Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
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Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
Is there any benefit in using compost teas in the fall season? Which type of compost teas would be most beneficial now?Which type of compost teas are most beneficial to adding microbes to the lawn..at any time, bacterial or fungal, If mulched leaves are not available, would the addition of fungal compost teas be worthwhile, or a waste of time this late in the season?
- andy10917
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
I'm not getting it - what does "or a waste of time this late in the season" mean? What is it that you're expecting it to do (or not do)?
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
I'm guessing he's asking if the microbial action on the tea is now stalled, due to lowering temps.
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
What I meant by a waste of time is since I have no leaves to decay, would the microbes immediately move to the root zone where they may do some good? Here's a quote from Lowenfels' book "Teaming with Microbes" p.159
"There are certain times when it makes even more sense to apply a tea. For example, it is a good idea to apply teas immediately after leaves fall in the autumn. If the soil and leaf litter don't freeze in the winter, decay will proceed apace all winter long. Even with snow cover, decay will occur at the interface of the snow and the soil surface, where it will warm up enough for microbial activity to continue."
So, without leaves on the surface for the microbes to ingest/decay, will they move to the roots in search of food and roots to colonize, instead?
"There are certain times when it makes even more sense to apply a tea. For example, it is a good idea to apply teas immediately after leaves fall in the autumn. If the soil and leaf litter don't freeze in the winter, decay will proceed apace all winter long. Even with snow cover, decay will occur at the interface of the snow and the soil surface, where it will warm up enough for microbial activity to continue."
So, without leaves on the surface for the microbes to ingest/decay, will they move to the roots in search of food and roots to colonize, instead?
- andy10917
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
Sorta. Kinda. Maybe?
You're trying to think about this almost like it was a chemical that you buy at Lowe's. But it doesn't work like that - in your climate near Houston, it ain't gonna freeze to death. So, if you spray it onto the soil and it goes into the soil, is it going to find food? I dunno - you might know. If they don't find food, they either spore up and wait for better conditions or they starve to death. It's closer to buying a puppy and deciding to let him find his own food. What happens if he doesn't find anything?
You're trying to think about this almost like it was a chemical that you buy at Lowe's. But it doesn't work like that - in your climate near Houston, it ain't gonna freeze to death. So, if you spray it onto the soil and it goes into the soil, is it going to find food? I dunno - you might know. If they don't find food, they either spore up and wait for better conditions or they starve to death. It's closer to buying a puppy and deciding to let him find his own food. What happens if he doesn't find anything?
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
Thanks, Andy. I can see your point. Not all the microbes are going to want to eat grass litter. One of the concepts with which I've always struggled with is this : after a population explosion of one type of microbe over the others due to ample foods being supplied, what exactly happens? Do the microbes whose food supply has been recently increased multiply so profusely that other microbes suffer?
Are certain microbes attracted to any type of food, and if so, is it desirable to give all these different microbes a food source of their own, when we are only growing grass? To me, it seems like a daunting task to keep soil microbes in balance to ensure a healthy soil. Especially when those who use synthetics only, and can get by with supplying only chemicals for their grass. I realize the fact that agronomic scientists have concluded that grasses, need NPK and that alone should be sufficient. So am I wasting time trying to make a healthier soil?
Are certain microbes attracted to any type of food, and if so, is it desirable to give all these different microbes a food source of their own, when we are only growing grass? To me, it seems like a daunting task to keep soil microbes in balance to ensure a healthy soil. Especially when those who use synthetics only, and can get by with supplying only chemicals for their grass. I realize the fact that agronomic scientists have concluded that grasses, need NPK and that alone should be sufficient. So am I wasting time trying to make a healthier soil?
- andy10917
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
The best answer is to stop trying to manipulate the microbes and develop a healthy native population. Exotic superkiller strains quickly interbreed with the native population. You have to keep adding them indefinitely. Keep feeding a healthy herd and your problems will be reasonably rare - requiring only some tweaking occasionally when conditions favor the pathogens. I shake my head when somebody wants to get an opinion about how good "Bob's Best" is. I know that answer - Bob's Best is best for (drum roll please) Bob.
- GeorgiaDad
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
Not at all. There are a lot of advantages to having a health soil. Since I started working with my soil I have seen a lot of changes not just in the soil. I used AACT to kick start the micro's. I have been feeding the lawn with cracked corn, saw dust, alfalfa, and occasionally coffee grounds. Besides the fall leaves disappearing in a hurry. I've noticed several other things happening.Tony alony wrote: So am I wasting time trying to make a healthier soil?
Fire ants. Gone. They used to be a consent battle. I haven't had a mound in a few years now.
Ants. Gone. They were a bigger problem than the fire ants. They would be everywhere and in everything. I would spray chemicals around the house every year. Inside too.
Roaches. Gone. Same deal as the ants.
Dog poo. It dissolves in to the lawn. The only time I have to pickup after the dog is when we have a very cold winter.
Now there are a couple of more things I do also. I spray White Rain shampoo ~3 times a year. Spray milk a couple of times in the fall and spring when temps are in the upper 70's to low 80's. I will also add molasses to the shampoo in the fall right before the leaves drop. This kinda kick starts the herd.
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
Congrats Georgia Dad! It,s encouraging to hear from other members who are satisfied with practicing some principles of the organic approach to lawn care. Just as you pointed out, and also ; Andy's reminders that there is no magic bullet, a Healthy Soil returns many rewards and quite a few less headaches overall. I'm trying to get my soil in the same state as yours.
Here's hoping that others will share their success stories as well.
Here's hoping that others will share their success stories as well.
- Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: Can Compost Teas be used this late in the season?
My lawns always struggled before I took up organic gardening. They continued to struggle for a year or two until I discovered deep and infrequent watering.
Getting right to the point, cooler weather (below 75 degrees F) is a much better time to use AACT than any other time of year. In fact above 75 degrees you are absolutely wasting your time. Tea made above 75 degrees cannot hold enough oxygen in the water to nourish the aerobic microbes, so they all die, practically immediately, leaving only the anaerobic microbes. There is no amount of aeration that can force O2 into warm water.
Fire ants, believe it or not, have their good side. Many ranchers in Texas have decided to leave them alone and save the money spent on insecticides. The pets and livestock learn what the ants smell like and leave them alone. The benefit is that the fire ants completely rid the acreage of ticks and fleas which further saves the rancher the cost of insecticides against those pests.
Getting right to the point, cooler weather (below 75 degrees F) is a much better time to use AACT than any other time of year. In fact above 75 degrees you are absolutely wasting your time. Tea made above 75 degrees cannot hold enough oxygen in the water to nourish the aerobic microbes, so they all die, practically immediately, leaving only the anaerobic microbes. There is no amount of aeration that can force O2 into warm water.
Fire ants, believe it or not, have their good side. Many ranchers in Texas have decided to leave them alone and save the money spent on insecticides. The pets and livestock learn what the ants smell like and leave them alone. The benefit is that the fire ants completely rid the acreage of ticks and fleas which further saves the rancher the cost of insecticides against those pests.
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