Quote:
Originally Posted by AlittleSalt
The Pink Ping Pong plant (Say that fast 5 times) looks really good.
-- have you tried any biological controls/inoculants (beneficial bacteria and fungi) on your plants?
No, but here's a search http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=...A_wQgQMIrQEwAA I would need to go back to college to read it.  . |
Thanks! PPP is a sturdy plant that's been fun to grow so far; it looks like it will be productive, too. And I love the name!
As for biological controls/inoculants, I'm no expert, but according to my husband, a biochemist, a few products I use to feed my seedlings contain some of the same beneficial microbes that have been shown (in the dreaded scientific literature) to help plants resist soil-borne illnesses like fusarium as well as reduce nematode populations. When my husband tries to explain how these things work, I probably look like this:
One is Espoma's Start! liquid concentrate for small seedlings; when they're bigger, I switch to Espoma's Grow!. At plant-out, I sprinkle some Bio-Tone granules, also from Espoma, in the hole; it contains microbes, too, as does Tomato-Tone, which I use to amend the beds along with mushroom compost. Anyway, it appears that WM sells Espoma products nationally, if they're of interest. Other Tomatovillians might be able to tell you more about the various inoculant products on the market, since I haven't yet tried them...
Best of luck developing your new gardening strategies!