Re: [compost_tea] Plant Teas Experiment

From: Scott Alexander <daylily_at_bigpond.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 14:22:14 +1000


  Further to my plant tea experiment - on the 10th day of aerating the 50 g=
allons of plant tea, the D O rose to 6 ppm and I reckoned it was going to b=
e OK to add to the 200 gallons of CT. BUT on the night of the full moon the=
 wind was blowing so strongly I decided to apply it the following night. On=
 the 11 th day the plant tea D O rose to 7.1 ppm and it had a lovely sweet =
smell.
  I added it to the 200 gallons of CT ( D O of 8 ppm after 3 days od brewin=
g) and then added 2 gallons of molasses and 2 gal of a blend of fish, seawe=
ed and fulvic acid and then pressed the button. Somehow the gremlins got in=
to my big irrigation pump and it decided to operate at about 50% power so I=
 switched it off.
  As you can imagine the CT mixture went horribly anaerobic very quickly. I=
 aded more aeration to the tank and it has a D O of 4.5 ppm at the moment.=
 

  Elaine wrote "The only way to know what's in the plant tea is to look at =
the microbes. The only way to know what effect it will have on the AACT is=
 to measure the biology in the AACT BEFORE adding the plant tea, and then A=
FTER the plant tea is added.
  Then you would know what happened, and hopefully, you would tell the rest=
 of us!"

  What I really would like to know is this - what are the quantities of the=
 different minerals which the weeds and herbs have extracted from the soil.=
 But I guess such testing would be very expensive so I would just have to a=
ccept that plant teas can be very beneficial ( as described in ATTRA articl=
es). What I think I've dicovered is that plant material will break down rea=
lly well and release minerals being held in the plant tissue if a little mo=
lasses and compost is added to the water and it is aerated for about 10 day=
s.

  ELAINE - Re the microbes in the plant tea - wouldn't they be predominatly=
 bacterial? I couldn't imagine the plant tea having any affect on the AACT =
in the short time the two would be mixed together just prior to being appli=
ed.


  Scott
   




Received on Sat Jan 10 2004 - 00:11:08 EST

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