Re: [compost_tea] Re: Fwd: compost tea applications - persistance

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2002 01:31:38 EST

Hi Bob -

If only the Growing Solutions and Soil Soup people would get their heads on
straight, the world of compost tea could forge ahead faster. But we have to
bring the recalcitrant along with the rest of us. We waste time having to
educate them, over and over.

And if anyone doesn't believe that they have been harmful to the world of
compost tea, just look at what Growing Solutions did with the work with BBC
Labs. We could have avoided all that frou-ha-ha with the Compost Task Force
if the OMRI recommendation had just been followed from the very beginning.

Sigh. Can their ignorance harm the rest of us? Very clearly, yes. Would
there be less likelihood of harm if they would communicate with the rest of
the world of compost tea before doing stupid and ignorant things on their
own? Very clearly, yes.

How do we get them to stop messing things up? I'm open to any suggestions
that the rest of the community would like to make.

Garden writers - historically, is there a way to shut down people like this?
What are the steps involved? How can you help us make sure that people who
don't want to have any standards imposed on them, because their sales might
be hurt, see the light of reason, and start communicating with the rest of
the world before they mess up again?

Anyway, back to the rest of Bob's question. Green cover crops through the
winter supply a source of food, as do the residues of harvested plants, for
soil microbes.
Active, growing bacterial-dominated plants help bacteria while
fungal-dominated plants help fungi.


When these questions were being discussed one sharp gal suggested >
> that over the eons native soils were reported by the expert(ELAINE)
> to be generally very rich in microbes. Therefore microbes must
> normally prosper in natural soil on native plants. But there needs
> to be plants and roots to complete the soildfoodweb for the mocrobes
> to persist. Am I on the right track? Passionately, Bob

The particular set of microbes that the particular plant needs will be
benefitted. and their residues must remain as foods to get the microbes
through the winter.

When we plow and till soil, we cause bacteria to bloom, and burn off those
organic residues much more rapidly, leading to bacterial dominated soils, and
loss of organic matter. This has been documented over and over and over in
agriculture. Plow too much, lose organic matter, lose soil fertility and the
soil life that maintains fertility. To return fertility to the soil, you
have to have the right organisms, the right foods and maintain the habitat
right for the plants you want to grow.

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com



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Received on Tue Dec 10 2002 - 21:44:58 EST

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