A general report on thyme oil effects

[DirtMechanic]

I used a thyme oil product on the old kitchen garden plot we have grown tomato, squash,okra and leafy beets and radish and kale in for decades. It had suffered from raw organic amendments, disease related to tomato and curcubits which would overwinter in the soil. Fungicides such as daconil barely kept it all suppressed. Toward purification of the soil I used Humagro Promax, a thyme oil product, and sprayed and tilled 4 times this winter before planting, and have sprayed once since planting. The plants are knee high, healthy and are showing no sign of pathogen pressure at this point although the same could not be said of any similair period in the past. I am growing cautiouslty optimistic that this change in amendment is a very positive one, but this is also in the context of an aggressive effort to drop the ph through usage of peat moss and sulfur which will also have a suppressive effect on fungal pathogens. I will continue to report on this thread specifically on the tomato but generally on the curcubiys which have suffered mightly in the past.

 

[DirtMechanic]

This should be a classic summer fungal disaster. We just had an extended wet period culminating with 4" of rain from a weekend tropical storm. Everything is saturated, and temps are pushing 90f. Walking the garden there is no meaningful disease. That creeps me out. As in too good to be true. I have bugs eating some leaves in the cucumber and some lower tomato leaves but I have never had a garden this clean going into the heat and humidity of an Alabama June.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Heavy rains, 12" at thIs point since the last real check, I resprayed the humagro promax in 2 Gallons of water mixed with a little silicone and kelp concentrate and bifenthrin for bugs. We are in the heights of fungal propagation conditions, with the heat and humidity, and insects abound. To help prevent bacterial wilt I dusted for beetles. To date zero infection exists in the garden.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Yellow squash are coming in. Tomatoes are flowering and some fruiting. No disease seen save on 3 wind twisted curcubit stems where the stem is dying and what appears to be white mold, or sclerotinia, has appeared to feast on the dying section of stem. I have removed most all grass weeds, because they are so dense and wet and will not dry and host fungi and pathogens themselves. I sprayed thyme oil, kelp, silicon and insecticide prior to flowering. I am thinking the next round is just fertilizer for fruiting plants. Insects have tried to eat on the cucumber and really a little bit one each type of plant but I stopped them by dusting -but I was just guessing it was some beetles. I still have not seen them. If I can keep the fungi at bay and the insects from injecting bacterial wilt or a mosaic virus this garden should have a decent production. Not there yet though.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Deep into the heat (90f) and humidity of Alabama summer. It is remarkable how absolutely clean the garden is. I picked today, and noticed that since I had not sprayed in a month a little powdery mildew and some other small composting type fungi have begun to emerge. Squash has not really been attacked by insects, and the cucumbers either, which is a big deal becaise of the desease that their bites inject as far as wilt goes. I will spray in the morning. It is raining today.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Cucumber, yellow and zukini squash, tomatoes, Okra, a few eggplants and bell peppers. It looks good overall. Very little fungus and insect damage relative to previous years. Not 100% perfect but that will never happen outside.

 

[DirtMechanic]

That turned out to be a very productive garden. I overshot lowering the ph by a little. I had nematodes at the end when I pulled and inspected roots. They were bad on a few plants near the woods and on the outside edges of the garden but not really in the middle. They were not on the peppers either, which makes me want to trial some kind of capsicum. My I could call the technique Tabasco Gardening? I could not find this thread so I posted a new one with the root pics HERE