Re: [compost_tea] Vermi tea as foliar fertilizer
Whew, a lot in your text.
First, 99.9% of the molecules taken in by plants are in ion form. All of t=
he essential nutrients. Very few organic molecules, which are the big guys =
to which your refer, to my knowledge, could ever get through a cell's plasm=
olemma.
Second, foliar feeding is one thing. Foliar spraying with tea is another. I=
n general foliar feeding is not good for those essential nutrients that are=
not mobile once inside the plant. They don't move in the phloem. And, it i=
s impossible to provide enough of the macro nutrients via foliar spraying.
The tea, however, will create a food web on the leaf. Sure you will get som=
e "ingestion," of nutrient, but the reason you would spray, it seems to me,=
is to establish your colony of good microbes to out compete the bad ones.=
Finally, the Law of Minimum applies. You cannot sustain a plant (and have i=
t produce seeds) with just the macro elements. For example, to get your pep=
per to flower you need to make sure you have enough boron. No boron, no pol=
len tubes. It only takes a tiny bit so if you have good compost you have i=
t. Boron is in cell walls and so in compost.
May be I am missing your points?
Teaming with microbes,
Jeff L
Received on Fri Jan 13 2012 - 23:17:01 EST
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: Tue Feb 07 2012 - 13:58:15 EST