Common Questions about BDMax Biodynamics

 

When do you spray
How often?
Where do you spray?
Mixing BDMax Sprays and Chemical Sprays
Mixing BDMax Sprays with organic liquid manures
How much do you use?
Dilution rates
Mixing Advice
The water
Watering plants with BDMax Sprays
Pot Plants
Starting at different times of the year
What sprayer to use
Cleaning your sprayer
What is Peppering?
Specific problem Spray?

When do you spray

* Etherics 1000, Powdery Mildew Spray, Pest Protection, Rooting Compounds
– on a moist soil in the afternoon

* 501 Compound, Warmth Spray, Fungal spray
– on a sunny morning or when needed, mostly over the plants.

As a general rule the Etherics 1000 etc are best sprayed in the afternoon, after 3pm. It is best to use these sprays after rain, once the soil is wet or if there is good dew on the way. These sprays work with the elements of Earth and Water so function best when they are present and active. Nothing is however fixed in stone, and remember IT IS BETTER A SPRAY IS APPLIED AT THE WRONG TIME THAN NOT APPLIED AT ALL. A FOLLOW UP MAY THEN BE APPLIED AT THE RIGHT (OR PERFECT) TIME.

The 501 Compound and the Fungal sprays are best applied early in the morning, before 11am on a sunny day. The soil conditions can be dry. They will generally be applied when they are needed during hot moist times to regain the balance. With 501 Compound you should be careful not to use it too often if the season is dry anyway. It emphasises the light and warmth elements, so if they are strongly present the 501 Compound will enhance their activity further. Sunburning of the leaves is possible and the new leaves of the plant may become smaller and pointier. In extreme cases you can tip the balance to far and insect attacks may become evident. In which case you should use the Etherics 1000 to restore the balance. ALWAYS USE 501 COMPOUND AFTER ETHERICS 1000 HAS BEEN USED. This can be a day after if need be.

How Often

Etherics 1000 – Twice in the Spring.
Twice in the autumn
Twice through the summer when it has rained.
Recommendations depend on the situation and budget. For large land areas one application in the spring and autumn maybe all that is possible. It would be worth investing in a field broadcaster to carry the influence of the preps over through the growing season.

501 Compound – At the fourth leaf stage
Just before flowering
Two weeks before harvest
Within the week before grazing, has been noted to improve the palatability and nutritive quality of kikuyu
If rots become evident

Pest Protection – Every three weeks during the growing season.

Fungal Spray – As needed from every ten days to every three weeks or as directed by our consultant.

Powdery Mildew Spray – This varies for various crops.

for cucurbits , every week
for grapes and apples, three weeks generally

Warmth Spray
Used twice in the spring from June
For frost protection , the afternoon before the frost
To improve early season growth

These suggestions are only rough guidelines. The frequency of using BDMax Biodynamic Sprays really depends on the situation you are faced with, so hard and fast rules are difficult if not dangerous to outline.

Where do you spray

All BDMax Biodynamic sprays are sprayed over the soil as well as the plants. It is important that the sprays are ‘wet’ after spraying however they do not have to be ‘to dripping’.

The Etherics 1000 is primarily sprayed over the soil and can safely be sprayed over your plants as well. They do indeed like it.

Pest Protection is sprayed over the plant and the soil. Pest Protection and Etherics 1000 can be used as a liquid manure and watered around the plants from a watering can or sprayer. In severe attacks this is usually a good idea to give the plant a strong boost.

501 Compound is sprayed onto the leaves of the plant usually using a fine spray. It is not usually applied to the soil however if there are root rots these could be treated using the BDMax Biodynamic Root Rot Spray watered onto the soil from a watering can.

Fungal Spray is applied to the leaves of the plant. Spraying the whole environment is also O.K. in the case of fungus. It is the whole garden which is in need of balancing not just to individual plants.

Mixing BDMax Sprays and Chemical Sprays

* Not recommended.
* Best effects come when used within an organically based environment

BDMax Sprays are sensitive organic substances and as such will be over powered by chemical poisons. They should not be mixed at any stage. It is also questionable weather BDMax Sprays will have much effect on land and crops, which are continuing to be fertilised with artificial fertilisers or sprayed with herbicides and other insecticides.

Mixing BDMax Sprays with organic liquid manures

* Etherics 1000 and Pest Protection mix well with most liquid manures
* 501 Compound is best not mixed with liquid manures however if this is the only cost effective way open to you then do it.

Liquid manures come in the form of Seaweed, Fish or Blood and Bone Manures. The Etherics 1000 and the Pest Protection both mix with these products and can be applied at the same time. The Fungal Spray can be used in the same way.

It is recommended that 501 Compound be applied separately from any liquid manures. As the 501 Compound is made from ground up Quartz crystals, some of its activity comes from these minute crystals lying on the leaves and reflecting light. The liquid manures may inhibit this process.

501 Compound is also applied in the morning of sunny days, while liquid manures are best applied in the afternoons.

How much do you use

The general application rates for home gardens are on a per litre basis. It depends how thickly you apply the spray as to how far a litre of spray will go. Generally BDMax BD Sprays are applied at 1ml per litre of water to cover around 10 square meters of garden. This dilution rate can be 3mls per litre without any negative effects.

For larger areas 100mls per acre or 250mls per hectare is applied. Use minimum amount of water if possible about 1ml to one litre of water. Larger amounts of water are fine. Always use the appropriate amount of BDMax Biodynamic product per area. 100mls per acre or 250mls per hectare has been found to be optimal.

Generally these sprays only need to be applied to a ‘wet’ basis not to dripping. So a litre of spray can be expected to cover approximately 10 square meters of lawn. With the nozzle being set half way between fine spray and jet settings. This gives a spray range of approximately 1 – 1.5 meters.

In a lawn situation walk slowly and move the sprayer from side to side covering a strip of say two meters at a time. The grass should feel moist on your feet however not really wet.

In the vegetable and flower gardens you will have more of the plant and the soil to moisten, so 1 litre could be expected to cover 10 meters of an herbaceous border approximately 1.5 meters deep and 1 meter high.

Fruit trees could take 1 litre of spray per tree for a fairly mature specimen.

Dilution rates

* One ml per litre of water. 10 drops from the bottle is approximately one ml.
* 100mls per acre
* 250mls per hectare
* 500mls per hectare for specialty sprays on kiwifruit

Different situations can require different amounts of water. The following is a guideline we have found successful.

For the home gardens 1ml of the BDMax Spray per litre of water.

For other larger applications we suggest using 100mls per acre water rate with as much water as you feel necessary to easily apply the spray using the equipment you have.

Mixing Advice.

* Dilute, Mix and Spray

The preparation of these sprays for application is straight forward.
Fill your sprayer with the required amount of water you wish to spray.
Pour the required number of drops or mls you need into the sprayer while filling the sprayer.
Put the top on it and give it a few seconds shake, so the drops will become incorporated into the water.

You are ready to spray.

The water

* The best you have.

Use the best water you have available. Rain water is best, followed by bore water and creek water followed by town supply. The biggest draw back with town supply is it has chlorine and fluoride added. Both of these chemicals are relatively harsh and may setback the living activity of the sprays. Experience has shown though they still work adequately. So just do your best. You may need to use double the dose of spray to
have the same effect with town supply.

Watering plants with BDMax Sprays.

* As an alternative to just spraying you can add BDMax Sprays to your watering can. Use 1ml to a litre

In some circumstances, such as a particularly sick plant you can add Etherics 1000 or Etherics Seaweed and Pest Protection to water in a watering can at 1ml to 1 or 2 litres of water and water it over the soil. This gives a good boost to the whole area. When dealing with slugs it has been found a beneficial action to take.

Pot Plants

* Use as for other plants.

Pot plants can be treated like any other plants, namely sprayed over the leaves and soil. You can also easily place the Etherics 1000 or Etherics Seaweed and Pest Protection into the watering water. The 501 Compound and fungal sprays should be sprayed on from above. If you have fears of soil rots the fungal protection can be included in the watering water.

Starting at different times of the year.

* You can start using BDMax Biodynamic Sprays at anytime of the year.
* Always start with Etherics 1000 onto a moist soil.

The use of BDMax Sprays can be started at anytime of the year. The most important thing to do is to use the Etherics 1000 first. This spray is to provide overall balance of the soil and plant as a starting place
for the other sprays to work from.

The Etherics 1000 and Pest Protection work best where the soil is moist. So wait for some rain or until you have watered your garden well before using these sprays.

As BDMax Sprays work with the living processes of the soil and plants their effects may not be as immediate if you begin using them during a hot dry summer when plant growth is minimal anyway. Once growth starts
again though you should see the difference.

Remember it is the new growth of the plant, which occurs after you spray that shows you the most marked effect.

What sprayer to use.

* Pressure sprayers are easiest.

Any sprayer will do, however in the home garden situation the sprayers which provide a jet spray through a pressurised system as the easiest. The pump action sprayer will soon become tiresome. The pressurised sprayers come in many different sizes from one litre upwards. Water is heavy so be sure you can easily carry the amount of water in the sprayer. For small gardens, the 2 litre sprayers available from most hardware stores, is adequate.

Solo Motorised sprayer are an option for people with slightly larger gardens. These sprayers carry approximately 12 litres of spray. The motor blows an air stream that the spray drops into, forming droplets. This enable you to blast the spray high up into trees. It effectively covers everything. 25cc and 50cc versions are available.

Cleaning your sprayer

*No poisons please
*Wash it out with detergent and Citric Acid.

BDMax Biodynamic Sprays and harsh poisonous chemicals do not mix. The chemicals will kill the life processes of these sprays. Keep a separate sprayer for any chemical sprays you might use.

To clean out your existing sprayer. Use an ammonia cleaner and wash out the tank and spray it through the hoses and nozzles for a few minutes. Rinse it out again and fill the system up with Citric Acid. Leave this sit for a few hours, empty and rinse. It should be O.K. now. Poisons have very strong smells associated with them and this can take years to leave your sprayer. They do not seem to cause any subsequent harm to BDMax Sprays though.

What is Peppering?

‘Peppering’ is a method of pest control suggested by the founder of the Biodynamic agricultural movement, Rudolf Steiner back in 1924. Since that time it has been used in many different circumstances and we have experienced its value in controlling everything from weeds to insects to possums, rabbits, birds and rats. Essentially the insect is gathered and burnt to an ash, which is then spread over the land you wish to protect. Over the years this basic recipe has been developed and now the ash is processed into a liquid form, which can be easily sprayed over orchards by incorporating it into existing spraying rounds.

The aim of ‘peppering’ is to inhibit the reproductive potential of any plant, insect or animal, one applies the method to. The process is species specific. Steiner suggested that this method may take up to four years to become fully effective, however our experience has shown that effective results can be experienced within a matter of days.

With the passion vine hopper, Jane Cook’s orchard has reported she used the pepper for the first time 5 seasons ago. The first season her infestation level was very small, while last year it is still of no great concern. Several (50+) other growers have reported good levels of control after starting to use the PVH pepper. Several growers are reporting having unsprayed shelter belts, black with hoppers and sooty mould, while meters away their sprayed vines are clean. Tim Oliver reported earning and extra $100,000 from his orchard for an investment of $5000 in the ‘peppers’. The Fullers Rose Weevil pepper has produced similar results with 80% of the orchards last season being free to export their fruit to Japan this season.

Several orchards also use ‘Etherics 1000’ and 501 Comp. and they are reporting a quicker more powerful effect from the peppers .

WEEDS

Most plants may ‘peppered’. Peppering stops the new seeds germinating, so annuals are the easiest plants to control this way. Perennials will need to have the parent plant removed by some other means, either physically or chemically. Root dividing plants are more difficult.

INSECTS

In most cases it is the adult insect required for the process. The burning however does need to occur at specific times. If you can supply us with the pest we can do the burning and prepare it at the right time.

BIRDS

Birds too can be treated and the resulting liquid can then be sprayed over the orchard or vineyard. One or two specimens are all we need. Females are preferable.

MAMMALS

All mammals can be treated. We need only the skin of the mammal, so please skin it before sending it to us. One skin is often enough and preferably female.

In most cases the remedy can be returned to you within a week. The earlier in the season the preparation is made and applied the better it will work that season. Do not wait until you have a problem before applying it. Prevention is better than cure.

Specific problem Spray?

Any specific problem you have, not covered here, can most likely be made to order

 

 

 

 

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