Re: [compost_tea] Snails Day 4

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 10:43:26 -0400
Ted, please take a step back, and deal with step one.  Not a criticism here, just taking things first things first.

Make sure you even have fungi in your compost.  A good, decent level of fungi. 

Home test?  Add the oatmeal, humic acid, fish hydrolysate (all three in small amounts, ok?) to your compost, and wait overnight.  Observe the results.

1.  No obvious fungal growth?  Find some real compost, compost that has fungi in it. 

2.  You see fuzzy wuzzy growth?  You have compost that isn't really compost, because you have mostly bad guy fungi.  Inocluate your pile with some beneficial fungi, with whatever local source you might be able to find that you KNOW has good fungi (talk to Highlands Soil & Water in Salinas and Monterey -or New Era Farm Service - they both make compost with good amounts of fungi - check the SFI website.  Actually, Highlands' compost is SUPER high in fungi, just like Leon Hussy's compost - the KIS brewer -, or Alsaka Humus)

3.  If you see "santa's beard"  then, ok, you have some ok fungi.  May still want to improve the species diversity by adding some additional fungal sources, like Alaska Humus. 

4.  Thick threads of fungi growing IN THE SOLID PART OF THE COMPOST, not fuzz on the outside of the pile in any way.  This is the primo stuff.  If you see these guys, you have the fungi. 

Can you tell us what you actually see in your compost?  Look at the compost.... don't need a description of the tea, or the brewer, or anything else at this point.  OK?

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 17 2004 - 11:33:08 EDT

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