Hi Peter,
I think she is just using compost tea as a tool in closing the loop, uti=
lizing sustainable inputs and as an alternative to chemical fertilizer. I j=
oined this group as a home gardener in hopes of finding a means to know for=
sure when I have a handful of healthy soil it is indeed healthy. Not by si=
ght or smell but by a scientific test or perhaps a microscopic snapshot bec=
ause I will be honest I have been easily fooled in the past. I grow just ab=
out everything in 3.5-5.0 gallon plastic containers and I purchase a few ya=
rds of topsoil every year. So I thought I would start at the beginning, soi=
l health so here I am. This group and the main group that answers questions=
and banters back and forth have been a wealth of information. Even your po=
st sends me off to research what you have posted and I am not here to debat=
e because I have been looking for research that I believe you felt this stu=
dy should have reported.
I am in Conn. and if this study started last fall for twelve weeks, we w=
ill have to wait till spring to really see the results and with the snow Ne=
w Haven got hit with they may say it was the snow that is the difference, p=
oor man's nitrogen and all. Any study or research that gets people and/or i=
nstitutions into composting and curious about compost tea than I have to ta=
ke a wait and see. I think she has only begun. Between this and Harvard Yar=
d, compost tea is getting some advertisement and that is a good thing.
Dan in Ct Zone 6A Where it is always good to see the bright side unless o=
f course you are staring at the sun.
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Peter" <peter_at_...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi folks;
>
> I just came across a published paper entitled "Closing the Loop:
> Alternative Land Management at Yale". The paper's root is located at
> http://environment.yale.edu/hixon/student-research/student-research-inte\
> rns/
> <http://environment.yale.edu/hixon/student-research/student-research-int\
> erns/>
>
> The paper is located here;
> http://environment.yale.edu/hixon/files/pdf/2010_Emily_Stevenson.pdf
> <http://environment.yale.edu/hixon/files/pdf/2010_Emily_Stevenson.pdf>
>
> Does anyone else find this paper a bit shocking? Here's another case of
> flawed methodology and misunderstanding on how biological systems
> perform in the real world.
>
> There seems to be a complete disconnect on how compost tea is made.
>
> * Too many foods (certainly an anerobic tea they're referencing here)
> * No testing of compost tea
> * No mention of brewer design aside from a 'bubbler'
> * No DO data
>
> No testing on their 'food waste' compost.
>
> No mention of microscopy...at all.
>
> Flawed methodology in before/after soil testing. Only bacteria are
> measured using narrow range of foods. Where's the data on fungi,
> nematodes and prots??
>
> There's a misunderstanding of organic matter accumulation in soils. Can
> we expect appreciable increase in OM using 1,500 grams of compost,
> making tea, diluting 1:1 and applying multiple times in a 6 X 6 meter
> area?
>
> There's a major disconnect as to how to apply CT on a large scale and
> even the basics of equipment involved. It reads as though they're quite
> resistant to changing there current chemical system.
>
> I see lots of logarythmic scatter gram but not much in the way of
> science.
>
> I'd expect to see somthing more substantial. This is a dissapointment
> from an institution as fine as Yale.
>
Received on Tue Feb 15 2011 - 13:07:11 EST