Re: Beneficial Soil Microbes - Steiner BD preps

From: Elaine Ingham (Soilfoodweb@AOL.COM)
Date: Thu Dec 26 2002 - 02:04:41 EST


I work with several biodynamic people. They sent the samples into Soil
Foodweb, and we discussed the preparation of those BD samples. In every
case, the cow horn preparations contained a mix of manure, plant material and
in one case, additional silica. None of the cow horn preparations were
sealed into the horn. You wouldn't be able to get water into the material
when it was in the soil if the horns were sealed. The horn material that I
was given samples from were horns in a barrel, where the end of the horn was
not sealed. The materials in the horn were not anaerobic. In another case,
the horns were in containers in the barn, and samples were pulled from those
horns. The starting materials were manure, plant material, and silica. They
were not sealed.

You had not brought up the other preparations until just the last e-mail. I
have not brought them up in any exchange with you. So accusing me of not
knowing how the other preps are made is not kosher. I have not commented on
how they are made in any way.

If you want to argue about preparation of the BD preps from which I have been
given samples, please direct your comments to Steve Storch, Allan Balliet,
Paul Fieber, or the Macari Vineyard owners in New York. They give me the
samples, I run the organism assays, they tell me what the samples were made
of. Argue with them, not me, about how the preps were made.

If you want the DIRECT COUNT data for those preparations, please talk to
them. They have those data. They have been pleasant to work with, and I'm
happy to share data with pleasant people.

Given that 99.99% of the bacteria and fungi in soil and in good composts
cannot grow on plate media in lab incubation conditions, there is no wonder
that there's a huge discrepancy between the plate count data you have and
direct count data.

Solvita tests can't begin to separate bacterial versus fungal respiration,
much less say anything about diversity. Solvita tests give you an assessment
of carbon dioxide evolved, and that's it. Does CO2 evolved always relate to
organism activity? What happens if the compost is anaerobic? If CO2 is not
being respired, what can Solvita tests tell you?

I was also very clear to point out in my original post that these were fresh
materials I was talking about, not dried materials.

You have mis-quoted me. I don't talk about 3 ppm as being a limit for
anaerobic conditions. There is a gradient from facultative anaerobic
conditions to completely anaerobic conditions, but the limit that is of
interest to most composters is the 5.5 to 6 ppm range.

You also haven't gotten the prices correct for the SFI assays. You haven't
gotten the number of samples I would recommend from a field correct either.

It would be great for you to try to design a 24 hour aerobic compost tea
machine. Best of luck to you.

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com


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