Collecting humus.

[GDK]

Hey guys..
I live right next to a small forest, with a variety of trees. I have often wondered if the humus found, if i dig a little under all the leaves covering the ground, would be suited for brew teas for instance, or maybe even in a soil mix..its primarily beeches, and a part where theres lots of pine..i was thinkin about the humus found around the beech area as it looks and smells divine..
Whatcha think?

Stay Safe

 

[Scrappy4]

It might help if we all agreed on a definition of humus, here is wiki's take.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humus

Related to your project you may want to read this thread from a knowledgeable poster on beneficial indigenous micro organisms.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=231062

 

[MileHighGuy]

Also, from reading in Teaming with Microbes and discussing with MicrobeMan it seems that the forest is more fungal dominated and wouldn't lend itself as well with our type of plants.

It would be best to find some "compost" from underneath some bushes or area more similar to our plants than a forest.

 

[Easy7]

I have thought about teas made from local weeds. Some do contain pestacides, a white film cover stems. I have found tree's that rot into a nice compost/humus. This stuff makes a good soil, but it's hard to find. It's amazing what can be found in the woods. Lot's of rich materials~

 

[dogfishheadie]

also, remember to source with sustainability in mind. don't go collect 50+ gallons of dirt / humus from under one tree. take a little from here, some from over there etc. better for nature and diversity makes the organic world go round!

 

[Gascanastan]

Deciduous trees,bushes,grasses......when harvesting humic material from our natural environment be sure to harvest responsibly. Back fill with surrounding material and never dig big gaping holes and leave them. Care for the roots of large older growth trees when digging...then again the layer that contains this material is often only a few inches thick in some areas.

I look at it as 'borrowing' from a friend...when I'm done w/it it will return to the earth one way or another.

MM has some good points on wild harvesting these types of materials.

 

[Easy7]

If someone can notice it's missing, then it's a bad idea. That is how I always felt about it, people like to leave the woods alone.

 

[bubblebert]

Local, fresh humus is great for teas! You don't need much to add some diversity .

 

[Seandawg]

I don't think it's a bad Idea at all.
I've personally done this on many occasions.
I would prefer going out and finding a good forest soil sample over purchasing a package of "Alaskan humus" that's picked by I don't know? And not even really sure where it came from. Of course, that's just me...