Growing Solutions Compost Tea Blog

Growing Solutions President Michael Alms reports in from Austin, TX

“The Soil and Water Connection, the 20th Annual US Composting Council Conference theme, certainly brought Compost Tea to mind as a cost effective tool to support water holding capacity in soil,” Growing Solutions President and USCC member Michael Alms commented  while in Austin, TX. (We’ll go deeper into the subject of water holding capacity and Compost Tea in future posts.)

In other Council news, new Executive Director Michael Virga gave an excellent plenary speech outlining many new directions for USCC. Virga announced the relocation of USCC headquarters to Bethesda, MD in April 2012, allowing a more strategic proximity to Capitol Hill and key decision makers that will lift compost awareness on a national level.

“Presenters and attendees discussed establishing vermicompost as a distinct and viable new frontier,” Michael noted as the conference ended. ”Growing Solutions is looking forward to new projects implementing the use of vermicompost and Compost Tea throughout Mexico in 2012 with a new strategic partnership,” he added.

“Our continued participation in Compost Tea research was evident in a compelling presentation by Dr. Fatih Büyüksönmez, Associate Professor at San Diego State University,” Michael explained. He is researching the use of Compost Tea for bioremediation of contaminated soils, utilizing a Growing Solutions System10 and Compost Tea Catalyst. With the help of a graduate student, Dr. Büyüksönmez intends to provide further details of the research at next year’s USCC annual meeting in Orlando, FL. More details forthcoming on this subject in future posts.

Chronicling more than two decades of growth and changes in earthworm composting technology, Clive A. Edwards, Norman Q. Arancon and Rhonda L. Sherman co-edited  Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes, and Environmental Management, a 623-page international, comprehensive, and definitive work on how earthworms and microorganisms interact to break down organic wastes on a commercial basis. Published by CRC Press, the book includes research from scientists around the world, exploring the dramatic growth and change in vermiculture technology since 1988.

The use of vermicompost tea is detailed in Chapter 11, The Production of Vermicompost Aqueous Solutions or Teas, written by Cindy Salter and Dr. Edwards. Cindy, a long-time advocate of composting and compost tea, has worked with Growing Solutions and is currently with Seeds of Change at its Oregon production farm. Growing Solutions’ Compost Tea Systems using Fine Bubble Diffusion technology are shown in the book as an example of aerated compost tea production. Cindy’s contribution to the book is in part due to her work with Mary Appelhof, to whom the book is dedicated. Cindy recalled, “Mary was partly responsible for my introduction to compost tea in 1999. She inspired many of us to dig into this field and share her enthusiasm for worms and their ‘micro-brethren.’”

Seeds of Change Director of Seed Production Joel Reiten has wormed his way through all 623 pages, and declared the book an enjoyable read. “This is the most comprehensive, first of its kind compilation of real science with tremendous value for the growing vermicompost and vermicompost tea industry. Commercial growers are eager for this kind of data in order to justify incorporating vermicompost and vermicompost tea into their acreages,” Joel explained.

Vermicompost Technology is available through CRC Press in hardcover and eBook, and in hardcover at amazon.com.

Michael Alms presents an overview of the compost tea industry at the Hilo workshop.

Sold out! Two words we usually hear from garden centers offering compost tea as the growing season heats up…but this time it was a sell out crowd at a full day workshop in Hilo, HI, organized by the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association and funded by the University of Hawaii. The more than 80 in attendance soaked up the latest research and innovative uses of compost, vermicompost and compost tea during presentations and field trips over the course of the day. Presenters included Dr. Norman Arancon (Sustainable Agriculture Program, CAFNRM), Dr. Ted Radovich (Sustainable Farming Systems Laboratory, UH-CTAHR) and Growing Solutions’ Michael Alms. The afternoon included an on site compost tea demonstration in a commercial vegetable operation at Island Harvest Organics in Pahoa. Michael offered an overview of the 15-year-old compost tea industry, and a look to the future in tropical environments and elsewhere.

Compost tea is applied to pak choi at various stages of growth, part of the SARE grant project led by Dr. Ted Radovich.

Hawaii is leading the world in researching compost tea and its use in tropical and subtropical production systems. The University of Hawaii has a dedicated department for organic and sustainable agriculture, with Dr. Radovich and Dr. Arancon leading the efforts. Dr. Radovich discussed the current SARE (Sustainable Agriculture & Research Education) grant project using compost tea on pak choi. Growing Solutions is participating in this project to further a better understanding of the use of compost tea in on-farm trials and through educational activities, including the May 6 Hilo event.

Dr. Arancon is co-editor of the latest and most comprehensive text discussing compost and compost tea, Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes, and Environmental Management. Stay tuned for a post about this culmination of work from an international cast of scientists. Dr. Arancon and Dr. Radovich both work with Compost Tea System10s in their research efforts at UH/Hilo.