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RE: [compost_tea] Practical Answer for Carol



Hello Carol,

"Elaine mentioned some research that was being done
on e. coli as it moved through the digestive tract of
earthworms.  Has anything more been done on this so we
have some research to defend us if/when we get into
trouble with our organic certifying agency for using
vermicompost?" 

I have come across one paper that might help your defense, "The Effectiveness of Vermicomposting in Human Pathogen Reduction for USEPA Biosolid Stabilization" published in Compost Science and Utilization, 2001, Vol. 9, No.1, 38-49.  They tested how effective vermicomposting was at reducing Salmonella, fecal coliform, enteric viruses, and helminth ova in biosolids.  They found very significant reductions of all four pathogens / indicators after only 6 days.  Their conclusion was that vermicomposting could be used as an effective alternative for Class A biosolids stabilization.  

I think that if vermicomposting is effective at pathogen reduction in biosolids, than it will probably work with compost also, but that's just a guess!! ;)

Check out the paper at http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/michel/csu.pdf

Hope everyone is staying warm. 

Matthew Ryan 
Research Technician 
The Rodale Institute
611 Siegfriedale Road 
Kutztown, PA 19530
(610) 683-1405
 

-----Original Message-----
From: carol burns [mailto:fscb@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 6:56 PM
To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [compost_tea] Practical Questions


I'm from the group in the KC area who are trying to
figure out the best current practices for compost tea
so we can use them in our vegetable operations, and
we've come across a couple of areas we are wanting
more information: 

1.  When we spray compost as a soil drench or as a
foliar spray, do we need to take out the filters so we
aren't screening out the fungi?  (For example, our
farm uses a Fimco 14 gal sprayer, which has 2 pretty
standard sized screens.)  Additionally, most of us
generally run anything we are going to spray through
something like a pair of pantyhose, to avoid plugging.
 Will this capture the fungi we worked so hard to
grow? 
2.  In the Kansas City area, we benefit from the
southern heat and the northern cold, which means that
we'd be brewing compost tea in 100 degrees plus as
well as days that get into the teens.  How will this
affect the microorganisms?  Can we brew it in the
shade (90s) or will we need to find a cooler spot? 
3.  Elaine mentioned some research that was being done
on e. coli as it moved through the digestive tract of
earthworms.  Has anything more been done on this so we
have some research to defend us if/when we get into
trouble with our organic certifying agency for using
vermicompost? 

Thanks, much.  This list is incredibly informative and
I'm glad you all are here as a resource! 

Katherine Kelly 
Full Circle Farm 


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