[compost_tea] RE: Fertilizer reps and earthworms, what is SH and Georgia humus

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Mon, 03 May 2004 11:24:47 -0400
If you had worms in the soil previously, there are eggs left in the soil (they can hang around for years), then addition of compost tea, with good plant roots in the soil too (on-going food resources), then the eggs can hatch and the worms survive.

But, if something was applied that could kill the worms, and their eggs, such as pesticides and high levels of inorganic fertilizer, then you will have to hope that some larger critter will bring the worm eggs, or adults back in.  Humans can provide that function, as well as birds, voles, shrew, etc. 

If you don't know for certain, it would be best to get a small amount of worm compost from someone, and spread it in places where you know the area will stay moist.  That way, you can bring the worms back faster.

Just to relate an experience from South Africa - we went on a field day with some grower's and brought a fertilizer salesman with us (un-beknownst to me).  In the first orchard, one that had been converted to biological a year ago, there were worms everywhere.  Worms were in the soil below the trees, in the grass strip between the rows, down into the soil a good half meter (they should be deeper, true, but a half meter, in an orcahrd that had been totally inorganic fertilizer up to a year ago - that's good!).

This made the fertilizer salesman cocky.  He said "These soils around Capetown are very rich, and worms abound here.  We'll find them in the inorganic fertilizer orcahrd, just wait and see." 

The farmer who owns the farm grinned, and said,  "Do you want to bet?  We see worms here, but will they be in the fertilizer area?"

The fertilizer guy was adamant that earthworms would abound in the inorganic fertilizer treated orchard too.  These were fertile soils, after all.  So, they made a bet for a case of whiskey.  The farmer would give the fertilizer guy a case of whiskey if there were worms in the continuing-to-be-treated-with-inorganic-fertilizer orchard, while, if there were no worms in the inorganic fertilizer treated orchard, the fertilizer guy would owe the farmer a case of whiskey. 

So, we went over to the continuing inorganic fertilizer orchard, just a few meters away - same soil type, same past practices, except no compost for the last year.  The fertilizer guy took out his digger, and.... no earthworms. 

I wasn't aware that a bet had been made, so I just snorted, shrugged my shoulders, and said, "What did you expect? Inorganic fertilizers are salts, and worms can't tolerate that kind of water stress.  Of course there are no earth worms in this area.  They were killed long ago, and won't come back until the high inorganic fertilizer applications end."

The fertilizer guy gave me a look of, well, whatever, and insisted he was going to find earthworms in this inorganic fertilized orchard.  He dug up the grass strip, the soil under the trees, around the trees, and by the time we got done looking at the soil pit that had been dug, he was in a frenzy.  No earthworms. 

So the grower said,  "You owe me a case of whiskey."  The fertilizer guy started to hem and haw, but he had been caught fair and square.  No earthworms where you use high levels of inorganic fertilizer for more than a few years. 

At lunch time, the fertilizer guy and I went through a rendition of "compost isn't adequate N, P, K, S, etc to keep plants healthy".  He insisted, and got a bit rude about his point of view, that compost couldn't possibly provide the nutrition for a plant.  After going through the math with him, over and over, I finally stopped responding.  These growers were seeing that compost did the job, got them off pesticides, and was fully capable of giving them all the nutrients, and in fact, improving nutrient levels in their apples, pears, etc. 

But the best was left for last.  A different grower this time taught the fertilizer salesman a lesson in humility.  We arrived at a four year old orchard, with big, beautiful fruit, great yields (not yet picked so no numbers, but you could see the harvest was going to be good).  The apples were solid and juicy (I couldn't resist eating one - juicy, sweet and not mushy at all).  The grower looked at the fertilizer guy and said,  "No inorganic fertilizer used here for nearly three years.  A full two years on compost alone, without any inorganic fertilizer." 

The owner of the company looked at the fertilizer guy and said, "How do you explain this?  If compost can't supply all the nutrients these trees need, how can we be seeing these results?"

There was nothing the fertilizer guy could really say, except that sometimes, uder some conditions, maybe compost would work.  For a limited period of time.  No one wanted to argue, he'd been wrong enough that day.  And of course, we do have to show that compost will work, give high yields, for the whole life-time of the orchard.  But there is NO reason to expect that compost will not do the job.  You have to add compost to equal the removed nutrients, make no mistake that compost-maintained systems will require input.  But far less than the current inorganic regime people are follwoing. 

But the fertilizer guy was a very quiet person all the way back to town. 

Good compost is the trick.  Compost that is aerobic the whole way through the composting cycle.  Not stinky, not smelly, because that means you are losing nutrients. 

You want compost to be a "fertilizer"?  The nutrients aren't in the form of nitrate, ammonium, or inorganic forms.  They are in organic forms - in the bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. 

Just adding bacteria is NOT adequate.  Just fungi - not adequate.  Protozoa, beneficial nematodes and microarthropods are all needed.  Compost supplies them all, but only if WELL-MADE, aerobic conditions are maintained. 

So, the lie is that stinky organic matter is compost.  It is not.  If someone talks about compost as not having adequate nutrients, they don't know what compost really is. 

The "compost" yards that stink are not compost yards.  They are waste reduction centers.  Don't buy their stuff.  They should pay you to haul it away. 

Buy the good material - and the results will be spectacular. 

Alaska Humus is a natural compost, Mother-Nature made, with great sets of critters in it, although there is variability from batch to batch. 

Turf-Pro is an extract of the same processes, southern-style.  The humics in the material are outstanding.  Possibly Oklahoma Humus exists, but it isn't checked out yet.  The person selling it just e-mailed back to say it was wonderful stuff - no data, no organism assessment, nothing - so, I don't know if it is good or not.  Nor is it up to me to check it out.  If they want to sell the material, they should do the assessment of what biology is in it.  

Well, hope this is enough to keep you going this week! 

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
SFI Culiacan, Mexico
SFI Jerome, Idaho
http://www.soilfoodweb.com


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Received on Mon May 03 2004 - 15:05:41 EDT

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