I need some *Rust* is iron oxide rust?

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    Iron Rust
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the use of rust, specifically iron oxide, as a home remedy for treating mold, mildew, and blight in gardening, particularly for plants like tomatoes and squash. Participants explore various methods to obtain rust quickly and discuss the efficacy of different materials and techniques.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest using rusty water as a traditional remedy for plant diseases, while others question the effectiveness and safety of this approach.
  • There is a suggestion that modern materials, such as food cans, may not rust easily due to being made from alloys or treated metals.
  • Several participants propose alternative sources for obtaining rust, such as visiting junkyards or using steel wool kept wet to accelerate rusting.
  • One participant mentions the potential use of brake shop waste as a source of rust, while another raises concerns about contamination from brake pad dust.
  • Some participants discuss the possibility of using chemical methods, such as soaking steel wool in vinegar or saltwater, to enhance rust formation.
  • There are inquiries about the appropriate amounts of materials to use in gardening applications, reflecting uncertainty in how to measure effectiveness.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of views on the best methods to obtain rust and its effectiveness as a gardening remedy. There is no consensus on the best approach, and multiple competing suggestions remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants note potential limitations such as the presence of additives in commercial steel wool, the need for oxygen in water for rust formation, and the varying effectiveness of different materials in gardening contexts.

Who May Find This Useful

Gardeners interested in organic remedies, individuals exploring alternative gardening techniques, and those curious about the chemistry of rust and its applications in plant care.

gary350
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Old time home garden cure for, mold, mildew, fungi, blight, on tomatoes, squash, and other plants is rusty water. I put some kitchen food cans in a fire to remove glue and varnish, they have been in a bucket of water for a week still no rusty water yet. I need some rust what is a quick way to get rust. IRON will kill tomato blight.
 
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I doubt that modern materials are made of pure iron (or lead), esp. when they are used for food. Perhaps nails will do, but many of them are made of steel that does not rust. In addition it might take quite long to get rust. My suggestion is to make an extract of water with stinging nettles instead. That helps a lot in gardening and fertilizes the plants. If you insist on iron: visit a junkyard.
 
I'm sure there's more effective and easier solutions than rusty water. Any garden shop probably sells anti-fungal sprays.
 
Yes rust is Iron Oxide.
The food cans you have been trying with are probably an alloy of iron with other metals intentionally made to not easily rust.
If you really want rust for the fungicide job instead of some thing more modern, then a scrap yard does sound like a good idea, probably some 30 yr old fridges and stuff you can just scrape it off from.
 
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gary350 said:
Old time home garden cure for, mold, mildew, fungi, blight, on tomatoes, squash, and other plants is rusty water. I put some kitchen food cans in a fire to remove glue and varnish, they have been in a bucket of water for a week still no rusty water yet. I need some rust what is a quick way to get rust. IRON will kill tomato blight.
Could be that you water has little oxygen.

For quick rust, buy some steel wool, and keep it wet but try not soaking water.
 
My best idea for something that will rust and will be easy to mix with soil in good proportions, is to look for a brake shop that has a drum and rotor cutter, the cast iron is cut and has the consistency of sand. I think most will be glad to give this away :)
 
Are tin cans still made of tin plated steel? That may explain why they don't rust quickly. That and a lack of oxygen in the water? Old nails might rust quicker.

The French use a copper mixture to prevent mildew on grapes...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_mixture

Copper sulphate might be easier to find than iron oxide on ebay?
 
RonL said:
My best idea for something that will rust and will be easy to mix with soil in good proportions, is to look for a brake shop that has a drum and rotor cutter, the cast iron is cut and has the consistency of sand. I think most will be glad to give this away :)

Would it also contain brake pad dust?
 
CWatters said:
Would it also contain brake pad dust?
For the most part, no, they typically blow all dust off and chuck the unit in the resurfacing machine, two or more passes with a carbide or diamond tip tool will generally bring the surface of the drum or rotor into spec.
The dust and grit in the catch basin is almost pure cast iron, especially in a high volume shop.
 
  • #10
256bits said:
Could be that you water has little oxygen.

For quick rust, buy some steel wool, and keep it wet but try not soaking water.

I agree...this will give good fine rusty wire wool
 
  • #11
CWatters said:
Would it also contain brake pad dust?
You can separate the Iron from the brake pad dust with a magnet. First wrap the magnet in something, cloth, paper, plastic, etc then dip into the shavings. After extracting, maybe gently blow on what's clinging to the wrapped magnet to get rid of the lighter stuff. Then unwrap and remove the magnet, the Iron will fall away. You don't have to wrap the magnet, but you will have to work to remove the iron if you don't!
 
  • #12
Would iron filings work? You can buy a 12 oz bottle of iron filings on amazon for less than 10 bucks.
 
  • #13
256bits said:
Could be that you water has little oxygen.

For quick rust, buy some steel wool, and keep it wet but try not soaking water.
It might be difficult to find steel wool that isn't laced with soap. If you can find plain steel wool, soak it for 10 minutes in dilute vinegar or very dilute Spirits of Salts (hydrochloric acid) then rinse and store the steel wool in a jar with a little moisture. The acid bath cleans and etches the surface, increasing the surface area by many times, so oxidation then proceeds more rapidly.

Good luck with your gardening! [emoji263]
 
  • #14
NascentOxygen said:
It might be difficult to find steel wool that isn't laced with soap. If you can find plain steel wool, soak it for 10 minutes in dilute vinegar or very dilute Spirits of Salts (hydrochloric acid) then rinse and store the steel wool in a jar with a little moisture. The acid bath cleans and etches the surface, increasing the surface area by many times, so oxidation then proceeds more rapidly.

Good luck with your gardening! [emoji263]
Would you think that soaking in NaCl watter would help the rusting along?. It does for cars on the road in winter.
 
  • #15
You can find many grades of steel wool in woodworking supply stores and paint preparation supplies (the big box stores) this type of steel wool has to be clean of any additives.
 
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  • #16
256bits said:
Would you think that soaking in NaCl watter would help the rusting along?. It does for cars on the road in winter.
A tiny trace of salt may help, but you don't want it contaminating the garden spray. Much salt may give you iron chloride, not iron oxide.

I wonder is there a chemical supplier of the red-brown iron oxide, it's used as a concrete pigment. Here's some on Amazon...is 5 lbs enough?? :smile: Gift wrap available! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004OKDTX2/?tag=pfamazon01-20
 
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  • #18
jbriggs444 said:
Did anyone look at the "frequently bought together" on that page and think "Wow, thermite"?
Yes, of course. But gary350 doesn't want to incinerate his plants in the process!
 
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  • #19
NascentOxygen said:
Yes, of course. But gary350 doesn't want to incinerate his plants in the process!
How do you come up with the correct amount of steel wool for an amount of dirt ?
 
  • #20
RonL said:
How do you come up with the correct amount of steel wool for an amount of dirt ?
gary350 is the one who must answer that. But I'm tipping he'll say that the foliage spray needs to be murky at a depth of one handspan, or something equally inexact. You know how these hand-me-down gardening recipes go...
 

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