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Growing a Robust Plant with Carbotein Provided Elisabeth Fry’s Heirloom Tomatoes the Vitality to Survive Weeks of Severe Drought Stress

Grow Better Tomatoes with Carbotein.com

I am a hobby gardener that keeps a small backyard patch with everything from lettuce to potatoes. After learning about Carbotein, I was pleased to have the chance to experiment with a truly environmentally friendly, natural fertilizer. I selected heirloom tomato plants for the test, and potted them in separate containers. The test plant received a root drench of Carbotein, and the control was not treated with anything other than the fertilizer in the potting soil, which I used for both. The plants received normal waterings.

During the time of growth, the infused plant was more compact, greener and fuller than the untreated plant which grew taller and had fewer buds. Unfortunately, in the middle of the trial I had to unexpectedly leave town, and when I returned home discovered the plants had been neglected almost to the point of no return. Without much hope, I began watering them regularly again, and lo and behold the one treated with <a href=”http://www.carbotein.com”>Carbotein</a> (which I now call The Wonder Plant) recovered quicker and more completely than the other plant which has almost no regrowth. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to eat them before having to go on location for work again. Compared to the control plant, the root drenched tomatoes were redder, juicier and more tasty, and there were bunches more of them!

I am so very happy with the product, and will continue to use it. In fact, I have already infused my newly tilled beds with Carbotein, and I’m excited to see what it will do for my summer plantings.

Elisabeth Fry
Orange County, CA

Methodist University Golf Course Superintendent Steven Dockery Insists on Providing His Students Premium Conditions But Has to Stretch A Dollar; Using Geoponics Products Allows Him to Do Both

Thank you for taking time to meet with us today. I’d like to start out by asking how you found out about Geoponics and why you decided to trial our products.

I first learned about the company through my Geoponics technical representative. I already had a personal relationship with him from his previous job, and I also knew he had been a superintendent. I know Sam Green down at Eagle Point from when he was in the mountains, and saw he was a customer. Because of those two things, I was comfortable enough to give the Geoponics products a try.

Which product did you decide to try first and why?

My previous golf course down in SC had a $1.3 million budget; my first year at Methodist it was $180 thousand. Obviously I knew going in that it wouldn’t be feasible to use my old program here, but I wasn’t just going to go and jump on the cheapest stuff out there. I wanted to find a company with a complete line that offered a happy medium between quality and price, which is what I was evaluating when we first used the Agriox, Carbotien and Terrain on our greens.

What was your initial impression of their effectiveness?

Well, we got good results right away, so we knew the products worked, but to be honest I didn’t expect it would last. I thought, “How can this stuff be cheaper than the rest of the premium brands and still give better results?” But it didn’t peter out quickly like I thought it would; we got 3 to 3 1/2 weeks of good strong color from that single application.

When you have a small crew like I have, that’s huge because going out every seven days is not something you want to have to do. The compatibility of it is great too. Some of the more pricey products take forever to mix up, but in a real world situation you just don’t have time for that. We have a 175 gallon sprayer, and when we’re putting out the Geoponics products we don’t even have to cut the water down when filling the tank.

Besides the Grizzly Pro-Turf Program you are using on your greens, have you treated other areas of the course?

We have twelve acres of 419 sprigs that went out the second week of June, when we were in the middle of 100 degree heat. Needless to say, we really wanted to get them grown in as quickly as possible. They all were treated with Carbotein, and I believe it has helped the granular to do that. l plan on continuing to use it on the fairways, because the tees have really tightened up since we started spraying them, which is great because we get tons and tons of play. They are fairly small, so we’re really looking forward to improved wear tolerance.

Have the golfers noticed the improvements you’ve mentioned?

Well, we have been doing a major greens renovation here, so we aren’t getting play right now, but everyone is paying close attention to the course. My bosses are the President and Vice President of the university, and it’s my neck that’s on the line. If I didn’t trust the Geoponics products, if I didn’t believe in them, there would be no way I would buy it. Our sister course was about to go on a competing program when I told the superintendent there about the Geoponics products. He’s started using them and is really liking what he sees as well. I’m on the board of the Sand Hills association, and I’ve told those guys about it too.

That about covers it. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Most people don’t know this, but Methodist University has the largest PGA golf management program in the country. The neat thing about it is that the students take classes in every aspect of the industry, from food and beverage to golf shop operation. I teach the agronomy class their junior year, and I truly think it has been a win-win situation because the work study students and interns around the shop have been able to see improvements being made with just a few affordable products. With the way things are in golf now where the general manager sometimes has just as much say about which fertilizer or equipment is used as the superintendent, that will be valuable information for them to have once they become the decision makers.

We couldn’t agree more. Our belief at Geoponics is that an informed customer is a happy customer…

Right. The product is one thing, but the customer service is important also. Not only can the Geoponics’ Representatives answer a question without having to look in a binder, they come in and take a real interest. There are times when I feel like other chemical companies look past us, but that wasn’t the case with Geoponics. I was lucky that one of my mentors instilled in me the belief that to get the best results you have to keep everyone in the loop. I don’t keep anything from my crew, so they are all knowledgeable and very capable. They know the products, but more importantly my Geoponics representative knows them, where some salesmen won’t give them the time of day. I really think that makes a big difference.

Located in the Sandhills of North Carolina, Methodist University is one of a select group to offer PGA Golf Management accredited by the PGA of America

Watch Agriox how releases Oxygen into Hydric Soils on Geoponics TV

Agriox is a product that releases oxygen into hydric soils to create a soil profile of sustained aerobic (with oxygen) conditions or a “living” soil. Many times because of over fertilization or overwatering, soils are driven to excess amounts of carbon dioxide which lead to anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in soil profiles. This overload of Carbon Dioxide can lead to problems of disease, nutrient assimilation and plant production. Secondary to Agriox’s release of oxygen based on the need of its surroundings, it drives the hydric soils back towards a sustainable “living” ecology. This in turn, affords this soil, the microbes and enzymes the oxygen they need to procreate, breakdown organic matter and provide a healthy ecosystem for plant roots and other living organisms. Visit Agriox.com

Keeping the Landscaped Areas Around Her Golf  Course Looking Their Best Requires Less Time and Effort Now That Debbie Fitzgerald Utilizes Carbotein

My responsibilities at the course cover all of the non-playing natural areas, planters and flower beds. Across such a wide area there are a lot of different growing conditions, many outside of our ability to control, and of course the range of plant life is quite broad. I have applied Carbotein on everything from ornamental turfgrass to flowers, on bushes and shrubs, and even to trees, and in each case I have seen a noticeable positive impact. Plugs that were having difficulty getting established and were looking like weeds took off, even in shaded areas or in bad soils.  Annuals that typically would have begun fading are still looking great, and freshly transplanted areas are not showing the signs of stress you would ordinarily expect. The foliage has become so dense in certain places, we’ve had to remove entire sections to clear existing pathways, which allows us to develop new cultivated areas elsewhere. The results we’ve seen have been absolutely amazing!

There’s always more work to be done than hours in the day, so finding products that save time is really welcome. By switching from a granular application to a foliar product, we have reduced water use and are able to cover more ground more quickly. We need less space for storage, and what used to be backbreaking work is now simple and easy. As a horticulturist I place a high value on responsible management practices, and the fact that using Carbotein reduces the amount of nutrients lost to run off and leeching is very important to me. That it is less expensive is, of course, a huge plus as well. I am really thankful to have discovered this product.

Debbie Fitzgerald
Horticulturist
Raleigh Country Club
Raleigh, NC

I’ve been using Agriox with Penterra for a little over three years now;  it’s a regular part of my program. We find the products together give us the extra help we need to keep the turf as healthy as possible considering the stress that daily double cutting and rolling to less than an eighth creates. We are expected to stay as fast as possible, but it is still vital to be consistent. That is probably the best measure of the effect using these products has, but you have to stay on the program.</photo>

In this industry we often don’t give a product a chance unless we see a dramatic change right away. We tend to be visual people, which is  probably the reason, but not everything can work overnight. By releasing oxygen into the soil in the right mixture with the soil moisture, you can keep the balance between your capillary / non-capillary space right where you need it to be. Not only is our soil profile now more uniform, but we can also quickly get rid of hot spots. My clipping yield tells me the combination is effective as well; I’ve seen us go from being where we need to be for 10 days before putting fertilizer out to 15 or more, so it is definitely saving us money.

Scott Corwin, Superintendent
Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club (Marriott)
St. Petersburg, FL

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Poison to People, Poison to Plants

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs (from the sulphur). Often referred to as “sewer gas,” hydrogen sulfide is highly poisonous. Usually, the poisoning caused by hydrogen sulfide is through inhalation and has a toxicity similar to cyanide. Anaerobic conditions produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide. H2S is the most dangerous. In humans, one or two breaths of air, with as little as 600 parts permillion (ppm) H2S, can cause a person to lose consciousness. Deaths are not uncommon when people enter poorly ventilated spaces such as deep wells, underground tanks or sewer systems. Since H2S gas is heavier than air, its concentration is highest near the bottom of enclosed spaces.

What happens to hydrogen sulfide when it enters the environment?

• Hydrogen sulfide is released primarily as a gas and will spread in the air
• When released as a gas, it will form sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid in the atmosphere
• Sulfur dioxide can be broken down further and is a major component in acid rain
• Hydrogen sulfide remains in the atmosphere for about 18 hours
• In some instances, it may be released as a liquid waste from an industrial facility

Low Levels of H2S

The odor of hydrogen sulfide gas can be perceived at levels as low as 10 ppb (parts per billion). At levels of 50-100 ppm (parts per million), it may cause the human sense of smell to fail. Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath, and fluidin the lungs. These symptoms usually go away in a few weeks. Long-term, low-level exposure may result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness.

High Levels of H2S

At high exposures (usually greater than 300 ppm), H2S has the amazing effect of causing the nose to stop perceiving its smell after a few inhalations, which may lead to the inhalation of a toxic or fatal dose (which can occur at 600 ppm). Breathing very high levels of hydrogen sulfide can cause death within just a few breaths. There could be loss of consciousness after one or more breaths. At high levels, hydrogen sulfide gas may paralyze the lungs, meaning that the victim may then be unable to escape from the toxic gas without assistance.

Continued exposure to H2S will kill you!

When released suddenly in large amounts of if allowed to build up in confined or poorly ventilated areas, toxic gases such as H2S are deadly. Every year people are killed or injured by poisonous H2S gas.

The hazard increases when:

• gases concentrate or build up in a confined space, or are suddenly release in a work environment
• delays in emptying pits or tanks cause manure levels to rise, bringing trapped gases closer to any workers examining a pit or tank
• hot weather speeds anaerobic conditions, thus increasing the amount of H2S being produced

Sources: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Atlanta, GA. 1999 Manning Safety Services, Inc., Jourdanton, TX

For Superintendent Jeremy Wilson, Geoponics Line of Premium Products Provides the Results Needed to Improve His Course at A Price It Can Afford

This course was getting ready to close before I took over, so it hadn’t really been maintained for some time. The greens had not been aerated in over three years, and the thatch build up was pretty bad, so my main issue was just getting water to move in. My Geoponics sales person suggested I try Penterra at the regular two quart rate, and within a couple of weeks we stopped having run off when watering. Once the weather turned hot, we switched over to Humawet, which has been working well for us. We used to be out by 12:00 or 1:00 every afternoon to water again, but we aren’t drying out as quick, so now we don’t have to except on the hottest days.

Once we added Agriox into our program, the over all look of the greens soon became much cleaner. It has really gotten them looking much better in the short time I’ve been here. I’ve always purchased according to what the grass is telling me it needs, and when it’s growing fine I don’t bother putting anything out. Before we were fertilizing every three weeks. Now we’re out to five weeks, which is a 40% savings, and I feel a lot better about both our growth and color. I’m really impressed with the products.

Jeremy Wilson, Superintendent
Cypress Bay Golf Club
Little River, SC

“We have been very pleased with the product quality and customer service we have received from Geoponics. As our business expands we look forward to exploring new avenues with other unique products this company has to offer.”

Paul Moriarty,
Vice President
Quality Enterprises

“We have been using the Geoponics products on our turf and the results are nothing short of outstanding. It is gratifying to know that there are products out there that are of superior quality, manageably priced and good for the environment in the process.”

Chuck Simpson
The Grand Shell Landing
Gautier, MS