Growing Biologically

Growing Biologically

In about April 2015 we started using Islands in the Stream Biocast+ through our fertigation system.  Though we were quite sceptical and reluctant at first, after the very first application we were very quickly convinced that adding biology to our plants has made a huge difference and now  we are HUGE  fans of Biocast+..!

Gerbera plants are very prone to Powdery mildew and it was a constant battle with lots of trial and error testing different fungicides. Within days of the first application we noticed there was a difference, not only was the powdery mildew not forming on the new leaves it was less active on the old ones.

We also grow Sim carnations and a range of other cut flower crops in plastic greenhouses so the humidity is high. Even through a wet summer we noticed more disease resistance, strength,  length and number of stems.

We particularly noticed the difference in the Sim carnations,  the flower heads are bigger, the stems longer and stronger,  Sim carnation stems need support and we went from 5 layers of support wires down to 3 which is a huge saving for us in terms of labour and efficiency.

When we transplant plant plugs from propagation we inoculate the plants in the diluted Biocast+ first, then instead of taking 4 to 5 days to establish, we find that the new roots are growing within hours. This represents fewer losses and more vigour in the small plants.

We now use it every month through the fertigation and the only month we did not get excellent results was a month we missed…lesson learned and noted..!

We have found we need considerable less fertiliser because the nutrients are more available and efficient.



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