[SilverSurfer_OG]

Thanks Wilbur.

Growing organically in the earth is a joy once the preperation is done. Ideally we are just watering with teas and rain water but it takes a while to get the richness there. Prepping this time of year (if in temperate climate) with manures as VOM is doing or green manure as i am is the best way. You could even get a flock of chickens or geese etc to come in and do the digging/fertilising for you.

It might seem like too much extra work but really we are saving work by not weeding and come spring time just pop the plants in the ground. Its also much easier to do ground work without a blazing sun on our backs

This is something more unique to Australia. We have really intense sunlight compared to Europe where our traditional western farmimg knowledge comes from.

Careful selection of plant sites and heaps of nutrient rich mulch (or whatever is close by) is the way to go and our favourite plant will flourish in the intense light.

Sounds like you got the right idea Wilbur

yes I see that it may look like extra work but the work is in the establishment is it not? once the garden is established then there need only be annual maintenance processes such as putting out the dolomite in winter ... adding some chook pellets ... redoing the mulch ... etc.
your comment about chooks is ironic for me as the area I grow in has those feathered vandals called scrub turkeys. THEY cultivate the soil alright! not to mention bandicoots and echidnas which waddle in and dig for larvae. thus it's vital here to cover the soil with fence mesh.

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Bush turkeys aye! They are funny buggers.

Yes correct and if you have half decent soil to a decent depth you can just go no dig style and let the worms and roots do the digging for you. Especially if you grow plants with strong tap roots such as dandelion or comfrey. They will mine the subsoil and bring valuable minerals to the surface

Once your plants are established they are pretty much unstoppable. Except for a really hungry roo.

Luckily where i am there are only small pademelons and wallabies plus possums to worry about.

Its good to have a fenced in area for sure it is just more obvious to any potential nosy buggers.

[Squiggles]

In my garden box's which are essentially a no dig setup apart from the usual mulches, compost/manures
i also add shell grit(bird feed, vitamin suppliment) for the Mg(magnesium) and Ca(calcium) it adds,
great for flowering and in a small part to vegative growth
Shellfish and fish off cuts (waste products from the fish factory) crushed up in a metal bucket
with a modified axe handle and let ferment(about a week) dug into the beds during the winter fallow
after harvest adds all sort of good micro-organism's and minerals
Its around the same time my bokashi bucket gets a workout as i like to dig in about 100L of fermented scraps
in each bed at this time ready for the next grow season, were i am we get two winter and summer
hehe goto love australia
im now looking at replacing my tradional deep sewerage Toilet out the back with a composting one
alot of people say im full of shit might be time to put it to good use
Fucken RSI thats it for now crew my hands are fucked.
hope this makes a worthy addition to your thread SilverSurfer

Much respect all
Squiggles

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Worthy indeed mate!

Fish scraps and shellfish plus the grit alone would produce great results. Team that up with your goat poo and mulch plus soil that is alive with fungi and microbes you on to a winner


You are certainly embracing the desired level of fanatacism

The shellfish especially good with its chitin content. This is something i am very keen to get into next seasons spots and my garden in general. Will phone around a few seafood suppliers and see if i can find some crab or lobster shells. Its also what many insects are made of so i guess if you have a plague of beetles or cockroaches collect them suckers up and put on the compost heap

Chitin/Chitosan

by Tahir Mahmood

2003-11-01


History

Chitin is one of the most abundant polysaccharide found in nature. It is often considered a cellulose derivative, although it does not occur in organisms producing cellulose. Chitin was first found in Mushrooms in 1811 by Professor Henri while he was Professor of Natural History and Director of Botanical Gardens at the Academy Science Nancy, France, that was later to be called Chitin. During 1830’s it was isolated from insects and named Chitin. The name chitin is derived from Greek meaning tunic or envelope. During 1850’s Professor C. Roughet discovered while experimenting with Chitin that it could be transferred into water soluble form through some chemical reaction and in late 1870’s name Chitin modified to Chitosan and later on much of the research was focused on these compounds. Chitosan is a polysaccharide of Glucosamine which is derived from Chitin. It is formed through a process of deacylation of Chitin molecule. Chitin/Chitosan is also a constituent part of cell walls of parasitic fungi. These days it is being produced from the processing waste of crabs, shrimps, oysters and fungi.

Importance of Chitosan in Agriculture

Everybody had an idea that these days use of biologically active and environmentally friendly substances for plant protection as well as growth enhancing is becoming an indispensable part of modern agriculture system. This is especially more common in developed world where the governments and people becoming more conscious about using toxic chemicals on plants. Under these circumstances people need to use certain plant protecting substances that do not accumulate in soil, plants, animals and human body and that can easily degrade in natural environment. Secondly they want those substances that have the ability not only to increase plant stability against unfavorable conditions like disease and insects but also have the ability to increase the crop yield and improve its quality.

One of the most promising way of improving plant protection and quality is the method of inducing non specific resistance against such stresses based on natural plant potential activation according to model worked out by nature itself and activation of plant growth enhancing mechanism. Plant resistance to pathogens and growth enhancing factors are based on various mechanisms such as: formation of induced antibiotics, proteinase inhibitors, and active oxygen form, maintenance of hormonal balance, activation of enzymes etc as well as modification of the plant cell wall by lignin, suberin and silicum. These protective and growth enhancing mechanisms are induced by various substances separately but Chitosan, a non toxic, organic and biodegradable natural biopolymer meets all these requirements. Chitosan possess a high growth stimulating efficacy combined with antifungal and antibacterial activity of systemic character. All these properties have a prolonged effect and cause no damage to agro ecology. Chitosan has wide scope of application on various plants. It can be used through irrigation as well as though foliar sprays. Once being applied through foliar or irrigation to plants it provides plant protection against fungal infection by rapid expression of a number of defense responses, including accumulation of phenolic compounds and formation of structural barriers at sites of attempted fungal penetration. Chitosan inhibits the reproduction of pathogens and also induces activation of genes, which produces protease inhibitors that help protect against insect attack. It also stimulates the plants hormones responsible for root formation, stem growth, fruit formation and development.

Plants do not contain Chitosan but they do secrete Chitinase enzyme. Structurally there is a small amount of Chitinases in plants but once the Chitosan is being absorbed by plants it improves the activity and content of Chitinase enzymes and eventually plants with high Chitinase activity has better resistance to diseases.

There are two types of Chitosan oligosaccharide products available in the market, one having low molecular weight Chitosan compounds and other with higher molecular weight. A product with low molecular weight Chitosan is better than the high molecular weight because it has more growth stimulating effect with its ability to permeate into Nucleus and to impact the proper gene expression. It is also able to increase and accelerate callusogenesis and morphogenesis as well as tissue regeneration. This low molecular weight Chitosan is also able to induce rapidly lignifications of plant tissues in conjugated with affected tissues. Always try to use products with low molecular weight Chitosan. There are some products like RAGE™ with low molecular weight Chitosan are available in the market.

Apart from its disease resistance and growth promoting effect Chitosan use can also improve the beneficial microbial activity when used in soil or soil less medium. This increase in microbial activity helps in conversion of organic nutrition (not available) to inorganic (available) form. It also helps in making a better root system that helps plants to absorb more nutrients from medium. In general Chitosan can help improve the fertilizer use efficiency, increase number and size of flowers/fruits, increase the shelf life of produce and this all ultimately lead to more production with less or no use of toxic substances for insect and disease control. With the growing awareness about Chitosan I believe strongly that this will be the product of this century for better plant growth.

At the end I would like to say that in life it is not the strongest nor the most intelligent survive but the ones most adaptable to change. Always try to use safe (safe for Animals, Human beings and Environment) products for plant growth in order to make this world a better place for living.

Dr. Tahir Mahmood

Director Research and Development

Grotek Manufacturing Inc

[bonsai]

Great idea SS, ICMAG's organic section has the best signal:noise ratio of anywhere on the web IMO, and there are definitely AU-specific elements worth discussing. Thanks for pointing out neutrog, Im going to find their gogo juice and give it a try.

re: Seasol & Powerfeed
These are super common here, so I figure it's worth pointing out for anyone who doesn't check the datasheets -- they are high PH. The Powerfeed is 11 if i recall correctly. If you're using these regularly in pots and start getting magnesium lockout and similar deficiencies, consider mixing a tiny bit of citric acid with your Seasol or Powerfeed dilution. I PH them down to about 6 as I use a lime-heavy soil mix (dolomite + oyster shells) and prefer to give slightly acid feed and let the soil swing the overall PH back up for more varied nutrient uptake.

Importing organic fertilizer or additives
I was attempting to buy cold-pressed humic acid and called customs; it will cost $80 just to apply to import any organic fertilizer or similar, regardless of quantity (I only wanted 100ml!)

[johnnybsmokin]

Hey Bonsai

Originally Posted by bonsai

Great idea SS, ICMAG's organic section has the best signal:noise ratio of anywhere on the web IMO, and there are definitely AU-specific elements worth discussing. Thanks for pointing out neutrog, Im going to find their gogo juice and give it a try.

re: Seasol & Powerfeed
These are super common here, so I figure it's worth pointing out for anyone who doesn't check the datasheets -- they are high PH. The Powerfeed is 11 if i recall correctly. If you're using these regularly in pots and start getting magnesium lockout and similar deficiencies, consider mixing a tiny bit of citric acid with your Seasol or Powerfeed dilution. I PH them down to about 6 as I use a lime-heavy soil mix (dolomite + oyster shells) and prefer to give slightly acid feed and let the soil swing the overall PH back up for more varied nutrient uptake.

Importing organic fertilizer or additives
I was attempting to buy cold-pressed humic acid and called customs; it will cost $80 just to apply to import any organic fertilizer or similar, regardless of quantity (I only wanted 100ml!)

Was not aware of the Ph issue of the "Seasole and Power feed" range, thankyou for pointing this out. I will check and keep an eye on this in future. I do use the products my self, but not every watering so I will check the run of and if need be adjust.

Cheers Johnny

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Cheers Bonsai.

Yeah i was tempted to get the gogo juice but with the em1 and lacto b i thought it might be overkill. Does sound very good.

The Seasol i remember having a very high ph. Didnt realise the powerfeed was also high.

Sound advice on the lime/oyster shell heavy mix and more acidic feed.
Chicken poo also is strongly alkaline as is charcoal/wood ash.

What form is the citric acid in? Could we use lemon juice?

Squiggles, we have a nature-loo composting toilet. I recommend them. simplest design on the market and cheapest. chemical free, low mtce and very easy to access your poo at any stage of the decomposition process. liquids from mine go into a pump well and fertilise the garden when I water it ... and I usually don't wait the recommended ten months for decomposition but bury the container-full of poo and chaff (dry stuff put in to cover the poo and to add humus) in the soil where I want to feed a tree.
makes yummy custard apples!

[bonsai]

Originally Posted by SilverSurfer_OG

Chicken poo also is strongly alkaline as is charcoal/wood ash.

As is diatomaceous earth IIRC. As I use DE and biochar in large percentages for my potting mix, I usually add a good helping of coffee grounds as a slower acidic buffer as well as acidic feedings.

Originally Posted by SilverSurfer_OG

What form is the citric acid in? Could we use lemon juice?

Lemon juice is perfect.
Outside of citrus season I use powdered citric acid, you'll find it in little cylindrical containers for a couple of bucks at every Coles and Woolworths in Aus. It'll either be with baking soda etc or with icing mixes.