We got a question in this week from a gardener:
“I have a 2 year old white peach tree, and it has peach leaf curl. Is there any natural way to control this? I’ve looked in books and on line and I’ve not found any other way to control it than the chemicals…”
It just so happens that I recently met someone who had a similar problem here in Venice, CA. What they used to improve the tree’s situation without chemicals is something you may have not heard of before. I’m just starting to really learn more about it, so my info is pretty surface level here, but from what I’ve heard from people who use it, it’s a miracle treatment for all garden woes.
What I’m talking about it EM Bokashi. The “EM” stands for Effective Microorganisms, and it is used in Japan for everything from composting to neutralizing chemical spills. Invented by a man by the name of Dr. Higa as an alternative to synthetic chemicals. At my community garden, we’ve been using it for a few years to keep the odor from the composted manure pile from wafting downwind.
Here is a description of what EM Bokashi is from the EM Research Organization, Inc. site:
“EM•1® is a liquid containing many co-existing microorganisms. The major groups of microorganisms in EM•1® are lactic acid bacteria, yeast and phototrophic bacteria. EM™ was first developed in 1982 as an alternative to chemicals in the field of agriculture. Through extensive research and experiments over time, EM™ became recognized as effective in various fields, including environmental remediation, composting organic waste, reducing odor in livestock operations, treating wastewater and many more. We call the technology that utilizes EM•1®, EM Technology™.”
The distributor for EM 1 in America is aptly named EM America. http://www.emamerica.com/
They offer different sizes of concentrated EM1 that can be used for horticultural purposes. Here is their store page:
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.471963/sc.2/category.48/.f
Apparently there is a way to make it yourself from start cultures, but sadly I’m going to be out of town during the time when a workshop on EM was being offered in my neighborhood. The woman whose peach tree was nearly cured by EM Bokashi is hosting the workshop, so you can bet it did the trick.
I hope this helps. Keep us posted on your results.
Now that’s what I like to hear. Hooray for organic methods! Thanks for the update, and congratulations on saving your peach tree.
Well, It took me a while to order the EM-1, but after a few months of treatment, I am thrilled to report that I do not seem to have the peach leaf curl this year! And I have quite a great crop of young peaches.
I apply the EM-1 Microbial Inoculant every 2 weeks with a Hudson sprayer, and I now put it on all my plants. Thank you so much for your advice, I couldn’t be happier. I have a small sprayer so I only use half a capful, and fill up the sprayer maybe twice for the young peach tree, so I expect my bottle of EM-1 to last quite a while. It wasn’t expensive, and I am so happy to have an organic alternative! Thank you Christy!!!
The workshop was a success. I’ll let Christy know when there is another one in the area.