RE: [compost_tea] Jill Clapperton at a no-till conference.

From: Tom Jaszewski <tom_at_livesoil.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 18:03:19 -0800

 

 

 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

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