Foliar Sprays

[Carey Ma]

Foliar Sprays

Originally written for Condrad’s discussion: “Azomite Folar Spray”

As to your question: I'm not familiar with that product but I would wonder how dissolvable it might be, ground up raw mineral and all. I think it would be a great additive in the grow beds if it takes a while to dissolve. Never mind what I just said if it dissolves easily. Anyway,

There are many advantages of using a foliar spray or drench. Foliage sprays are good quick fixes as well as for regular maintenance and as long as you know what you are doing and preferably know why. Although more forgiving most of the time, you could just as easily “overdose” your plant/s as well as injure them in other ways. Remember, too much of anything becomes waste and never spray at noon or when its bright out.

The purpose of foliar sprays is to feed the stomata, an opening in leaves that lets water vapor and oxygen (respiration) out while absorbing water (dew) and free flowing elements like carbon dioxide. These stomata usually open largest during sun up and sundown. Since I mostly use bottom fed wick supplied by my AP sys. I usually top-feed (organic drench/ heavy spray but not heavy like can watering to soak soil) my veggies, flowers and fruit trees in succession, at around 4-5am every four days or so mainly to give the top layer of mulch/compost (10 cm) and shallow roots (rhizosphere) some moisture and microbes to help it break down.

I make special “tea” formulas and use different teas each time I spray depending what the garden or specific set of plants seem to need (but overall I think I do it more out of habit from years of top watering than any real need), (most of the time). In between, I still mist all my ladies most every morning just to get in tune with how things are going, take note of priorities and let them know I care. Actually that’s my favorite part of the day; watering and the first smoke, picking, eating all those delectably different jewels of nature in the cool of each dawn, then petting all those loving animals scampering around ones legs begging for attention; puts one in a good mood for a hearty breakfast at 8-9am.

Sorry, back to FSs. I liken foliar spraying to frosting on a cake - I never ate a piece of cake that was all frosting and no cake, but I have eaten cakes without any frosting. I must admit cakes with frosting taste a lot better! A good foliar spray program is like frosting on the cake. It must be applied on top of the foundation of a solid soil program (in your case a well stocked, mature and balanced AP system).

Cheers

[TCLynx]

There are no CHEAP and GOOD feeders that I know of.

Here is a link to the

feeders I sell

They are not CHEAP nor are they perfect but so far they are the best thing I've found for my purposes and I've tried many ideas including the cheaper pet feeders and pond feeders and game feeders.  Aquatic Eco Systems has options for some multi feeder feeding systems where you might control multiple feeders over different tanks from the same controller but you would then be stuck feeding the same amount to each tank.

 

Beware, automatic feeders are dangerous!!!!!!!  Daily observation of fish feeding behavior is important and it is very easy to mess up when setting timers on the feeders and accidentally grossly over feed.  I do it but I have also been burned by it, killing a whole tank full of fish.

 

[Werner Kraeutler]

Kobus,

I'll get some information if Lithovit is sold in SA. Keep  you informed.

Werner

Kobus Jooste said:

Any chance of it finding its way to South Africa?

Werner Kraeutler said:

In the US the same product is sold under the label Lithovit. Pls visit www.usalithovit.com

Br Werner

 

[Carey Ma]

@ Waren: "concerning foliar spray: If you do so, the particles must be electrical "charged". The more the better. Charged particles enter the leaves through the stomata if their diameter is less then 10 microns."

 

I have played with elctroculture a bit and believe you are right. How do you "charge" your spray?

[Werner Kraeutler]

@Cary: it's the innovative milling technology to charge the particles.The name of the basic product is Lithovit (http://www.lithovit.net/index.php) made in Germany. I quote a Lithovit publication:

"The biological activity of a mineral substance depends directly on its active surface,
i.e. total contact surface between the mineral and the medium. SUPERGREEN particles
provide the plant with an unprecedented level of calcium and carbon dioxide.
The process of tribomechanical activation (TMA) not only determines the granularity
of the particles and increased surface area, but also induces changes in the biochemical
structure of the material. The TMA-processed particles reveal an unusual distribution
of electrons which might play a key-role in their biochemical activity.

Since more than one century, numerous scientists have worked on mineral activation,
in order to obtain smaller and more reactive particles. The discovery of TMA activation is a breakthrough in mineral milling. For the first time, a mechanical device was able to pro-duce nano-particles without the help of other (chemical, electro-chemical) techniques.
In the beginning of the last century, milling-devices called disintegrators were used to
activate coal. Such a device was made of two discs running in opposite directions at
very high speed, each one carrying steel bars colliding with the mineral particles. This
technique resulted in a 30% increase of the calorific value of coal, but the collisions
caused the abrasion of the steel bars: this technique was neither profitable, nor
applicable to the field of health or agro-alimentary, as these require a perfect purity of
processed material.
Tribomechanical activation was developed by replacing the steel bars with blades,
therefore allowing aerodynamic forces to accelerate the mineral particles. In this new
activator, the discs pulled by rotors at very high speed create extremely numerous
collisions among mineral particles, and not between mineral and metal: the particles
undergo 3,000 collisions per second at speeds going up to Mach 3. Dimensions
obtained that way range from micro to nano-meter scale (nano-particles) depending on
the raw material. The surface of the particles becomes extremely fragmented and
irregular, which further multiplies active surface and reactivity.
There are many potential applications of this new technology: In the case of
SUPERGREEN, it is applied on calcite, a mineral emerged from sedimentary algae. The
tribomechanical activation produces particles being able to permeate into the leaf
where it acts as a permanent source of calcium, oligo-elements and carbon dioxide.
Due to its activated surface, the efficiency of this process is multiplied.
When SUPERGREEN is sprayed on the surface of the leaves, the activated particles have
the following effects:
· They disintegrate on the surface of the leaf and thereby allow the absorption of
calcium und carbon dioxide.
· Due to their granularity (unprecedented in the case of calcite) the particles
permeate the pores of the leaf (having a mean diameter of 10 μm).

 

Werner

Carey Ma said:

@ Waren: "concerning foliar spray: If you do so, the particles must be electrical "charged". The more the better. Charged particles enter the leaves through the stomata if their diameter is less then 10 microns."

 

I have played with elctroculture a bit and believe you are right. How do you "charge" your spray?

[Werner Kraeutler]

Hi Kobus,

you get Lithovit in South Africa:

Eco-Fert,

Mr. van der Merwe, E- Mail "Hugo van der Merwe"

a id="yui_3_2_0_5_1313037821705220" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:[e-mail]" name="yui_3_2_0_5_1313037821705220">[e-mail]>.

Cheers

Werner

Kobus Jooste said:

Any chance of it finding its way to South Africa?

Werner Kraeutler said:

In the US the same product is sold under the label Lithovit. Pls visit www.usalithovit.com

Br Werner

 

[Kobus Jooste]

Thanks - Iwill follow this up

Werner Kraeutler said:

Hi Kobus,

you get Lithovit in South Africa:

Eco-Fert,

Mr. van der Merwe, E- Mail "Hugo van der Merwe"

a id="yui_3_2_0_5_1313037821705220" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:[e-mail]" name="yui_3_2_0_5_1313037821705220">[e-mail]>.

Cheers

Werner

Kobus Jooste said:

Any chance of it finding its way to South Africa?

Werner Kraeutler said:

In the US the same product is sold under the label Lithovit. Pls visit www.usalithovit.com

Br Werner

 

[Growzay]

I too foliar feed all my plants once or twice a week at least with worm tea and occasionally I spray just seltzer water (no sodium) and sometimes seltzer along with seaweed extract on my seedlings/sprouts or clones. It is an instant Co2 source! Clones respond the best because of more leaf surface- thus more stomata to uptake the Co2. Spraying with 24 hour water is a must if not using rain water or RO- Seaweed and Fish emulsion are excelllent sources of crucial elements and trace minerals and of course an immediate source of readily available nitrogen. The Best time is sunrise to foliar feed any plants-they love it! It mists at night here on the coast and cleans the leaf surfaces for but I do spray the bottoms of the leaves to make sure the stomata are unubstructed by residue...

[Carey Ma]

Yes yes I strongly believe in foliar sprays and they aren't only for feeding. Have you hear of or tried Jerry Bakers tonics? Some of his stuff is pretty useful. I wish I knew all that goes on in his formulas like one I remembered called for whiskey and apple juice as part of his concoction.