[compost_tea] Re: Watering (orchard mulch)

From: David Hall <dchall8_at_texas.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 02:58:08 -0000

I wasn't going to mention names but herein lies the problem.  It is
Malcolm who carries around and shows the pictures of plants happily
growing in 5-gallon buckets of pure Hill Country "cedar" mulch. 
Three of his disciples have weekend radio shows and extol the virtue
of this mulch.  In fact it is Malcolm's story about using mass
quantities of this mulch to turn a normal pear orchard into an
unirrigated orchard. 

The radio guys are very clear about the differences between East
Texas cedar, a true cedar, and the Hill Country "cedar," a true
juniper.  The true cedar is not to be used as a mulch while the
juniper is what they are promoting as a cure for high irrigation
costs. 

David Hall
San Antonio, TX

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, soilfoodweb@a... wrote:
> I'll have to track down the work that has been done that shows the
fresh
> material has phenol, terpenes and tannins that are quite
detrimental to plants
> whose roots are limited to teh surface layers. 
>
> The chips need to matured by aerating, or by placing in piles to
mature long
> enough to allow the volatiles to blow off, and give the bacteria
time to do
> their N-immobilization regime, get enough protozoa back in the
pile to start
> nutrient cycling. 
>
> You might want to check with the operation and make sure that they
aren't
> actually allowing the piles to mature. 
>
> Malcolm Beck would be a great reference to talk to about this, as
I think he
> was one of the first to show that putting fresh chips down on poor
soil under
> trees could be really detrimental. 
>
> Elaine R. Ingham
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Corvallis, Oregon
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Port Jefferson, New York
> Soil Foodweb Institute, Lismore Australia
> Soil Foodweb Institute Cambridge, New Zealand
> Laboratorios de Soil Foodweb, Culiacan, Mexico
> Soil Foodweb Inc., Jerome, Idaho
> Soil Foodweb Inc., South Africa




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Received on Wed Nov 10 2004 - 01:28:13 EST

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