vermicompost

Compost Tea in the Tropics

February 20, 2015 by Growing Solutions

Tea Time in the Tropics: A Handbook for Compost Tea Production and Use explores compost tea from the perspective of growers, researchers and industry. The free downloadable handbook was produced as an output of a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant project entitled Enhancing Phytonutrient Content, Yield and Quality of Vegetables with Compost Tea in the Tropics. Growing Solutions’ founder and CEO Michael Alms was a project participant and co-author of the handbook. The publication is co-edited by Theodore Radovich, PhD and Norman Arancon, PhD.

Radovich, a longtime proponent of compost tea, is Assistant Extension Specialist in the Sustainable and Organic Farming Systems Laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). Arancon is Assistant Professor of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture, Forestry & Natural Resource Management at the University of Hawaii in Hilo. Dr. Arancon is a pioneer in researching the use of vermicomposts to increase the growth, flowering and yields of plants such as marigolds, petunias, bell peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and grapes. His research has also revealed that vermicompost teas can potentially have the same effects on plant growth and the suppression of pests and diseases.

The project explored compost tea through on-farm trials and educational activities in a variety of tropical island environments. The objectives of the SARE project were to:

Quantify the independent and interactive effects of compost quality extraction method and crop management on yield and phytonutrient content of model root, fruit and leaf vegetables.
Determine, at the whole-farm level, the effect of compost tea applications on yield, phytonutrient content, and profitability with commercial vegetable operations on three islands in Hawai’i.
Build and enhance the capacity of at least 300 growers to effectively employ compost tea to increase vegetable yield and phytonutrient content on their farms.

The project team cited as a basis of its pursuits a poor understanding of the interactions between compost type, crop, and environmental factors as they relate to plant yield and quality, particularly under tropical conditions. This lack of understanding restricts widespread adoption of compost tea technology to conventional farms that want to improve the sustainability of their operations.

The project was made available with support from the SARE program and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Compost Tea and Vermicompost at USCC Conference

January 23, 2012 by Growing Solutions

USCC_Announcement_Nov2-618x800 — 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.

Technology Compilation Includes Vermicompost Teas

June 24, 2011 by Growing Solutions

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.

Vermiculture Technology 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 Seeds of Change at its Oregon production farm and is currently with Growing Solutions. 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.

Compost Tea at University of Hawaii

May 27, 2011 by Growing Solutions

Compost Tea Workshop Hilo HI 05-06-11 — 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.

SARE Grant Radovich Compost Tea — 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.

System10 Tops Off Successful School Worm Program

December 14, 2010 by Growing Solutions

Sharon Tamanaha and a Growing Solutions Compost Tea System10 — Sharon Tamanaha puts the preschool's System10 to work.

Growing Solutions’ distributor Mindy Jaffe of Waikiki Worm Company reports on a great story of a process that we hope to see replicated in schools everywhere. It recalls the sagely adage of “it takes a village…”— in this case, a generous donor supplying a System10 to the Calvary-by-the-Sea Montessori Preschool in Aina Haina, Oahu, Hawaii, where organic waste fed to the school’s worm colony is fully recycled to everyone’s benefit.

Assistant teacher Sharon Tamanaha worked with Waikiki Worm to create the vermicompost program. Not only is the school’s garden and landscape benefiting from the weekly compost tea production, the fourth Sunday of every month is dedicated to tea brewed for sale to church members—always a sell out—that brings revenue to help sustain the program.

“We are very, very happy with our brewer,” Sharon says. “It’s easy to use and clean. Every plant is healthy and robust and the entire property just glows.”

Read the full article in Waikiki Worm Company’s newsletter here.

Growing Solutions, Inc.