The following material consists primarily of a
compilation of work that I have collected or written over the years. For
questions regarding this material please contact:
Sharon
Ingersoll
253-589-2925
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The company that manufactures EM in the U.S. is no longer the company that sells EM. The manufacturing company is called EM Technologies and is located in Tucson, Arizona. The parent corporation for EM Technologies is a non-profit corporation out of Japan. The company that sells EM is called EM Trading out of Kansas. If you call there to ask questions, Shawn seems to be the most knowledgeable.
Do me the favor and include my name when contacting the company. I am not currently a field representative, but intend to be sometime in the near future. I wouldn’t mind if my reputation precedes me.
Physical address:
Sustainable Community Development, LLC
PO Box 14278, Shawnee Mission, KS 66285-4278
phone 913-541-9299, fax 913-541-0380
Internet address:
To purchase agricultural EM:
http://www.emtrading.com/store/kyusei100_101_102.html
To purchase Waste Water Treatment EM:
http://www.emtrading.com/store/emwsttreat.html
To purchase Animal Probiotic EM:
http://www.emtrading.com/store/emprobiotic.html
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Things to know about Effective Microorganisms (EM):
Try to memorize the odor of EM while it is still fresh. As the dormant microbes awaken from exposure to air, heat and light, they gradually become active and their composition is compromised.
You will see two things happen in this process:
The lactic acid is the first to become active and will create a white film at the top of the liquid. This is OK. But other microbes awakening follow this process.
The photosynthetic bacteria are the last to awaken and when they become active your EM will take on a sharper, more pungent smell. This happens anywhere from 3-4 weeks up to 6 months depending upon storage.
STORAGE OF EM:
Store in the coolest environment available (preferably about 50 degrees), in a closed container away from light. Of the three elements that awaken the dormant microbes, light is the most influential, then heat, then air. I like to store the bulk of my EM in a bladder where the air can be expelled, and place this in a cool, dark environment. I keep a 2-4 oz bottle of EM beside my kitchen and bathroom sinks, and a small ½ oz bottle in my purse (great to add to restaurant water). I prefer amber glass bottles with eyedroppers so I can see inside.
FOR ANIMAL WATER:
Add just enough EM to barely tint the water. When administering to food, start with 1-2 drops and increase up to ¼ tsp daily.
FOR PLANTS:
DO NOT USE ON INDOOR PLANTS.
Add EM to watering (with or without fertilizer) at the ratio of between 1:500, 1:1000 or 1:10,000 depending on how frequently you use EM and if it is being mixed with fertilizer. EM may be used with every watering.
CONVERSION CHART:
75 drops = 1 tsp
225 drops = 3 tsp = 1 Tbs
1350 drops = 18 tsp = 6 Tbs = 1/3 cup
24,300 drops = 54 tsp = 18 Tbs = 1 cup
97,200 drops = 216 tsp = 72 Tbs = 4 cups = 1 qrt
388,800 drops = 864 tsp = 288 Tbs = 16 cups = 4 qrts = 1 gallon
Approximately 1 drop per ¼ cup = 1:1000
“ 2 drops per ½ cup = “
“ 3 drops per ¾ cup = “
“ 4 drops per 1 cup = “
“ 64 drops per 1 gallon = “
“ 2 Tbs per 7 gallons = “
Dear Friends,
I am always pleased to find new uses for EM, as it is a joy to use a product that is not only safe, but actually has beneficial advantages. Although I am not a doctor or scientist and can not validate with any authority that the ways in which I use EM are not harmful, I do know with certainty that the ingredients in EM are benign and without danger. This is not so with our many household ingredients such as detergents, bleach, ammonia, tile and toilet cleaner, and even personal care products such as shampoo and toothpaste (did you know that toothpaste contains a warning not to swallow)? The more ways in which I find to use EM the less I have to rely on chemicals. My goal is to have a toxic-free home and EM has made this goal much more attainable.
EM does not do everything, but it does enough to allow me to store all of the ordinary household chemicals in the garage where their fumes are not polluting the air within my home. According to a study conducted in 1995, the air in every house tested showed many times more toxic than the air outside, regardless of how pure or polluted the outside air. We need 3 things to live - air, food and water. EM can help make these essential elements less toxic. I have found dozens of uses for EM around my house.
KITCHEN:
BATHROOM:
OTHER:
ANIMALS:
PERSONAL CARE:
Some of the benefits I have witnessed in the kitchen are readily observed when EM is placed in water. Usually, tiny bubbles can be seen within seconds of placing a few drops of EM into tap water. This tells you that the little microbes are busy digesting pollutants and creating oxygen as a by-product.
I feel safe using EM for cleaning all of my food. It effectively reduces fishy odors and I can rely on its safety to clean my produce, unlike the vegetable cleaning products now on the market.
I really appreciate the job EM does in cleaning toilets and other fixtures and counters. Porcelain seems to shine better with EM and I know that it won’t eat away the finish like cleansers do. Also, I don’t like using those ‘blue’ toilet cleaners ever since I learned how bad they are for the environment.
Wherever I smell odor I use EM. I have an elderly lady friend whose old dog is incontinent, so her house wreaks of animal urine. I took some EM in a spray bottle and misted the entire carpet, which reduced the odor immediately and was still effective 3 weeks later!
I also found that one of my cats seems to be a mite-magnet. She has 3 favorite chairs that cause us to itch whenever we sit on them. Repeated use of EM on her and the furniture has gotten rid of this problem.
I found a simple solution to animal odors and cooking odors. I simply put a pot of EM-water on the stove and simmer until gone. EM is activated by heat, released in the steam and cleanses the air. I would imagine this is good for anyone who is ill, or with lung problems, or for babies and children.
I read something in Dr. Higa’s book that made me try EM in my curbside gutters that were a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I found a little EM once a week keeps them from laying eggs!
I also read how EM removes rust and decided to try it on an old horseshoe before subjecting any of my tools to the treatment. I made a strong solution and placed half of an old rusty horseshoe into the solution. After 24 hours the rust was gone, even inside the nail holes. That was over a year ago and the shoe remains rust-free today. I then felt it was safe to subject my tools to a rust-removing dip.
Did I mention that animals who are totally surrounded with EM have odorless shit? My dogs never got totally smell-less but it did decompose into what looked like wood shavings within a couple of days and it didn't draw flies.
NOW FOR THE “DON’T” LIST:
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Notes from EM seminar, Vacaville, 7/00
Received medal of accomplishment from ministry of agriculture by Japanese government for reducing compost density by half and increasing harvest by 50%.
EM grows green onions that are the size of a shovel handle
Mammoth chives – yields increased 3 fold
Hog farm threatened to be put out of business due to stench. School next door now claims to smell nothing.
Copenhagan Denmark – Lake had clarity of 8 cm from surface and after treated with EM went to one meter
Pakistan – Dung put in open trench then delivered to field…. Brackish water now able to grow rice in Pakistan, 30% of land irrigates with salt water.
Chickens fed a diet of 50% EM treated dung had increased egg production.
Pigs will eat EM chicken dung that has fermented as Bokashi
Indigenous bananas which are normally ½ finger long are now several fingers long.
In Japan oranges clustered on trees like grapes and myco-cosmin disease remediated.
North Korea. – EM fertilizer increased corn production two times.
North Korea - 9-10 kilogram cabbage heads were unheard of before EM.
1 hectare of land now produces 9 tons of rice – twice it’s normal harvest.
Fifteen hectares can now support 20 times its normal land use because the entire land can be used rather than needing to allow land to rest, and because the yields have increased.
CHINA - 3 meters of snow pack does not stay on EM field which produces enough heat to keep ground from freezing.
North Korea can now grow wheat in winter because EM increased soil heat by 10 degrees Celsius
EM is being used in incinerators to remediate dioxin
One application of EM in pond water will remediate 50% of the dioxin
Cotton grown in Arizona grew balls that were 50% normal size.
Growth regulators are used in plants to encourage bottom buds to open. The use of EM caused bottom buds to open on even very tall plants.
“Agriculture is the foundation of the nation.” – Teruo Higa
I wrote this as I read 'An Earth Saving Revolution’, probably back in 1997-8. I think there is still a lot of good points to this 3 part informational document.
I have had
the good fortune to have been exposed to what I believe is the most
revolutionary discovery of this century.
It comes by way of Japan, through the 14 year serendipitous course of
events of one Professor of Horticulture, named Teruo Higa. Prof. Higa has brought to the world such an
extraordinary breakthrough for the benefit of the world at large and every
creature there in, that I can not contain myself. You will, if you read these
pages, find some of the most interesting facts about our world, how it works,
and the facts that substantiate my enthusiasm.
I promise you will at least marvel!
The basis
of my new education comes from Prof. Higa's book, 'An Earth Saving Revolution,
a means to resolve our world's problems through Effective Microorganisms -
EM'. The cost is $18 and includes
shipping. Professor Higa describes how
he was a "dyed-in-the-wool" follower of modern chemical farming. At his post at the University of the
Ryukyus, he had the opportunity to assist another professor in some studies
using microorganisms. Some of the
results they were getting were stupendous, causing fruit to excel in size,
flavor and yields, while other studies reaped disappointing results.
Eventually
Prof. Higa returned to Okinawa where he worked directly in the field with the
farmers, forgetting his work at the laboratory and returning to the tried and
true form of agricultural practices he believed to be reasonable. More and more he felt his health diminish
and inevitably asked of himself the pivotal question, "Could this be a
result of chemical exposure"? Upon
his return to the laboratory he resumed the study into how microorganisms
benefited plant production, believing this to be the clue to non-chemical farming
techniques. His research yielded
inconsistent results until sometime in 1982, when through his less than
immaculate and proper disposal of microorganisms, he tossed a batch of 'mixed'
test material refuse out onto the lawn.
He was ready to throw in the towel, but within a week he found that the
area of the lawn where he threw this benign refuse had grown taller and darker
than the areas surrounding it. He
learned that it was the MIX that made the difference, not any individual
strain.
This
formed the basis of an incredible technological discovery that promises to feed
the planet (because per acreage yields more than double every known record), to
make us healthier (because produce grown with EM have more nutrients and yield
high levels of anti-oxidants), revitalize our soil and cleanse our water, clean
up toxic waste (from chemicals to heavy metals and radio-active compounds),
heal our bodies as well as the bodies of our animals (by ingesting EM), and
benefit so many other areas that you wouldn't believe me if I told you!
In the
Prologue of the book we get an appreciation of the value of Prof. Higa’s
discovery as he explains in elementary terms the properties of some of these
organisms. One basic distinction is
between regenerative organisms (those that support life) and degenerative
organisms (those that breakdown life, decomposes and pollutes). You might think as I did that the
degenerative organisms are needed to bring about the eventual decay necessary
to the cycle of ‘growth, death and re-birth’.
We learn, however, that the regenerative organisms do a much better job
of breaking down elements and so they are come to be thought of as the ‘good
guys’, or as he calls them - Effective Microorganisms (EM).
One strain
of microorganisms belonging to the EM group is anaerobic, consisting of
photosynthetic bacteria, yeasts, lactic acid and fungi. These have the desirability of producing
large amounts of nutrients including amino acids, polysaccharides, vitamins and
more. It’s not hard to imagine already,
that by supplying more of these microorganisms to the soil, plants not only
benefit, but the creatures who eat those plants benefit. Plants growing in soil treated with EM do
not have to use as much energy to convert the very difficult chemical fertilizers
into a digestible food, so they in turn use this surplus energy to produce
increased yields and better tasting produce.
For instance, in optimal conditions, a rice farmer in Japan can hope for
nine bales (or 1,200 lb.) of rice per 10 acres using conventional methods.
Nevertheless, only a few years of EM use yields increase harvests to 15 bales
(1,800 lb.) per 10 acres, and longer experimental plots have yielded 28-30
bales/acre! These kinds of results
drove Prof. Higa further into his research while demonstrating without a doubt
the efficacy of his discovery. The best is yet to come, as my report will
continue.
In one
portion of Dr. Higa’s book we learn about the results of increased rice yields
with continued use of EM. Prof. Higa
then turned his focus to other crops and found similar unprecedented
results. In tropical fruit that was
characterized as having only a single bloom, the use of EM resulted in multiple
harvests of many times normal yields.
In cucumbers, which typically produce only one cucumber per node, 4-5
cucs per node became the norm. Corn
increased to as many as eight ears per stalk and cherry tomatoes produced 10x’s
their normal yields, going from 30 per plant to 300 per plant!
The more
Prof. Higa mused on the importance of these tiny creatures, the more convinced
he became of the powerful effects they could influence. He began to investigate the significance
their presence played in creating the world we inhabit today. Knowing that there are aerobic and anaerobic
organisms, he recalled a strain of photosynthetic bacteria capable of enduring
temperatures in excess of 700 degrees C.
These creatures currently live in the bowels of the earth, but once they
thrived on the surface of the planet when it was just a ball of fire. Anaerobic bacteria produce nitrogen and
oxygen as a waste by-products. As the
theory goes, these bacteria proliferated to the point that they “polluted” the
planet with oxygen and lowered the temperature, causing condensation to
precipitate in the form of rain, creating the oceans. Many of the anaerobic bacteria evolved into aerobic organisms,
while the remainder retreated deep into the earth and can be found today around
the hydrothermal mineral vents on the ocean floors.
Whether
you agree with this theory or not, the important thing to know is the
circumstances in which anaerobic bacteria thrive. Imagine a situation of carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane gas and
hydrogen sulfide, a virtual cornucopia of good things for these tiny creatures.
Upon consuming this buffet our friendly microbes produce oxygen as a ‘waste’
product! These critters are so
effective at their job that even during early experiments, they were able to
produce pure drinking water from raw sewage after only 24 hours! This technology allowed the public library
in Gushikawa, Okinawa to reduce their waste-water costs by 95% at a time when
there treatment costs were soaring.
The same
principles are in effect when EM is used on compost, and can be applied to
banish malodors in the bathroom, or used in septic tanks, and poured down
drains. There are even applications in
cooking because the zymogens necessary for fermenting are present in EM, making
it ideal for breads and Japanese fermented pickles. When used in water it extends the life of produce, enhances the
growth of houseplants and can extend the life of your natural-fiber garments
when added to your wash. The household
applications are endless. And Prof.
Higa maintains that these products will never be out of the financial reach of
the common man.
EM is a
combination of over 80 varieties of microorganisms, drawn from 10 genera
belonging to 5 different families and include both aerobic and anaerobic
species. The most amazing thing about
EM is the symbiosis in which they all co-exist. This has never before been believed possible because it was
assumed these species would be incompatible.
But Dr. Higa discovered that they not only coexist, they thrive! Two among the EM team of microorganisms,
photosynthetic bacteria and azotobacters, function as nitrogen fixators. One is of the anaerobic nature and the other
is of the aerobic nature. Nitrogen
fixation is what is needed to take place before plants can make use of the
nitrogen in the air, by changing the gaseous nitrogen into nitric acid and
ammonia. They co-exist because the
waste matter for one is food for the other, and vise-versa, as long as certain
criteria are maintained.
A single
gram of soil contains billions of these tiny creatures. Most, however, are ‘opportunistic’ and
display a ‘follow-the-leader’ tendency.
In other words, there are a few dominant strains who ‘fight it out’ for
supremacy. The millions of other
microorganisms wait for the victor, then adapt to those characteristics. Depleted and contaminated soil favors the
victory of ‘degenerative’ strains of microorganisms, so the benefits of the
‘regenerative’ strains seem utterly amazing because we have never before
created a favorable environment for their proliferation. In our own intestines, the bacteria known as
lactobacillus bifidus is the only dominant strain. So by maintaining adequate amounts of this organism, our
digestive tract will generally remain healthy while the other hundred or so
strains adapt to ‘the good guy’. Herein
lies the power of EM. By introducing
sufficient quantities of ‘good guy’ dominant organisms, the entire
microorganism eco-system is swayed to these characteristics. And the added joy is that these organisms
are found virtually everywhere, in every type of soil, and will not negatively
impact an eco-system as they die off when their job is done.
In parts 1
& 2 we learned about some benefits of using EM in crop production and some
of characteristics of these Effective Microorganisms. This time we are going to explore how these creatures selectively
kill 'bad' insects while allowing 'good' insects to thrive.
It is
incredibly brilliant! Let's take the
common fly which everyone, at one time or another, has encountered in
non-desirable quantities. (I wish I had
EM when I raised pigeons and horses!)
When flies lay their eggs in EM treated organic matter, the eggs fail to
mature into maggots. Similarly, maggots
fail to mature into larva. The reason
for this is that there is a particular kind of substance found in putrefied
matter which allow them to produce necessary hormones needed to mature through
the pupa stage and become adult flies.
This substance is unavailable when EM is present, and without this
substance NO FLIES CAN MATURE! Does
this trigger your thinking cap like it does mine? I mean, if the presence or absence of a substance can totally
eliminate the production of a hormone in flies, what about people? Yes, yes, I know what some scientists say,
that 'we' aren't 'flies'. Yet, of the
scientists who publish articles for the layman, I find an unusual number of
them claiming that humans have more likenesses than differences to other
species. After all, everything came
from the same primordial soup. If the
production of fly hormones is dependent upon a certain food substance, then I
believe it highly probable that people have similar food-hormone
reliance’s.
There are
other pesky pests besides flies, but all the commonly recognized destructive
species of insects have the same preference for oxidized substances. Because EM procures for the plant vast
amounts of anti-oxidants, these pests are deterred. Even the eggs that are laid on plants tend not to develop for the
same reasons that fly larva do not develop.
You are
probably wondering about 'beneficial' insects.
Generally good insects are carnivorous, making for themselves a diet of
bad insects. Since bad insects are
herbivores, they are the only ones affected by the antioxidating effects of
EM.
Ants are a
species that is difficult for the scientist to categorize into 'good' or
'bad'. But Prof. Higa admits that most
people find them to be pests and so he has done some experiments with EM on
them. What he found was that the ant
has the habit of treating all their food with a type of zymogen unique to their
species. This allows them to store
their food for later use. The zymogen
in EM destroys the benefits of the ants zymogen and causes their food to
ferment. Basically, repeated use of EM
throughout your property will eventually run all your resident ants away.
I did a
little test on the effectiveness of EM as a mosquito abatement treatment. There is an annoying puddle in the front of
my house which accumulates from my neighbors run off water. This puddle always has mosquito larva
swimming. I placed a few drops of EM
into the water and within a few hours went back to check the progress. The first thing I noticed was there were no
more adult mosquitoes hovering over the area.
Presumably, because they no longer recognized this as a desirable place
to lay eggs. After several days passed
the activity around the pond was that of ants, presumably cleaning up the
carcasses of the dead mosquito larva.
I'd like to return for a moment to the subject of antioxidants in
the soil. When you find a rotting
potato or you start a compost pile, the offensive odor you encounter (the odor
vermin are drawn to) is caused by degenerative strains of microorganisms. When regenerative organisms are added to
this organic matter, the resulting smell is rather a pleasant smell. Plants grown in soil where antioxidants are
present grow strong roots that are capable of easily absorbing more
nutrients. However, when the soil is
laden with oxidation plants must labor in order to withdraw adequate
nutrients. Amino acids and organic
acids are important elements needed by plants.
When predominantly oxidized soil conditions exist, these substances are
changed into highly toxic amide (a substance somewhere in-between an amino acid
and ammonia). In wet farming, as in
rice production, they are further broken down into ammonia; in dry farming the
resultant substance is nitric acid.
Both of these substances are forms of inorganic nitrogen which requires
that the plant heavily depend on sugars (organic acids) produced in it's leaves
due to photosynthesis, to synthesize protein from the inorganic nitrogen. This is a terrible waste of plant
energy. By contrast, antioxidized soil
allows these amino acids to absorb straight away without going through any
chemical changes to be utilized. This
accounts for the increased crop production which is an earmark of EM use.
(I don’t know if I wrote this or not, but it is
interesting)
Microorganisms - Keepers of the Biosphere
Amazingly,
we owe everything to the tiniest creatures on the planet. There is no form of life that does not owe
allegiance to the microscopic organisms that live in vast numbers throughout of
every eco system. They have been found
in the molten lava and at the deepest level of the ocean. There are trillions of microorganisms on one
square inch of our skin. They are
responsible for the air we breath as well as our genetic make-up.
Ninety
percent of our DNA can be traced as coming directly from prehistoric
microorganisms. All life emerged from
these genetic codes. It is believed
that it is due to microbes that our planet became inhabitable. When the world was a ball of hot noxious
gas, tiny microorganisms flourished on this 'cornucopia' of good things to eat. As they multiplied they exuded a by-product
of oxygen. This in turn influenced the
atmosphere and gradually the planet cooled, the poles froze leaving exposed
islands of land. Today about 80% of
oxygen in our atmosphere comes from microorganisms, and only 20% from trees and
plants. Isn't it time for us to take a
closer look at this mighty force of nature?
We are all
familiar with the terms 'intestinal flora' and 'probiotics', another way to
refer to the microbes indigenous to our human system. Acidophilus is the star of this group, known to exist in predominant
numbers and assumed by many to be the most important intestinal bacteria. This could be compared to a large family of
12 kids. Are the children the most
important members because they are the most numerous? What we've learned is that bifidus is the only true 'leader' much
like the parents in a large family. The
direction of the entire colony is decided be the leader-type bacteria. In our own intestines, if parents bifidus
are too weak or absent, then the intestinal-family flora will look elsewhere
for a surrogate leader. From this
perspective, Bifidus may rightly be considered our most important probiotic.
In the way that families of bacteria are divided by followers and leaders, and can, with relative ease, merge with the forces of a competitive family, is at the core of so much alarm about super bugs. This adaptability is what allowed us a world of diversity. They are only predictable when their environment remains stable; otherwise they adapt and change so that even 'beneficial' bacteria will take up 'degenerative' action when given sufficient stimulus.