Author Topic: EM-1  (Read 3253 times)

buddy roo

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EM-1
« on: December 17, 2017, 10:58:24 AM »
??? em-1 does anyone use it ? for those that have can you see any real difference ?? how do you use it spray? drench? just wondering          Patrick

Finca La Isla

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2017, 01:17:03 PM »
I like em a lot.  I also have used other microorganism cultures but figure that em is easily the best of the ones I know.
How I use it depends on the crop but most commonly I spray it on foliage until it starts to drip off the plant, then wet the ground, especially around the drip line.  It is essential that you have organic material as a mulch under your trees and plants.  I prepare an application of 1 part em, 1part molasses to 18 parts un-chlorinated water.
As for how it works, this is the only thing I use on production trees and I have commercial production.  New plantings are sometimes fortified with worm castings but the farm in general is fed with microorganisms, bio- mass and bio-char.
Peter

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2017, 06:51:23 PM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 08:21:10 PM by Frog Valley Farm »

buddy roo

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2017, 11:49:52 AM »
thanks Peter, but if em-1 is made from milk and molasses why do you add more molasses?? or maybe i should ask how do you make your em-1  .            Patrick

Finca La Isla

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2017, 12:47:22 PM »
Lactic acid isn’t really milk.
The microorganisms feast on molasses.  When you buy the em in its latent form it needs to be activated,(waken up), by adding water and molassas.  That activation takes about a week, depending on ambient temperatures, etc.  You’ll notice the color change in the culture from dark brown to kind of orange as the microorganisms consume the molassas. 
When you’re ready to apply you dilute again, always adding molassas to keep the critters going good.  The ratio will be similar 1-1 prepared em to molassas with 18 parts water.  You could use more or less water depending.
You want the microorganisms to have a high survival rate following the application so the molassas gives them something to work with while they adapt to consuming pathogenic fungi and converting bio-mass into food for plants.
Peter

Doug

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2017, 04:59:59 PM »

Hi Peter! I never heard this info on EM before. I buy EM locally here. It's a very dark brownish liquid and comes in a used three liter plastic soda pop bottle....locally produced I'm sure. I have always assumed it's alive and active in that state. So, I need to add sugar to the stuff to activate it? Or do the microbes "wake up" when they get into the soil?

Also, on my citrus trees I use an "organic" powder mineral foliar spray which claims to contain EM. I usually mix some of the local EM in with the solution anyway. But, do you think the EM that the manufacturer claims is in the product could be possible viable in that powder state? Just curious.

BTW, I trust you survived the high winds and rain we've had lately. Strange weather! No problem at all here except sort of chilly, but I heard that the Caribe coast did get hit pretty hard. Hope you didn't lose plants...or worse.

Doug

Finca La Isla

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2017, 06:32:41 PM »
Hi Doug,
True 'EM' is trademarked and comes in professionally labeled containers and is produced carefully in a good laboratory..  the name EM is sometimes used generically but what you are getting is not the real thing. 
People make up what they call 'MM' which is a microorganism culture that is more home made and is inoculated with microorganisms simply collected off of the forest floor along with other ingredients according to recipes. 
There is a dry form of microorganism culture called 'bokashi'. It uses some medium, even sawdust, that is inoculated and then spread around.  All of these preparations rely at some point on sugars to wake and feed the culture.

You know, Doug, some people got hit hard with the wind.  Two Swiss tourists died when a large tree fell on their bungalow.  My doctors house was damaged by a falling branch.  No tree or heavy branch fell on our farm anywhere that we go.
Peter

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2017, 09:03:58 AM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 08:03:18 PM by Frog Valley Farm »

Finca La Isla

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2017, 09:20:46 AM »
Hi Eric,
We sometimes apply every 2 weeks if we feel the need.
We don’t apply when it is very dry but feel comfortable applying when it is very rainy which is contrary to most types of applications.
I feel that if you’re able to establish a good quantity of biochar then you don’t need to apply as frequently since the biochar helps a lot as a refuge for microorganisms.  A good quantity of biochar would be 1kg per sq. M.
Peter

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2017, 10:11:34 AM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 07:04:50 PM by Frog Valley Farm »

Finca La Isla

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2017, 11:57:48 AM »
I heard someone make that case too.  There’s a lot that is poorly understood about just how biochar is effective.  Nursery people in temperate areas have always realized the value of char in plant mediums.
As far as char on the farm, I am mostly making the case of it being a refuge for microorganisms.  Char that is produced at very high temperatures is very porous.  A cubic centimeter is said to have the surface area of a football field!  Work with electron microscopes demonstrates the attraction of microorganisms to char as a refuge/medium.

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2018, 07:36:47 AM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 06:25:07 PM by Frog Valley Farm »

Finca La Isla

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2018, 07:45:43 AM »
A lot of people use ‘mm’ or a homemade microorganism ferment. It can work well, depending. It’s kind of like making wine. If you don’t have a lot of controls you will get varied results. A friend of mine, we’ll aware of that, analyses his mm with a microscope to see what’s there. Most don’t do that. We buy the stuff

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2018, 08:00:55 AM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 06:23:23 PM by Frog Valley Farm »

pineislander

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #14 on: February 19, 2018, 08:21:09 PM »
I am using a home made version of fish hydrolysate produced by first culturing a liquid EM and using that to ferment saltwater fish waste with added sugar. The result contains both the bacteria, sea minerals from fish and the usual NPK found in fish hydrolysate, approx 3-2-1. It took about 3-4 months using 200 lbs sugar, whey from 5 gallons milk, an EM starter culture, and 200 lbs fish guts/heads/etc from the local market (traded for mangoes).
Smell is fishy but sweet/sour, not the smell of rotten fish you might expect, there is some fish oil.
Yield was 40 gallons strained emulsion plus 20 gallons leftover bones and scales.
Cost was low and has been working well as soil drench and foliar, one cup with 5 gallons water.
I am considering adding ground papaya as a pre-digestion stage in my next batch.

buddy roo

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #15 on: February 19, 2018, 10:43:30 PM »
pineislander  why do your fish bones and scales not dissolve ??

pineislander

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #16 on: February 20, 2018, 06:48:52 AM »
pineislander  why do your fish bones and scales not dissolve ??
Scales are made of enamel and bones of hard tissue with calcium phosphate. I assume the bacteria cannot disintegrate those as well as the fleshy parts. I do see some flashy bits of scale in the settled water residue of the diluted mix, and have kept the leftover scale/bones in a drum to see if they dissolve some over time. I have read that the solution gets acidic as the lactic acid bacteria produce acid (like yogurt is acid) but that may not be strong enough to dissolve bone/scale.

Chandramohan

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #17 on: February 21, 2018, 11:41:19 AM »
In India, EM-1, is the stock solution or 'Mother'culture from which,'activated EM' is made. For this 1 part EM-1 with 1 part molasses and 18 parts chlorine free water is kept in a closed vessel for a week to two weeks until the fermentation is over. The pH of the activated EM will be around 3 to 3.5, so much so it cannot be directly sprayed on plants. It must be diluted 100 time for drenching around the stem and  200 times for spraying on the canopy. It is very effective for killing termites. 

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #18 on: February 28, 2018, 05:25:25 PM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 06:01:58 PM by Frog Valley Farm »

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: EM-1
« Reply #19 on: March 09, 2018, 06:56:34 AM »
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« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 06:01:17 PM by Frog Valley Farm »