CPS: Continuous Production Systems Part IV
pure potassium silicate with products that contain chitin and
salicylic acid into the correct dilution rates and adjust the pH
to 5.0 after adding a non-ionic surfactant. It will stiffen stems,
for heavier fruit loads while making your plants very hardy and
capable of resisting and preventing diseases that cost yields. As
the flowers or fruits begin to develop and spraying becomes
undesirable, apply these products as a weekly or bi-weekly
treatment at the root zone. When you begin to consistently
harvest disease free plants, you will thank yourself for having
bulked-up your plants with these beneficial substances.
Inoculating the crop with biological treatments of beneficial
fungi, bacteria and protozoa will further help improve the
crop’s resistance to diseases and insects while promoting
bigger and healthier root systems. For the 100 per cent
organic or hydro-organic grower, biologicals are counted on
for the conversion of organic matter in organic nutrients and
the growing medium to plant available nutrients, naturally
occurring growth hormones and amino acids.
A microbial tea brewer (featured) and cartridges allow growers
to brew teas for plants that are consistently high in both
populations and diversity of beneficial microbes. Each batch
produces either five or 10 gallons of bioactive tea that will retain
a healthy vitality for up to seven days when refrigerated. A five
gallon brew will treat up to 250 gallons of solution, so unless you
are gardening on grander scales, it’s probably more convenient to
use a pre-brewed solution. To avoid the limitations of shorter shelf
lives, you can use powdered or liquid suspensions of dormant
microbial concentrates. Note that the brewing process helps to
multiply the microbes very quickly, versus just adding to your
reservoir. Apparently, in a 24 hour brew period, the microbes can
multiply up to eight billion times!
Prepared bio-inoculants are economical, consistent and highly
effective. Most are available in powdered forms with separate
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MAXIMUM YIELD USA - March 2009