Real Science vs Bro Science: Ohhh some of you are NOT going to like this!

[mdabber]

I gathered some local from the pile of logs from the huge pine I had to cut down a couple years ago. I had been hit by lightning and wasn't fairing well. It had a lean towards the house and it would have totally destroyed my home. Crying shame for a huge beautiful tree

That sucks about tree I was in the woods once and saw a tree get hit with lightning. Crazy

 

[Fitzy]

I don't think she actually disputes compost tea, I think she just makes the case for just using the compost is far better and is less labor intensive and the case for possibly growing the wrong bacteria when brewing.
I got a benefit from using compost tea on my coastal fields, but I examined my tea under a microscope and put the brewed compost on my garden. My compost was also inoculated with Medina products

So he's saying you can't ID bad bacteria. I call bullshit!

Linda was saying the way most brew teas they dilute it to in effective levels and in the concentrate fourm it's valuable but not as much as top dressing the contents of wat you would use for your tea take a look @ her web page there's more info on this and other interesting things

 

[Fitzy]

I'm bumping this because of a vid YT interview of fellow YT Photosyntech I watched this morning. My post is in response to Photosyntech comment that he doesn't use compost tea any longer.


I knew when Photosyntech mentioned the Doc Lady, he was going to say no to compost teas. And I do think people are taking the info and are drawing the wrong conclusion from what her study showed.

I'm sure what the conclusion was that compost teas are not "Cost Effective" large scale when you take into account the labor. The two key terms are "large scale" and "cost-effective". There is a lot of labor to take in consideration when making, collecting and applying compost tea large scale. This study wasn't small scale. In this one aspect of the study, using compost tea doesn't really apply well to the home grower.

I used to organic farm, not gardening. I made compost piles a hundred feet long and turned it with a front loader on my tractor. My compost tea tanks were 500 gallons. I bought Medina Horticulture molasses by 50 gal drums.

I also applied my compost to my hay fields at the first of the season and after the second cutting. I also applied compost tea every two weeks, more often under dry conditions.

Even though I had applied a layer of compost, there would be a boost in greenness and growth after an application. Even in very heavily composted areas, the turn around areas in the field, there would be a difference.

Here's a point Photosyntech might want to consider. Yeah, we make tea from compost to extract the available nutes from the composting process. The other valuable asset we’re getting from the tea is the microbes. Well, we're farming them by adding molasses and brewing them! Why do guys add Recharge? Duh! Bacteria! Isn't making compost teas really really similar to using Recharge? LOL!

Guess what? Using top dressed compost AND brewing compost teas WILL get you better results! Why in the hell would someone remove a valuable tool from a home grow? With Photosyntech trending to larger and larger pots, it SHOULD be a no-brainer to have a layer of compost in those huge pots and keep up with the compost teas.

You also have to consider that buy watering those patches your talking about your compost is leeching it's bennies ect into the soil so the big take away for me was there are more cost effective ways to get the benifical microbes ect now they are beneficial just per pound or wat have you there are more and there for you need less and in my experience with growing in general less is best. Again teas work well if not diluted she says that alot threw out the discussion.

 

[WildBill]

Linda was saying the way most brew teas they dilute it to in effective levels and in the concentrate fourm it's valuable but not as much as top dressing the contents of wat you would use for your tea take a look @ her web page there's more info on this and other interesting things

Ahhhhhh! Thinking back thru the years, the only time I've diluted my tea was when I sprayed my veggie garden as foliar feeding. And it really wasn't just to feed, that just a side bennie. The bad bugs don't really like it, especially when I added garlic and a few other things. Instead of useing my spray boom, I'd move the pressure up a little and use my spray wand. The force would knock bugs off and if there were and sucking insects, most of then would be killed when blown off.
You can get creative using compost tea outdoors.

 

[Sour D]

Linda was saying the way most brew teas they dilute it to in effective levels and in the concentrate fourm it's valuable but not as much as top dressing the contents of wat you would use for your tea take a look @ her web page there's more info on this and other interesting things

Yet the nutrient companies will recommend using more product for top dressing. I'm assuming top dressing may take longer to break down. That may be fine fore regular seeds and veggies but for autos, IMHO you need faster acting tea.
A lot of the "real science" comes from folks who have never grown weed and are also referring to large scale cultivation. Current federal laws have prevented the schools and other such institutions from studying and testing weed

 

[WildBill]

You also have to consider that buy watering those patches your talking about your compost is leeching it's bennies ect into the soil so the big take away for me was there are more cost effective ways to get the benifical microbes ect now they are beneficial just per pound or wat have you there are more and there for you need less and in my experience with growing in general less is best. Again teas work well if not diluted she says that alot threw out the discussion.

Leaching? Maybe in a pot, but only if you dilute. But it's what happens in nature outdoors with that thang called rain. LOL!
As long as there's good aeration in the soil to get oxygen in the soil, a little leaching is not bad.

 

[WildBill]

Yet the nutrient companies will recommend using more product for top dressing. I'm assuming top dressing may take longer to break down. That may be fine fore regular seeds and veggies but for autos, IMHO you need faster acting tea.
A lot of the "real science" comes from folks who have never grown weed and are also referring to large scale cultivation. Current federal laws have prevented the schools and other such institutions from studying and testing weed

Yeah, large scale VS small home grower and also outdoor VS indoor.
What's very viable to do small scale, sometimes just doesn't translate very well when the scale it up.

 

[low_and_slow]

So 33 pages later, what's the verdict? Is "compost" really "debunked?"


That'd be news to 100% of the plants I've ever grown in my Earth garden

 

[WildBill]

So 33 pages later, what's the verdict? Is "compost" really "debunked?"


That'd be news to 100% of the plants I've ever grown in my Earth garden

Actually just read this last page for that verdict.

 

[Fitzy]

Leaching? Maybe in a pot, but only if you dilute. But it's what happens in nature outdoors with that thang called rain. LOL!
As long as there's good aeration in the soil to get oxygen in the soil, a little leaching is not bad.

That's right and exactly wat she is saying also she is speaking on soil health meaning never tilling or adding or removing anything weather a pot or not but ya that's exactly wat she says that leeching is better for soil health than the same in a tea now reguardless of photo or auto soil health is soil health now if your going to throughout ur soil every run it may not be as benifical but microbes and bactiria grow very quick in the conditions cannabis thrives in I'm learning much more now growing mushrooms which grow very rapid so I don't think there's much issues there. Anyway it certainly interesting for sure and love discussing it and seeing others takes.