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Re: [compost_tea] Fungi food tested.



Jeff,

I always look forward to the latest fungal foods you test.  I am
curious what fungi are eating the various foods you are testing? How do
we know that the fungi we grow in our composts with these foods are
beneficial? If we have an SFI test on our compost that shows good fungal
numbers and good diversity and we feed those fungi do we assume that the
beneficials are going to out compete the phytophthora, fusarium,
rhizoctonia, pythium and the like that may be present.  What is the list
of core beneficial fungi we should be trying to grow in our composts?

I recently heard a talk by Olaf Ribeiro of Ribeiro Plant Lab where he
talked about running test for fungal pathogens on several of the
commercially available composts (most are derived from yard waste)  in
the Seattle area and most of them came back positive. Practically
speaking most of us are not going to make compost tea from compost that
we bought in a bag from the local store, however some people will. 

Just my thoughts.

Happy New Year,

Dan

       

Dan Shepherd, aka "Dr. Doo"
Compost Coordinator 
Woodland Park Zoo
dan.shepherd@zoo.org
http://zoo.org/zoo_info/special/zoodoo.htm
206-684-4828 (direct)
206-625-POOP (POOP Hotline)
206-615-0909 (fax)

"Woodland Park Zoo Doo -- it is not just compost, it is a movement."

>>> jeff@gardener.com 12/28/02 04:05PM >>>
I just finished an experiment with Hendrikus Schraven's  "Complete"
fertilizer to see if it would grow fungi in my "compost."  I would rank
it
right up there with the soy meal and pabulum oatmeal.

 It is a blend of feather meal, bone meal, k-mag (potash), alfalfa meal
and
kelp. I've included the site which is well worth touring. Hendrikus and
his
staff are great folks and there is a lot of good tea information
there.

Of course....the ingredients say it all so I don't 'consider this a
commercial. You can get your own alfalfa (grows great fungi in two
tests so
far) as well as the meals. What ever is the cheapest source that will
grow
fungi in your compost is all you need. You don't need the blend. Once
you
can get good fungi growing in your compost, you can concentrate on the
machine that extracts it.

You can't grow in your tea what isn't in your compost.....

Cheers,

Jeff L



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