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Re: [compost_tea] mollasses' substitute



Yes, anything containing fairly diverse sugars and proteins would substitute for molasses.  Jeff Lowenfels has been experimenting with many substances and has shown some that work well.  Check the past archives for info.

But realize that there has been a concerted attack on molasses as a food resource.   If people try to "outlaw" molasses as a food resource in compost, or tea, because supposedly molasses causes E. coli to grow, then we'll lose all sugars eventually. 

The point is that sugar, whether those sugars in molasses or other simple sugars, provides for RAPID bacterial growth.  As the bacteria grow that rapidly, oxygen is used up, and the normal AEROBIC organisms that compete with human pathogens are no longer functioning. 

Plate count methods to differentiate aerobic from anaerobic are really silly as well.  Aerobes don't all die because oxygen has become limiting.  Many aerobes just go to sleep.  Although no longer functioning, they will still grow on plate media if they are put on plates in an aerobic incubator.  Plate counts don't allow you determine if the aerobes are FUNCTIONING.  Plate counts tell you if the organisms are present, but the organisms may be present as dormant stages.  Plate count determinations are useless for differentiating aerobic versus anaerobic growth.  

If aerobic bacteria and fungi are no longer functioning, then bacteria that do better in reduced oxygen conditions get first chance at the food resources.  So, if molasses, or other sugars, are present in high enough concentration, after reduced oxygen conditions shut down the activity of the competitors of the human pathogens, then the human pathogens can grow. 

Again, without competition, the human pathogens can win in competition for foods.  When the human pathogens are out-competed by normal aerobic organisms, the pathogens don't grow.  In order to REDUCE the human pathogen numbers, predators like the protozoa must be present to consume the human pathogens.  Yes, there must be some attrition of the human pathogens if they aren't winning for food, but that can be a long term process of attrition.  Having the predators present means the reduction in bacterial biomass is rapid. 

So, don't fall for the line that if we outlaw molasses in compost tea, we'll solve the problem. 

It's just not that simple.  

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com
SFI Oregon, USA
SFI Australia
SFI New York
SFI Europe
SFI New Zealand

"Hope is not a feeling. It is not the belief that things will turn out well, but the conviction that what we are doing makes sense, no matter how things turn out."   --  Vaclav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic


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