[compost_tea] Re: Pre treatment of compost to activate bacT

From: dkemnitz2000 <dkemnitz2000_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 23:44:43 -0000
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Ted Peterson"
<ted.peterson_at_t...> wrote:
>   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
necessary 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. 
>

Ted, I am guessing this could happen during optimum conditions.  I'm
thinking of compost "awakening" so to speak.  I don't know how long
it takes bacT to enter the log phase(rapid growth phase). However I
imagine it takes a while (say maybe an hour) to wake them up if
dumped straight in the tank of water or extractor. And the spores
have a time factor as well, I'm guessing. Yes, I'm speaking of high
quality compost cause I don't want to kick start any of the wrong
bacT, etc.  And as we've heard, compost will need standard testing to
assure it is high quality(meeting or exceeding spec).       Dennis



> Before I get roasted here, let me say that I understand that
certain bacteria operate pretty well universally but it seems to me
that the strains change 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 compost 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 adjusted 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 if your compost is diverse, you will get the
diversity.  If you try to add more 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 better but if I want
the full spectrum of life including protozoa, I have to brew longer.
>
>

Ted, I think so too so add food incrementally in nearly minute
amounts and monitor/adjust temp and air.  I need to get Dr. Ingham's
picture book and staining info (non-propieratary[I can spell most
words}) so I can see and count those critters. Dennis






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 from different climates for
different strains. 
>
> For those interested, I am putting up my web site soon and it will
have a bunch of pictures of my activities and maybe even one of my
son taking samples.  Look for www.earth-wise.com.

<><><>I'll be watching. Dennis



I had it up before but my ecommerce provider 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 sell a model GP40 -- made for OEM manufacturing --
that has two outlets so you 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 great.  You can drill them
any way you want and when you add rubber feet, make great enclosures
for about $20. 
>
> Ted Peterson
> Earth-Wise/Spirit of the Earth



Yahoo! Groups Links

Received on Tue Apr 13 2004 - 22:27:03 EDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:15:12 EST