Archive for the ‘Why SHOT Works’ Category

My garden is more than a hobby to me. Although I anxiously anticipate the unmistakable and delicious taste of fresh tomatoes each summer, I grow a garden each year to store produce for the year. I do all I can to grow as early in the spring to as late in the fall as possible, and I teach this to others. Besides teaching my children thrift and hard work, I want my garden to be a hedge against storms. So I pay close attention to each crop and variety that I plant, its growth, its productivity, and of course its flavor. If it doesn’t taste good and if the plants don’t produce well, that variety is out the door next year.

I was skeptical

When I happened to run into a high school friend that I hadn’t seen for years, he began telling me about a breakthrough product that he had been developing over the past several years. He mentioned worm castings, fish waste, ormus, minerals, and several other things I didn’t know much about. He was all excited; I was skeptical.

There are numerous products out there on the market, so why should this be different. I have tried many. Some work better than others, and I have been using one that is considered one of the best natural, organic products on the market. My friend wanted me to try this product. Because I was just about ready to begin my early indoor seed starting project, I decided to do a side by side test.

What happened truly amazed me

At the end of the video, the plants are just emerging. All of the photos below are about 2 1/2 weeks from when the seeds began to emerge.

Picture 1: Chamomile 2 1/2 weeks after germination using popular fish-emusion fertilizer. Picture 2: Chamomile 2 1/2 weeks after germination using SHOT root stimulator with no fertilizer.

Chamomile and Cilantro. The growth difference on my chamomile plants were clearly obvious. The bottom left and center cups from each tray is chamomile. The top and bottom right cups both contained Cilantro. Both trays to the left (Picture 1 and Picture 2) were planted with the same varieties, used the same soil, received the same light, were watered on the same days. The only difference was that the tray in Picture 1 received fish-emulsion fertilizer. The tray in Picture 2 used SHOT. In every way that I could control, these plants received identical attention.

Picture 3: The parsley on the left received fish-emulsion fertilizer. The parsley on the right received SHOT.

Parsley & Cilantro Picture 3 shows the difference in growth after only two weeks since the plants emerged. I hadn’t really noticed the difference in growth when I was watering each day. I would pull the trays out from under the lights, add water, and then  slide the trays back. It wasn’t until I decided to pull them out and compare them side by side and take pictures that I realized the difference. Remember, I am using one of the most highly rated fertilizers as my control variable in the tray on the left. This is why I was so impressed with the SHOT product. Comparison of parsley. The parsley on the left used the fish emulsion. The parsley tray on the right used SHOT. I did not compare the Cilantro (the bottom and center right cups in both trays) because I had germination problems. I didn’t think it was a fair test.

Picture 4: There are two trays of tomatoes in this picture. They look similar, but the left plants are taller and a bit lighter.

The Tomatoes Looked Similar These two trays of tomatoes are identical varieties, planted on the same date, watered the same days, under the same starter lights. The seeds germinated the same day. The ones on the left used fish emulsion fertilizer. The ones on the right had SHOT. As I monitored these two trays, I was constantly thinking “see, SHOT is not going to make that much difference.” As a matter of fact, the tray of tomatoes on the left actually appeared to be taller, just as leafy. However, the color was not quite as deep. It was a little yellower. I didn’t think to look under the leaves, at least in the first two weeks. So at this point (a little more than two weeks after the plants had emerged from the soil), I was far from convinced. But, I decided it was probably time to take a look at the plants from the bottom up.

Picture 5: Root growth with SHOT (right) shows the obvious health and future potential of the plant on the right. Picture 6

Root Growth (the real health) was Astounding I pulled the two most healthy looking plants, one  from each of the tomato trays. I could tell from the top that the foliage was more dense and the color better, even though they were a little shorter on the SHOT plants. The growth of the fertilized plant was clearly taller. The leaves were about 11 inches (after just two weeks). I was certain that the plant on the left would grow well. When I pulled each of the plants out of the cup of the tray and looked at the root structure, I was literally astounded. Look at the root growth of the tomato plant on the right which has received the SHOT product. That is after only two weeks of growth. I would expect that from three or four weeks, but not two. I knew that if I didn’t transplant these tomatoes this week, they would begin to be root bound. The coloring from the bottom of the leaves was also rich and healthy. My best plants always have that deep green on the top and the red or purple hue on the bottom of the leaves as well as on the base of the stems. I don’t know why. This goes away when they are planted outside. But I’ve noticed that the plants that do the best have this deep green on top and red on bottom.

At this point in the experiment, I decided I was convinced. Every plant that I compared, especially from the bottom up, the SHOT plant root system had superior growth and maturity.  I stopped that portion of my comparison. I realized that if I wanted my garden plants to do well, I would use the SHOT. I took my tomato plants and some of my other plants and transplanted them to bigger pots like I always do at this stage of early growth. But this time, I mixed the recommended dose of SHOT with water, and I watered all of my plants with SHOT.

While I was transplanting, I separated plants if I had more than one in a pot. Sometimes the roots were bound together, so I would simply pinch off the smaller plants with my fingernails and leave the best plant. The interesting thing was that I could pinch off the stems of the plants which had used the fish emulsion fertilizer, but every one of the tomato plants that had used SHOT had a stronger stem. I tried pinch them off, but the fibrous tissue would not allow me to pinch all the way through with my fingernails without strong yanking on the plant. I actually got a pair of scissors to do the job. That, again, was an amazing difference.

After transplanting, I put the plants under the growing lights. That was Monday. Wednesday evening I checked my plants again.

This time I was flabbergasted. I thought “no way.”

Two days later I took the following pictures.

I want to show you the “weak” plant. These two pictures are of same plant as in the taller, weaker plant in picture 5. In just two days this plant had grown a full inch. (Picture 7) (The plant measures a full 2 inches taller, but 1 inch can be accounted for from the larger pot.) The leaves had already begun to darken, and the stem had clearly strengthened and nearly doubled in width. (above)

After I added the SHOT, it immediately took off. The last two days of growth have been impressive.

Comparison of Parsley after Adding SHOT recommended dosage.

Picture 9: Parsley from Picture 3.

Picture 10. Parsley after just two days with SHOT added.

The plants in picture 9 are the same as the plants in picture 10. On the day I took picture 9, I gave all the plants in both trays a recommended dose of SHOT. Picture 10 was taken only 2 days later. I was amazed at the growth.

My friend had been right. I could not believe the difference.

Of course I will continue to double-test using SHOT in many different scenarios. I’ll be putting it on my fruit trees and my garden.