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compostteas - Re: Subject: [Compostteas] CT application

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Subject: Compost Teas: 24 hour, EM, IM, BD & fermented plant extracts

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  • From: Soilfoodweb AT aol.com
  • To: madhava AT fidalgo.net
  • Cc: compostteas AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: Subject: [Compostteas] CT application
  • Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 11:27:35 EDT

In response to Daniel's question about application rates:

I agree with what Jeff said - most machines are making decent tea, and thus the standard amounts relative to what you are applying the tea for should be used.  Jeff did a great job of summarizing that information.

One additional piece of information, however.  The volume of tea per acre depends on the organisms in your tea.  That is why it is important to learn by testing a couple of your first teas what your machine typically makes.  Typically, fungi have been the hardest to extract and grow in tea, so base your tea volumes on the fungal biomass you have in the tea.

If you are less than 2 micrograms total fungi, you will have to apply more than 5 gal of tea per ac.  So, if your fungi are 1.5 micrograms, and you need 2 micrograms, then how much tea do you need to put out to get 2 micrograms?  Instead of 5 gallons of tea, apply 8 per acre.  

If you have 1 microgram, then to get the 2 you need, you apply 10 gallons per acre.  and so on.

What if you have over 5 micrograms of fungi?  Then you could reduce the amount of tea applied per acre, given that the bacterial biomass was there too.  

Most people look at what the tea machine manufacturer can achieve with a standard recipe.  You compare what you put in your recipe to what the manufacturer has, and figure if you will grow more or less fungi or bacteria given what the machine maker reports on their website.  Then you could adjust volume based on what you are making in your tea.

The tea machine-makers who report no data what-so-ever on their sites make it impossible for you to know what volume of tea would be reasonable to apply.  They let you, the customer, down by not having that data on their websites.  

Neither SoilSoup nor Growing Solutions help their customers by having that data on their websites.  However, for the GSI 25 gal machine, there is data on www.hendrikusorganics.com     If you are going to buy a GSI machine, I'd go look on the Hendrikus Schraven website first.  

So, go with standard amounts (5 gal/acre) if you are using a machine from a tea maker who is not afraid to show you what their machine actually does.  Those people who show you the data from their machine happen to make machines that make good tea.  If a tea machine maker doesn't show any useful data about what their machine does, you might wonder about their product quality.   

Elaine Ingham
Soil Foodweb Inc.

In a message dated 6/7/2002 2:58:44 PM Pacific Standard Time, madhava AT fidalgo.net writes:


have some questions about application of CT.  I've heard that good tea can be used from 1 to 5 gallons per acre and that good dilution rates from 5 to 1, to 10 to 1.  How are people applying the tea to get these types of coverage?  Is there a difference between soil applications and leaf applications?  

Thanks,
Daniel





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