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Re: [compost_tea] Nematodes



Hi Mike - 

The idea of the compost tea is to provide an inoculum of beneficial nematodes, not to supply the total population that would be needed per gram of soil.  

I have only seen two composts in my life that contains adequate beneficial nematodes to even provide the inoculum you would desire.  So, this part of the foodweb has yet to be built in most composts.  You have to compost correctly in order to have the beneficials you want, and most people do not compost correctly.  

As I recall, the only two composts that provide adequate beneficials are Pogo's compost, from the east coast, and the Alaska Humus.  There are instances where even these materials do not provide the nematodes you want, so it is a bit of a variable.  But most of the the time, they do provide the beneficials you want.  

It is much easier getting VAM or ectomycorrhizal colonization 
to combat the root-feeding nematodes than getting the beneficial nematodes.  It is easier to establish decent fungal biomass than it is to get the nematode community right.  

So, in terms of the next great frontier, getting beneficial nematodes back into people's compost will be that cutting edge.  

Nematodes do not reproduce in compost tea.  If a female has laid eggs in the soil or compost, all those eggs hatch, typically, in the compost tea however.   So, you can go from a few nematodes per ml of tea, to hundreds, not because the nematodes go throug ha life cycle, but because egg hatch occurs.  Does egg hatch rate as reporduction?  Interesting question.  Not really reproduction, but it is an increase in living nematode numbers per gram of material. 

Hope this helps -

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
Corvallis, OR
Port Jefferson, NY
Lismore, NSW, Australia
Hilversum, The Netherlands
www.soilfoodweb.com

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