Yeast fertilizer

[A. Lyric]

uTube if you look up 'regen ag.', Dr. C. Jones, Zach Bush

Oh! I think I have that written down, but haven't watched it yet.

 

[Meadowlark]

@redback, do you have any updates on your interesting study of yeast as a fertilizer?

Thank you in advance.

 

[redback]

, do you have any updates on your interesting study of yeast as a fertilizer?

Thank you in advance.

A mixed bag but generally I am quite prepared to forget other fertilizer and change over to these microbial inoculants in time.

The lacto-bacillus seems to be the most powerful stimulant effecting all plants.
The yeast is perhaps the best for cucurbits and not so good on tomatoes.
A third one called protozoa soup - made of fish meal, lucerne and molasses is pretty safe and seems to be a worm feed.
Alas there is a drought here and using the mains water (with chloride and fluoride in it) has killed off much of the microbial action. The lacto bacillus mixture was made and I diluted it with mains water instead of rainwater and put it in a beer brewing container with a water-filled airlock. The lock should have released built up air pressure from the mixture but there was none.
Meanwhile the water is compromising all crops and beans and strawberries have gone. Just to round off the sad story bunny rabbits have discerningly eaten my beans, lettuce and silver beet.
The tomatoes are still producing. I have four new types of basil (holy, lemon, thai and cinnamon). The blue wrens have returned, and the chuffs are back. I'm picking cucumber, zuchs, herbs and onions. I recently finished the first corn and potato crops.
There's a four-day heat wave starting tomorrow. In these past four cool days I have planted new corn, beans, lettuce and beet seeds and watered them every day. I will cover them in shade cloth tonight. Never stop trying.

 

[Meadowlark]

... Never stop trying.

Words to live by.

While you were absent, we had a "rip-roaring" discussion re synthetic fertilizers with numerous claims that there is no difference between synthetic fertilizers and natural sources of nutrients. The claim was "nitrogen is nitrogen and it does not matter where it comes from".

I am so glad there are people who are willing to push the envelope, not accept the dogma of the past, and look for better ways to live on this planet. Never stop trying.

 

[redback]

Oh! I think I have that written down, but haven't watched it yet.

These scientists and adventurous farmers are leading the way. It's about nutritious food. The monocultures of broadacre farming, with herbicides, NPK fertilizers and pesticides are causing widespread disease in the population because of low nutrition content. Without the nutrients our bodies are not resilient enough to fight disease.

 

[Meadowlark]

These scientists and adventurous farmers are leading the way. It's about nutritious food.

How about us adventurous gardeners who were former scientists?

We are in there trying to.

 

[redback]

Dr Jeff White provided positive proof by photographing microbes feeding off plant roots. Now that we have the proof, we need to find out how to use it.
Zach Bush is saying that it was after the 1970s that things got worse in the health area. This time corresponds to the introduction of GM crops and use of Roundup in such superabundance that it contaminated all air, rivers and human bodies.
So, it's back to the 1970s and the limited use of glyphosate that existed then. This forum becomes very useful if it spreads that message. But changing long-held beliefs is difficult.
Christine Jones is espousing the use of polyculture with the adage that 'variety is fertility'. This theory suggests that 'weeds are good'. You can imagine how the 'neat and tidy' gardeners view that proposition.
We are important in spreading the word. More importantly we have to find a system that utilizes this new knowledge.

 

[Ruderunner]

Oddly enough, the thought of adding yeast and molasses to my soil occurred to me the other day. I'm a ways off from doing that as my soil is partially frozen and snow covered.

The lactobasilicos is interesting. I'm familiar with it in the fermentation process. I wouldn't use pickle or kraut brine though due to ph and salt levels. How does one account for that using rice?

 

[Chuck]

Yeast is a fungus and acts like all other fungi. It breaks down organic matter and it is also a fermenter. Fermentation is when sugars are turned in carbon dioxide. The compost tea you are essentially making will add no fertilizer (NPK) to but it will produce alcohol if you use molasses which will be the yeasts food source. What it also does is to increase the numbers of soil microbes by its ability to break down organic matter. I don't know what alcohol does to a plant but I have poured hot beer onto a plants roots and nothing happened. I really cannot see a benefit to adding yeast with what I know now.

 

[redback]

I don't know the science behind using yeast as a plant stimulant, but it seems to work all the same, particularly on cucurbits.
I have presumed that it helps the mycorrhizal fungi spread the area of root coverage. I will need to continue investigation into this and all the soil complexities.

 

[Chuck]

I don't know the science behind using yeast as a plant stimulant, but it seems to work all the same, particularly on cucurbits.
I have presumed that it helps the mycorrhizal fungi spread the area of root coverage. I will need to continue investigation into this and all the soil complexities.

It will help mycorrhiza grow as it is also a fungus and when used with sugars it will multiply. The only benefit I can see with using yeast is its ability to produce carbon dioxide which will help foliage growth. And when used with sugars it will help increase soil microbe numbers but it will have zero effect as far as NPK is concerned. The only thing yeast does that molasses doesn't do is produce carbon dioxide. The yeast is feeding off of the molasses and I don't know how many fewer soil microbes the molasses can produce over how many soil microbes the yeast produces

 

[redback]

it will have zero effect as far as NPK is concerned.

I'm not worried about NPK since there seems to be an understanding that these and banked up in the soil from over application and a lack of microbes to make them available to plants.
The complexity of the yeast usage is furthered compounded by soil borne herbivores. These whitish curl grubs feed on the plant roots. So now we have a question of root immunity and how the fungi effect this interplay. Still searching for the role of yeast in all this.