Compost teas are not one thing. Quite the contrary--each batch is unique in its particular population of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. Therefore, many questions may have no concrete "right" or "wrong" answers. We encourage participants in these discussions to remember that we are all working together as researchers towards a common goal--to rejuvenate the soils in our agricultural environments. All ideas are welcome, particularly when backed by practical experiance.
Compost teas and EM [effective microorganisms] products are used by gardeners, viticulturests, farmers, and lawn care specialists. Many are hesitant (for good reason) to change from using chemical sprays and fertilizers. A crop failure is serious business for a farmer or viticulterest. To make the change overnight may, in fact not be a good idea. Test plots are the norm. However, home gardeners are encouraged to go 'native' quickly, and the positive results should become obvious.
We shall begin with the prologue from my book Compost Tea Making as an introduction.
~~~~~~~Prologue~~~~~~~
What Is Compost Tea?
The chemistry may be complex, but the concept is simple. Compost is placed into a bucket of water, and air is pumped into the bottom of the bucket, percolating up through the tea and soil. Aerobic bacteria, protozoa, and fungi grow and flourish in the presence of all of the oxygen. Compost tea is a brewed water extract of compost in which beneficial microbes and fungi are encouraged to multiply.
Using compost tea is like using compost multiplied by 100. One of the great things about compost tea is how little compost it takes to make a large batch of tea!
Compost tea is concentrated, and is often diluted with water prior to application. It can be used for either a root fertilizer or a foliar spray. The benefits of compost tea on the roots and leaves of plants are many, and will be discussed later. It’s enough to say that compost tea greatly improves the health of plants.
Compost tea has no strong odor, only a faint pleasing earthy smell, so it can be used for your inside plants as well as outside. Therefore, it may be brewed indoors as well as outdoors.
What is described in this text in detail is a method for the creation of compost tea. While many roads may lead to Rome, this method is by far the most commonly used, being that it is easy, safe, reliable, inexpensive, and extremely effective.
These techniques involve the culturing and preening of beneficial aerobic (oxygen loving) microbes, while in turn discouraging the growth of anaerobic (oxygen avoiding) organisms. That theme runs throughout this treatise, until the final chapter, when we will add an interesting twist by suggesting the introduction of some specific beneficial anaerobes to enhance our already powerful aerobic compost tea blends.
The widespread use of compost tea is inevitable, as it is easy to make, and the single most powerful tool any type of horticulturist can have in their arsenal, whether they be a commercial grower or a backyard gardener.
Compost tea is a microbial concentrate loaded with beneficial bacteria and fungi. When that huge microbial population is turned loose into your garden, orchard, vineyard or lawn, you are effectively re-introducing beneficial healthy life forms into your environment. These are some of the very same types of organisms that should have been there in the first place. Your plants will immediately respond favorably, as they will be receiving the nutrients they need naturally as a result of the microbes being there.
The plants initial positive response is only the beginning of a dramatic uptrend in their overall health. Eventually, not only will they be getting more (and more complex) nutrients, but the soil in the root zone will better retain moisture, have increased aeration, and the roots will be more protected from predation. The roots of any plant will therefore grow considerably larger.
Likewise, in the leaf zone the foliage will receive more nutrients and be better protected from diseases and pests.
Here is an analogy of conventional agriculture. Imagine plants growing in soil with no life in it, waiting for their next shot of fertilizer. The plants are in prison, receiving food adequate for their survival, but not for any quality of life. They live in a sterile hell, producing fruit because they love to do so. However, the fruit is tasteless, and the plants are weak and anemic, rendering them prone to attack from the barbarian hordes—diseases and insects.
In a healthy agricultural environment, plants and beneficial microbes have various complex symbiotic relationships. They consider pests and diseases to be vulgar and uncivilized, and send volunteers out to attack and neutralize them.
By harnessing the power of the microbial world for the benefit of your plants and yourself, your environment can be much healthier—naturally.
Imagine, your empire could be huge, with billions of workers willing to tirelessly maintain it—for free!
The reader is encouraged to read the entire book. We have included a bit of soft science, with some technical terminology-much of which may not be important to remember. What is important is to grasp the general idea of it, which the science will eloquently help in the understanding and nature of compost tea.
Please share your experiences in our forum at:
compostteamaking.com
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