Picture posting is enabled for all :)
there's no published data that i'm aware of - it's only just becoming more mainstream, after being a niche/fringe area of research for quite some timemy own trials are of course anecdotal... but favourable, in the main (though a pal in canada found those fruit bushes treated with one of my recipes were singled out by bears and decimated).but as this only just becoming more mainstream, there appears to be a need to cast the net wider, to encompass the findings of more experienced researchers/growers.I've been considering donating some of my brews to those who want to try it, to see if it works and in what context (mostly it's been family, friends and keen organic growers i've met who have tried it in the past).I'm about to get another brew on, now the soil's warmed up, but i'd need potential researchers to report back data on a wide range of indicators...maybe, now the uk's waking up to the *potential* it might be the time to get an amateur research network up and running? i'm not sure what the appetite is out there, for such an idea...
I guess we are looking at whether the plants do better but also if they acquire an additional resistance to root diseases like onion rot because you mentioned onions ? Is that right? MM you will definitely get loads of interest if you are posting about this on allotment forums but we need a bit more to guide us and get any meaningful data.
The other wonder stuff that's never really got off the ground despite it being magic is worm poo, sold under various names such as Wormcast Pro. Has a fabulous effect, no one knows exactly why.
Quote from: lincsyokel2 on April 06, 2011, 20:58:25The other wonder stuff that's never really got off the ground despite it being magic is worm poo, sold under various names such as Wormcast Pro. Has a fabulous effect, no one knows exactly why.little bit of microbe trivia which will put thing into perspective on this subject:whenever soil is assessed for health, worms are often counted as an indicator of health and diversity of soil. Ok, fair enough - not surprising. What has been found over and over is that whenever a high worm population is encountered, the microbial population is also noted to be high and show great diversity between species. Conversley, where there are low microbe counts, the worm population is low. Why is this? Well, put simply worms and microbes have a symbiotic relationship. Worms, having no teeth but seven stomachs are a little like "cows of the soil" and like cows (and other ruminants) microbes are required for digestion. A worm needs microbes to digest organic matter and the microbes are "incubated" in the guts of worms - hence the connection and the mutal benefit we see as a symbiotic relationship.I ferment my compost with microbes, for this reason... then i put the fermented compost in the ground for the worms to feed on - about 8 weeks later (shorter in summer) the compost is all gone and i have healthy, highly humic soil as a reward. Mid way through the process you can dig into the fermented compost piles and find what my 9 year old son calls "worm nests" - millions or red worms, zilions of baby worms (which are white), worm eggs - it's amazing to see.i'll try to figure out how to post pics to show you a typical worm nest.the red worms are like the pioneers - once they've been in to munch up all the larger organic fractions, the earthworm population then blooms...