Re: [compost_tea] Herb and Weed Tea Query

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 16:45:49 EST

Scott asked about plant teas.

We do need to stop calling them compost tea, ok? No compost? Not compost
tea.

They are plant teas when you take the plant material, put it in a container,
add water, and let ferment. And make no mistake, it is fermentation.

You have to learn the right "smell" for the brew, or you kill things. I
know, I have killed many plants this way.

The brew usually goes anaerobic while the bacteria are using the simple
sugars from the plant material, but as the simple sugars get used up, growth rates
decline, and oxygen diffuses into the brew faster than it is used up, and the
tea returns to the aerobic condition.

The aerobes that could make dormant stages fast enough when the brew was
going anaerobic (so the speed of going anaeorbic is critical) wake back up, and
the brew can now be ok.

And the toxic materials made during the anaerobic brew are indeed pesticides.
 Antibiotics in the truest sense of the word. And as you might guess, we
don't know the conditions that make primo plant teas. One time, the tea will be
hot stuff, the next no effect, the next, kills your plants.

The variability of actively aerated compost teas is significant, as we all
know. But the factors involved in plant tea brewing are even greater. So we
started with actively aerated compost tea because it is easiest to get a firm
handle on what is working, and what is questionable. Aeration, good compost,
good organisms present, we have a usable, repeatable product.

Once we have AACT under our belts, then let's move into plant tea production.
 Maybe clean up the anaerobic tea production end of things.

Clear, uniform production conditions have to be established. With plant
teas, you first have to document that the plant material you are using has the
sugars, proteins, carbs, or other compounds that are improtant in antibiotic or
phenol production. Then, precisely which bacterial species do you need? Or is
that a mix of species? Which fungi? Are they needed? What is the oxygen
concentration required for the best brew? When should the brew return to
aerobic? How aerobic? When do you stir? How much?

Phew! The production factors boggle the mind. But we do need to document
these methods, if we want to use them reliably.

Good brewing!

Elaine
President, Soil Foodweb Inc, Oregon
Soil Foodweb Inc., Australia
Soil Foodweb Inc., New York
Soil Foodweb Inc., New Zealand
Soil Foodweb Inc., The Netherlands
Soil Foodweb, Inc., Mexico
Board Member, Sustainable Studies Institute, Eugene, OR




Received on Sat Nov 15 2003 - 17:05:16 EST

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