Triato Vallejos

I' ve been trying whey as an ingredient for foliar sprays. Mainly becouse of its pH (3.6) wich helps to get mybmixture to the ideal pH to absorve nutrients (5.2). I also been adding things like compost extract and some salts like magnesium (small doses of 5 grams per litter) sulfate becouse of leaf discolorig pattern indicating deficiency. Whey is very cheap in my area.


Ive had mixed results in several corn fields and was was wondering if whey can be detrimental in some unexpected way. Anybpdy have experience with it or know of any substance within whey that could cause harm?

Also, my equipment smells like thinner the next day after usig a nixture that contains whey.

Thank you in advance

Camilo

You can use an ec meter (electrical conductivity) in the water you are soaking the biochar. The measuremwnts will rise as minerals are released from the manure and after a while they will get lower or stable as the biochar removes them from the water.

Alternativelly, just leave for as long as it is practical for you.

If you worry about anaerobes, drsin the water, mix some good finished compost or vermicast and leave it for a few days. If not to fine, biochar will have aerobic conditions and your aerobic microbes should dominate. If the pile geta hot, just wait for it to cool and smell it before aplication. Hope this helps.

Camilo

Trench method works great with thin stuf. Just chop it a bit and add continously so it dont go to ash.

I belive any biochar that goes through composting will be of good quality and we should use whatever is available and not needed somewhere else.

Having said that, I also belive small diameter of wood is better at least for flame courtain kilns becouse it allows the creation of oxigen groups in biochar surfaces and thus increases Cation Exchange Capacity

Yet another war would be to keep the inoculated biochar in stable humid conditions. Microbes should also produce spores as food runs out, like in a johnson su bioreactor.

A way to conserve many of the microbes introduced during composting or other inoculation process would be to slowly dry the biochar in the shadow. Microbes will notice the reducing moisture and start producing spores or other resistant forms. Not all of them will survive, but some will. I once used old stored inoculated biochar and the response was amazing.

Good luck

Camilo

I seem to have found the term you would use to name the cathegory in which biol would fall in english: organic anaerobically fermented foliar fertilizer.

I´ve done a coagulation trial with it by mixing it 1 to 1 with 97% alcohol and found it to be rich in aminoacids wich is a form of N that helps plants be resistant to some insects, I´ve eliminated aphids in alfalfa using it mixed 4 parts biol and 17 parts rainwater with some molases and humic acids applied 3 days appart (dose needed may change acording to soil and plant health).

As said before you can ad micronutrients during the fermentation process. I am not sure but I belive Mn and Fe need to be in reduced forms in order to be usefull tu plants, this recepi should be very reduced with all the molases and anaerobic environment.

I don´t belive there are many microorganisms alive at the endo of the process, but it should have many microorganism carcasses and therefore it should not leach in the soil and would stimulate microorganism growth in the soil (aerobic microorganism growth too if the soil is well aerated). Maybe it contains viable spores of microorganisms and I´ve heard it contains Baciluss subtilis wich is a beneficial facultative (both aerobic and anaerobic).

Hope someone gives it a try.

Camilo

Maybe it will release some nutrients wirh every dew event untill rain washes it off.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332738130_New_trend_to_use_biochar_as_foliar_application_for_wheat_plants_Triticum_Aestivum

Aparently, it has already been done succesfully. Thy used only biochar. I didnt find an explanation on why it worked.

Regarding clogging, I think that if it is pulverized enough it will not cause it.

About drying, if the biochar arrives To the leave, it should not dry it.

If stomata were easy to clog, dust would do it antway. I am sure plants have mechanisms to prevent or fix this.

I will try next week. Thanks for the replies.

I want to try biochar as an ingredient of a foliar spray. Acording to John Kemf, foliar sprays benefit from hidrophilic materials that can delay evaporation.

What do you think?