Re: [compost_tea] Re: Water temps for brewing

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 02:17:57 -0500

Hi Dennis -

We typically train people who want to start an SFI lab. We ask that people sign a non-compete, non-disclosure agreement. We don't want people to train with SFI, learn our methods, and how we manage to do the work so efficiently, and then go out and start a competing lab. I also want to make certain everyone doing direct assessment maintains the search images, so we ask that quality assurance be performed. Also, we keep improving the methods as equipment gets better and better. I want methods and equipment to be as cutting edge as possible, and I want constant checking so everyone has the same definition of the morphology of the different organisms.

We typically start people out doing active bacteria, total and active fungi. Takes about a month to get that really under your belt, and look at enough different soils to have a good idea of the variability you are going to see. We usually have about 100 different soils and plants that each person needs to look at so they really have an understanding of the differences that can occur. Usually no lab other than the main lab sees that range of variation, but better to be over-trained than under-trained!

We then work on total bacterial assessment, and then protozoa. Takes another month to get good at these assays. So, to do a lab that can do most of the the foodweb takes about 2 months of training, or about $8,000. Mostly that is technician time to show the trainee what needs to be done, and then practice, practice, practice!

Mycorrhizal fungi take a good month to get the search images worked out, because you need to be able to identify VAM, other endo- and ecto-myccorhizal fungi. so we usually get teh lab going on the activity assays, and the next winter train the mycorrhizal fungi.

The next winter we start nematode training. We usually get you to be able to count and pick, then begin to work on the morphology over a month time period, let you practice for a year on your own samples (while sending nematodes samples into SFI main lab for the actual ID), then another month of training here at SFI the next winter. Then until you agree with ID with what our experts do, SFI main lab confirms all IDs. Then of course, there is on-going QA.

As we do soil chemistry, and species diversity, we will work out training methods. Not quite there on the moleculae probe methods yet, so can't quite say long to train. Working with the folks at Cornell University and another group in Europe on these methods, so just stay tuned....

Does this answer your questions? You interested in doing these methods for yourself, or starting an SFI lab for commercial business?

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
www.soilfoodweb.com

 

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Received on Wed Jan 21 2004 - 09:20:51 EST

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