Brian,
Glad to hear you've read Paul Tukey's book, it's a great help for people ge=
tting
into organic lawn care. Have you seen his movie, "A Chemical Reaction?" I=
t's
an excellent documentary, I highly recommend it.
My recommendation would be to experiment with your lawn initially and try o=
ut
some of these techniques.
A worm bin would be a good start for castings, which you could then use to =
make
compost tea. A cheap but tested brewer design is available here if you wan=
t to
make your own:
http://microbeorganics.com/#So_You_Wanna_Build_A_Compost_Tea_Brewer
We have a customer who started out with our 5 gal. system and a backpack
sprayer, and would just do one property a day initially. Now he's got a fu=
ll
business, a 100 gallon brewer, and 2 of Tim's 50 gallon Microbulators.
Compost is great, but can be expensive if you want quality. You may want t=
o
start your own pile on your property. If you wish to compost thermally, it=
's
just a matter of balancing your carbon to nitrogen ratios.
http://www.klickitatcounty.org/solidwaste/fileshtml/organics/compostcalc.ht=
m
Personally, I don't see any advantages to using liquid compost extracts on =
a
small scale. You'll get more microbes from less starter material (compost)=
if
you make an aerated tea, and even with compost extracts you would still nee=
d to
purchase equipment. I don't want to start another discussion on the benefi=
ts of
compost extracts versus aerated compost teas, maybe we need another Yahoo g=
roup
for that.
Or, if you're on a really limited budget, you could ditch the teas altogeth=
er
and feed whatever existing microbes are in your lawn. As a minimum, I'd us=
e
seaweed and humic acids. Fish hydrolysate is a good option, but there can =
be a
slight fishy odor (not as bad as emulsion though). I'd also consider doing=
a
core aeration and a one-time mycorrhizal application.
Glad to hear you're going organic and best of luck to you!
Tad Hussey
Keep It Simple, Inc.
________________________________
From: mikethewormguy <mikethewormguy_at_aol.com>
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, March 16, 2011 11:01:49 AM
Subject: [compost_tea] Re: New to Tea
Brian,
my 2 cents......
You may want to start slow with using compost (10-30 yards) and liquid comp=
ost
extracts (50-100 gallons), as a starting point, and work into compost teas=
later, if appropriate.
Have been to your part of the US a number of time arriving via boat from La=
ke
Huron. I especially enjoyed visiting the Detroit US Post Office that deliv=
ers
mail via boat to the commercial ships that cruise by. It is quite a sight t=
o see
that US Postal boat come up along side those 1000 feet ships to deliver and=
pick
up mail.
Have a great day !
Mike Flynn
Green Quest LLC
BioSpecific LLC
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "transportainment_at_..." <pawlik@...> wro=
te:
>
> So I am brand new to organic lawn care, including compost tea, but learne=
d
>about the benefits through Paul Tukey's book.
>
>
> I am not a landscape professional either--just a guy with about a half-ac=
re lot
>that backs up to the Thoroughfare canal on the Detroit River (part of the =
Great
>Lakes).
>
> I'd like to start brewing my own tea and get my property up-to-snuff.
> After I learn the tricks of the trade, I might further entertain the noti=
on of
>an organic landscaping side-business.
>
> Does anyone have a good archived posts or advice for a newbie, that doesn=
't
>have any equipment or a lot of cash to get started?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brian
>
Received on Wed Mar 16 2011 - 16:50:59 EDT