Yours is the first report I have seen here on GW about Serenade. It certainly is a new organic biofungicide that seems to work as advertised. Two questions....1)does it leave a white residue on the leaves and 2) have you noticed a delay in blossoming?

South GA,

I'm also interested to know if you definitively had IDed all the diseases you mention and if you used controls so that you knew it was the Serenade that worked.

Did you spray it as a preventative or spray only after you'd IDed all those diseases, which I must say to have four at one time this early in the season is quite unusual.

Carolyn

I definitely had powdery mildew on the rosemary and early blight and septoria on the tomatoes. No firm diagnosis on the bacterial spot, but I've had it in previous years. Also had black spot starting on some hybrid tea roses.

I did not spray as a preventative. I only sprayed after these diseases appeared. The first time I sprayed Serenade I used a premixed bottled I got at WalMart that had a trigger sprayer on top. I waited 7 days and observed that the blight had stopped spreading, so I went out and bought a concentrate and that what I've been using since.

It really isn't too early down here for these fungal diseases to hit. My tomatoes and peppers were put in on March 19 and it has been wet and warm here.

The product does not leave any residue at all. It does have a vinegar smell when you are spraying it. That concerned me, so the first time I only sprayed some cherry tomatoes, but they were fine and two days later I sprayed every tomato, pepper, etc I had.

I have not noticed any delay in flowering. I have fruit or flowers on 13 of the 14 tomatoes that I have in.

I have sprayed so far on a 7-10 day schedule.

Serenade is the only thing I've used. I have done foliar feeding and soil feeding on my herbs and lettuces, etc with a liquid organic fish emulsion and the tomatoes and peppers may have gotten drift but that's all. I have not fertilized my tomatoes or peppers but I did side dress with compost.

Thanks so much for the feedback.

This product as well as Messenger ( harpin) are two that I've been quite curious about.

Carolyn

I help with garden questions at the community garden. The most common questions are about what happened to my tomatoes. I have tried this winter to find the best info that I can on treatments. I am willing to test out this trial but I have very little space.

A salesman in the local hardware store gave me some Serenade and I bought Daconol and I have some soap-shield from gardens alive. I will try to set up a four plant experiment at the community garden. I will try the three products and try nothing on one plant. I think that I had both Septoria Leaf spot and early blight there last year. Because there are about 100 plots and no real rules there are many things over wintering in the soil (and insects enough to make a farmer cry).

I have been thinking about the best way to use this accidental bounty of fungicides and I think that the experiment would be best.

I think that rather than my own mix of heirlooms and strange colored tomatoes I should get a six pack from the store to use just for this little test area. I want to use a common variety that others will buy, maybe better boy?

Tracy

Tracy - sounds great! Please keep us posted.
Thanks - Gail

Ralph Snodsmith who has a radio show out of NYC (I believe his brodcast goes across the country) on gardening just raves about this product. I'm trying it this year on my tomatoes that seem to suffer from some form of blight every year. The Garden Alive catalog offers something called Serenade Solutions. It apears to be a powder but I was wondering if it is the same as Serenade, the liquid. He also had raves about Messenger, another proeduct I plan on trying this year.

Tracy, mighty happy u brought this to our attention. Will be employing this agent this season, an hope to be able to develop some usefull feedback, down the road. Thanks again,...it fit's my modus operandi...)))

Wanna update this thread, w/recent experience, an observations.

Here in NE GA, we've had 3 weeks of over-abundant rain, very little reasonable humidity. 2 weeks ago, i started seeing tell-tale signs of blight on lowest branches. Sunday week-ago, (June 5th), i applied my first ever spray of Serenade, after meticulously removing any and all symptom-bearing vegetation,...not that much, but i figured a close inspection an prune would tell me, what this product can do....sorta give it it's Best Shot. I also went ahead an sprayed cukes w/it, after reading the testimonials of several bee-keepers, stating they observed no hive damage or mortality, in test plots hives were placed near,with cukes, for testing. Sunday was the first window of adequate time i had had, to spray, with a expectatation for the spray to be able to dry on the plant, before next rain. I used the 20 ounce concentrate,mixed an applied w/a garden sprayer.

Keep in mind, that current conditions are very similar to what i experienced in 2003. If i didnt grow on raised beds, i'd be in BIG-Time Trouble, like i was , then. Last year, by this time, according to NOAA, we had had 12" of rainfall. This year, we have 22", already, in a climate that averages 35. I KNOW, Firsthand, the disease-pressure that wet, hot conditions place on tomatos, so, Serenade is gettin one GOOD Workout...lol.We had 90 degree temps, today, felt like a Sauna...expect 2 more days of same, before some relative coolin. Layin the groundwork, here, for this update.

Around Friday, i began to see a few more brown spots an yellowing, on a FEW lower branches, but the rain wouldnt let up, plus i needed to wait till Yesterday,(Sunday, the 12th) anyhow, to follow directions. Well, Sunday was a no-go, cause it rained all day, off an on, again. Today, i again, meticulously re-sanitized an then sprayed, the plants look the Best i've Ever seen them, at this point, in their growth. In the past, i've always relied on good sanitation, frequent removal of diseased limbs,never used Daconil but 2 or 3 times, back in my pre-organic days(prior to 2000) but i can tell already, simply cause i look at other's plants, nearby, the amount of disease pressure that exists, currently, an what this Bacillis Subtilis 713 is doin for me. I'm a bonofide fan of it, especially after reading as much as i can find about it, related to it's over-all place in Nature. I know my experience is tremendously tiny, at this point, but im ImPressed...))) this next 60 days will truly tell.

A side note...i made a phone call to Agri-Quest, today, to ask them if they had any insight re: a possible conflict, or bad combinative result, from the use of both Spinosad and Serenade. The person i spoke with informed me that the people who could best answer this were in Chicago, for a Conference, but that she could take down my question, and have one of them reply to me, via e-mail, within 2 days.
Guess What...? I got a reply, from a primary responder within the Company, within 30 minutes...))) Highly ImPressed...again...)))

Will continue to note experiences here employing Serenade, an hope to hear more from others, using it, pro or con.

Gimme, I was thinking of combining the two as well (Serenade and Spinosad) What did they say!@?!? Also, where did you find a spinosad based product? Any big chain store or online?

Thanks-

Carlos-

Carlos, i called AgriQuest today, to find out RE; mixing the 2. I was told that this is NOT something they have yet studied, and from a Legal standpoint, thay CAN NOT endorse or recomend mixing Serenade with any other agent. I appreciate the truthfulness of their answer, an will abide by their recommendation. Keep in mind, Both of these, are new tools, and Man simply doesnt know, yet, the combinative results, nor the degraded thru time, compound or agent formed. Study where Spinosad was discovered at, what class of compounds it belongs to, an you'll have a respect, for things unknown, an proper application, conservatively. When i get this answer from the Spinosad producers, will post it. Good Question, and a Genuine Concern. Good Luck...)))

Carlos - I live in N. FLA and bought my spinosad at the local gardening store. I found it in two gardening shops actually. I read the label to make sure it was the right stuff. The product I bought is called Conserve Naturalyte but spinosad is sold in other products. They tend to be over with the organic stuff. I believe Fertilome also has a product with spinosad.
Gail

What effect does the use of chlorinated water in the spray tank have on bacillus subtilis? Could not find any info on this but have not contacted AgriQuest.

Denny

I ran across this article which suggests Serenade is not effective on early blight (my biggest opponent at this point)-

http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~vegnet/library/res04/tomato.pdf

I found a small web site from a company that has a biofungicide that seems to have no restrictions for using it and leaves no residue.

Here is a link that might be useful: 3Tac biofungicide link

Dear Gimme 3:

Sounds pretty sticky down yonder way. It's been hot and sunny up here in the Hudson Valley, but mostly dry these past few weeks.

I've been mixing Spinosad and Serenade since my seedlings were 3" tall and had no ill effects. As a matter of fact, by this point in the season, my 23 plants (about 2 feet tall) would usually have yellow bottom leaves and start to spot all over. This year they are uniformly green and vigorous, with nary a spot in sight. They look like greenhouse plants! I spray the mixture once weekly and have not seen a single critter or fungal presence anywhere. I did treat the soil this year with Espoma's Bio Tone in early spring as well. Don't know if this has added to my success. I'll keep you posted.

I hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Espoma Bio Tone