I hear you, Tad. It is an indirect observation over many different
experiments in regards to the sea minerals changing the nature of the brew.
They are clear and would not alter the color of water. It doesn't prove
anything, other than the increased activity we note under the microscope.
Color and foam are not metrics to define good compost tea. The same way brix
is not for claiming nutrient dense food.
Here's what I think is happening with Earth Tonic. Microbes use elements as
co-factors to create enzymes, which allow them to do their work. The same
bacteria may make myriad different enzymes if given the co-factor to do so.
In other words, all enzymes cannot be created without all elements. Not
having all elements in a compost tea brew or root zone is like hiring
someone to build a house with half the tools. If they can do it at all it is
going to take them much longer. I am positing that from the presence of ALL
minerals in a natural form that the microbes are simply more capable of
doing their work more efficiently and in a more diverse way. One may say
that it takes them a shorter amount of time to do what the non-Tonic brew
does, OR, as I think is happening, the presence of all minerals allows them
to create a more textured plant food.
Segway into the conversation on nutrient cycling. When stores distribute tea
out of a perpetual brew from a Vortex Brewer they are working with growers
who are many times not really trying to set up a soil food web. If this is
the angle it may make more sense to brew for shorter amounts of time, that
is if you can determine that this aspect of the food chain is deficient.
(Per previous posts, this has not been established, but is the future). They
may be growing with hydroponics or hand watering containers, etc. In this
application, simply having a solution that has been created by microbes
(plant food), even with an "unbalanced" compost tea, is a net positive.
Especially in hydroponics. That's not to say that a brew is unbalanced when
run perpetually. In the end questioning the meaning of "balance".it's all
relative to your perspective and application, which is why we can never
agree about all of this stuff. J It's also what keeps it interesting.
Hopefully, what we can come to is an understanding of how to brew a compost
tea based on the application - fungicide, biological balance, container
gardening, hydroponics, etc. This would include stage of growth and plant
grown. Imagine we had a feeding schedule that described how long to brew and
what food sources to use based on the stage of growth and plant being grown?
We have barely started to move in that direction and have a long way to go..
Be a farmer, start a garden.
Evan Folds
Progress Earth
6005 Oleander Dr
Wilmington, NC 28403
910-777-5372 ext # 1
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Received on Fri Apr 22 2011 - 14:44:28 EDT