Re: [compost_tea] The chemical world

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 11:27:52 -0800

----- Original Message -----
  From: Robert Norsen
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 12:44 AM
  Subject: Re: [compost_tea] The chemical world


  Hi Nick- Thatch a lawn in 30 minutes? - It takes 30 minutes to apply th=
e ACT to a lawn that needs thatching, That is the 30 minute I talked about.=
 I am one guy that put that kind of idea out intending it to get some caref=
ul understanding. 30 minutes to APPLY THE ACT. Then within the time that=
 it takes to mechanically thatch and re-establish a good looking lawn About=
 30 days with moderate watering, bacteria will have reduced the thatch enou=
gh to allow the grass to grow well. Repeated applications twice or more a =
season, continued use of ACT for lawn care will keep the thatch from devel=
oping. What would have been thatch is nutrients. This is not proven by te=
st patches. This is true from years of lawn care without thatching being re=
quired. Lush, thick, healthy grass with no evident thatch. Your answer to=
 their questions " No, hell no" may undermine ACT as much as the claim that=
 was not understood. The claim needed and expected some ongoing discussion =
or explanation that I think was in the body of the claim article. Maybe the=
y just read or remembered the headline. What a wonderful chance you had to =
explain ACT to a great group!!

This does not answer the numbers of people out there making incredible clai=
ms to people. I have just run into another person who called and wanted to=
 spray some CT as a pesticide because someone who made brewers told them it=
 would work repelling aphids and as a side benefit control the spread of sn=
ails and slugs. I had to dispel this disinformation. Luckily, I will get =
a customer but the numbers of "ites" who are out there spreading rumor and =
inuendo based on what they "hope" CT will do is legion in comparison to tho=
se who are not.

Oh, another thing. CT will not revolutionalize ag. So let's stop that rid=
iculous statement. CT is still a variable and is not stable enough to make =
claims that will work every time in every situation. Take a look at the Ok=
lahoma monograph I posted for a look at how nutrients are cycled in the soi=
l/plant relationship.

Now, does it work? You bet and the more research I do, the more convinced I=
 become. I think Elaine has something when she says that the soils contain=
 enough nutrient to establish a sustainable practice without massive chemic=
al inputs. But there are situations that are still misunderstood and the w=
ord "massive" has a connotation that is necessarily negative.

I am rereading "Soil Ecology" by Ken Killham. So before anyone goes off on=
 what and what not CT can do, I would suggest reading this book. He even g=
ets into the subject of GMOs and foreign DNA/RNA distributed into the soil.=
 Does he write about CT? No. But he writes about all the processes that CT =
can affect and if those aren't understood it is very difficult to make supp=
ortable claims.

We know that CT can supply biology and fungi to the soil. These use nutrien=
ts and work to supply other nutrients. Interesting in that these biota don'=
t give a whit if the nutrient is chemical or organic and depending on quali=
ty of fertilizer used, chemical fertilizers may be MORE beneficial overall =
than any organic source. Mostly we suffer from conditions of overuse of fe=
rtilizers which causes run off and other conditions such as salt build up. =
 

So instead of touting something we hope will work a certain way based on st=
atements that support the hoped for premise, I would caution that there is =
a big reality check out there that's going to whack the whole industry. I =
have talked with Nick and I find him to be a very rational, pragmatic perso=
n. He supports tea and uses tea but he doesn't run around making statement=
s that are, at their core, untrue or at the very minimum unsupportable. I =
would bet that Nick has far more successful turf experience than any of us =
on this list.

As for CT being or acting as an insecticide:

I'll bet if you let the tea get really anaerobic and apply it, it will kill=
 of a lot of the soil biota and possibly harm the plants. I will have to d=
o some tests to see if this is true so it's just an assumption right now. =
But CT eradicating infestations? Read the paper that Steve Diver

Ted Peterson
EW/SOE









Received on Fri Jan 21 2005 - 16:19:31 EST

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