analogcricket
Member
whats the difference between the SP85 or SP90 from Tera Vita and the Tera Vita LC-10+7??
should i be using both or one or the other?
should i be using both or one or the other?
No troll attempt at all, but has anyone used and compared the Rez tea recipe? .......
whats the difference between the SP85 or SP90 from Tera Vita and the Tera Vita LC-10+7??
should i be using both or one or the other?
However, I prefer to use humic acids separate from compost teas. MM and I found they did not promote microbial growth in teas from our experiments.
If you believe the marketing, compost tea is the miracle additive of the 21st century. It is made by steeping compost in water mixed with sugar in brewing kits costing £30. The mixture is aerated to encourage organisms to grow before being sprayed on to plants. According to supporters, it increases plant growth, provides nutrients, adds beneficial organisms and suppresses disease. It is big in the US and is growing in popularity in the UK, fuelled by anecdotal evidence from gardeners.
Yet Dr Chalker-Scott remains unconvinced by the “fuzzy science” of compost tea. Six years ago her review of scientific literature found just seven studies on aerated compost tea. One suggested that bubbling air through the liquid reduced its efficacy, another that it was not effective in reducing apple scab and in some cases made scab worse. One suggested that it controlled fungi in a Petri dish, while three greenhouse tests had mixed results. Her own research on Washington State University cherry trees found that compost tea was no better than water.
Since then, a study led by Dr Bryant Scharenbroch at the Morton Arboretum Soil Science laboratory in Lisle, Illinois, and published in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, suggested that compost tea was inferior to fertiliser at enhancing microbe activity in the soil.
Dr Jeff Gillman, a Garden Professors blogger and horticultural scientist at the University of Minnesota, likens it to a “magical elixir”. “There is limited data showing it can be useful, but the bulk of data shows it is not beneficial,” he says. “What is more concerning is that some of the data shows these buckets can provide a breeding ground for E coli bacteria and disease.”
Compost teas and extracts are traditionally used as liquid organic fertilizers, but recently have been touted as powerful antimicrobial agents capable of combating pathogens associated with foliar and fruit diseases. Anecdotal evidence abounds, but controlled, replicable experiments do not. A quick search of the Internet revealed that most of the websites containing the phrase “compost tea” are .com sites: most are selling something. The few .edu sites that do exist are cautious in regard to the miraculous properties associated with compost teas.
Compost teas are produced from a special composting process and usually contain plant foods, micro-organisms and the complex chemicals made by these organisms all of which are claimed to have an effect on plants and plant diseases. The dried extracts and kits to make compost tea at home are available to the public and automated equipment is offered to professional growers. The Sub-Committee, who noted that the plants were very healthy and remarkably free of mildew, queried whether the regular application of 'compost tea' was responsible. Dr Prior (Head of Horticultural Sciences) advised that a two year Horticultural Development Company funded project investigating the use of 'compost tea' in commercial horticulture found that applications were sometimes beneficial, but that the results were disappointingly inconsistent.
Back in the 50,s we used to chuck a spade full of cow manure and a handful of soil and a dash of molasses into a water butt , give it a regular stir and use it on toms in ring culture on gravel beds after four days.
Pretty basic but the plants did really well on it , stank like hell though.
Will be trying ACT this year in the greenhouse , half with and half without to see how it goes.
Back in the 50,s we used to chuck a spade full of cow manure and a handful of soil and a dash of molasses into a water butt , give it a regular stir and use it on toms in ring culture on gravel beds after four days.
Pretty basic but the plants did really well on it , stank like hell though.
Will be trying ACT this year in the greenhouse , half with and half without to see how it goes.