Re: [compost_tea] Information for Newcomer

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 14:14:42 -0800


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: soilfoodweb_at_aol.com
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 12:23 PM
  Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Information for Newcomer


  So, the biology in the tea at the beginning, when the tea is finished, is=
 immediate information that we can use to know that the tea will give the r=
esponse we want.
  Yes, this is important and formulas should reflect that tea brewed with h=
ighly active, diverse compost can give good numbers with the diversity inhe=
rent in the compost.

  What we are doing with brewing is multiplying the benefits of the compost=
 and transporting it in a different form to the field. Using this approach=
 has shown some positive benefits in plant health and disease resistance. =
However, we are back to the compost. It doesn't matter which brewer is use=
d, compost with low diversity will give tea with the same characteristics. =
 Compost with high diversity will give tea with the same characteristics.

  I would have to say that experimenters should test when they change input=
s. However, the results will change depending on the compost used regardle=
ss of which inputs are used.

  I brewed about 20 batches using sugars. I used raw, molasses, processed,=
 honey, beet, cane and even tried a batch with rock candy. You know what? =
 My biomass all looked similar under the microscope. All the batches behav=
ed similarly at specific points in the brewing process. All developed at s=
imilar rates. Now, what couldn't I see or test? Diversity. My process did=
n't tell me that the sugar was operating the same for all the critters in t=
he compost. Also, I didn't test the compost so I never knew the diversity =
of that compost. I knew it was diverse because of how it was constructed a=
nd treated but without testing, I could not be 100% sure. However, if I te=
ll someone to aerate water, add such and such nutrients and so much compost=
. I know that they will get multiples based on The Second Law of Thermodyn=
amics. It has to happen that way unless one of my inputs is a threat to th=
e organisms. They will grow as long as there is food and air. They will s=
top growing when they use up either. It's my understanding that food goes =
first because the air is contstantly being applied but using Newton again, =
we have the situation where the capacity of the water to hold air and the e=
nergy it takes the critters to utilize that air and metabolize the food hit=
s a point that we can have too much food for the amount of air. Growing st=
ill takes place but the ceiling isn't created by food supplies but the amou=
nt of air (measured as dissolved O2) water can hold.

  What I did know was that for bacterial multiples, the kind of sugar didn'=
t matter. I even got fungal extraction but that may be because of the natu=
ral humic acids in the compost that diluted in the water and facilitated fu=
ngal extraction.


  Documenting the actual plant response is important too.

  When people do plate counts of bacteria to assess compost tea quality, th=
ere is no correlation between the plate count results and improvement in pl=
ant health. So, people doing plate counts and claiming that tells them wh=
ether the tea is any good are just fooling themselves. Plate methods canno=
t the true diversity in any sample.

  Plate methods are fine for doing counts of organisms that you know grow i=
n certain conditions, but not for understanding diversity.

  We are back to diversity again and again. If you don't have diversity in=
 your compost, you will not have diversity in your tea. If you do not add =
nutrients that the critters can use as food (Sugar isn't the only food I us=
e but it works for multiples of bacteria without regard for diversity. The=
se when applied to the soil will go to sleep and can be food for other orga=
nisms. Sprayed on a leaf, they can, for a brief time, outcompete potential=
 diseases.)
  Anyway, as I said before and will say again. Elaine know more about this=
 that anyone else. She has been doing it longer and has developed most, if=
 not all, of the methodology for testing. I think she has even done an amo=
unt of field work with positive results so. . .

  I have only been doing this for two years but I have seen tea work. I ha=
ve tested soils that show tea works. I have seen the results in parks that=
 show that the claims made for turf root growths are true. I have seen pow=
dery mildew outbreaks controlled by using compost tea foliar applied. I ha=
ve seen it work and been paid for it working as I said it would. I have br=
ewers I have designed being used in waste water treatment plants to produce=
 tea that helps control vectors and speed the process of curing human bioso=
lids. I even have a solar powered brewer that can get bacterial multiples =
in under 10 hours. In other words, it aerates enough to give the bacteria =
enough energy to utilize the food and double during daylight hours. I'm no=
t writing about diversity because that all depends on. . . Care to guess? =
Yes, that's it. It all comes back to the compost.


  Ted Peterson
  Earth-Wise/Spirit of the Earth



Received on Mon Feb 23 2004 - 23:05:31 EST

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