Make your own living fertiliser with Ben Brooker of Treasured Perennials Nursery!

[@fionachin5015]

This was a fascinating episode, thank you!!! The olive tree comparison was amazing. I am another convert.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Our pleasure! I am always happy to find another convert. Regards

[@JackieHamlin-xs5se]

Very interesting. I'll be feeding my plants much differently going forward, I think. Thank you for another great and unusual video.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it! Regards Stephen

[@ellstamann]

What a fantastic video. There’s always something new to learn in the garden. Love the living fertiliser recipe. Will give it a go.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Excellent! Thanks for watching!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Wonderful! Regards Stephen

[@laurelscott4466]

This is a fabulous episode! I’ve looked at much info on soil biomass but this is the most applicable, best explained episode ever!! Bravo.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it! Regards Stephen

[@scallywags12]

Might try this in my desert garden! Plus use in my garden back home and my containers. A variety of microbes is the spice of life. So good to know! Thx!😃

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@lukebanks9855]

Wow. I love that people like Ben are proving in black and white, or should I say the green and dead, that microbes really are a way forward, and simple way to help plants thrive. Question..I have moved to an area of Ireland with a Compacted layer of 'builders sand' over what would have been bogland.... do I a)attempt reconditioning the soil, b) build up the soil then plant or c) pick plants that thrive on poor soil....

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I would probably try to mix the two by hand and then add manure etc and then let it settle. Regards Stephen

[@daisyflower4105]

That was SO interesting!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@nerinat8371]

Fascinating show, l will making this living fertiliser today. Thanks Ben for sharing the recipe. Thanks guys great episode

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you are keen to give it a go. Regards Stephen

[@fionachin5015]

Thank you

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@LeeanneGodden]

Wow! Brilliant video 👏🏻 So much information and I will be watching it again before I try making Ben’s fertiliser recipe. Thank you!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you found it useful! Regards Stephen

[@loriedmundson782]

Thank you so much for the information about soil health. Will definitely make some living fertilizer for my gardens.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Excellent! Thanks for watching!

[@TimurDavletshin]

That was an interesting episode and nice coincidence. Just couple days ago I was explaining to Mr. Lucas why his 3 years old package of mycorrhizal fungi may not work as he expects it. I will add to this episode too. Lactobacteria in general have very limited agricultural value because they do not live in soil in normal conditions. It doesn't mean that this recipe doesn't work. It works and similar practices existed for decades if not centuries (e.g. bokashi). This practice introduces a lot of easy to use food for bacteria and (to a lesser degree) to fungi (unfermented sugars, lactic acid, a bit of alcohol). Low pH of this solution will help to wash out some minerals making elements more accessible to plants. But... if your plant is not really healthy you provide food for pathogens too. They will benefit from that food too. It may actually kill your plant. In general it's like fertilizing sick plant. But I have plenty of recipes how to prepare safer and more useful living fertilizer. Bacillus subtilis (hay bacillus) for example has a tremendous agricultural potential as biofungicide and (which is often forgotten) plant endosymbiont. It can be especially useful for those who grows plants from seeds or cuttings because this is that period in plant's life when bacteria can inoculate young plants easily and form stronger immune system. Plus B. subtilis effectively kills fungi which always try to kill seedlings. How to make this living fertilizer? Well it's rather easy but WILL REQUIRE starter culture. BTW, note about safety. B. subtilis is a naturally occurring bacteria with lowest possible pathogenic potential. We actually have it in our guts and it is used to make products like Japanese natto. Why starter culture? Because we don't need any B. subtilis, we need agricultural strains which were selected and tested for specific antifungal properties with high potential for endosymbiosis. Where to get starter culture? Buy any good biofungicide based on B. subtilis and you can use one bottle for many years (bacterial spores actually last that long). E.g. Bayer Serenade is a good example of that. Actual recipe: boil some water (don't cool it), half fill mason jar or any vessel of your choice add one teaspoon of regular sugar per liter and complete fertilizer (NPK + microelements) according to instruction. Now introduce tea spoon of starter culture directly in freshly prepared solution. It must be hot. Hot (even boiling) water doesn't kill B. subtilis but it will kill yeasts which often present in commercial products. Now cover your jar with paper or napkin (air must go through) and leave it at ambient temperature somewhere away from bright light. Mix it by gentle shaking 2-3 times a day and in another 3-4 days your culture will reach its peak. Depending on strain used it may form cream colored biofilm but more often liquid will just turn whitish. It should not have any foul or alcohol-like smell (it's neutral, some find it rather pleasant). Now is they key part. You have to put it in a cool place (1-5 degrees Celsius) for 2 days for bacteria to form spores. You can use it as it is, but its not suitable for spraying because bacteria survival rate will be low (watering with it is fine). Now, how to use? Add 100-200 ml per bucket of water and use it as it was advertised on your starter culture. Water your plant with it, spray it. Once or twice a month is a good starting position if you have fungal problems in your garden. With this (adding Trichoderma is a good option) you can grow strawberries without grey mold and roses without black spot. You can't overdose it. It has no phytotoxic effect. Want more scientific info? Find website called MDPI and articles in agriculture tagged 'Bacillus subtilis'. But don't tell Bayer (or any other producer) that I told you this recipe 😉 P.S. If you're curious I have degree (and experience) in biotech. Not in agriculture but who says I can't apply my professional knowledge in my hobby?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I appreciate you pointing out the different approaches to living fertilizers. It's a great reminder that the world of gardening is full of diverse techniques!

[@maryeustace1620]

What a fascinating and informative video. It was so well explained by Ben. Regarding the commercially produced Mycorrhizal Fungi, that is available as a powder, my understanding is that it often contains the less complex and easier to grow Fungi, which may not necessarily be the ones your soil requires. Much better to feed the soil as Ben describes or inoculation your own soil with some good healthy soil from elsewhere in your garden. Thank you for a really useful post.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it. Regards Stephen

[@lisakennedy]

Definitely trying this 👌

[@thehorti-culturalists]

@@lisakennedy Thanks for watching!

[@eddy8828]

Thanks guys, especially Ben for sharing his fertilizer recipe. I had been doing something almost similar but without the milk and in order to speed it up I was mixing the rice water and mulberry syrup with yeast. I look forward and am very excited to experimenting with your method. Thank you very much.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Our pleasure! Regards Stephen

[@antoinettebeck6773]

Oh wow, I live near the sea in South Africa and my soil is hydrophobic alkaline sand! It has taken me years to get the sand to become soil.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@IsabelLawrence-h1o]

Loved this episode thank you. MY QUESTION is can bulbs be planted out of season just to get them in the ground? We travel so may be away months at a time so miss the ideal window. I figure that I have a lot of old bulbs in my garden already doing their thing so no harm in adding a few more? Hope you can shed some light for me please.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

It depends on what you call old! A month or two late won’t matter to most bulbs but a year or two would. Regards Stephen

[@IsabelLawrence-h1o]

@ thank you for getting back to me. By old I mean the bulbs that have flowered and I’m expecting to flower again next year. Those that don’t yet need dividing.

[@rogerboeve4658]

Can I sprinkle this on my compost?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

You could but it will do more good to your soil directly applied. Regards Stephen

[@fionachin5015]

Me again, I am really interested in the foliar spray. Was this the same diluted living fertilizer solution?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Yes, it is! Regards Stephen

[@thehorti-culturalists]

"The regime was: Trace elements one day, the second was calcium. The third day was boron. The fourth day was potassium silicate. Every time I sprayed, I mixed 100mls of folvic acid to a 10ltr spray pack, which chelates the mineral for better uptake. Doing this regime 3 times a year once in early spring than summer and the last in mid autumn Thanks again, Cheers, Ben"

[@DanandPatKerr]

Would this attract rats and pests? Bruce Mines, Ontario Canada

[@thehorti-culturalists]

No as the concentrate is in a lidded container and once it is diluted and watered on the ground it soaks in instantly and there isn’t anything for them to scavenge. Regards Stephen

[@chrischandler3041]

A teaspoon of soil already contains 1 billion bacteria. I just can't see how the Lactobacillus bacteria would thrive being poured into a new environment. It is very possible that regular watering is actually probably providing the true benefits. Would be worth studying scientifically, to find out the real answers to this, but I have my doubts that the molasses-fed bacteria are adapted to living in this soil any more than what soil microorganisms already inhabit the soil.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for the feed back and whether right or wrong Ben seems to get great results. Regards Stephen

[@ensi6796]

Though I appreciate the information and don't want to be ungrateful, I found it difficult to follow because of many " physical things" ( raspy voice, gesticulation, divagation) in regards to the relationship between the problems and the solutions in a clear and concise manner. It would have been better if you would have kept a more clear framework of discussion. I guess I will need to listen to the recording a few more times:)

[@heathers9599]

Remember that these are real people and not actors!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

We are working with amateur enthusiasts in many of our videos and can’t and shouldn’t be expected to have a slick performance. If you think the information is there then you may well need to revisit our video. Regards Stephen

[@Kintor-AFP]

What a ridiculous statement, Ben is one of the greats in the Melbourne Horticulture scene. find some other channel to troll.