Bottled Compost Tea

[Microbeman]

I was about to post in the thread that was withdrawn. Perhaps 2nd can post the link here to the bottled/bagged product he was refering to and perhaps others can post some other brands here to discuss or look at.

Here is what my post was/is: It answers some questions in the 'gone' thread.

Xbotx; I am Microbeman, www.microbeorganics.com Jeff is Jeff Loewenfels, a friend of mine who wrote Teaming With Microbes along with Wayne Lewis. Elaine Ingham is a Phd. who was involved in some research in 1985/6? and has done a lot to disseminate information concerning (aerobic) microbial based horticulture in North America and Australia. She is adept at conveying the overall picture to growers but often falls down on the details and sometimes appears to not keep current with contemporary research. SFI is a company she started to sell various services associated with (aerobic) microbial based horticulture.

Somebody; I believe CC posted info on this product previously.

I have not examined it myself. CTGuy may have. I would imagine it to be similar to Terra Cycle, which I did examine and found that it could be 'woken up' in 24 hours with molasses.. If it was living ACT, the protozoa would quickly eat all the bacteria after the bacteria ate all the fungal hyphae.

 

[jaykush]

i bottled fresh compost tea once. then that bottle blew up from pressure.

 

[secondtry]

Hey MM,

Thanks for your input. It's pretty much my feelings too (about the bottled compost tea). I asked JayKush to delete the thread due to bickering from Mad.L and I (MadL is now is on my ignore list for life). I asked JK to delete my thread so I could start a new one, but you already did that for me, thanks!

It sounds like Terra Cycle is LCE, I assume the bottled Compost Tea is also LCE...

If CTGuy has looked at this product I would love to hear his opinion.



Here is my original post:

Nature's Solutions works very closely with Dr. Ingham at SFI. I am not endorsing this product, in fact I am very skeptical of it. But I thought I would post about it considering it's now for sale at BgHydro.

I plan to carry out DME (Direct Microscope Enumeration) as per MM's DVDs once I get the product in two weeks.



LINKS:

(website of Nature's Solutions)
http://www.nature-technologies.com/Compost_Tea.html

Compost Tea is now available after five years of extensive research. The tea comes ready-to-use in a "breathable" package. The air allowed to come inside the package creates an oxygen-rich environment and gives the tea a long shelf life.

Dilute the compost tea in the bag by using 2 gallons of water with the 2 quarts of tea. Dilute at the rate of 4:1 (4 parts water to 1 part tea) when smaller amounts needed. Apply diluted tea to soil or spray on plants weekly during the growing season.

Two quarts will treat 380 square feet of soil for general use. Use 5 quarts of concentrated tea for every 1,000 square feet of turf or landscaping area (1 lb.N/1,000 sq ft). Apply monthly during the growing season.

(link to BgHydro)
http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=NOCTNT64&eq=&Tp=

Now you can use compost tea without having a machine! Each two quart bag makes two and one half gallons of Actively Aerated Compost Tea. A stabilized compost tea product with ACTIVE organisms, now available with a shelf life of over one year!

Revolutionary research has just been completed to enable a stabilized compost tea product with ACTIVE organisms to now become available with over a ONE YEAR SHELF LIFE! Testing was conducted through the Soil Foodweb Laboratories. approved for Organic Production by the Guaranteed Organic Certification Agency.

Compost tea offers amazing benefits to plants in all stages of growth, from cuttings to mature and flowering plants. Watch roots systems grow like never before, increase foliage and yield, and reduce pests (especially spider mites, molds and mildews) all with a single product.

 

[secondtry]

I looked all over the Natures Solutions website but I could not find a single assay from their "five years of extensive research"; that makes me very skeptical becuase I think they would want tout the data, not hide it...

 

[NUG-JUG]

i bottled fresh compost tea once. then that bottle blew up from pressure.

haha wow! how long did it take to blow?

 

[jaykush]

it happened some years ago. but if i remember correctly it was 2-3 days after in mid summer so it was hot outside.

 

[secondtry]

JK, thats too funny, talk about spreading microbes!


I like MM's suggestion of people posting other bottled 'compost tea' products for review in this thread. I for one think it is LCE, not ACT.

 

[mad librettist]

Thanks microbeman, that was helpful.

So what's your guess? Would spraying dormant tea with a food source provide the same benefit as aerated tea from fresh humus?

 

[Microbeman]

Thanks microbeman, that was helpful.

So what's your guess? Would spraying dormant tea with a food source provide the same benefit as aerated tea from fresh humus?

First of all Mad, let's address your 'new found word' humus which you are using in reference to compost (I think). I believe I've stated on this forum (but perhaps not) that I consider quality thermophilic compost and vermicompost to be very close to humus. Those who know me well probably are almost weary of hearing me repeat that over the past 10 to 15 years I've watched the definition of compost deteriorate from something that has no resemblance whatsoever to its original ingredients and smells like earth to something with pieces of wood in it. Compost is now often described as something that can be created in 2 or 3 weeks and that all it requires is to be microbially active and not degraded. This is one of those things I 'believe' I've heard from the SFI crowd and I just do not buy it. [However, there is a juvenile form of immature compost which can be had in 2 to 3 weeks and can be used to make compost tea and this is from whence the confusion arises IMO] Can we call this humus? I certainly say no. Should we call finished compost/vermicast humus? Only if verified as so. (see the attached PDF; 2 schools of thought) Should we go around calling compost 'humus'? I say no. Most compost does not qualify.

If the liquid in question is liquid compost extract (LCE) of good quality applying it to soil combined with or in tandem to foodstock is very beneficial. The advantage to ACT over LCE is that ACT can be fine tuned as to microbial content prior to application.

If the liquid is a brewed tea which has been forced into dormany (usually with 3% phosphoric acid) then I think it should be brewed/activated prior to use. This does not compare with ACT made with good quality compost.

 

[jaykush]

Can we call this humus?

i say hell no, good humus formation takes time.

 

[mad librettist]

well as you can see I am struggling to find a word out of dissatisfaction with compost as a way to describe the end product of composting. A compost is a composite. Bokashi, a blurring or smearing, seems to describe the same aspect of the practice, which is in the making, not the ending.

My views on the etymology of the word composting, and of its use in an international setting, are known and perhaps not the best discussion for this thread. I realize I am swimming against the local tides. Suffice to say I believe in going back before such a thing as a composting council existed. And I belong to a group of people who make something they refer to as compost which is not at all what you call it. I have a natural reason to defend a broader use of the word compost, though i admit I've not found the way to do it.

but hey, what do you care? You know what I mean. Jesus, I've seen enough confusing acronyms to wonder why anyone would care about my fiddling with vocab.

f the liquid in question is liquid compost extract (LCE) of good quality applying it to soil combined with or in tandem to foodstock is very beneficial. The advantage to ACT over LCE is that ACT can be fine tuned as to microbial content prior to application.

If the liquid is a brewed tea which has been forced into dormany (usually with 3% phosphoric acid) then I think it should be brewed/activated prior to use. This does not compare with ACT made with good quality compost.

thank you this information will help quite a few people!

and thank you for the humus pdf.

 

[Microbeman]

And I belong to a group of people who make something they refer to as compost which is not at all what you call it.

Really? What is it that you and others make which is called compost but is so far flung from what I described?

 

[mad librettist]

people who make bokashi compost... and as the end result of my bokashi fermentation is still a composite of identifiable scraps, the word compost makes more sense to me as a relative of composite or compote.

 

[Microbeman]

Huh? I was mixing it up with the EM crowd years ago and I've heard it described as bokashi which composts rapidly when mixed with soil or into a compost heap.

 

[mad librettist]

I guess it's evolved? Or I belong to a subset using radical prolixity? Pure imagination?

Anyway that's my story. Not everyone's a scientist. To me it's all a story we tell to establish a reality. But you have to admit, considering the latin origin, and the way a word like that would likely be invented (people ignorant of microbes describing an action or set of actions), you can call me lots of things but don't call me ill-informed. I just made a choice you disagree with.

Hey, why don't we PM or start a new thread to discuss this. People are going to feel the need to take sides and get anxious, and we will make work for Jay or Von. And I'm going to get yelled at for talking about stuff no one cares about, and the thread will get ruined. 2ndtry already had a bad time with the first attempt, and now he has me on super permanent ultra mega lifetime ignore or whatever. Which kinda blows I guess.

 

[Microbeman]

No. I'm gonna take my dog out of that hunt. It's good enough to know that if I go to buy compost at the nursery, I don't get pickles. <GRIN>

 

[secondtry]

Hey all,

I just ordered some of that "compost tea" and I should have it in a week or so. Then I will take a look at at after I mix it up with water (by following the directions exactly).

I plan to mix it up and drench my media (Fafard FOF 30 for this next grow as a test of the FOF30) a couple of weeks before I plan to use transfer clones into the media, hopefully in that time frame the herd can grow and become stable. I will carry out media soil food web assays (before I add the clone) to see what the SFW look like from the "compost tea". I plan to feed the microbes hydrolyzed fish and molasses.

Fun times! (while I don't expect great results from the assays I am pretty interested in it)

Anyone have suggestions for my testing?

 

[mad librettist]

yeah, use it to break in that microscope of yours. Just take a peak and see if it lives.


(I'm in super duper ultimate triple lifetime double afterlife ignore, so someone else suggest this)

No. I'm gonna take my dog out of that hunt. It's good enough to know that if I go to buy compost at the nursery, I don't get pickles. <GRIN>

compote de bokashi is very much adored by dogs, and makes their bellies stop making weird sounds, and cleans up the breath.

 

[Microbeman]

Hey all,

I just ordered some of that "compost tea" and I should have it in a week or so. Then I will take a look at at after I mix it up with water (by following the directions exactly).

I plan to mix it up and drench my media (Fafard FOF 30 for this next grow as a test of the FOF30) a couple of weeks before I plan to use transfer clones into the media, hopefully in that time frame the herd can grow and become stable. I will carry out media soil food web assays (before I add the clone) to see what the SFW look like from the "compost tea". I plan to feed the microbes hydrolyzed fish and molasses.

Fun times! (while I don't expect great results from the assays I am pretty interested in it)

Anyone have suggestions for my testing?

Yes; do a control with water and a comparison with aerated compost tea. and comparison where the tea is not used until the plant is planted.

Check before and after planting. Theoretically the soil food web (the one we want) does not exist without plants.

 

[CT Guy]

The "Instant Compost Tea" product I examined was from Mother Earth Organics. Found no active bacteria, no fungi or protozoa. Added molasses and kept checking every 12 hours and found a bit of motile bacteria after 36 hours but I'm guessing it may have been from airborne contaminants, rather than what was in the bottle. I can't comment on it's effects when applied to a plant, but it looked nothing like ACT under a microscope (which is what they claim it to be comparable to).

I know that there are many "Instant compost tea" products out there. I suppose if you don't have the time/energy/space to make ACT or want to add specific biology or are transitioning into trying biological vs conventional horticulture, then it has a small niche. I would never waste my money on it though.