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

["eddington AT lvcm.com" <eddington AT lvcm.com>]

Hi to all,

In an interview by Graeme Sait with Arden Anderson there is a 
discussion of levels of humates, humic acids, sugars, and molasses.
I did some calculations to see how much of each I put in tea and then 
how many applications per season and at what dilution rate to see if 
they stayed within the safe levels.  Are there any other thresholds 
anyone uses as guidelines? Are these okay to use Elaine?

Summary 
dry humates -  1 ton/acre/season (dependent on soil type) okay
dry humates - if biologicals used reduce this ton/acre/season
humic acids - 10-15 litres (2.6-3.9 gallons)/acre/seaon okay
humic acids - 25+ litres (65 gallons/acre/season disastrous)
molasses - 10 litres (2.6 gallons)/acre/seaon okay
molasses - 20-30 litres (5-7.5 gallons/acre/season dangersous)
molasses - - 80 litres (20.8 gallons/acre/season disastrous)
sugars - 9 kg (19.8 poungs)/acre/season 

Interview
Graeme: I’d like to ask a question for my own benefit and for our clients 
and readers. We have had tremendous results with humates and 
humic acid, and I’m aware that it is possible to use too much of a good 
thing with these materials. However, I have never understood why this 
is the case. What are the negatives associated with overuse?

Arden:  

Humates
Well, there is obviously a variation between requirements for different 
soil types. In some soils dry humates can be applied at up to a tonne 
per acre. It must be remembered these are a slow-release source of 
humic acids. If the release pattern is magnified with biologicals, then 
the maximum allowable application is reduced accordingly. 

Humic Acids
Humic acids, on the other hand, are much more available. We find that 
we can achieve great results with up to 10 to 15 litres per hectare per 
season. However, if we go beyond 25 litres per hectare per season, 
then we start seeing decreased yields. We start seeing nutrients going 
out of solution. They begin to become tied up. We also start to see a 
decrease in our biology in the soil, because a little is good, but a lot 
can be disastrous. 

Molasses
It’s like using sugar or molasses in the soil. It can be a very productive 
additive, but it can be easily overdone. We also use about 10 litres of 
molasses per acre, but, if we start using 20 to 30 litres per acre, we are 
in the danger zone. 80 litres per acre, for example, can be disastrous. 
We start getting decreased biology and even fermentation, and the 
associated production of alcohols, which are not good. We start 
precipitating calcium when we get alcohol and we can start the 
process of sterilisation. 

Sugars
As far as sugars go- we are looking at 9 kg per season per acre - when 
we cross this threshold, we start seeing a reversal in our benefits.

Graeme: Is there any difference between white sugar and raw sugar?

Arden: As a rule it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. It makes 
more of a difference, in some cases, whether you are using sugar or 
molasses. If you have a high iron content, you should be careful of 
molasses because of its iron content. There are some biological 
products that shouldn’t be mixed with molasses because of the risk of 
unwanted fermentation. There are others that thrive in the presence of 
molasses. Sucrose is the primary carbohydrate in both sugar and 
molasses. The difference is that there are other minerals present in 
molasses.

Carole Eddington






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