Earthfood Product Overview
100% natural solution that is environmentally safe. Improves plant health and vigour. Improves plant ability to resist pests and diseases. Provides plant nutrients in a more readily absorbable form. Can be used on any type of plant, crop, flower or vegetable in most situations. Extends the harvesting period. Produces higher yields of fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Improves crop quality in terms of colour, texture and taste. Produces crops with greater shelf life. Scientifically tested and certified 100% organic. Improves the nutritional value of all crops. Significant cost savings compared with chemical fertilisers. Solves soil compaction issues by improving soil tilth. Suitable for both foliage and soil applications. A complete replacement for all fertilisers, soil conditioners and biological activators. May be applied through any irrigation system or banded into the soil.Essential care for your live Earthfood
1. Always store your Earthfood in a cool dark place between 5 and 45 degrees. We keep ours under the kitchen sink or in the laundry cupboard. Over-heating and freezing the solution will result in perished microbes, but as you can see there is a fairly broad safe temperature range.
2. Never transfer the Earthfood concentrate into other bottles. The caps are breathable, allow the microbes some air, and release any build-up of the natural gases they produce. Previously used storage bottles could well be contaminated with harmful bacteria or chemicals, which could cause the microbes to perish.
3. Always make a single-use mix for your plants, garden or lawn application. Use a clean spray bottle or watering can, and don’t forget to make only the amount you need for a single application.
4. Add water* for your measured application in a spray bottle or watering can for use. *The best water to use for your mix will always be rainwater, tank water, well water, spring water or strongly filtered water. If using town water with chlorination, allow a window of 1 hour of fully functional microbes. Shortly after one hour in chlorinated water, your microbes will perish, so get your Earthfood mixture onto your plants or into the soil as soon as possible. Use it or loose it!
5. Earthfood is non-hazardous, non-toxic and 100% organic. It is bee-friendly, pet & child friendly, frog friendly and reef friendly. Earthfood turns dead dirt into healthy soils. Apply it to ALL plant types, grasses, food plants & trees, flowering plants and hydroponic plants.
Vigorous plant growth supported only by an excessive supply of NPK (particularly nitrogen) can lead to a depletion of minerals in the soil without the support of other minerals. If the depleted mineral is needed to produce a required amino acid, it follows that the protein will not be properly formed.
Earthfood changes the dynamics of plant growth by rapidly and continuously accelerating the process of soil health and promoting the complex interaction of microbial activity while supplying the full range of nutrients to plants when and as they require them.
Repeated use of chemical fertilisers constantly reduces the organic contents in soil. Over time, the ground becomes hard, compacted, and cannot retain nutrients and moisture naturally. Not only does regular applications of Earthfood restore all soils to their highest function, but it can also save up to 70% of the watering required to maintain healthy and thriving plants, both indoors and in.
8. Earthfood shelf life. The microbes in our Earthfood are in a state of suspended animation, just waiting for a food source to wake them up and begin working for you. Stored in a cool, dry location and out of direct sunlight, Earthfood will be ready for you when you are. Even after ten plus (10+) years of testing in the above conditions, the microbes were still perfectly viable.
9. Healthy Microbes in the soil allow the plants to do what plants do best – Grow!
- Up to 40% more food, lushness, flowers and greenery
- Up to 40% more protein per green leaf
- Up to 70% in water saving in usage
Earthfood Application Guidelines, Schedules & Rates
Directions for Domestic Application
Home Gardens, Pot Plants and Lawns:
- Mix 100 mls of concentrate with 6 litres of water (preferably non-chlorinated), or 20mls into 1 litre of water.
- Apply mixture to leaves and soil, once per week for 6 weeks, and once a month after that. If growing food, it is usually 4 times per growing cycle.
Commercial Crop Application
Earthfood is very easy to apply through any irrigation system and in any situation. The solution has been filtered twice through the settlement period with first a 100-micron mesh and then a 140-micron mesh and can therefore be used through the finest irrigation drip lines.
For General Field Application.
Earthfood can be:
- Used in existing drip lines without build up or clogging.
- Banded into the soil (shanked).
- Injected into flood irrigation without harmful run off.
- Used in overhead sprinkler systems without tip clogging.
- Used in pivot heads.
- Ploughed in at any stage. Applying Earthfood at this stage increases microbial activity speeding up the breakdown of crop stubble.
- Applied to foliage.
- Applied in any situation, e.g: when you are ploughing, preparing, just before seeding, during germination, after germination, during the growing process right up to budding and or up to 10 days before harvest!
- Used all year around for full beneficial results.
This application method suits all herbs, flowers, ferns, indoor potted plants, hydroponics, micro-nutrients plants, all foods, lawns/grasses any growing plants. A consultation with Earthfood Soil Scientist for further detail is also available.
Commercial Crop Application Schedule:
Earthfood works with growing cycle of the plant and application* is as follows:
- First Application of mixed solution (must be in clean application containers) for drip, spray or irrigation. Apply to all soils designated for planting before planting.
- Second Application as best practice (optional) is to soak the seeds for 24 hours prior to planting.
- Third Application to seedlings once the first two mature leaves have been formed.
- Fourth Application is foliar spray 14 days later.
- Fifth Application foliar spray on plants when they begin to flower.
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Sixth Application foliar spray on plants when the fruit/vegetables begin to form.
*Apply in the mid to late afternoon or early morning when plants are not stressed.
Commercial Crop Application Rates:
Aerial Application: Use 10 – 40 litres/hectare (1 – 4 gallons per acre) in a minimum of 10 gallons of water.
Soil Application: Use 20-40 litres/hectare / 190 litres (2 – 4 gallons per acre in a minimum of 20 gallons of water) applied through any irrigation system or as a side dressing.
Foliage Application: Use 2.5 – 5 litres / 190 litres (1 – 3 quarts per acre) in a backpack of water. Use once every 2 weeks for the first 2 months for soil rehabilitation and/or 4 times a growing cycle of the food/plant, or, as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Non-compatibility:
It is recommended that Earthfood is not applied with any other fertiliser or pesticide.
See application rates below by specific crops.
Field and Vegetable Crops:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application after transplanting, thinning or at second true leaf stage. Apply 1 to 2 subsequent applications at 10-to-15-day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements. The critical stages for foliage applications are 2-3 true leaves, pre-bloom and early cluster formation.
Broccoli, Cauliflowers, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts (Brassicas):
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application after transplanting, thinning or at second true leaf stage. Apply 1 to 2 subsequent applications at 10-to-15-day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) 20 – 40 litres/hectare per application. Make the first application after transplanting, thinning or at second true leaf stage. Apply 1 to 2 subsequent applications at 10-to-15-day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Lettuce, Celery, Spinach, Endives, Parsleys & Other Leafy Crops:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application after transplanting, thinning or at second true leaf stage. Apply 1 to 2 subsequent applications at 10 to 15 day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Beans, Peas & Corn:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre), per application. Make the first application after thinning or at second true leaf stage. Apply 2 to 3 subsequent applications at 10-to-15-day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Strawberries:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application after transplanting. Apply at 30-day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Potatoes, Carrots, Onions & Other Root & Tuber Crops:
Improves foliage colour as well as tuber development. Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application after transplanting or at second true leaf stage. Apply 1 – 2 subsequent applications at 10-to-15-day intervals or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Grapes, Hops and Other Vine Crops:
Grapes, Hops:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application.
Table Grapes:
Make first application at bloom. Apply subsequent applications at bunch pre-closing, veraison and 2 to 3 weeks prior to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Wine Grapes:
Make first application at approximately 5% bloom. Apply subsequent applications at bunch pre-closing, veraison and 2 to 3 weeks prior to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Kiwis & Other Cranberries:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make first application at pre-bloom. Make subsequent applications at 30-day intervals up to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Tree Crops - Fruit, Nuts & Citrus:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application at green tip. Make subsequent applications at 30-day intervals up to nut fill or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application at green tip or pink bud. Make subsequent applications at fruit set or jacket fall, fruit thinning and 2 to 3 weeks prior to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application at green tip. Make subsequent applications at 30-day intervals up to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make first application at pre bloom. Make subsequent applications at mid-crop and 3 to 4 weeks prior to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
Olives:
Use 20 – 40 litres/hectare (2 – 4 gallons per acre) per application. Make the first application at pre-bloom. Apply subsequent applications at 30-day intervals to harvest or as needed to supplement nutritional requirements.
General Precautions
- Keep out of reach of children.
- Not to be taken.
- Wash hands after each use.
- If irritation to skin and eyes occurs, rinse with water.
- Wash all treated plants before eating.
General Earthfood Analysis
Growth Cycle
Working with nature to provide farmers and growers with optimum results:
= Greater Yields
= Earlier Harvests
= Lower Input Costs
= Higher Profits
Pasture Production
- Ensures a healthy deep root system.
- Increases pasture blanket density.
- Rapidly increases the diversity and longevity of soil microbes.
- Speeds up dry matter breakdown turning it into usable nutrients.
- Pasture sweetness improves with a higher nutritional value.
- Increases a natural resistance to pests and diseases.
- Helps release and dispel bound up chemicals and other nutrients in soil.
- Improves animal health and fertility through enriched nutrient content of pasture.
- Reduced recovery time after forage/hay cuttings.
- Increased protein by up to 40%.
Quality Control
Earthfood implement a very strict and high standard of Quality Control, Testing and Analysis. We routinely test for nutrient values and microbial activity. Each batch is tested for all pathogens . All our testing is performed by an independent laboratory.
TYPICAL NUTRIENT ANALYSIS:
TYPICAL MICROBIAL ANALYSIS:
Active Bacteria 15.4µg Nitrifying Bacteria (N) 1.10E+08
Phosphorus Solubilising Bacteria (P) 1.00E+09
Potassium Solubilising Bacteria (K) 2.00E+08
plus beneficial enzymes, natural humates & other micro-organisms.
RECORDING & SERIAL NUMBERS:
Each batch produced is stored, numbered, and recorded to match laboratory test results.
Top and bottom caps and taps are sealed with its own serial number and require outbound and inbound signatures for our records.
Soil Microbes
- Microbes are small, single-celled organisms that occur naturally in healthy balanced soils.
- One single cell microbe can multiply itself 16 million times in just 24 hours.
- Microbes consume organic matter and through a complex process convert nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and all the many trace minerals into a form which plants use to grow.
- Plants are unable to access food from the soil without microbes.
- Poor quality soils with little organic matter contain far less microbial populations than those of healthy soils.
- Full of Beneficial bacteria which constantly multiply themselves by billions, conditioning the soil and converting nutrients into a usable plant food supply.
- Releases harmful chemicals from the soil until they are eliminated.
Microorganisms abound in the soil and are critical to decomposing organic residues and recycling soil nutrients.
Bacteria are the smallest and most hardy microbe in the soil and can survive under harsh conditions like tillage. Bacteria are only 20–30% efficient at recycling carbon, have a high nitrogen content (3 to 10 carbon atoms to 1 nitrogen atom or 10 to 30% nitrogen), a lower carbon content, and a short life span. Carbon use efficiency is 40–55% for mycorrhizal fungi so they store and recycle more carbon (10:1 carbon to nitrogen ratio) and less nitrogen (10%) in their cells than bacteria.
Fungi are more specialised but need a constant food source and grow better under no-till conditions.
Soil organic matter (SOM) is composed of the “living” (microorganisms), the “dead” (fresh residues), and the “very dead” (humus) fractions. Active SOM is composed of the fresh plant or animal material which is food for microbes and is composed of easily digested sugars and proteins.
The passive SOM is resistant to decomposition by microbes (higher in lignin). Active SOM improves soil structure and holds plant available nutrients. Every 1% SOM contains 1,000 pounds of nitrogen, 100 pounds of phosphorus, 100 pounds of potassium, and 100 pounds of sulphur along with other essential plant nutrients.
Repeated tillage destroys SOM by oxidising the SOM, allowing bacteria and other microbes to quickly decompose organic residues. Higher temperatures and moisture increase the destruction of SOM by increasing microbial populations in the soil. Organic residues with a low carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio (less than 20) are easily decomposed and nutrients are quickly released (4 to 8 weeks), while organic residue with a high C:N ratio (greater than 20) decompose slowly, and the microbes will tie up soil nitrogen to decompose the residues. Protozoa and nematodes consume other microbes in the soil and release the nitrogen as ammonia, which becomes available to other microorganisms or is absorbed by plant roots.
Soil Health
Increased soil biological activity has a multitude of profitable attributes. Increased metabolism through proper seasonal irrigation timing with Earthfood allows for warmer soil temperatures providing plants an earlier start to the season and resilience to colder air temperatures. As soil microbes being to metabolise, CO2 is given off creating a pillow of higher CO2 concentration between the soil and canopy of the crop.
As the colonisation begins to flourish, pathogenic bacteria, fungus, and nematodes are starved and suppressed. Lastly, while all this is happening, tilth is increased allowing greater aeration of the soil and subsequently less fuel and maintenance costs on tractors and implements.
The rich humus and natural bio-available nutrition is only the beginning. When you start using, Earthfood you are immediately reclaiming your soils unlocked potential that may have been silenced by years of conventional cropping practices. You will notice the appearance of your crops becoming healthier while soil samples will scientifically prove to you a balancing of pH, increased cation exchange capacity, increased water holding capacity, increased organic matter content, and of course an increase in biological activity has occurred.
Earthfood is a new breed of agricultural input that will restore soils to their full potential while creating or restoring fields to their highest productivity and health levels. This 100% safe and natural solution can be used on any type of plant, crop, flower, or vegetable in almost any situation without fear of burning or overuse. It takes Mother Nature thousands of years to make a few inches of good soil. With BioGrow 365 we’re trying to get it done within a season or two.
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen is an integral component of all amino acids, which are the building blocks of all proteins, including the enzymes. Nitrogen is also a component of nucleic acids (the seat of genetic inheritance), and chlorophyll. Nitrogen is essential for carbohydrate use within plants. A good supply of nitrogen stimulates root growth and development, and uptake of other nutrients.
The most important source of nitrogen is the atmosphere which contains 78% of nitrogen as an inert gas (N2). In the inert phase, nitrogen cannot be used by plants, and, it must be converted to forms usable by plants through mineralization. Nitrogen is absorbed by plants in mineral (inorganic) forms, i.e., as nitrate and ammonium ions.
Revegetation & Erosion
Earthfood is extremely versatile and has the unique ability to improve the properties of soils and growing media physically, nutritionally, and biologically. The real benefits of using Earthfood on land management programs are both short-term through its supply of readily available nutrients and long-term through its content of living-organic organisms. Used regularly Earthfood will increase seed germination, stabilise re-vegetation, and suppress the development of evasive weed species.
- Home/Commercial Construction Sites
- Municipal/Private Parks
- Roadsides/Highways Coastal
- Landfills
- Mine Sites (remediation)
- Agriculture
BENEFITS:
- Improves soil structure, porosity, and density, thus creating a better plant root environment.
- Increases moisture infiltration and permeability of heavy soils, thus reducing erosion and runoff.
- Improves water-holding capacity, thus reducing water loss and leaching in sandy soils.
- Supplies a variety of macro and micronutrients.
- Improves cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils and growing media, thus improving their ability to hold nutrients for plant use.
- Supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils and growing media.
- Enhances and stabilises soil pH.
- Has the ability to bind and degrade specific pollutants.