SAFE & EFFECTIVE!!! Spring Summer and Fall Disease Spray for your garden or orchard fruit trees

Spray whey on fruit trees! It's better and Safer than Fungicide against fungal diseases and it works better.
01:12 How whey (also called lactoserum) works.
05:50 The beauty of whey: it sticks, it's safe.
07:33 How we spray whey.
08:40 Stickyness means a leaf can be treated only once in a season.
09:30 What I do with the Permaculture Orchard
11:40 I would love that fungicide was no longer used and how that is possible
13:08 How I started with whey
14:10 If you're curious here's what you can do and the savings
15:28 The one caveat to using whey
16:02 The potential acidity of whey and the effects of the acidity
16:40 How I buffer the acidity
17:28 The concentrations I and others use
18:30 Leave comments if you tried it
Australian Research mentioned :
winescience.org/vineyard/whey...
_______________________________________
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[@lincoln1886]

Thank you Stefan for giving us safer and healthier ways to better grow our gardens and orchards.

[@Thathumanoverthere1701]

Do you think if you continue inoculating water with molasses, nettled and, say eggs shells, that you could make a whey compost tree?

[@thomasserouart637]

GREAT trick this whey spray. My wife makes home cheese so home whey as well. Enough for my small garden. One minor correction : cheese is more or less 50% protein + 50% fat + lactic acid + minerals + residual lactose. Whey contains little fat but a lot of protein and a lot of lactose and lactic acid (especially in acid whey). More than half the milk protein remains in the whey. Whey spray adds lactose, a sugar that lactic acid bacteria love (and convert into lactic acid) but that fungies are not so keen on. Bacteria outgrow the fungies, the not so fun guys.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Thanks, I knew someone would know this detail. Good job.

[@midwestribeye7820]

Your channel is very addictive. Yesterday I went and volunteered to help prune the local garden club orchard. They happily took my name and said they'd give me a call in late March.😊

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Wonderful!

[@annburge291]

This was one of the most important videos I have seen this year. Thanks Stefan. I wish the pecan orchard near us would adopt your methods.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

So nice of you

[@elysejoseph]

I use it at 10%, following Micheal Phillips approach, worked on my plum tree with brown rot.

[@camperspecial9666]

You just completely blew my mind. Thank you Stefan!

[@winterfae5403]

I love the detail he goes into

[@marisasanchez1699]

This is amazing! I loved this video and I’ll definitely be trying it!

[@seandefrehn4847]

Thank you for the education!

[@ZeljkoSerdar]

Milk or whey from making cheese is an amazing organic fertilizer to build natural fertility! In your orchard, pasture and garden it is a completely natural, holistic and organic option. When your goats or cow is giving you an overabundant supply of milk this is one great way to put it to use without wasting it. Take care Stefan.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Absolutely let the pasture enjoy the fat of the land.

[@agb0012000]

I have a small garden in my back yard, and every year I struggle with that nasty white fungus. Would it be ok to spray my roses with milk then? Will that kill it.

[@ZeljkoSerdar]

@@agb0012000 Powdery mildew ? Powdery mildew is a fungus and it will thrive when the suitable weather condition will be there. Many garden plants develop mildew which damages the plant. You have to try, and I hope you get a good roses!

[@katiecannon8186]

@@agb0012000 Parkrose Permaculture has a video on a milk recipe for roses.

[@huertoSlow]

I used whey as a compost starter. Thank you for showing this new use. It is a must have 👍🏽

[@ericaarcas8161]

Thank you, once again learning more and more. I'm very excited as I get some whey tomorrow and can't wait to try it out, not only on my trees but my grape vines as well.

[@heatherb918]

I've been making milk kefir for a while now. Sometimes I make kefir cheese and have a bunch of whey left over. Now I know what I can do with it! Thank you.

[@grigori5702]

Panie Stefanie, piękne dzięki za te cenne informacje. Będzie pryskane! Pozdrowienia z Polski.

[@kirstenwhitworth8079]

💖💖💖 This is big news for me. Thank you _so much!_ Merci, merci, merci!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

You're welcome 😊

[@kumariurmila6847]

I'll definitely try it on plants to keep away fungal infections .Thank You sooooo much .Be healthy n safe .

[@tallcedars2310]

Thank you for passing this information on, you really do care about people & their health! Will give this a try on "a plant" since we do not have a dairy cow yet, only commercial yogurt to drain the whey from. Wishing you great health as well Stephan, from B.C.

[@multicolouredhuman]

Funny and informative video as always 😁 I love this approach, my honeysuckle always succumb to powdery mildew, and I'm only ever using organic methods on my allotments and garden.. thinking of making a small batch of mozerella and using that whey. Thankyou👍💚

[@samuelpaulini]

Wow - thanks!

[@zagrizena]

Thank you so much for this. I've had blight issues with my tomatoes and native carnation flowers for a few years now. I've heard of watering or spraying with "milk water", but l somehow presumed it had to do with calcium. Now it actually makes sense enough to put in the effort and try it.

[@jacolubbe9364]

Now i feel like planting more fruit trees

[@saltriverorchards4190]

Thanks for another great video! This is the first time I’ve heard of whey as a fungicide. If I can find some I will give it a try. I have black spot on my roses, c.a.r., and frogseye leaf spot on my apples.

[@MO-gs1dy]

Hi Stefan, I made some cottage cheese the other day with sour milk just so that I could spray my young apple tree with the whey. It had recently developed a fluffy, white infestation. After the 2nd application it's all gone. Thank you for such an excellent tip. I live in the highveld of South Africa where people typically don't grow apple trees. We get most of our apples from the Western Cape, mostly pesticide sprayed etc. I planted an apple tree as I heard that there's nothing quite like a home grown apple. Gotta wait a couple of years, but definitely looking forward to the experience.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Wonderful thanks for the info.

[@rebqayunan4382]

Good information thank you so much

[@tanarehbein7768]

Great info 👍 Thanks oh wise one😁

[@butchmetzger7023]

Very informative! I see someone in the comments had way more fun than just weigh-ing his whey. I haven't tried it but getting a few little fruit trees started and my squash family crops always get covered with powdery mildew so whey it is! Or yogurt. Or whey protein powder if I can't find real whey close by. Or time for another cheese making experiment. Long time since I tried that and never got consistent results but now I can even put the "wa-ste" to work it may be time to have another go at it!

[@midwestribeye7820]

😂😂😂

[@barbarasimoes9463]

This is so hopeful! Stefan, I've heard you say that you grow pears. I have two that suffer from "stony pit" and I was wondering if whey would help with that. Thanks; I'm so appreciative of all the information that you share!

[@jacolubbe9364]

Milk Cheese Then make whey ricotta Then spray If you have left over soak chick feed in whay now and then as a supplement

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Absolutely chickens love it as well.

[@tehfuqizg0inon588]

@@StefanSobkowiak so you just take milk and let it curdle then mix that with water to make the spray?

[@pjorge8363]

Really enjoyed your video on whey, makes a lot of sense. My grandfather would spray raw milk, natural yogurt, buttermilk (with water) on his fruit trees and grape vines so suppress mildew and other fungus. Be well!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Nothing new under the sun.

[@lisamaturano4060]

I just sprayed a 50/50 sweet whey/water cover on my 2 Gala apple trees. I sure hope this works. I'm surrounded by cedar apple rust in every direction. Started with chemicals, but just didn't feel good about it and the results were mixed. Thankfully I found this video and someone that makes cheese in my town here in East Tennessee! Thanks for the info.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Keep me posted, you will need to keep applying it before each rain.

[@marieleopold1625]

This was 'way' more interesting than I thought it would be (not that U make boring vids Stefan LOL). I 'weigh' this vid as VERY interesting! By faaaaar the better 'way' to spray. I'd say...the way to spray is 'whey,' as hey...we 'weigh' results by the less we damage nature. We need it (nature)...why abuse it? Sometimes, you are VERY fast...have you noticed? How cute...you and your contraption spraying and 'Beau' licking up your path. This was both informative and fun. Thanks for taking us along with this teaching. Health and God's blessing on you n' yours! Whey works soOOoo well...why not 'stick' with it? LOL!

[@Skashoon]

Before I viewed comments, I knew there would be those endlessly exploiting the puns. I wasn’t disappointed.

[@wildedibles819]

Thanks very much xoxox much love xoxox

[@aurelienyonrac]

Nice

[@Playlist4213]

"Try drinking the Chemical Fungicide." Stefan Sobkowiak said it, I gotta try it! ^_^ Just kidding -- love your videos -- thank you!

[@flynnfogerty6402]

U just taught me sumn, then one of commenters taught me about usn it in ur compost pile. Iv been takn whey protien for yrs, gota big jug on my counter, never considered it for gardening. Far out man!

[@Almeys]

Hi, I have tried a long time ago but it was made by the recipe. Mix rice starch with water and let it ferment after a week or so add same amount of milk then let it ferment until the cheese stiffens up. I have used it in pollytunnel for a tomato crop because I've had problems with diseases. Works the best. Same as stinging nettle brew 👍 love the content, great work to spread that knowledge around .

[@MelissaSworab]

what is stinging nettle brew?

[@jwrightgardening]

Whoa, you may have just solved a mystery for me. My son is very allergic to milk protein and reacts badly to whey. Occasionally he has had a severe allergic reaction and we haven't been able to pinpoint what he reacted to because he hadn't eaten any of his known allergins but had eaten fruit and veggies he normally is fine with. I don't know if this is the reason for his reactions but this is a totally new potential source of allergins that we need to watch out for. So glad our own mini orchard is producing more and more each year to avoid this problem.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

The use of whey for orchards is pretty well nonexistent. Maybe a handful of people use it.

[@multicolouredhuman]

You inspired me to make my first cheese 😀 (it way really easy).. and out of 2 litres of milk I now have at least 1 1/2 litres of whey for the garden. This is very exciting.. going to spray plants and trees today. Way happy 😁👍💚

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Fantastic. I’ve never tried making cheese. Did you buy rennet or some starter?

[@multicolouredhuman]

Whole process took 30 mins, milk, citric acid, diluted 1/4 tablet of bio rennet in 1/2 cup water, gentle heat turned to curds, strained, added salt and knead to finish. Was surprised at how easy it was!

[@wmluna381]

@@multicolouredhuman Thanks for sharing this 💪

[@user-st6dj4yg9z]

Hi Stefan, my name is Gerald I’m from Hanmer Ontario oui je parle français. I bought 18 apple trees 12 years ago and since I have been watching your videos for the past 2 months I have learned so much from you that I should have been doing. Shoulda coulda woulda lol. And by the way you have a good sense of humour. I have a problem with bore worms at the trunks of my apple trees. I read to use pesticides but like you I don’t like using poison so I was using a small flathead screwdriver to crush them. Have you ever encountered this problem and if so what did you do about it. We need more people like you who enjoy and appreciate nature. I myself I appreciate dandelions for my friends the bumblebees. Une gros merci for all the good information you have learned and shared over the years.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

J’en ai pas mais Éric de Lorimier en a. Il utilise une cage en moustiquaire autour du tronc pour 2 pieds à la base de l’arbre.

[@marysiap17]

Thank you for the great content! Does it work when you already have mildew, or is it preventive "only"?

[@aldas3831]

It should stop it from spreading.

[@Malvision1]

Wow , I've watched all your videos now. What a great education I have from you . I have 25 varied fruit trees. I have peach tree borer. I hang fly strips for a week or two just before flowering and then again at the end of summer and I have saved my trees . They are vigorous and heathy. I had worms in my cherry tree and hung the fly strips and this year not one worm. I checked everyone before eating. I also put small white rocks painted bright red around my strawberries in the weeks just before ripening and fooled the crows. I didn't lose one berry to birds and you can see where the paint has been stripped off the rocks. Now I have persimmon trees. I was thinking of hanging those small ornamental pumpkins in the weeks before the fruit ripen. I dont' have room under my trees for confuser plants because the trees provide shade for my 100 + Hydrangeas but maybe large pots of herbs like sage placed on the paths thru the trees. I;m planning on use Whey as well. I have the containers with molasses and the cards with red on them. You are my gardening hero!!!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Fantastic, some great tricks with painted rocks. Lots of good deflection strategies. Thanks for watching.

[@aldas3831]

What product do you use for fly strips for cherries and when do you put them out, please?

[@Malvision1]

@@aldas3831 Just the regular strips you buy for the house. It seems to have worked no worms in the cherries this year.

[@aldas3831]

@@Malvision1 thank you!

[@jacolubbe9364]

Please make ricotta with it before you use it as spray. Thanx for the amazing tip.

[@aurianeschiewe1378]

Great video, thanks ! The link to the Australien research doesn't work anymore. Do you know where I can find it ?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

No, I tried to look it up and for some reason they took it down.

[@minderismeer]

hi, thank ypou very much the great video,s i'm learning a lot do you think the way is going to be helping my walnut trees? Some nuts are black

[@StefanSobkowiak]

If the black is from a fungal disease then it should help.

[@blakethompson6780]

Great video. First heard about this from Michael Phillips but this video help fill in the science. Can you please clarify when you spray? Beginning of every season? Great side note about buffering the Ph as well. Our creamery makes lots of cottage cheese, the whey is typically 4.4 by the end of the process. Thanks for the help.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Spray one or two days before every spring rain until the end of primary scab infection period. Usually mid June in southern Quebec.

[@caroleh7093]

I just learned about using whole unpasteurized milk for powdery mildew and now this revelation!! I love all your tips. Thank you! A question though, I live in the Pacific Northwest. We have more rainy days in a row than sun. I was so excited to hear you say a couple spray applications of whey per season is enough. Then I read your response to a question about applying before every rain. Did I miss something? Which is it? Every time before a rain? Or on a few sunny days during the season? Thanks ever so much for clarifying. Gonna make some yogurt so I can have some whey.

[@deh773]

8:40 is the best answer to your question.

[@tigrlily]

More cowbell. Whey more. Way more whey. Love it

[@liocean9636]

Wonderful! I’m Developing and homestead orchard. Is there additional information about this method? We also use Neem oil. Any problems using both whey and Neem oil you’re familiar with?

[@jenedge5949]

Sounds like it would be good for tomatoes. ⬆️calcium ⬆️acid

[@OSGCourtWatch]

Fantastic info...whatta ya think about using whey on cucumbers, tomatoes, etc? I already make a vermicompost tea, could I (really should I) add whey to that?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Vermicompost tea works the same as whey. Use each separately, I would not mix them due to the acidity of whey unless you buffer it with limestone.

[@gregwilliamshoneybrightfar5713]

Awesome video! I’ve heard of using milk products in the garden for powdery mildew and such, but never heard a good explanation as to why they work.

[@paulgaillard8348]

It seems that whey's stickiness would also prevent spores to spread during rain events, am-I right? Super video, Merci!

[@fireupyourheartfortruth]

Thank u very Much. i was trying neem with non chemical dish soap and water. idk. the oder of Neem is really difficult to handle to me and Neem is not cost effective at all.

[@lisanowakow3688]

Do you have to spray the whole tree or just the lower 1/2?

[@christyhughes6632]

That is amazing! I knew there was a reason I wanted to save my whey for the garden and not just for the compost pile. Does it matter if you're not using rennet? Like if you're using vinegar or citric acid instead?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Rennet is best because it’s full of bacteria. Never tried the vinegar route.

[@deniseroy7190]

Good morning . Do you also have a video on "flying" bugs on plum trees ? We had them last year when the tree was in full bloom (hoplocampe du prunier). Have a nice day !

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Je ne connais pas cet insecte.

[@conquererification]

Ready to go get me some whey. Not sure what to say maybe something like "Hay you know the stuff you guys throw away can I have some? A more serious question,does it do anything for aphids, catapilliers and the like. Thank you again for such informative and entertaining channel.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Call first to ask if they dispose of whey. No effect seen on insects.

[@christophergruenwald5054]

How does this work for cedar apple rust?

[@olgakuchukov6981]

This is crazy. I’ve got an ornamental huge crabapple that gets scab every year that I’m ready to give up on. All my research has not come across whey. I watched another of your videos where you casually mentioned whey against scab and I said, wait, WHAT?! And did a search on YT. Yours is still the only videos about it.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Olga let’s just say it’s not in the interest of many powers to have this information widely known.

[@olgakuchukov6981]

@@StefanSobkowiak right, and we’re supposed to believe them when they tell us “the truth” about everything else that goes on. The central authorities have a credibility problem. Thank you for sharing! I will try this.

[@kolapyellow7631]

You giving me Science lecture. I never knew this before watching this clip - thank you. where can I get whey ?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Cheese makers in your area.

[@annebeck2208]

I have not tried this on trees, but milk spray will prevent and even clear up black spot on roses and save rose gardens in the south...I am guessing that whey would be even more effective. I am going to try milk keifer (what I have) on the powdery mildew on my roses, then off to figure out how to spray it on my apple trees.

[@CladeBrandalise]

Dear! What is its orientation to gummosis in citrus at various points on the trunk and some branches. It appeared a short time ago. I have applied Bordeaux mixture at 3%, after cleaning these areas, but with no practical results so far; thinking of using 10% Bordeaux. Grateful for the attention

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Not familiar with gummosis in citrus, here it’s either an insect or a bacterial infection. Worth trying whey anyway but a good wood chip mulch all around under the tree and ideally some basalt rock dust should help boost the trees immune system.

[@Malvision1]

So I discovered the liquid that separates in my yogurt is whey. I sprayed a couple of trees with 1tablespoon of whey to 1 cup of water. I'm testing it on my Pear trees that get Rust each year. My yogurt is organic which I'm happy to share with my trees.

[@findland4323]

So I'm wondering if your family is from Poland, what a country!!!

[@JohnDoe_88]

Thank you sir. Whey is the way!!

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Phew! Thanks. We just got a milk cow!!

[@CriticalThinker27]

Hello, Stefan! I'm so thankful for your knowledge. Thank you very much for offering so much skill for growing your own food. I have a question about the whey you use. Is the cows that the whey comes from raised with organic means? I'm sure you know the dangers of using/drinking cow milk from a cow that eats corn/feed that's sprayed with glyphosate. Just thought it deserves a mention. So many have no clue conventional food has so much poison in it.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes its from a known source.

[@CriticalThinker27]

@@StefanSobkowiak Thank you for the reply! I've been soaking up all your knowledge with plans to start my permaculture food forrest in northeast Texas. I'm in the middle of the land acquisition now. I can't wait to use all your insight and save so much time with getting right to what's tried and true. ❤️

[@christophergruenwald5054]

I just got 10 gallons of whey from my local creamery. I’m really hoping that it prevents or reduces my cedar apple rust this year. There are so many cedar trees on all sides of me in town just full of cedar apple rust.

[@mgdiluzio]

How'd it work out for you?

[@brianmozer3112]

Do you need special equipment to spray whey given its sticky nature? Fantastic video

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Long sleeves, a hat and long pants help. Nothing fancy needed just remember to stand upwind.

[@redvamp28]

Help I have a big problem with apple cedar rust on all my very young apple trees and even my pear trees do you think spraying whey would help if not what should I do ?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes, cedar apple rust is a fungal disease so whey should be effective, just apply before rains.

[@lisac2766]

very interesting. I had heard of people treating powdery mildew on squash with raw milk. What I dont understand though is if it still works on dormant trees? It seems the trees you sprayed had no leaves yet.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

They were green tip stage (buds just opening) so it's the earliest spray of the season. Raw milk works in the same way, may have a less concentrated load of bacteria than whey.

[@bobbyjustbobby2144]

I make my own yogurt which is very easy to do. I also let it drain until it is thicker even than Greek yogurt. The result is using 2 gals of whole milk results in about 1 gal of yogurt and 1 gal of whey. One gal of whey would be plenty for me to spray most of my garden plants.

[@BertSonnenschein]

I'm in a country where no cheese is made. But I'm making yoghurt. Not draining it. So you are saying if I make a gallon of yoghurt I can drain half a gallon of whey? How much whey would I need for a single tree? Can I make more whey in another way?

[@aldas3831]

@@BertSonnenschein if you boil milk with a little vinegar in it, you get ricotta cheese and a lot of whey. Drain it and use it. Stephan said that you is effective even at 4 percent so I'd start with 50-50.

[@aldas3831]

That is basically sour cream.

[@BertSonnenschein]

@@aldas3831 thanks. Gonna give it a go.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

It depends on the size of your tree. But 1 litre is the most you need for a tree and diluted to 50:50 you can do two trees.

[@calabogierusticfarmmarket387]

Great Info Stefan. I am in the process of =starting a permaculture orchard in Eastern Ontario and am wondering if spraying whey on the berry bushes and under growth vegetables would be alright as well? I assume it is but just wanted to hear your thoughts on that.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

If you want to just spray for foliar fertilizer sure. It could help with any disease as well. Be aware there has been one undocumented account of someone who was sensitive to lactose eating a fruit with it on. I would be sure to stop the spray a month or more before harvest of anything that would be eaten raw.

[@calabogierusticfarmmarket387]

@@StefanSobkowiak I was thinking of the over spray when spraying the larger fruit trees as there is smaller bushes and vegetables planted under them. But good to know that for the most part it would be ok.

[@JP_Ross]

As mentioned last fall during my visit at your orchard, I'll use whey my way this summer in the vineyard. I'll let you know how it goes. Il faut juste que je me trouve une fromagerie fiable pour me fournir. Si ça ne fonctionne pas, je commencerai à faire mon fromage si il faut!

[@kirstenwhitworth8079]

If you cannot find a cheese maker, perhaps make yogurt/Crème Fraîche or a simple cheese at home and use the resulting whey on one tree as an experiment? Making small batches of cheese is easy and relatively inexpensive.

[@JP_Ross]

@@kirstenwhitworth8079 making my own cheese is my plan B!

[@longarmsupplies]

Hmmm, I would love to use on my potatoes. I wonder if it would help with potato scab.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes it will work on all fungal diseases.

[@LittleJordanFarm]

I made cheese again today ..so I just went and wet my plants..lol..no actually I have 4 varieties of tomatoes but only my Amish paste leaves are curling..I haven't looked it back up but I remember a friend having this issue and I was thinking it was a fungus. I know it can be a deficiency as well but I went ahead and sprayed them with the way as well as other things that just needed a good boost any thoughts on this would be appreciated

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes it helps with fungal disease and it’s a foliar feed. Rich in most things in milk.

[@martinspijker9661]

i use whole organic milk mixt with water to fight powdery mealdew, works great

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Fantastic.

[@tehfuqizg0inon588]

How long do you let the whey sit for after you strain it, or do you just let the milk curdle and then dilute that?

[@absolutorice754]

But which whey you use the one that stays when you make the cheese or the one that stays when you make the urde.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

The liquid that remains once you have the curds.

[@hiliacresorchard3773]

What can I do about a long neglected pair of plum or cherry trees that have developed pretty significant amounts of what I believe to be canker (amber discharge) and black areas of the trunk and limbs?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Black on limbs is probably black knot. See my black knot video. For canker prune out the ones on branches.

[@hiliacresorchard3773]

​@@StefanSobkowiak There are no "knots" on branches, but it definitely looks bad like the bad trunk you have, but worse. And canker is also on the trunk in several/many places. Any chance to save?? Thanks so much for your reply! :)

[@oddopops1327]

👍👍😊

[@arcadiapermaculture974]

What's the minimum number of times you'd recommend? And I'd imagine we'd want to avoid spraying during flowering, so as not to mess with the pollination & pollinators?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

It’s based on the number of spring rains until the primary infection season for scab ends, about 2 months here. So if one rain per week, then 8 times, if 3 rains then 3. You should find when the primary infection season lasts from your extension service.

[@arcadiapermaculture974]

@@StefanSobkowiakgreat info, thanks - we're about the same climate as you, so we will use that as a rule of thumb, and see how it goes. Now... to beg the local cheesemakers for some whey...

[@peterjuriss463]

Hi Stefan, Can you freeze whey when it is available in Autumn from our local dairy farm and then thaw it to spray later during the season? Thanks for the video.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Probably, I never tried but worth doing if you have the supply and freezer space.

[@iamthewelcher]

Yeah, I wondered too

[@johnstonj92]

Where do you get your whey? Also im curious is it possible to mKe some whey in the same way as making lacto bacillus with rice and milk. I have seen this techniwue used with some other bacterial slurry that was put on peaches and it stopped peach leaf curl with no chemicals just microbes. Now imcurious if compost tea or some kind of imo slurry works the same as the whey? Have you used any other bacteria soup recipes for this.

[@kirstenwhitworth8079]

If you can make a Lactobacillus slurry from rice and milk, then yes, I would say that would work the same. Try it and let us know! I looked up the most common bacteria in whey, and found a paper (www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740002008000233) that cited the following as present (in the abstract): Streptococcus thermophilus CRL 804, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CRL 454 and L. acidophilus CRL 636.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes have used aerated compost tea it works the same way.

[@mssavedin92]

WOW!!!! thankyou for this info. So, should I spray/or use hudson fogger on my squash and cucumber and strawberry plant leaves with whey in order to prevent / keep powdery mildew away??this is great info. And I wonder if the sticky stuff attracts ants?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Don’t know about ants. Yes works on powdery mildew.

[@mssavedin92]

@Stefan Sobkowiak Fantastic, Im going to get 10 gallons today...few questions... #1. can I use this tomorrow morning even though theres no rain till at least saturday or sunday? #2. The new leaves are forming almost daily on the squash etc..is it wise to spray weekly? #3. if so, should I dilute it? #4. if the PH is brought to around 6 using dolomite lime..., I understand it's best for plant leaves and if the PH is 4.5 - 5, is that best for grass? #5. any idea an approximate amount of dolomitic lime to use for a 5 gallon pail of 100% liquid whey? Thank you again

[@barbarasimoes9463]

Yes, I'd be interested in a ratio. I find mixing litres and lbs. confusing: 1,000 litres to 15 lbs...@@mssavedin92

[@remyportelas5055]

Thank you Mr Sobkowiak, that's really valuable information ! Quick question: what about the salt in the Whey ? Is there a risk of increasing soil salinity after years/decades of spraying ?

[@multicolouredhuman]

In my homemade cheese, the salt was added to the curds after the whey had been separated from it. So not an issue???

[@remyportelas5055]

@@multicolouredhuman Yes in that case it's fine, but in the video Mr Sobkowiak mention that his whey is salty.

[@multicolouredhuman]

Oh yes so he does??

[@remyportelas5055]

@@multicolouredhuman yes (it is at about 6:10 in the video)

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Salt can be a useful nutrient in moderation. Sodium is an essential nutrient. I’ve been using it for 25 years and it’s not an issue in our humid climate.

[@Malvision1]

I sprayed my apples trees this week just before a rainy cool period . I noticed that some of the apples already have scab. Is the Whey going to give some protection to the apples?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes it should keep the scab from growing, but the existing spots will not disappear. If it appears that fast it was from one or two rains before. Scab grows slow in the cooler spring weather and can grow fast in hot weather.

[@FastEddy396]

How do you deal with fireblight prevention and mitigation?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I have a video on it from 3-4 years ago

[@andrejofak4787]

Could we make same or similar thing from barley or wheatgrass seeds fermented in water - some type of "rjuvilac". Do you think it would work?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Interesting, I suppose since in fermentation the bacteria explode in population. It’s the bacteria that do the work. Worth trying.

[@andrejofak4787]

@@StefanSobkowiak thanks, taught so. All best from Europe, Slovenia!

[@VanillaAttila]

Could it be that EM colonizes the whey slurry and that's what improves the plant health?

[@Cyserist]

Would whey have any effect (good\bad eutral) on Fire blight? I'd hate to supercharge the blight on my trees that are unfortunately susceptible.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I have been using whey and have had fireblight. I don't think it favours fireblight as most fireblight is propagated by pollinators during blooming. Certainly some research needs to be done on this.

[@denisebishop9276]

Where do you buy the whey? Is there a specific kind? How is it mixed as well as the ratio?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

100% but can be lower. It’s given, often a waste by cheesemakers

[@dennispovloski8102]

Great video! Saw a design for a compost tea bubbler made with a 5 gallon bucket and PVC pipes and no air stone. If you have limited whey, do you think it would work to dilute it and feed the bacteria with molasses and bubble it for a couple hours or a day to multiply boost the population. I would think the bubbler would be easy to clean since no air stone. Thanks!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Correct air stones has been advised against now since it’s impossible to properly clean, pvc or stainless with holes is now recommended. No need for whey in the compost tea.

[@dennispovloski8102]

@@StefanSobkowiakSorry. Realize I worded that poorly. Don't want to put whey in the compost tea. Was wondering if I have just a limited amount of whey, can I dilute with water and then multiply the microbes in an air bubbler? Same concept as compost tea, but with just whey.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

In Australia they use it at 4% concentration on grapes. Even if you just have a little bit you can dilute it 95%.

[@asbjorgvanderveer5050]

Could this be like spraying roses with milk, to counteract fungal disease? (Which seemed to help in that case, if one started in early spring.) Or does whey act differently?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Whey and milk work the same way.

[@dorotheep.693]

Exciting to find a garden use! They spray whey on icy roads in America's Dairyland (Wisconsin) instead of salt. Anyway - I often have to toss out overly-ripe kombucha for being way too sour. I wonder if that would work. It too is fermented. Easy enough to strain some into a spray bottle and see what happens, I guess. But maybe someone else already has?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Sounds logical to use kombucha, we also used aerated compost tea, it works but just more work to prepare. Never heard of way on roads, that must be whey better than salt (I couldn’t resist).

[@dorotheep.693]

@@StefanSobkowiak he he 👍 I sprayed straight K on some vinyl siding algae a few hours ago. If that kills algae for me I would burst into tears of gratitude. TY for your inspiration to try things! and the humor was a nice touch too

[@tanarehbein7768]

I would dilute the vinegar kobucha as it may harm tender new growth.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

So how does it work on algae? If you let it sit for a couple of weeks it will become more acidic and should work great on the algae.

[@dorotheep.693]

@@StefanSobkowiak I don't see much of an improvement yet, but I can't be certain the algae is still alive and unbothered. The test area merely dried and hasn't been rained upon yet. I'll put another "coat" on.

[@Malvision1]

How often am I spraying with the Whey? Like I sprayed 2 weeks ago its been dry and hot since then. But today we had a small amount of rain should I have sprayed before? Are you spraying before each rain?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I try to spray before rains but a small rain that dries up in less than an hour should not affect the trees.

[@russhoward7907]

Can i use baking soda to nuetrilize the ph?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Maybe but lime is probably cheaper.

[@helenklassen5427]

Can I use whey for Blue Spruce needle cast (Rhizophaera) ?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Worth a try, I would look at why they have it in the first place, often too much water for a spruce and or lack of mulch (due to removing its needles).

[@DavidXRae]

@Stefan do you use %100 whey in the spray or do you mix/dilute or other?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Use 100% or if I’m short I cut it to 50%. Research in Australia used it at 4% and found good results on grape.

[@DavidXRae]

​@@StefanSobkowiak thanks I saw that right at the end of your video looks like I jumped the gun. thanks tho I've never known what to do with my whey other than drink it.

[@trevorfichtner3539]

Can I use what protein powder? Like the kind for people? ..... where do I get pure whey for use in the orchard?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Read through the comments for alternatives.

[@dunkafa]

Why do you spray before leaves are out in the video ?. Also all the sugar on the leaves that come from whey isn’t attracting more pest ? Thanks

[@StefanSobkowiak]

The leaves were in green tip stage ie the buds had broken open and the leaves weee starting. Never noticed it attracting more pests since we just spray on a film of whey and it dries in minutes.