10-year study conducted by Virginia Tech University

Advanced Techniques
#1

Has anyone worked with the following, if so did you see improvement?

A 10-year study conducted by Virginia Tech University has demonstrated that the combination of Humic Acid and Seaweed at a 5:2 ratio resulted in a 50% increase in root and fruit mass compared to using either product separately. This groundbreaking research highlights the potential of combining these natural substances to enhance plant growth and productivity.

Humic Acid, a component of humus, is known for its ability to improve soil structure, increase water retention, and enhance nutrient availability for plants. On the other hand, Seaweed extracts have been shown to contain beneficial plant growth-promoting substances like hormones, vitamins, and minerals.

The researchers at Virginia Tech University discovered that by combining Humic Acid and Seaweed at a specific ratio, plants were able to take advantage of the unique benefits of both substances, resulting in significantly increased root and fruit mass. This synergistic effect opens up new possibilities for sustainable agriculture, offering farmers an effective, eco-friendly way to increase crop yields and improve soil health.

Further research is needed to optimize the application methods and explore the potential benefits of this combination for different crop types and environmental conditions. However, this study marks an important milestone in understanding the potential of combining natural substances to improve plant growth and productivity.

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Attempting to germinate 50 year old Seeds from korea
#2

Great info thanks

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#3

I would be curious how they quantify “seaweed extract”. Are they looking for a specific compound, or …? And with the ecologically friendly aspect, that depends where these things are coming from. If the humic acid is coming from leonardite, which is a coal mining byproduct, maybe not so friendly…

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#4

BioAg makes a product similar to this called Cytoplus. They also make a trace mineral product that is chelated with humic acids called TM-7. :+1::seedling:

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#5

I never read that, but both items have been in my medium mix, I make up, and store in 35 gallon Rubbermaid totes, for a couple of years now. Damn nice find!

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#6

Nice information as it has relevance to yield and soil development :+1:

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#7

For those of you that wonder where I found this limited intel I was searching for high quality organics that were not targeted at cannabis growers as It’s my firm belief that any company that targets weed growers is full of shit.

I stumbled upon these folks and product 5-2 Humic / Fulvic Acid + Seaweed Extract Wonder Blend Wallace Organic – Wallace Organic Wonder
That said I have not found the official study on the net from VA Tech

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#8

I’ve found a little more info from the Virginia University team (addressing golf course applications)

Also, a Canadian source (that I can vouch for) of materials is Black Swallow Living Soils in Brantford Ontario.

Cheers
G

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#9

Very nice, thank you :pray:t2:

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#10

Thank you for posting this. I am a 100 percent with you on companies targeting weed growers being full of sh:t. Drives me crazy.
I could buy miracle grow slap a new label on like weed grow and increase the price 400+ percent.
Especially frustrating because someone usually takes products from other ag business and does exactly this

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#11

In looking at some Harley Smith videos about the 5:2 ratio I saw someone mention something I didn’t know which is that RAW is just the consumer side and he has a business selling the same stuff in bigger bags to pros as Kalix, prices are pretty great compared to RAW if you’re willing to commit to 25# bags of soluble inputs, including kelp and humic acids.

I also found this company selling a mix without the jacked up price lots of folks seem to want for blending two powders together, starting at $15/lb instead of $25 like kelp4less or others:

Five:Two (Humic Acid:Kelp Extract Blend).

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#12

VA Tech is known for having a top notch agricultural program. Glad to see it finally paying off with something useful :+1:

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#13

Yup, pretty much all the local farmers went to Tech

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#14

This is where i first heard the ratio (from a harley smith video) I remember when I first started growing and I was buying npk raw products at the time and even took one of his online classes when they first started doing em. I honestly feel very ripped off by the prices I was paying for stuff I can get in 50lb bags for dirt cheap now. For example I pay around 85 CAD for a 50lb bag of potassium sulfate and for NPK’s “pottassium” it would cost me over 1200 for the exact same thing.

Cool that they sell bigger amounts for cheap I’ll have to check that out. Sucks I live in Canada though and shipping is always expensive. My favourite product from them was the kelp as it at least went far for the amount you got unlike other stuff. Their grow and bloom formulas for me got really gross after a few days in a res too. Their yucca also goes a long way but mine turned into a brick pretty fast. Might have to order me some bulk kelp sometime depending on how bad shipping is.

Although I don’t doubt that this ratio helps I have a hard time believing 50% especially if someone is already on the edge of what’s possible with whatever plant they happen to be growing. I may be way off here but as far as my fried brain can remeber it had something to do with opening up calcium ion channels or something making the uptake much more efficient.

This is a short form video and it doesn’t go in depth like the class but it says that it works 50% better than either of them separately which seems more realistic to me.

Wish I could find my notes from back then. Maybe I’ll dig them up sometime.

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#15

Well, starting tonight this is what I’ll be doing with humic/kelp wait and see, but it will greatly reduce the kelp I have been using.
Humic Acid: 714.3 ppm × 0.003785 g/gallon ≈ 2.7 g/gallon
Seaweed: 285.7 ppm × 0.003785 g/gallon ≈ 1.08 g/gallon

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#16

Used this combination to supplement many a golf green. It’s good stuff, and the plant responds nicely !! I would mix Bent grass seed, with the granular form of both and apply with a walk behind drop spreader, when building greens or overseeding !! They needed a study for this…WHEW !!

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#17

Clemson is doin a lot of weed research too !

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#18

How did it turn out for ya? From Harley’s other video it would seem like a great way to prep a mother plant to take cuts from in combination with a seaweed extract and fulvic acid foliar spray.

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#19

This has been one of the best inputs I’ve ever bought. Works great, lasts forever and is cheap.

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#20

For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet or wanted to again… It’s a good watch.

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