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The Compost Tea Brewing Manual

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The Compost Tea Brewing Manual The Compost Tea Brewing Manual Fifth Edition By Elaine R. Ingham, PhD Soil Foodweb Incorporated 728 SW Wake Robin Ave Corvallis, Oregon 97333 When grown in healthy soil, roots extend much deeper than the height of the shoots aboveground. Work by the Hendrikus Group (www.hendrikus.com) shows that lawn grass grown in their EssentialSoil with compost tea applications has roots extending at least 4 feet deep into the soil within 3.5 months after planting lawn grass seed. Root Photo courtesy of Hendrikus Schraven of the Hendrikus Group. 2000, 2001, 2002 Soil Foodweb Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the copyright holder except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address Soil Foodweb Incorporated, 728 SW Wake Robin Ave, Corvallis, Oregon 97333. First Edition Printings November 2000, February 2001 Second Edition (US and Australia) US Printings August 2001, September 2001 (2.1), October 2001, October 2001 (2.2) Third Edition (US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) First US Printing March 2002 Fourth Edition, March, 2003 (US and Australia) Fifth Edition, April 2005 This publication is part of the educational outreach program of the Sustainable Studies Institute (SSI). A portion of all proceeds from sales of this publication goes to support SSI’s activities. For more information about the Sustainable Studies Institute visit their website at www.sustainablestudies.org ii Ü Acknowledgements Û The following people contributed time, information and/or thoughts to developing my understanding of compost tea. I would like to thank them for their help: Karl Rubenberger, the first to build a commercially viable compost tea-brewing machine, the guiding light behind the Microb-Brewer, and who continues to be a compatriot in the world of compost tea. Merline Olson has been a true friend for many years. Currently is the President of SFI Australia. Remember taking samples every two hours from the Microb-Brewer for an entire week? Right-o mate! Bruce Elliott, who currently manufactures the Earth Tea Brewer, Leon Hussey, inventor and manufacturer of the Keep It Simple brewer, who is the first person to use aeration alone to extract the organisms from compost, And for everyone who is making compost tea in any form, and has communicated with me about their results. Keep sharing your ideas! Elaine R. Ingham President, Worldwide, Soil Foodweb Inc. [email protected] President, Sustainable Studies Institute, www.sustainablestudies.org Affiliate Faculty, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia Board of Advisors, Sustainable Studies Institute -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contributed by Leon Hussey: “This is a time when forces of a very different nature too often prevail - forces careless of life or deliberately destructive of it and the essential web of living relationships. My particular concern, as you know, is with the reckless use of chemicals so unselective in their action that they should be more appropriately be called biocides rather than pesticides. Not even the most partisan defenders can claim that their toxic effect is limited to insects or rodents or weeds or whatever the target may be. These are large problems and there is no easy solution. But the problem must be faced. As you listen to the present controversy about pesticides, I recommend that you ask yourself - Who speaks? - And Why?" Rachael Carson, 1963 address to The Garden Club of America "Her speeches during the last year of her life reflect her moral conviction that 'no civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the rights to be called civilized." LOST WOODS - Linda Lear iii Table of Contents Introduction to the Fifth Edition What Is Compost Tea? .................................................................................................................1 Aerated Compost Tea (ACT).....................................................................................................2 Not-Aerated Compost Tea .........................................................................................................2 Anaerobic Compost Tea ............................................................................................................3 Manure Tea ................................................................................................................................3 Compost Extract.........................................................................................................................3 Compost Leachate......................................................................................................................3 Plant (or Fermented) Tea ..........................................................................................................3 Bacterial Soups ..........................................................................................................................3 Organisms and Food Resources.................................................................................................3 Compost Quality ........................................................................................................................4 Aerobic Conditions ....................................................................................................................4 Machine Testing.........................................................................................................................4 Anaerobic Conditions ................................................................................................................4 Human Pathogens ......................................................................................................................5 What Growers Need to Know....................................................................................................5 Qualitative Assessment of Compost Tea ...................................................................................6 The Habitat Must Select for Beneficials....................................................................................6 Figure 1. The Soil Foodweb......................................................................................................7 Is Compost Tea A fertilizer........................................................................................................7 Nutrient Pools in Compost.........................................................................................................8 Figure 2. The Three Pools of Nutrients ....................................................................................9 Compost Quality Is Critical ........................................................................................................11 Figure 3. The Compost Foodweb............................................................................................11 Organisms ................................................................................................................................11 Disturbance ..............................................................................................................................11 Compost Tea Organisms .............................................................................................................12 The “Good Guys” ....................................................................................................................12 Bacteria ....................................................................................................................................12 Figure 4. Fungi (strands), bacteria (tiny dots and rafts of dots), ciliate cysts (large iv circles) in a compost tea.....................................................................................................13 How to Measure Bacteria and Fungi .......................................................................................13 Direct Methods...................................................................................................................13 Plate Methods.....................................................................................................................13 Why Are Bacteria Needed in Tea? ..........................................................................................14 Fungi ........................................................................................................................................14 Why Are Fungi Needed in Tea? ..............................................................................................15 Figure 5. Basidiomycete fungi (dark brown) with clamp connections growing in brown amorphous soil organism matter............................................................................16 Protozoa ...................................................................................................................................16 Nematodes................................................................................................................................17 Mycorrhizal Fungi ...................................................................................................................17 Species Composition of Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa and Nematodes........................................17 Pathogens in Tea......................................................................................................................18
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