Re: [compost_tea] L.Bacillus sp and EM

From: Lloyd Charles <lcharles_at_iinet.net.au>
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 11:22:04 +1000


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Dorothy O'Brien
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 1:31 AM
  Subject: Re: [compost_tea] L.Bacillus sp and EM


  Steve, Lloyd and all--

  After Steve Diver's comments relating to EM several
  weeks ago I looked for how-to information and more
  background. From my limited looking, it appears that
  this is a purchased product?

  Yet, the Rodale article on Mr. Caradang brewing his
  own sounded like this could be a backyard operation
  such as ACT. Any suggestions on other sources and
  how-to information would be appreciated.
  Hi Dorothy,
              (anytime I say 'Tea' I mean Elaine type Aerobic Compost tea, =
if I call it 'brew' then it is something else - )

                  EM here about is a little of both, you purchase a 'mother=
' brew, then increase that up yourself, the promoters saying that more than=
 one home brew and the microbe spectrum in the brew will wander too far fro=
m the original.
  Its a workable system - the end brew is quite cheap, brewing conditions a=
re quite specific, more like home brew beer than anything else, with a very=
 low pH in the brew, held under 3.5pH to make sure the correct critters mu=
ltiply, lots of molasses for food. Whoever supplies you the starter will gi=
ve the best info for brewing it up.


>Also, Lloyd, what biodyanmic processes assist?

  We dont do large scale compost, but I try to make a couple of small batch=
es of nice compost each year to give me feed for tea - I use the biodynamic=
 preps in my compost, but do the process more along Elaine's system, more t=
urning and aeration, less time, and I use her guidelines when putting the h=
eap together.

  Also make biodynamic "barrel compost" (as much as I can get done)and use =
some of that in the tea, its a really great fungal source for brewing. (we =
had some of this tested at SFI lismore -Steve storch on long island is also=
 using BC for fungal innoculant in tea)

  I have been doing a slow brew for several years that I use as a base for =
foliar spraying my field crops, just using local microbes from healthy soil=
 that I gather up around the place, a bit of nice active garden soil, some =
from uncultivated areas, just from wherever the type of plants you want to =
grow are doing really well, and the weeds are not. I mainly use sugar as fe=
ed, and a touch of kelp, low air, and occasional stirring, it may take thre=
e weeks to get going nice and when it does it will smell and look much like=
 EM,

>How (if?) is EM/L. Bacilus used in connection with
>ACT?
  I really always thought the two are different - different systems for bre=
wing ACT compared to EM - . Elaine's recent answer to my question re how th=
e yoghurt critters perform under full aeration confirmed this for me. We us=
e the ACT for soil remediation and to help residue digestion (stubbles), th=
en use a bit of the slow brew in our foliars, thats mainly a time and logis=
tics thing but we have had better brix increases from these foliars, and mi=
xing other stuff in is much easier.

  Several of us went to Roseworthy College in Adelaide a few years back to =
hear Arden Andersen speak and it happened that Elaine was on the bill too. =
Compost was in my 'too hard basket' at that stage but the tea thing was int=
eresting, I was most impressed by the whole story (so take a bow Doc E , I =
am not that easy to impress!).
  Always I look for simple basic messages, figure out the detail later, but=
 if you dont get the basic concept, you will not get to the detail - well o=
ne basic thing Elaine gave us there was smell - she had a bucket of good co=
mpost from Jefferies garden soils and the message went something like "if y=
ou cant sit a container of compost in the middle of your dining table while=
 you eat, and not be bothered by the smell, then dont put it on your plants=
 either! " -- my nose works OK and I put a lot of importance on smell aroun=
d brews of all sorts - if it smells offensive to us then I figure its proba=
bly offensive to plants as well - a good tool - learn to use it!
  cheers
  Lloyd Charles






Received on Wed Jun 16 2004 - 22:37:59 EDT

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