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Gone With The Win

4 cups wiggle worm castings. Tbs azomite,1/2 tsp humic,1/2 tbs azos,7 4oz liquid kelp,10oz of liquid fish,1 drop of voodoo juice, pinch of 0-0-60 mutilate of potash,5 gallon bucket water. Bubble snake for 24 hours

9/11/2018 6:20:46 PM

Gone With The Win

I poured a little out of the bucket on my tomato leaves it dollar burned..pic in diary

9/11/2018 6:24:36 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

I think you are still thinking about compost tea incorrectly. Good compost tea is not meant as a foliar. You are making billions of micro-organisms. There is nothing for them to eat on the leaves. You need to get them in the soil. Drench with that brew...and watch magic happen.

9/11/2018 7:59:13 PM

Washington State

I saw your post and I have to say that I think it can be applied to younger plants and growing leaves but there is a lot of risk... And older leaves yeah they can get eaten alive. To explain, there is not as much UV light and turgor down in the older leaves... and this time of year there is not enough sunlight or dry weather to sterilize the plants. A bad batch can contain the wrong organisms. Once your fruit is set and using a lot of resources the whole plant becomes more susceptible to disease... especially during unfavorable weather... True for pumpkins also.

However, it might work early in the season. Anna and I used compost tea (mostly successfully) on our seedlings prior to the first blooms. But I think it comes with a risk. Viruses and other pathogens... I finally gave up on using it. I did notice when the leaves got older it started causing damage.

9/12/2018 12:13:42 AM

Washington State

Oops Anna still logged in...

9/12/2018 12:16:44 AM

Grittyville, WA

Back to my ugly self. She was posting some pics today. Who knows what’s really going on here. Sleepingbeauty is sleeping... And some guy who can’t grow a 3.00 lb tomato is using her iPhone???

9/12/2018 12:43:56 AM

Gone With The Win

O ok thanks bob... hahaha thanks Glenomkins...so my tea was just perfect then...lol wish I had a microscope....

9/12/2018 11:00:29 AM

Norfolk, UK

Sorry to see your leaves!

I’ve done compost tea and i’ll apply to both leaves and soil. The reason for leaf application is typically to occupy leaf surfaces and compete with disease organisms. Soil drench tips up the biology for feeding the plant - both I think are worthwhile.

Good reading here: http://ecologiesurleweb.free.fr/docs/Docs_agir/Lombricomposteur/Brew%20Manual%20compost%20tea.pdf

The quantities in your recipe seem quite high for just 5 gallons - i’d imagine the cause may be here so worth revisiting here. Some recipes in the pdf, but for 50 gallons so need to be scaled down.

Let us know how you get on.

9/12/2018 2:42:10 PM

Gone With The Win

Thanks saladoug....whew alot to read up on...maybe a some beer and down time to research it...thanks alot

9/12/2018 6:56:10 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

Excellent info resource SaladDoug. I haven't had the chance to read deep into it yet but bookmarked it for later. Before I read it, I am curious about your thoughts. I am thinking that microbiology that is grown with conventional techniques...ie food source in aerated water when sprayed on a leaf will die soon without the food source. So my thinking is..a compost tea can occupy leaf surface for a short time..but soon the will die and be a food source for the bad. I still think that compost tea should be put into the soil that has a high OM and reserve the foliar for the microorganisms that are meant to be there...such as serenade. There is so much for all of us to learn in the micro world. We need to start the discussions somewhere.

9/13/2018 7:13:20 PM

Grittyville, WA

I read about halfway through. There is a lot of good info but if I can be critical I think there is also a lot of missing info. It talks a lot about natural systems being better and more productive. But where in nature can you simply plant a 2145 seed and get a 2,000 lb pumpkin? So natural systems may be better in some ways but not every way.

One of the main ways a natural system is not better is that compost is usually occupied by a huge diversity of invertebrates (bugs) many of which want a balanced diet of fresh plant material and detritus. So they eat both your plant and the compost. Making tea might be better than a natural system of decomposition, because making tea should bypass feeding hordes of insects. I only read halfway but that’s my thoughts so far.

9/13/2018 8:42:50 PM

Norfolk, UK

@bnot - I think it’s considered that there’s a biofilm around our plants leaves. I think both bacteria and fungi play a role. Coverage by fungi to 2 to 5% said to provide a degree of protection as an example (this was in the grape study p. 67). Fungi however can be present, but remain dormant when conditions are not ideal. Some blurb on other potential mechanics:

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8ee9/3b7fd3ecf47eed4852f8b907a0eac7268f78.pdf

@glenomkins - I think her original point of reference and where she started was agricultural land that had had a number of applications of fungicides & pesticides; compost tea in her world then was a method of reinnoculation of soil biology by successive applications to kick start the ecology. I think there’s some useful stuff there, but good to have a wide perspective.

9/14/2018 2:20:54 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

Science !

I’m just composting crap in a bin at home and trying to get a couple gallons every so often out of it.
I don’t think I’m doing it right.

Great discussion !
Fire away !

9/14/2018 6:11:09 AM

Oak Grove, Mn

Another good resource SaladDoug. I bookmarked it for later review. A little more scientific which make harder reading but still valuable. Another month when I have time to learn will deciphering it. Watch out...will probably be emailing you all winter. It is fun to meet someone that really thinks at a very high level.

9/14/2018 8:51:42 PM

Norfolk, UK

@bnot - email anytime, winter’s quiet! Generally speaking, I don’t mind the the vaguely scientific paper but I’m a novice at giant tomatoes - this was my first season, but it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve had a single season with giant pumpkins too previously. Juggling life with toddler, full time job and sideline growing business so time’s been at a premium last few years!

9/15/2018 2:57:32 PM

Gone With The Win

Bnot i tried to email you must not have went through... new to all this on gpc

9/15/2018 9:40:35 PM