A new england grow. Please make suggestions!

[balsamfirgreen]

Going at it full strength this year, compliant with the medical laws of my area of New England, 44N LAT.

All strains from seed. Mandala #1 (mandala, of course) Frisian Dew (Dutch Passion) after an inspiring article about greenhouse growing in Friesland netherlands (59N !!). The mandalas will have to sexed out through cuttings, the F.D. is feminized (not auto, just fem). Started from seeds in mid-march along with a few random Dinafem seeds. Critical +, Cheese, Blue Widow, all feminized. They are working on their 8-10th nodes about now (topped once). Soil is custom mix of organic peat, compost, perlite, the other ingredients are held secret (i dont mix my own, im not keeping the secret) but the compost itself analysis is 2-3-2-5(ca)-1(s), and if I recall 60-something percent organic matter. Already properly cooked and composted.

Each plant will get roughly 75 gallons of said soil mix, a mostly-full 100gal smart pot or a 65 gallon SP, as yet undecided. Since germination the seedlings have been kept at 16/8, as they will be transplanted June 1st. Solstice daylight is about 15:30 and June 1st is about 15:15 so I don't expect any premature flowering.

Problem areas:
Many of the brambleberries (raspberry blackberry boysenberry etc) had Botrytis last year (probably every year). This year the strategy is protection and prevention, and of course, observation. Actinovate/Mycostop, Greencure/Potassium Bicarbonate, and after realizing the ingredients of Sierra Naturals 244C is essential Clove, Thyme, and Rosemary oil with an emulsifier it seemed more sensible to get the oils and make the mix oneself. Besides, one could MANY gallons of mix by making one's own for the same cost (Sorry SNS). Also will add Neem to the essential oil mix, emulsify with Dr. Bronners. I realize there is not much that can be done past 1/2way through flower but whatever helps. I will do just about anything to prevent bud rot except invite the boys from Bayer over. PS. Has anyone used Kaolin Clay (also known as Surround WP) in order to prevent both insects and sporulation of molds and mildews?

Some form of silica, silica blast probably (any other suggestions?), will be used in conjunction with AACT for feeding and plain pH adjusted well water but ground-level feeding/watering only, the only foliar applications will be of anti-incect/fungals.

There will be hoophouse protection over top of them. The plants will be about 6-feet on center, a little tight, but with 10' of head-room, hopefully some trellising/netting will keep them fairly uniform with adequate circulation. (there are roll-up sides for ventilation though, cross breeze could easily flow in spores of the dreaded mold). Will also alternate treatments with Bt and Spinosad, alongside the rosemary should keep most exoskeletal critters at bay. I've made a recovery from spider mite infestation with rosemary before, to my suprise, worked as well as azamax.

My biggest concern is bud rot, due to the damage I saw it capable of last summer, this year the infected areas of brambles will be monitored and if/when grey mold attacks measures will be taken to eradicate it within a certain radius to the plants as well as treatments by anti-fungals mentioned above. Unfortunately, the brambles are everywhere, eradicated them is not an option, however, perhaps eradicated them within a certain distance of the garden would be better than nothing? 20'? 50'? 10 miles?

I guess that's pretty much the run down, if it were your garden, any suggestions are welcome. Thanks

 

[coldcanna]

I've been growing in NE for several years now and my first bit of advice is to budget in a certain amount of guaranteed rot every year, just the way it is man. That being said, if your vigilant about spraying your antifungals every week it will seriously reduce your risk. Make sure your plants are nicely lolipopped, prune off the bottom 3rd of every branch and also have at least a foot off the ground of no foliage, you want as much air flow as possible circulating through the middle of the plant. Clear as much vegetation from the surrounding area as is possible for you, keep grass mowed short, spray antifungals on on that stuff too. Picking shorter flowering strains is huge, shaving 2 weeks off your harvest window can be the difference between life and death when your watching those cold fall rains come down. The best option of all is a greenhouse with supplemental heating, the mold really likes to set in when the nights are cold and damp. If you do have a GH make sure you put a few fans in there to keep that air moving

 

[wildgrow]

I agree with CC - clear away a buffer zone around the hoop house. And be sure that its adequately ventilated.

 

[balsamfirgreen]

CC- there is greenhouse protection. the sides can be rolled up/down, shade cloth (aluminet actually good for reflecting heat and preventing loss of heat at night). the buffer zone around the greenhouse is fairly small, and there is a lot of old, dead, berry-brambles that were a known vector of bud rot last summer. i suppose i will be a little more vicious with my choice of fungicides on the surrounding foliage (not the medical plants, but the area around the hoophouse)

 

[alotawatah]

Any updates? Did the catepilers hit you? I'm also a new England with an outdoor/greenhouse going. I've been having nightmares on mold and Powdery mildew for the last three nights straight.

 

[slownickel]

Disease

Disease

Given that you are in the Northeast, you get a lot of rain. This also means that for the most part your soils are well leached out of major nutrients, the most important of which is calcium.

I grow about 20 plants of different grapes, which locally folks spray WEEKLY to control. I find that with Calcium high enough and using amino acids made from hydrolized fish, that we have NO mildew.

Everything is relative to where you are located. I am from NJ and when I lived and worked there for an Italian, he never sprayed fungicides yet had amazing beef stake tomatoes, amazing peaches, etc... he was the one that taught me early on the amazing power of what calcium applied in the soil can do for not only quality but insect and disease resistance.

How are things going with all that said?

 

[alotawatah]

Slownickel, How are you applying the calcium and fish protein? I'm out doors in Coco and I already have powdery mildew setting in.
Thanks

 

[slownickel]

Calcium

Calcium

The quickest form of calcium is gypsum. You don't need much.

A pound or so, well distributed around the plant should work. If you can, spike some in the ground using a piece of rebar to open up a funnel shaped hole in three or four spots around the plant. That will make a calcium supply station where the plant can go and pick up the concentration it likes. Calcium is translocatable in roots. Meaning that if one root gets good calcium levels, it can pass that calcium to other roots.

You should be spraying to control your fungus prior to it showing up. This keeps spore counts low.

Fish protein is applied at the root level.

Calcium oxide mixed in water to a pH of over 11 several times will help a lot as most fungus cannot live at that pH. You only need a couple of grams per liter of water. Let it sit so you don't paint everything white and then apply the clear liquid. I would do that in the morning. Try to have everything good and dry at night.

What are you using for fungicides?

 

[Lester Beans]

Best tip I can give you for growing out of doors in New England is baking soda. Foliar spray as a preventive and cure for powdery mildew and other nasty rots. Its cheap and works great. Cucumbers, squash, water melons, pumpkins, etc also benefit from it. I'm the only one whose lilacs and peonies look great all year in my area. Baking soda for the win!!

 

[balsamfirgreen]

only problems so far is what looks like colorado potato beetle damage, and its few and far between. some are also throwing three and four bladed leaves, no one has a guess on why, as it is occuring on different strains, and they didnt go through a brief flower/reveg.

slownickel - calcium 25 is on the menu, but i believe he was waiting until nearly flower to begin applications, as well the soil has been tested to have generous amounts of Ca.

being under plastic i think probably does wonders for collected moisture but it doesnt change the ambient RH%, in any case, thus far, with the use of regalia and essential oils as well as AgSil, have been winning the war so far with molds and pests.

Right on, Lester Beans, I was impressed by the success folks have had with greencure (potassium soda_) as well. some say its just a band-aid but i saw it flush out an outbreak of PM on a few different farms this year. although in one case (and i thought this was due to it not being fully dissolved) it caused some burns on the leaves, but the foliage grew old and were pruned off and the PM still didn't come back, so either way it was a win.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

Best tip I can give you for growing out of doors in New England is baking soda. Foliar spray as a preventive and cure for powdery mildew and other nasty rots. Its cheap and works great. Cucumbers, squash, water melons, pumpkins, etc also benefit from it. I'm the only one whose lilacs and peonies look great all year in my area. Baking soda for the win!!

Elaborate por favor. How much per gallon?

I've used Greencure in the past, but only after shit had begun. Gonna be using it this year as a preventative measure.

 

[balsamfirgreen]

fungicides:Regalia & Mycostop. Heard much more about activonate than mycostop but they are both Streptomyces? Would one fight the other for territory? or would they co-exist peacefully and fight as a team? Also heard it suggested that activonate acts as a bacteria whereas mycostop is a dried mycelia, any clarification on that?

calcium oxide, though, eh? in addition to/combination with ca25?

 

[_tessarecting]

I wouldnt use sodium bicarbonate to raise pH but I would use a few drops of potassium hydroxide...plants dont like a lot of Na...never tried ca oxide but it sounds ideal

 

[slownickel]

I believe there used to a potassium bicarbonate on the market.

If you listen to any of Kempf, he is pretty elusive, but when I saw one of his quotes, I purchased the book that he was quoting.

The key it seems is the metabolites that come from the bacteria that decompose manure.

We have been doing light dustings of dry manure on our grapes which are very susceptible as well as our watermelons. That and using the hydrolized fish instead of synthetic nitrogen, we only see it show up once in a while and it tiny quantities. We snuff it out quick with the calcium oxide at pH 12 or more. Mexican cement company recipe.... You never know where you can find gems hiding....

 

[HillMizer]

From a nutrition and PH standpoint and using Calcium in one form or another like many people suggested. When the going gets tough I've had a ton of luck with micronized sulfur applied just before budset. Great for powdery mildew NOT COMPATIBLE WITH OILS.

I wish I could say biological Fungicides did the job for me, I like Serenade MAX for early season but at the end if I'm going to wet my plants down with something I want it to REALLY COUNT.

Got a leaf blower? Blow em off in the AM. Who doesn't like that?

Don't be shy I'd live to see pictures!

My old time New England farmer friend said "plant em under hemlock trees" to prevent botrytis. I'm still doing my best not to plant under trees.

 

[balsamfirgreen]

I believe there used to a potassium bicarbonate on the market.

If you listen to any of Kempf, he is pretty elusive, but when I saw one of his quotes, I purchased the book that he was quoting.

The key it seems is the metabolites that come from the bacteria that decompose manure.

We have been doing light dustings of dry manure on our grapes which are very susceptible as well as our watermelons. That and using the hydrolized fish instead of synthetic nitrogen, we only see it show up once in a while and it tiny quantities. We snuff it out quick with the calcium oxide at pH 12 or more. Mexican cement company recipe.... You never know where you can find gems hiding....

in reference to bud rot/botrytis or powdery mildew, or both?
does the source of the calcium oxide matter?

 

[slownickel]

Calcium oxide vs Calcium hydroxide

Calcium oxide vs Calcium hydroxide

Calcium oxide is pretty standard. I imagine most cement companies sell it.

The finer the material the easier it is to dissolve. The key is driving up the pH to above 12. You may find it easier to use calcium hydroxide, it is more soluble that oxide. Same results.

This work regarding pH and the ability of fungus and bacterias not surviving high pH was conducted in Russia, Piatkin, K., Krnshein, Y., and was published in Microbiologia, Eduit. Mir. Moscow, URSS 1980.

This information came from ANFACAL, which is the National Association of Calcium manufacturers in Mexico. Amazing source by the way.

 

[Chunkypigs]

My old time New England farmer friend said "plant em under hemlock trees" to prevent botrytis. I'm still doing my best not to plant under trees.

ECSD under a dead hemlock at the edge of a swamp.

in my area the bud rot and PM happens outside on everything and I'm certain a hoop house will help just like it helps my tomatoes but I can't grow meds in my east coast med state so
I'm just putting out my favorite clones and see what happens.
I'm finally trying a guerrilla on some rich hunters land near me.
they have 100's of acres that border a huge state forest with lots of old logging trails.
the owners are rich doctors with hunting stands just a short walk from the road and I'm pretty certain they don't ever go in the swamp.
I've been picking their mushrooms for years and debating this for years now.

I think you could hide 100 big plants out there where they would never need watering.


I'm trying out a local soil mix that I've devised.
there's lots of topsoil piled on the edges of the logging trails and I've been lightening it up with leaf litter from the deep forest as well as using the debris that gets washed up at the edge up the creek in the spring.

I'm going just into the edge of a waterlogged area , dig a hole then make a mound with transplants root mass right above the wet area.

they needed supplemental waterings for a couple weeks but next year smaller plants that are not root bound will be used along with some seed starts.

this is a TGA Chernobyl selection that I enjoy really early, 45 days usually and I think it has a chance to do well.

I'm disguising the plants in clumps of bushes that form in the high spots at the edge of the swamp not leaving them out in the full sun alone like a christmas tree.

the soil is crazy rich in the swamp but way compact and wet but there's lots of great organic material around to amend with in the forest close by and it's free!
I packed out my usual EWC and other super soil amendments to add to my improvised forest mix and I'm using it in small amounts too.

 

[HillMizer]

ECSD under a dead hemlock at the edge of a swamp.
View Image
I'm finally trying a guerrilla on some rich hunters land near me.
they have 100's of acres that border a huge state forest with lots of old logging trails.
the owners are rich doctors with hunting stands just a short walk from the road and I'm pretty certain they don't ever go in the swamp.
I've been picking their mushrooms for years and debating this for years now.

I think you could hide 100 big plants out there where they would never need watering.


I'm trying out a local soil mix that I've devised.
there's lots of topsoil piled on the edges of the logging trails and I've been lightening it up with leaf litter from the deep forest as well as using the debris that gets washed up at the edge up the creek in the spring.

I'm going just into the edge of a waterlogged area , dig a hole then make a mound with transplants root mass right above the wet area.

they needed supplemental waterings for a couple weeks but next year smaller plants that are not root bound will be used along with some seed starts.

this is a TGA Chernobyl selection that I enjoy really early, 45 days usually and I think it has a chance to do well.
View Image

I'm disguising the plants in clumps of bushes that form in the high spots at the edge of the swamp not leaving them out in the full sun alone like a christmas tree.

the soil is crazy rich in the swamp but way compact and wet but there's lots of great organic material around to amend with in the forest close by and it's free!
I packed out my usual EWC and other super soil amendments to add to my improvised forest mix and I'm using it in small amounts too.

Love it.

 

[slownickel]

Try sprinkling some dry manure lightly, several times, over the grow early. Let's see if Dr. Huber and Kempf were correct about the metabolites of manure giving disease resistance to plants.