can also add the Actinovate to your tonic and you will have a disease preventative as well. If you wish to use the mycorrhizae keep the Phosphorous (P) to 3 or lower. I use BioBizz Bio-Grow which has an NPK of 8-2-6 here in Europe. The USA version is 2.0-0.1-7.0.
I basically treat my container plants the same as the ones in the ground as far as disease prevention and foliar applications. As far as fertilization and watering routines there is differences between the two. I hope I answered your questions and if you have any more feel free to ask. Ami

Here is a link that might be useful: Molasses

Is Jerry Baker doing a PBS pledge drive this weekend?

You know what, it's to bad they don't have an edit function here at JW. Ami

If one doesn't have a spray hose, how much water would one add to the recipe listed first?

Great balls of fire, that is some dissertation on molasses!
Brer rabbit, here I come.

Thanks very much for comments. I have looked for Actinovate but so far have been unable to locate a reasonably priced
"gardener" sized source. Will keep looking.

I have been using Daconil alternated with Mancozeb for Early Blight control for several years. I also add some potassium bicarbonate to the mix. It about half works and I have to cut off the Mancozeb as soon as I see some ripening begin.

I wonder if the molasses will act a bit like a sticker. Perhaps once the sun has baked it out it might work to some extent. Let it dry on a dish and it's tough to wash off!

Larry

Larry, TCS Hydroponics sell 2oz package of Actinovate for $19.95 and thats about as cheap as it gets. A little goes along way. Last year I grew 40 plants and 2oz was enough for the initial plant out innoculation and susequent foliar applications for the whole season. And it's organic. Ami

A neat trick to keep your compost teas from clogging up the tips of applicators is to strain it. I use the 5 gallon paint strainers you find in the paint dept.

I add all of the solids into the strainer and tie it up.
Might work in your circumstance larryw.

edna1, If the 1/4 cup of emulsion is undiluted that could be in itself the reason you see such result.
Epsom would really only be needed should your soil require it,........another possibility.
Whiskey and tea might aid in the systemic delivery, and the oil as a sticker as previously noted.
Glad it works for you!!:)
Molasses or honey acts as an activator or more precicely food for the microherd in a compost environment. I wonder how this would benefit as a foliar, perhaps it helps in the drench.

Tom

Well, I ordered the Actinovate. Lordy, that really hurt this poor scottsman! 2 oz for $28.00 delivered. Silver now goes for about $13.50 per ounce so maybe, if it works, it will be worth the price. After all, beer runs $16 per case
and so we got about a case and a half invested here.

I hope instructions are included. I'm doing 52 tomatoes in the ground this year (in two gardens 13 miles apart) and 6 in containers. One more container will house a pepper plant.

I also have 4 ounces of Mycorrhizal fungi for veggies which I got from Fungi Perfecti in California. Will the Actinovate kill that if both are used as a root drench or should they both go into the planting hole?

I am really not too comfortable with all this organic fringe stuff, and need some knowledgeable guidance. Great balls of fire, I feel like I'm playing with some kind of evil alchemie!

Larry, the Actinovate and Myco work together. The first year I sprinkled a pinch of each in the planting hole, set the plant in the hole and covered with aggregate. Last year I used CowPots and soaked the pot and plant in a solution of Actinovate and water in a bucket for 30 seconds, removed and sprinkled the mycorrhizae on the side of the wet pot and planted. Nice thing about CowPots there is no transplant shock as the pot decomposes while feeding the plant.

Nothing mystical about organics. Just remember when using ferts make sure The Phosphorous (P) on the NPK is not any higher than 3 or 4 as High Phosphorous will kill the beneficial Bacteria in the mycorrhiza.
During the season I used T&J Enerprises Microbe Tea which I added Actinovate to prior to the brew process and when finished I applied to the plants with a hose end sprayer as a fungicide and foliar feed for the plants.Ami