Grow Talk

[mr-sparkles_SPARLabs]

Hey Everybody,

I came up with a new technique using potassium bicarbonate and citric acid together equalling Potassium Citrate which is a commonly used potassium foliar that removes and kills powdery mildew. Either of these substances alone will cause damage but together in a Wide range of Molar Rations it is extremely safe for all stages of the plant life cycle. As you can see it doesn’t hurt the pistils. If you’ve dealt with or deal with PM you know its a nightmare. 25b Products barely work, Damage plants, do lots of other unwanted stuff.

This actually works and if you are accustomed to washing your plants this is exactly like that except while the plant is alive. Potassium and Citric acid both foliar feed the plant and that is what is happening on top of it killing and washing off the PM. You dont need a Pesticide License to use this. Besides the concentrated solutions before mixing(use eye PPM and skin PPM for your hands if sensitive but for real, This is what bath bombs and shower steamers are made out of. Potassium Bicarbonate is recommended in 100mg doses a day for supplement and citric acid is delicious AF

Ok now for more technical information.

Molar Ratio Table
g=grams per gallon of water

Citric Acid Fixed grams = 8.5g/gal Table

KHCO3 Ratio. KHCO3 (g). Citric Acid (g). pH. E.C.
1:1 4.41g 8.5g 4.1 1.08
1.5:1 6.62g 8.5g 4.7 1.5
2:1 8.82g 8.5g 5.2 1.9
2.5:1 11.03g 8.5g 5.7 2.3
3:1 13.23g 8.5g 5.8 2.7
3.5:1 15.44g 8.5g 6.0 3.0
4:1 17.64g 8.5g 6.1 3.4
5:1 22.05g 8.5g 6.3 3.9
6:1 26.46g 8.5g 6.5 4.4

For the first emergency breakout mixture – First Day/First Mixture:
KHCO3 Ratio. KHCO3 (g)/gal. Citric Acid (g)/gal pH. E.C.
2.54:1 20g 17g. 5.4 3.5

· Above is the mixing table with expected pH and EC readings.

I’ve gotten best control results with a 2.5:1 ratio and that is the most frequent wash used with 8.5g/gallon citric acid used as the baseline. I use 17g/gallon citric acid to calculate the ratios when an emergency breakout occurs.

I will list the interval instructions below.

We had a major PM outbreak in our facility… The creation of this wash began when the products we were using to control Powdery Mildew left awful tastes behind and failed to control the problem. I never used a product with stricter listing than 25b labeling. Application rates were listed as low as a minimum of 3 day intervals for Maximum application. We were seeing Powdery Mildew remergence as quick as 1 day. Taste was present in final product at these application rates.

I discovered 20g/gal of potassium bicarbonate was a common rate of application to kill and prevent powdery mildew I experimented with this application recipe a little and found extensive damage to cannabis plants though the PM control was good. I read on the label of one of the 25b Products we were using and found a potassium molecule being used and a 1% citric acid solution being used together. This was the formulation for the first wash solution I mixed and applied: 20g/gal Potassium Bicarbonate with 37g/gal citric acid. That high of a mixture didn’t even hurt the plants much.

Another thing. I’ve grown for 10 years and have NEVER seen powdery mildew until last fall. I know many people will grow for ever and never see it. My Boss has grown for 30 years in Alaska and never saw it. But once you see it, it can be a HUGE problem. It can END your facility. It literally about did to us. I’ve Cried over this shit.

Anyways. I was laying in bed one night and figured to Hail Mary it and here we are.

I have a short video 3min 50 seconds: https://youtu.be/bi4N8Qzwk6w

And a longer video explaining it further: https://youtu.be/qS6zq8z0W1Y

Disclaimer. My part of this, Sacred Prairies Ag Research Lab is Non profit and Open Source. That isnt to say these techniques won’t be used in consulting as it can be a total financial loss for a company if the problem isn’t fixed quickly. Any research SPAR Labs produces is open to the public.

The Main thing here is to help everyone out and there isn’t much time to release the information here.

Ok here are the instructions. Some good pictures of indoor and a few outdoor I’ve sprayed to test in the middle of a hot day.

Powdery Mildew Elimination Schedule During an emergency breakout: Use a mixture molar ratio of 2.5:1 K Bicarbonate : Citric Acid with 20g/gallon Kbicarbonate and 17g/gallon Citric Acid being used first day. Followed by a repeat application the very next day if possible with 8.5g/gallon citric acid being used to calculate the molar ratio. Ratio table below. Repeat Every 5 days. I will say after two or three 5 day intervals 6 is probably safe but to be 100% 5 day intervals are the best in an emergency situation. Schedule as Follows: Day 1, Day 1 or 3, Day 5, Day 5, Day 5, Day 5 etc. For a Preventative Foliar where No PM has been present, 1 time a week should be fine. PM usually has a way of showing itself if it is present so this becomes more on the benefits of the Potassium Foliar and the Citric Acid Foliar which has amazing benefits and can be sprayed until the day of harvest. – After 6 weeks of 5 day intervals we have come down to one application a week and are looking at even less frequent applications. We found using this spray every 5 days will help you find the hot spot in your facility and you can clean the source! If PM is present but it is not an emergency situation you can use the ratios above for the first and following days but the second immediate wash is not as necessary and can be on day 3 or 4 and then continue with 5 day intervals.

Spray low to lights off in the Midday. Let it dry slowly on the plants and spray 2 days in a row or on the 3rd day if humidity issues are a worry during an emergency breakout and then every 5 days after. After a couple weeks we were able to find the contamination source. That is the Key of a 5 day interval. When you see PM it is 5 days old. You will need to determine the source of contamination for complete elimination. This spray has shown 3 modes of action under the microscope and now I don’t even have any contaminations to test. This is the most affordable option we have ever found at about a quarter of the price and it is absolutely the most effective option we have ever found. It’s safe, It’s healthy, it feeds the plants and doesn’t hurt them and destroy the pistils. More information will be available from Sacred Prairie’s Agricultural Research Labs and Bad River Farms soon. A white paper is Finalized and scheduled for publishing. Copies available upon request.

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Pictures

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Discussion

[mr-sparkles_SPARLabs]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aAstz5JBxsxwCc8lUzZ1EzgrsnVHkU9e/view?usp=drive_link

Link to white paper. Uploading to USDA Ag Commons and in the process of building a website around it.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by  mr-sparkles_SPARLabs. Reason: Specify Ag Commons as USDA

drive.google.com

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[johngolden]

Whole milk and water foil are. 2 cups per 5 gallon. Gone.

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[mr-sparkles_SPARLabs]

Milk isn’t applicable in all environments. This is a Labeled Pesticide replacement.

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[mr-sparkles_SPARLabs]

https://youtu.be/1-vmeYpUjUc

Here is the updated video of what the best ratios to use and how to use it. More details are in the description.

This is cheap and proven effective in our facility. Hopefully you don’t have Powdery Mildew EVER! But if you do, Use this!!

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[mr-sparkles_SPARLabs]

Hey Everyone!
Got the instruction video up. Planning for an indoor one but the outdoor is important right now.
https://youtu.be/y5NomHxyLTU

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[mr-sparkles_SPARLabs]

And Indoor Video is up

https://youtu.be/yBlEG6W2Be4

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