Re: [compost_tea] cane fruit
Cane fruit requires fungal dominance in the soil. The CT should have at
least adequate fungal biomass.
Any chance you can come to an SFI workshop to learn the basics? I'm doing
one at ACRES next week, and while there are 60 people signed up so far, I
think the room holds more.
More seminars in January and Feb in Corvallis, a couple seminars in Holland
in Feb, one in New Zealand in March, a couple in Australia (Coffs Harbour,
Lismore, Sydney, Perth) in late March, a couple in India in early April, a
couple in South Africa, Chile perhaps, in April.
Check the SFI website (www.soilfoodweb.com) for info
Yes, I like travelling. We need to get the information on how to get soil
healthy again out there to everyone.
The December E-zine will have a HERD of examples of where tea has worked.
You know, no one writes to me to say their tea didn't work. Which may just
mean people figure I'll go ballistic, but I don't go ballistic, unless the
information is put to me in a nasty way. I am human, you know.
If the information is given to me in a true "let's figure this one out"
attitude, I usually ask back, what were the details on production, what was
done? Did you test it? Did you do the "put-it-in-a-sealed-container" and
then open it and smell it the next day? Stink? Not enough aeration. Too
much food? Nozzle opening on the sprayer? Water source? Chlorine? pH?
Cleaning the brewer? Ah, yeah, folks, you have to CLEAN the insides. Get
rid of ALL bio-films after each run! Usually just using a hose to
re-circulate tea down the insides to the tank as you remove the tea works
well. Try not to screen your tea once it is finished. The fungi get lost in
any sediment that builds up on the screen.
Bruce Elliott at EPM is also great at helping people figure out if the water,
the sprayer, etc isn't right. He just solved the mystery of why the folks in
eastern Washington have a hard time making good tea. It's your water.... but
you really have to think, observe and pay attention to figure it out. It's a
detective story all right. I hope Bruce will write it up for the E-zine.
If you have been doing just foliar sprays, and you want to know why you don't
have improvement in soil structure, I'll ask you why you would think there
will be huge improvements if you have been applying to foliage and not the
soil.
So do soil drenches. Fall is the best time, spring the next best time. Both
if you have poor soil structure.
Still no improvement? Then think of the other things you do that might be
harming the organisms. I had that happen - the person was getting pretty
mouthy with me about why wasn't the soil improving when they were out there
spraying every week. I asked him to think about why the organisms might not
be doing better. He gave me a list of about 10 things, including herbicide
use, sulfur applications, copper sprays, tillage, bare soil, etc. My
response was, well, and which one of all of those things would be most
detrimental?
And a month later he got angry at me and claimed I had never responded to his
question why his soil organisms hadn't improved. Go figure! I try to
remember that I get fuzzy headed on occasion too, so I just can't get angry
and upset when other people are human.
Anyway, I want to hear the "it didn't work" stories. We learn from them too,
so I'll put negative stories in the e-zine as well.
Of course, I'll want to work with you on why the tea, or compost, or
applications to improve soil didn't work, so don't tell me things if you
don't want me to work on making them better.
Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com
.
Received on Mon Dec 02 2002 - 12:05:03 EST
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: Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:26:32 EST