Compost Tea

[crzymoe]

I was wondering if anyone on here has used this for their lawn care business. If so how has it worked for you? thanks

[Ric]

I was wondering if anyone on here has used this for their lawn care business. If so how has it worked for you? thanks

Crzymoe

I think you bring up a good point about Organic application. Do you have an Idea of how you might provide a Compost Tea. My first reaction is to think the shear volume of the Organic Material becomes a problem. Your Question could lead to a very long and informative Thread.

My first reaction is I think you will find Compost Tea is not economically practical for commercial application. I am not saying organics is not without its value, But at what cost factor? Applied to My sandy coastal soil, Organic Materials is nothing but Beneficial.

[crzymoe]

I have been talking to a few experts up here inthe northeast, you can buy a tea brewer and make your own tea. There are places that you can buy the compost for it.
Now putting the compost itself on the lawns may be a little more difficult, but the tea the rate is anywhere from 10-20 gal per acre. Here is a link to a site that has some info on it http://soilfoodweb.com/ I am just flirting with the idea of all of this, think there may be a market out there, may just play on my own lawn for awhile.

[Ric]

crzymoe

I am posting the soil Triangle because soil is the environment our plant live and grow in. Understanding that environment and the needs of our plants to grow and develop is the science of Agronomy. Agronomy is the oldest science known to man and the one science he has not mastered. Agronomy is also a science that takes into account Economies. There is the perfect way and there is the cheap way to do things. Finding a happy medium that produce a favorable response at a reasonable cost factor is the goal of Agronomy in todays world. It is the science that feeds the world. It is also a science that should be understood by any one in the application business if they desire to be successful.

Understanding a little about the technical part of the science of agronomy helps to make us Professionals. I am in the process of writing a series of books to about application of Fertilizers and pesticides. Soil Science is a planned book by me and I have not started that book yet, because I am still working on my first two books. I will however discuss a little about soil science as a preview to that book.

DO YOU KNOW what values Compost tea actually has to the soil and then your plants??? Maybe by understanding these factors, it will help you determine whether Compost Tea is worth the effort and is there another method that would provide the same values and work better for you.

BTW to really understand Agronomy you must also know a little about Chemistry and Micro-Biology. I will give a hint about Compost Tea and say Micro-Biology Plays a big part.

[lorenzo piedra]

Since I do wide area applications cost/benefit analysis is of uppermost importance.

Compost tea is going to offer very little N-P-K. If you want to increase microbiology activity on the cheap and easy try store brand corn syrup cola and keystone/pabst beer.

Again clay or sand makes a big difference.

Most sports turf managers maintaining sand based pro fields are foliar feeding very three weeks since granular products don't stick around long when soil perks.

[Ric]

Some Great Advice from the FRUGAL AGRONOMIST Professor Stone. He has cut to the chase by enriching the environment that Microbes live in. This allows them to increase in population and be more valuable.

Adding Microbes to the soil doesn't mean they will increase in population. Actually they are already there in at least smaller population. My old Micro-biology professor always said "Everything is everywhere but the environment selects."

Professor Stone being a professional, Knows the soil type and issue involved in caring for the Plants or turf living in that soil. His Knowledge may only allow him to save a dollar per thousand Sq Ft each year and still maintain an excellent stand of turf. But consider he does Multiply large acreage sites and his education soon pays for it self. Un like myself who takes care of much smaller properties where a minimum charge more than covers the cost of Material, Professor Stone's Larger Athletic Fields require excellent care at a low cost of materials. With out his Education He could not be competitive and would have to do more Back breaking work at a higher price per thousand and lower yearly net income.

Education pays in the long run in any business.

[Ric]

Some Great Advice from the FRUGAL AGRONOMIST Professor Stone. .... With out his Education He could not be competitive and would have to do more Back breaking work at a higher price per thousand and lower yearly net income.
Education pays in the long run in any business.

Yo

I just wanted to drive home the point, you can make more from what to know than what you do. Trust when I tell you Professor Stone saves more than a Dollar per year on chemicals per thousand. Some rounds he saves more than a dollar a thousand on. Professor Stone is a self educated man, who uses that education along with his skill of observation and experience to do Good Frugal Agronomy work. He should be the one writing the book.

[EncinoLawns]

Check out dirtdoctor.com. I found alot of useful info about organics, bug control etc.

[Stephen M.]

To tea or not to tea, that is the question?

Compost tea has a place in your "tool shed" as one of many implements to do the job and yielding a desired outcome, but it should not be the only tool in your equipment shed. From what I have seen and read, compost tea is a big "value added profit center" to those who brew and market it. There is alot of antedotal info on this "miricle drug" for plant health and its like giving your plants steriods.

For those who are strictly organic, this will be a great profit source. But to those of us who will use both chemical and organics, it may or may not be the best method.

Remember those grade school science projects on growing yeast? The microbies grew rapidly, peaked, and died rapidly. Same thing with "tea". The analogy I like to use is a person could "live" on vitamins and glucose in a hospital bed, but you need real food with fibre if you're going to have a real life. Same for your plant health.

[timturf]

Quality turfgrass, and plant material are a result of having the soil chemistry correct!

We need to feed the plant material and the soil!

No matter how you accomplish this, you must be friendly to the soil microrganism population!