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

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura AT gmail.com>]

It would seem to me that an ideal aquaponics system, for those who live near the ocean, would be one using fresh, clean, pure ocean saltwater, which has such an amazing array of trace minerals: why is seaweed so nutritious for you?. Ideal fish to grow would be (on the East coast US and maybe elsewhere), talk about a cash crop: founder, "sea squab" (maybe some kind of blowfish, can't remember the actual name) which can be caught in NC and is better even than swordfish, has two big filets, herring and herring roe, an especially delicious delicacy which can be scrambled with a little egg to give it body, and if a suitable environment for it: mackerel, Spanish mackerel, prawns, shrimp, crayfish (these three require flowing cold water.

Look at the group of posts I sent for more info on making "compost tea" to introduce into the system. I still like the perforated barrel with soil method for growing crops like ginger, galangal, turneric (which are difficult crops for all but warm or tropical climates but are essential in one's diet. The barrel system would allow backflushing into the site's water system introducing nutrients, minerals and beneficial microorganisms.

In the interest of locally-grown, local food systems and community gardens any aquaponics or  hydroponics system should be scalable so that at least a simple system can be installed and used by anyone with a backyard garden and, in cold season, a greenhouse, attached or freestanding. There must be locally available, affordable, off the shelf components and materials that could be used to put together a functioning system that works reliability, even for entry-level people and groups. The "neighborhood fish and vegetable water gardens" sounds appealing.

Three more items of interest:

1. YouTube videos of aquaponics and hydroponics systems, mostly homebrew. Amazing resource.
2. My compostteas mailing list: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/compostteas  
3. Jeff Lowenfels list:

compost_tea · Compost Teas, The Soil Food Web & Soils

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/compost_tea/
This list is for the discussion and dissemination of information primarily about modern compost teas, compost tea making and related topics such as composts, compost extracts, the workings of the soil food web and soil microbiology as applied to gardening and agriculture. It is a moderated list so when discussions get too far from the main subject the moderator will step in. Polite interactions are a must at all times. Rudeness and disrespect can result in immediate banishment. It is highly suggested that you buy and read Timber Press' "Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to The Soil Food Web" by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis (with a preface by Dr. Elaine Ingham), available from Amazon.com. It explains the soil food web in lay and fun terms. In addition, you should review materials available from Soil Food Web, Inc at www.soilfoodweb.com, particularly the Compost Tea Manual. Finally, if you would like to see pictures of compost tea organisms, good tea and more, check out http://www.microbeorganics.com/ and order the CD when you are finished.

This list is the best on the Web. It has a longstanding community of experts with extensive knowledge and experience who will answer questions. If you plan to use any type of compost
tea in an aquaponics system you should join this list make use of it.

It started at ibiblio with a user-friendly Mailman list then migrated to Yahoo with a non-user-friendly group. I took over the original list and maintain it. There is a gap in the archives so members of Jeff's list sent me archives most of of the missing posts which I have turned into web archives in my website at ibiblio. I posted links to these archives to Jeff's compost_tea list but they are not listed at the Yahoo homepage for that forum. I have several more posts to make today about compost tea resources and related message archives and will post links to
all existing ones I can find. I just located some important ones of mine that I had forgotten about plus an excellent old one for the biodynamics list. I can convert any portion of any of my Thunderbird email folders to Web-accessable, indexed, sortable web archives. I will probably upload all compost_tea list messages to my ibiblio website on an ongoing basis. Of course, you will need to join that list if you want to participate or ask questions.

Here are some quick links to newly-discovered forum archives:

/ecolandtech/SoilWiki/message-archives/composttea+soilfoodweb+soilquality
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/SoilWiki/message-archives/composttea+soilfoodweb+soilquality/
BDNOW
http://www.mail-archive.com/bdnow AT envirolink.org/
Indigenous Microorganisms + Korean Natural Farming Association
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/SoilWiki/message-archives/composttea+soilfoodweb+soilquality/5/msg00012.html

Supplemental Resources on Effective Microorganisms
(EM) and Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO)

http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/SoilWiki/message-archives/composttea+soilfoodweb+soilquality/5/msg00138.html
4. Jeff Lowenfels excellent book: "Teaming With Microbes"

Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition [Hardcover]

Jeff Lowenfels (Author), Wayne Lewis (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Teaming-Microbes-Organic-Gardeners-Revised/dp/1604691131
$16.50 + shipping from Amazon

Publication Date: February 24, 2010

The 2011 Garden Writers of America Gold Award for Best Writing/Book proves soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life -- not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web -- the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.

On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 10:42 AM, Toby Hemenway <toby AT patternliteracy.com> wrote

Thanks, again, Kathryn, for being so nicely rational. I think you're spot on about the "gadgety" nature of aquaponics being a turn-off for a lot of us natural types. I'd like to add that plants spent a few hundred million years evolving in the sea before crawling onto land, so they have a long genetic legacy within them of living without soil and soil-penetrating roots.