Tweet
Hi all, This all started as I have a pond full of Azolla / duckweed mix that my wife almost used aqua herbicide on to clean it out. I decided I would look into uses for it to avoid the harmful chemicals / out of curiosity. Our Azolla formed such a thick mat last year that willow tree seeds germinated in there and started growing trees floating in the middle of our pond. Ive been reading about it, asking Chat GPT to write me articles about it for fun, and even selling it on eBay!!! It's supposedly edible to humans, super food for animals, and makes a great organic fertilizer.
Now I'm going to put it to the test. I first mentioned it on this post: https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-h...9-fig-chat-gtp
So here's the plan. I would appreciate your input, feedback, thoughts, etc. While this year, I'm running the experiment on tomatoes, I plan on using this as a natural fertilizer for my figs too. I can be a little more scientific and control more variables with tomato plants.
Azolla Experiment:
Hypothesis: Azolla as an organic fertilizer will enhance the growth, and production of the tomato plant on the left.
Today, I bought 2 yellow tomatoes at the farmer's market. Same size, same strain, same height, and overall same appearing health. I built identical gopher cages one with pink zip ties and one with blue. (we have crazy gophers who will eat any roots they can so this is a must), I buried the cages the same depth in my soil under my woodchips (thumbs up for no dig gardening), and ran a drip line to both off the same line to ensure equal watering amounts over the season. The variable: Azolla! I put Azolla under the plant on the left prior to planting, around the gopher cage, and then also as a mulch on top. The second plant (the one on the right), I left with no Azolla. I'll update this post over the summer and see if there is a noticeable difference in growth, fruit production, the appearance of overall health, etc. I plan on trying to remember to put a bucket of Azolla on the plant on the left once a week.
Now I'm going to put it to the test. I first mentioned it on this post: https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-h...9-fig-chat-gtp
So here's the plan. I would appreciate your input, feedback, thoughts, etc. While this year, I'm running the experiment on tomatoes, I plan on using this as a natural fertilizer for my figs too. I can be a little more scientific and control more variables with tomato plants.
Azolla Experiment:
Hypothesis: Azolla as an organic fertilizer will enhance the growth, and production of the tomato plant on the left.
Today, I bought 2 yellow tomatoes at the farmer's market. Same size, same strain, same height, and overall same appearing health. I built identical gopher cages one with pink zip ties and one with blue. (we have crazy gophers who will eat any roots they can so this is a must), I buried the cages the same depth in my soil under my woodchips (thumbs up for no dig gardening), and ran a drip line to both off the same line to ensure equal watering amounts over the season. The variable: Azolla! I put Azolla under the plant on the left prior to planting, around the gopher cage, and then also as a mulch on top. The second plant (the one on the right), I left with no Azolla. I'll update this post over the summer and see if there is a noticeable difference in growth, fruit production, the appearance of overall health, etc. I plan on trying to remember to put a bucket of Azolla on the plant on the left once a week.
Attached Files
Comment