animaux wrote:

On Wed, 30 Apr 2003 21:25:46 -0700, Bill Ranseen wrote:

Hydrogen Peroxide is sold as an adjunct to foliar sprays. Supposedly it
helps increase nutrient uptake.

Under which label or manufacturer is hydrogen peroxide sold as an adjunct to
foliar sprays. I ask because I've been an organic gardener for 25 years and
never once heard of it, or used or purchased it for horticultural use. I do
know Jerry Baker, the mental giant, recommends using Listerine to make foliage
surface inhospitable to fungal infections, but never heard of hydrogen peroxide.



ZeroTol, labeled for flowers, and Oxidate, labeled for vegetables, are
both basically hydrogen peroxide. They are used as a fungicide and
disinfectant. They are acceptable to the organic community.

The smallest quantity you can buy is 2.5 gallons of 27% strength (with
some sort of stabilizer, I think peroxyacetic acid or something like
that) for about $110. The application strength is 0.1%-0.3%, or about
100:1 to 300:1 dilution. The stuff you get in the grocery store is
generally about 3% strength and costs around $0.69/pt. More affordable
to the home garden crowd and much safer to handle, although slightly
more expensive per application.

As far as I know it does not aid nutrient uptake, other than keeping
fungal diseases at bay which might inhibit plant growth. I'm not aware
that it is being marketed for any such purpose. The fungicidal action is
basically as an oxidizer. It destroys very small organisms such as
spores (high surface area to volume ratio) but doesn't seem to affect
larger systems. I have used it at up to 0.5% strength without observing
any phytotoxicity. The hydrogen peroxide will break down in sunlight
into water and oxygen. It will supposedly destroy outbreaks of powdery
mildew. I've tried it and it works on early outbreaks, but if it's a
realy heavy case of PM, several applications reduce it but don't cure
it.