This was shared primarily to give people further ideas on how to activate effective microbes. And while I might think about starting a "holistic supply house" now and then . . . someone else can pick up this idea and go commercial.
Let's run the numbers. Purchase one gallon (128 ounces) of mother culture, whether from
TeraGanix or
SCD Probiotics. This brewer allows 8 gallons to be activated at a time. Based on the three-quarter cup (6 ounces) recipe per gallon of activation . . . that calls for 48 ounces of mother culture per batch . . . thus making possible three activations of 8 gallons, 8 gallons, and 6 gallons.
Now out to the orchard. A modest size orchard (along with extended gardens) requiring 50 gallons of coverage per application would use one gallon of activated EM each time. The first spray of the season and the fall application are double rate, as is the case with
competitive colonization boosts during boom when conditions are right for fire blight. Activating a gallon of mother culture makes possible the full holistic spray schedule with a "splash" left over for composting and perhaps bokashi for chickens. The full season cost for that gallon of mother culture runs around $60, plus you'll need a gallon of blackstrap molasses. Good value on the dollar for all that microbial coverage methinks.
Lost Nation OrchardZone 4b in New Hampshire