We have been delving into the dirty secret behind our food, which is that it comes from bacteria, primarily, with considerable assistance from a social network of fungi, nematodes, micro-arthropods and soil-dwelling microbes of various descriptions, many
This
week we asked Joey “Mr Tea” Thomas to come dose the Ecovillage Training
Center with his eclectic brew of liquid compost. Mr Tea’s recipe is as
good as any batch of Biodynamic Preps or EM (Effective Micro-organisms)
you might already be using. It is inestimably superior to MiracleGrow® or other commercial, bagged soil amendments.
In a large stainless steel tank retrofitted with aerating pipes, Mr Tea combines de-chlorinated warm water and…
Kelp
Humates
Folic Acid
Fish Oil Emulsion
Bat Guano
Feather Meal
Virgin Forest Soil
Deep Pasture Topsoil
Composted Animal Manure
Composted Kitchen Scraps
Composted Poultry Litter
Worm Castings & Liquor, and
Biochar
The
kelp, fish oil, and most of the composts provide rich food for the
microbes while they brew. The humates are million-year old deposits with
diverse paleobacteria. The bat guano is drawn from distant caves rich
in trace minerals and packed with still more varieties of exotic
bacteria. The two kinds of soil contain a complex of two discrete living
microbiomes, one the fungally-rich virgin forest and the other a
bacterially dominated grasslands. The fine biochar particulates provide
enough soil structure to retain water – about 10 times the volume of the
biochar itself — and aerobic conditions, while providing a coral
reef-like microbial habitat. The animal manures, worm castings, feather
meal and compostables all contribute to the biodiversity of available
microfauna.
In
the world of bacterial epigenetics, dictated by the particular demands
of diverse members of the web in different seasons and weather
conditions, this is a supermarket of genotypes that allow the bacteria
to switch up and morph into whatever might be needed for soil health and
fertility, capturing passing genes and unlocking regions of their DNA
and RNA to provide new or ancient solutions to current conditions.
Bandwidth
permitting, you can watch this video that's so sexy it should be
x-rated. This is a revolution disguised as organic gardening. The sex is
going on right in front of the camera, you’d just need a microscope to
see it. Use your imagination.
more: http://peaksurfer.blogspot.com
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My Badges
My Permaculture Qualifications
Advanced Permaculture
Type:
Teacher Training
Teacher:
Max O. Liindegger
Location:
Crystal Waters, NSW
Date:
Jan 1995
Advanced Permaculture
Type:
Teacher Training
Teacher:
Max O. Lindegger
Location:
Rysovo, Russia
Date:
Jan 1997
Financial Permaculture
Type:
Gaia University
Teacher:
Andy Langford, Jennifer Dauksha English
Location:
Hohenwald, TN
Date:
Jan 2009
Ecovillage Design
Type:
Other
Teacher:
Max O. Lindegger, Declan Kennedy
Location:
Tlholego, nr. Rustenberg, South Africa
Date:
Jan 1998
Carbon Farming
Type:
Soil Biology/Compost
Teacher:
Elaine Ingham, Darren Doherty, Brad Lancaster, Erik Toensmeier, Joel Salatin
Location:
The Farm Ecovillage Training Ctr, Tennessee
