http://www.deq.state.or.us/nwr/Compost%20BMPs.pdf
Additional research is needed to provide data that would indicate that
compost tea
helps in alleviating soil compaction at greater than shallow soil depths.
Although project data is available to demonstrate the benefits of compost
tea for
maintaining, improving, and fertilizing vegetation, no data was found to
support the
assumption that compost tea will improve porosity and drainage of compacted
soils.
Page 15 of 23
Compost Tea:
Compost Tea is the liquid that is derived from soaking compost in water.
Compost Tea has
been shown in research and in several test projects to greatly improve
vegetation resistance
to disease, enhance root growth, reestablish the soil biota, and generally
provide nutrients
to vegetation. It is suspected that the use of compost tea can penetrate
compacted soils and
help reestablish the pores need for good infiltration. Further research is
needed to establish
or disprove this.
Since compaction of soils restricts root growth, bushes and trees need deep
penetration
techniques in order to provide health deep root structures. A devise called
a Grow Gun
could be used to fracture compacted soils to greater depth and compost tea
could then be
injected through the Grow Gun into these fractures to provide the biota for
the healthy root
growth. The Grow Gun uses compressed air to fracture soils in an average of
twelve feet
diameter coverage areas. Granular or liquid additives can then be injected
through the
Grow Gun. This method has been used for several years to rescue trees that
become
diseased or that develop root related problems resulting from compaction of
the soil around
the root structure during construction activities.
The benefits of compost tea are:
. Increased disease suppression;
. Nutrients for plants and food resources for microorganisms;
. Injection of microorganisms into the soil which increases the retention o=
f
nutrients,
recycles nutrients into plant-available forms, and accelerates decompositio=
n
of plant
material and toxins:
. Increased nutritional quality of plant produce;
. Reduced negative impacts of chemical-based pesticides, herbicides, and
fertilizers on
beneficial microorganisms; and
. Improved plant growth.
Compost Tea is made by placing mature compost in a fine mesh bag and soakin=
g
the bag in
water for from eighteen hours to one week. The volume of the compost should
be a
maximum of ½ the volume of the water container. Frequent stirring or an a=
ir
bubbler
should be used in the water to ensure sufficient oxygen is present so that
the solution does
not go anaerobic.
Received on Thu Jan 20 2005 - 22:23:48 EST