Microfeeding Bacteria to Orchids

[Ldrhawke]

Bacteria maybe the good guys in feeding orchids and helping to fight of diseases. I set up a rather unique orchid growing method this year to test out this concept. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Microfeeding cultured bacteria in orchid growing may benefit by feedingn billions and billions of purposely cultured nutrient rich bacteria daily (Biofertilizer),which both efficiently feeds the plants and makes them less susceptible to disease by strengthening their immune system.

My method boost the normal effort of orchids to attract and grow bacteria around their root system. It feeds billions and billions of live new single cell bacteria. I believe this method, or variations of it, will hopefully make it easier for anyone to grow healthier orchid plants. This is not the same as watering with a compost tea. Microfeeding a Biofertilizer of live dense cultured bacteria and is different from organic fertilizers and teas.

Microfeeding is a growing field of research in commercial farming to increase crop yield and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and chemical treatment of crops. At the same time reducing the damage from nitrogen and phosphate run off into streams and rivers.

Hopefully these comments will stimulate interest and my unique methods in orchid growing, my posts to follow will stimulate interest and discussions.

[Ray]

Yes, there are commercial products out there specifically for doing that. One of the best was Inocucor Garden Solution, but alas, they went out of business in January thanks to greedy investors.

I now use Quantum-Total (identical to Quantum Orchid at a much better price), which has both nitrogen-fixing bacteria to make food from the air and photosynthetic species to boost fuel production for the plant.

They are not enough to adequately feed the plant, so it's still a good idea to fertilizer regularly. Besides, the bacteria use some of the nitrogen to replicate.

[Ldrhawke]

I use your bacteria products, Quantum Total, along with orchid roots, and Actinovate SP; in my process of culturing a very dense diverse micro culture of billions of microbes which I feed the orchids daily.. I do feed the Bacteria culture but only use organic NPK, like milled alfalfa, to keep from having disrupting effects chemicals can have on bacteria and their benefits to the orchids natural immune system. We are on the same page in our thinking. I agree simply feeding bacteria spores is not enough food value for the orchids, but I believe it can be if you feed billions of these little single cell bags of fertilizers made by culturing them.

---------- Post added at 09:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 AM ----------

Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria(PGPB)
PGPB are able to control the number of pathogenic bacteria through microbial antagonism, which is achieved by competing with the pathogens for nutrients, producing antibiotics, and the production of anti-fungal metabolites [7]. Besides antagonism, certain bacteria-plant interactions can induce mechanisms in which the plant can better defend itself against pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses [2]. This is known as induced systemic resistance (ISR) and was first discovered in 1991 by Van Peer et al [3].

* Beneficial bacteria convert otherwise unavailable nutrients into forms that are bioavailable by plant roots for uptake and absorption.
* Beneficial bacteria for plants produce chemicals and hormones that stimulate growth.
* Bacteria life span is normally less than 24 hours, leaving billions of dead bacteria on leaves and roots to feed the orchids or become food for remaining bacteria.
* Beneficial bacteria help prevent infections from pathogens by coating the root surfaces and triggering systemic disease resistance and are described as biopesticeds.
* When they die, the single cell bacteria act as fertilizer by giving back carbon and helpful nutrients that are now easily to the plant’s roots.

---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 AM ----------

Destruction of Micro-Organisms
The synthetic chemicals in the chemical fertilizers adversely affect the health of naturally found soil micro-organisms by affecting the soil pH. These altered levels of acidity in the soil eliminate the micro-organisms beneficial to plant and soil health as they help to increase the plants' natural defenses against pests and diseases. These helpful micro-organisms consist of antibiotic-producing bacteria and mycorrhizal and other fungi which are found in healthy soil. The use of chemical fertilizers also jeopardizes the health of bacteria that fix the nitrogen balance in the soil. These nitrogen-fixing bacteria are responsible for converting the atmospheric oxygen into a form of nitrogen that can be used readily by plants.j

[spes1959@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by Ray

I now use Quantum-Total (identical to Quantum Orchid at a much better price), which has both nitrogen-fixing bacteria to make food from the air and photosynthetic species to boost fuel production for the plant.

I would like to know in what concentration you use quantum-total and how often you add it to your orchids.
Thanks

[Ray]

Originally Posted by spes1959@gmail.com

I would like to know in what concentration you use quantum-total and how often you add it to your orchids.
Thanks

The manufacturer recommends 2 ounces per gallon (1:64) applied every 2-3 weeks, but my recommendation (and practice) is to do that for 2-3 applications at first, to get the population “pumped up”, then I drop to 1/2 that, applied once a month.

[spes1959@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by Ray

The manufacturer recommends 2 ounces per gallon (1:64) applied every 2-3 weeks, but my recommendation (and practice) is to do that for 2-3 applications at first, to get the population “pumped up”, then I drop to 1/2 that, applied once a month.

thanks Ray

[spes1959@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by Ray

The manufacturer recommends 2 ounces per gallon (1:64) applied every 2-3 weeks, but my recommendation (and practice) is to do that for 2-3 applications at first, to get the population “pumped up”, then I drop to 1/2 that, applied once a month.

Ray your Quantum total is not in Europe or at least I can't find it. Do you have some information about it because I would like to try it

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Ray

The manufacturer recommends 2 ounces per gallon (1:64) applied every 2-3 weeks, but my recommendation (and practice) is to do that for 2-3 applications at first, to get the population “pumped up”, then I drop to 1/2 that, applied once a month.

I know this is an older thread, but does this work in S/H with a fresh flush every few days? It seems to me the flush would remove much of the bacteria. I flush with pure rainwater. I do fertilize once a week and use Kelpmax once a month.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

I know this is an older thread, but does this work in S/H with a fresh flush every few days? It seems to me the flush would remove much of the bacteria. I flush with pure rainwater. I do fertilize once a week and use Kelpmax once a month.

You are assuming the microbes stay in the solution. They don't; they populate the plant and the medium for the most part.

[Ray]

I like that first paragraph.

More work than I care to do, but it sounds interesting.

I am going to disagree with that last paragraph, though, if for no reason that it paints with too broad of a brush.

I retired from Total Petrochemicals, several years after they acquired Elf Aquitaine. If your company makes oil, it's going to have spills. The scientists at Elf discovered that you could use native microflora and fauna to clean it up. We actually did so as part of the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William sound, and later made it into a business unit.

An emulsion was made using a high-nitrogen, chemically-made fertilizer with the cheapest olive oil they could find, adding a tiny bit of soap as the emulsifier.

That was sprayed all over the ground on about a mile and a half of the beach, then ignored.

The nitrogen spurs the native bacteria into a breeding frenzy, and the olive oil is a very easy-to-digest carbon source for them to consume as the populations exploded. When the olive oil ran out, they switched to consuming the crude oil.

In about 6 weeks, there was no trace of the spilled crude on that entire stretch, so the native microbe population died back to normal levels, leaving the ecology otherwise untouched.