On 10 Sep 2003 12:04:40 -0700, (Fleemo) opined:

Well, it's obvious that these are two superior minds who are
permanently ensonced on their respective sides of the fence.

At this point, the main question in my mind is whether or not compost
tea serves as a good nutrient boost for my garden. I wasn't aware of
any cure-all claims for the potion, nor was I aware that it was even
available commercially. I just want to know if I'm wasting my time in
preparing a batch of the brown liquid if my primary goal is to feed my
plants.

Thanks for your well-informed posts.

-Fleemo

Compost tea is now more beneficial when prepared using the aerobic method.
There is no way to sell that in closed containers which would shelve well. The
container would explode from the activity of biota and they would have to use
something to keep that from happening, commercially. That means you would get
none of the benefits of freshly made, aerobic compost because the product would
be dead.

If you are fortunate (as I am) to have a responsible garden center which
promotes organic methods and sells nothing in the synthetic side of conventional
gardening, you will be able to buy it by the gallon if they have a brewer. You
would have to use it within a day, and when diluted can be used to cover 7500
square feet. At five dollars, that's hardly a rip off.

It's a proven fact that live soil produce health in plants and other micro and
macro organisms. This is not fuzzy science, it's factual. The experiments
using compost leachate is well under way and when a person can think out of the
box and try things autonomously of other claims, it's a good thing. I don't
like to depend on science "only." I also like to consider the experience of
others. One day we may blow the world up and we will not have scientific
anything to count on. Pioneers and homesteaders do this on a regular basis.
They try things for themselves and always look for a better way. They don't
count on science to determine all their needs. That's as bad as saying God will
take care of it all. God who?

About a year back I had an argument with Tom about aerobic vs. anaerobic and
fought tooth and nail. I decided to make some aerobic tea and have indeed found
that plants I collect, (brugmansia mainly) which have acceptable levels of virus
have outperformed others with the same virus (tobacco mosaic). I don't
necessarily think it's simply due to the presence on the foliage to surpress
infection, rather, the soil had much more life and made the nutrients available
in a form which was able to be used by a poor root system due to virus.

There is no demon in this notion. NObody is trying to rip anyone off with snake
oil. Thinking out of the box and trying new things is how I live my life.
Others have their own dogmatic and anal retentive ways of thinking, I do not.
I'm willing to learn and so can you.

The other hand of this is the fact that, this newsgroup was quiet and there are
people who need to have chaos in their life and when others don't, they create
it (chaos) to suit their desperate need for it.

That's what I think this thread is about. Yes, it's the understory.

victoria