Re: CT=BDcompost,preps+Alaska humus, forest humus & kelp

[Allan Balliett]

THIS IS PRIVATE TO THIS LIST

first off, Merla - Are you really applying for organic certification????

Secondly, Will Brinton's statement was that for the purpose of colonzing leaves to reduce foliar disease, BC was adequate: as stirred according to directions. He feels that the whole 'CT brewer' stuff is pointless, since you don't really NEED more microbes than you're starting with with something like CT. Implicit in many comments made by Vicki Bess and Will is the idea that microbial labs do not really know as much about the teas they sample as we would believe. They can only tell part of the story at any time. And, being human, will see what they want to see. A secondary statement by both Bess and Brinton - - as I understood it - - is that brewing with additional foods selects microbials that thrive on the particular foods.

OK, that's the point of foods, right? Brinton and Bess are saying that everyone knows that compost is good for the soil and will remediate foliar disease. Feeding compost in a brewer cannot, however, increase the populations of ALL the microbes, only those that do well on the foods. For this reason, brewed CT is NOT more powerful compost in liquid form, is a distortion of the original compost.

That said, maybe it's a good distortion SOME TIMES but Bess and Brinton, as I understood them, were saying that traditional ways of making CT ( in a barrel, stirred daily) or simply using BC as your spray, will if nothing else give you as good of benefit without all the expense and hassle.

Never forget that aerobic CT started as an industry and continues to grow as an industry. witness your post to see the effects that this industry pressure can bring forth!