Hello!

Let me start by saying i'm not a microbiologist. I'm an amature organic gardener and i've been experimenting with wild and pure microbial cultures for gardening for a while and i'm a huge fan.

I stumbled upon this DIY microbial pesticide invented/discovered by the creator of the jadam organic farming system and he claims it is super effective and the effects last for a very long time(systemic?).

Based on my limited understanding it is a process similar to how spinosad is made but instead of using a pure culture he is using a wild anaerobic culture made from leaf mold and starch and then he induces microbial lysis(if i'm using the term correctly) by using a natural surfactant called decyl glucoside which releases a bunch of toxins and other organic chemicals that act as a broad-spectrum pesticide that works on multiple modes of action, so supposedly repeated use doesn't develop resistance. He also mentions that it's effects specifically on thrips and some other pest are limited and his solution to this is to mix in a form of water soluble sulfur and potassium hydroxide for some reason.

Any i'm not sure how effective this is in reality but he has been posting videos of testing this pesticide on many types of insects on his yt channel and based on the videos and other people's experience it seems to be very effective and stable up to a year at room temp.

So i'd really like to try to make this as an experiment, but i have some questions:

Please correct me if im wrong about any of what i have said

Decyl glucoside and potssium hydroxide are very expensive and hard to find in small quantities where i live, are there any other alternatives that i can use that will achieve the same results that are easy to make from natural ingredients or easy to source , i have a very small garden and making it at the scale he is is unfeasable for me. It would be really nice if it is shelf stable as well.

Based on some not very informed research using perplexity ai , i got suggestions to use natural saponin extracts from fenugreek, licorice , soap nut(not available where i live), using alicin and sulphur compounds from garlic and onions(sounds like a bunch of bs but i'm not sure) and adding alcohol to the solution to reach 4%. This solution is used without dilution so any inputs have to be below the threshold of phytotoxicity in plants or it would be not usable.

Also , is any of this harmful without a  proper microbiology lab , many people seem to be making the microbial solutions without any safety gear, i usually wear gloves and a mask and glasses when i'm using any microbes in the garden or making compost but that the best i can do interms of safety equipment but so far i've been dealing with relatively safe lab made pure cultures that i use in my compost and soil, this is worrying me a bit since it is a wild culture and i have no idea what is in it.

Let me know what you think about it and if you have any suggestions on whether i should make it or not and how to make it, i'm willing to experiment as long as the experiments are safe.

Sorry for the long post.

Any suggestions are really appreciated

Thanks!

Thoughts on jadam microbial pesticide