Re: [compost_tea] Pre treatment of compost to activate bacT
From: dkemnitz2000
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 3:28 PM
Subject: [compost_tea] Pre treatment of compost to activate bacT
Anyone doing this? Seems like a little tweeking of the compost and
amt. added could shorten the brew time to maybe 6 or 8 hours.
You're writing about high-quality compost. This type of compost is necessa=
ry for diversity. However, even store-bought compost has sleeping bac and =
possibly fun spores (hyphae parts that can grow) and possibly some protozoa=
. The problem with the store-bought stuff is lack of diversity and you may=
be getting bac/fun that have nothing to do with your area.
Before I get roasted here, let me say that I understand that certain bacter=
ia operate pretty well universally but it seems to me that the strains chan=
ge for local areas. Bacillus Licheniformis is one such and there are a lot=
of strains of those.
My methods are now to gather as much diversity from my local area into my c=
ompost pile. If I am composting Eucalyptus, I get Euc stuff from all over =
the county. The same with other compost types. I try to mix as much local=
stuff as I can even if I start with store-bought stuff for a client.
Be careful about short brew times. I think that brewing times can be adjus=
ted but depend, in part, on what you want to do with the tea. If you brew =
for that short of a time, you will get bac doubling (every 10-20 min) and i=
f your compost is diverse, you will get the diversity. If you try to add m=
ore food, you create potential osmotic problems. I have found that adding =
food incrementally and cycling my air give the best bio activity I can see =
with my scope. If I just want bac for a foliar, short brewing times are be=
tter but if I want the full spectrum of life including protozoa, I have to =
brew longer.
I have been doing some research into bacteria strains and localization but =
don't have anything definite yet. I am seeing some trending but I haven't =
found the Rosetta Stone of work that has compared different soil bacteria f=
rom different climates for different strains.
For those interested, I am putting up my web site soon and it will have a b=
unch of pictures of my activities and maybe even one of my son taking sampl=
es. Look for www.earth-wise.com. I had it up before but my ecommerce provi=
der kept throwing people out when they would try to log in so I dumped the =
provider and have finally gotten around the the site.
I have found new pumps. I was using Alita but I am now using Hi-Blo. They=
are much better in my estimation and substantially less expensive. They s=
ell a model GP40 -- made for OEM manufacturing -- that has two outlets so y=
ou can configure it in a number of different ways. They are about 25% the =
cost of Alita and are really sturdy. They are not as quiet so you have to =
build an enclosure and I found that plastic electrical juncion boxes work g=
reat. You can drill them any way you want and when you add rubber feet, ma=
ke great enclosures for about $20.
Ted Peterson
Earth-Wise/Spirit of the Earth
Received on Tue Apr 13 2004 - 22:27:02 EDT
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