Re: [compost_tea] basic questions
I'm trying to understand this question. If we prepare
an area to grow a crop. Then we plant and apply ACT. I
think I understand that ACT will improve the quantity
and quality of that crop assuming the tea is
appropriate for the crop.
Now the question; after harvest will that area be
improved, stay the same or be depleted in some way.
--- soilfoodweb_at_aol.com wrote:
> Organisms don't tend to just wash out of compost.
> It takes a fair bit of effort to pull the organisms
> away from their food.
>
> Sort of like people sitting at a table -- it's hard
> to pull them away from the table as the meal is
> arriving. You have to do something pretty drastic
> to get them to leave.
>
> In compost, it's the vortex, or the water movement
> through the compost that rips the organisms from the
> compost into the water. So passive water movement
> through a layer of compost on the soil surface
> doesn't move much into the soil, at least as a
> single event. By the time you get four or five rain
> events, then maybe some movement happens. Of
> course, there's deeper movement in sand than in clay
> soil as well, so factor in soil type.
>
> The thing that moves critters from a compost layer
> on the soil into the soil is really the predators
> and "taxi-cabs" in the system - things like
> earthworms, protozoa, nematodes, and
> microarthropods. Another reason you need the bigger
> critters.
>
> As Bob said, compost is great as a soil amendment,
> but you can't get compost to stick to the leaves or
> aboveground part of the plant. Darn it. But that's
> why compost tea is so important for foliar
> applications.
>
> But mix compost into the soil, move it into the root
> zone, and it can do as good or better than compost
> tea.
>
> So, as a soil amendment, I'd always choose compost
> first.
>
> But what if it is too expensive to get that much
> compost and put it out? What if the applicaiton
> system you have makes it too expensive? Its easy to
> spread on small acreage, but not on large areas.
> Think about spreading compost in 5,000 acres......
>
> A great deal easier to apply as a liquid form. And
> thus, compost tea is a better choice.
>
> You can't make statments that compost is better than
> compost tea, or the other way around, unless you
> consider the specific situation. In certain cases,
> compost is much hte better choice, while in other
> situations, compost tea is the better choice. There
> are even places and conditions where inocula of
> specific organisms is the better choice. Have to
> know the circumstances.....
>
> So when people call me the compost tea queen, don't
> fall for it. I don't care how you get the proper
> set of organisms into your soil and onto your plant
> surfaces. Just get them there.
>
> --
> Elaine Ingham
> President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
> SFI Corvallis, OR
> SFI Port Jefferson, NY
> SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
> SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
> SFI Culiacan, Mexico
> SFI Jerome, Idaho
> SFI South Africa
> http://www.soilfoodweb.com
>
>
=====
Butch Ragland
Conflict is as addictive as
cocaine, alcohol, cigarettes,etc
I'm sorry to report that
cooperation is not
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Received on Fri Dec 31 2004 - 05:42:25 EST
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: Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:15:41 EST