What's happening weed nerds. I'm gonna change things up a little and share with yall how I made this great little elixir from household items that you are almost guaranteed to have in your home. But first I should explain what its purpose is. I am using as a replacement for plant enzymes. I am sure most of you have heard of or use enzymes in your garden. Lactobacillus is the workhorse of beneficial bacteria that can be used for a variety of applications.In the garden, Lactobacillus can be used as a to help break down organic matter and turn it into a form that is available to your plants. Once made, it can be diluted accordingly for use. I am using it as foliar spray with a little bit of Dawn soap to fight WPM. I will let you guys know how it works out for WPM.
Anyway it's really easy to make and can be fun project to do with the kids.
- Take 2 cups of uncooked rice and rinse with 4 cups distilled water. Separate this starchy liquid from the rice. Discard the rice or cook if you are hungry... lol
- Store the liquid loosely covered for 3 -7 days in warm place out of direct light. I put mine on top of my water heater in the basement. After a few days you will notice three distinct layers mold growing on the surface a cloudy middle this contains the goods and on the bottom is the starch.
- Now take a turkey baster and remove the liquid in the middle without disturbing the rest and put into a bigger jar.
- Take this liquid and add 10 parts milk. Organic is suggested but any milk will wwork. I actually used sour cream and a liter of milk for my second batch. Ahter adding the milk cover loosely and place it back in its warm place for 5 - 10 days until it seperates. like below
- Now all you have to do is remove the cheese and strain the yellowish liquid. If you plan on keep for more than a couple weeks it needs food to survive. Give it a 1:1 of blackstrap mollasses, brown sugar or honey. This will provide the lactobacilli a food source to last a year.
As a Foliar- Helps prevent powdery mildew. Populates plant leaf surfaces with beneficial lactobacillus which outcompete other harmful microorganisms.
As a root drench add to your regular feed once a week to aid in breaking down any organic matter such as old roots. I used it the other day in a bucket of water to soak my fabric airpots. It did a great job breaking down the salt build-up.
I have been fighting with White powdery mildew for months now. I have kept it under control but I cant seem to get rid of it. What I have learned so far is that it does not necessarily need high humidity conditions. My flower tent rarely goes above 50% and hovers around 42% this time of year.
Hoping this works on this WPM
*Have A Great Week Weed Nerds!!!
peace