In Search of Soil #5 - Troy Hinke

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In this episode of In Search of Soil, we’ll be getting information about compost tea from soil consultant Troy Hinke.
There is a multitude of soil amendments out there just bursting out of the catalogs, and each kind promises one, two, or a few things. Some of them are met with skepticism, while others are met with excitement.
One of those things is compost tea. It’s one of the soil amendments that is sworn to by a number of farmers.
But what is it, exactly? And what does it do? It’s promoted as an everything-cure, but is that true? Today, we’re joined by Troy Hinke to shed some light on the subject.
More on Troy: / livingrootscomposttea
Enjoy the show?
Drop me a line @diegofooter - / diegofooter

[@oobik_design]

this is so good - your new podcast is pure gold for us soil nerds! thanks for doing this DIego

[@tcotroneo]

I appreciate all these soil lectures.. It seems everyone has their own niche on producing compost or teas.. Like your doing Diego, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to make several types of compost, make several types of innoculants and teas with various ingredients.. Look at these creations under a microscope to see what is going on.. And take good notes.. I also feel, once you have a very good system, then stick with it.. For instance, I have a few raised beds dedicated to tomatoes, peppers, and now recently eggplant.. This is my 3rd year of a particular system (annual rye/clover) winter cover, cut and apply my chicken run compost in Mid May, then plant in my veggie starts.. Fungal dominated teas thru the growing season.. Very healthy plants 2+ years.. Here is a case for woodchips in the garden.. What if you applied a bacterial dominated compost, had a so so crop that also had heavy weed pressure.. Then you added woodchips at end of season to smother the weeds from seeding out.. Next year pulled back woodchips to plant summer annuals.. Now you have a more balanced biology..

[@matiasra]

this is so good Diego, thanks from Argentina

[@gamercat4396]

Just build a series of Johnston--Su bioreactors, each one started a crop harvest apart. That way, (after the initial maturation period), you will always have a steady supply of compost available. Steady supply is key, no grower can afford to wait for compost to mature. When you need it, you need it now!

[@gamercat4396]

Grab some fungi sticks and stuff them in your backpack when hiking. Use these fungi to seed the wood chip mulch in your orchard. I have dozens of fungal species in my orchard and my fruit trees are healthy and produce awesome fruit! Fungi everywhere in underlying soil. If you want to improve your yield, you need to hike more!

[@gamercat4396]

Awesome discussion!

[@RominaJones]

This was fantastic, just so many questions answered. Great job!

[@mushethecowboycook9353]

This is gene at raleigh city farm (and friend of Josh Sattin) this is really great information in addition to what I learned from Troy on No Till Growers Live podcast. Enjoy this new channel

[@jackreckitt5162]

I am on town water so I use water from my creek to make tea.

[@gamercat4396]

Leaves are great to make fluffy O2-rich breathable compost. I rake my neighbor's yards for free. Can't get enough of them!

[@Sculptables]

Compost that is still steaming, has not lost much volume. Sales are made on volume in Australia.

[@Doitallgp]

Finally, someone voiced an opposing opinion to Elaine’s concerning mineral replacement

[@unclesteve313]

Love the new videos.

[@RubberDuckStyle]

Thanks

[@wadepatton2433]

Ditto what I said under Dr. Elaine's interview. This one I can't even start, completely boombass vs. fuzztin. I'll stop looking.

[@11551735]

It's gonna be another sleepless night digesting all this... If you keep like this I'm gonna end being a PHD Super Master in soil...

[@bhishmadesai6500]

Can I add micronutrients in compost pile to make sure I am adding them in RIGHT FORM?

[@idiocracy10]

Diego, would love for you to talk to Leighton Morrison, the guy has amazing k nowledge. John Kempf too.

[@chantallachance4905]

Home Compost tea its easy to do and it lessssssss expensive and it do the work I like it so Much I put compost tea in my water barrel 220 litres with a water immersion pump I spread the garden and grass......free He use the recipe of korean Natural Farming of M. Cho Its WORK so well I do it this year

[@Mike-ki7zt]

I successfully grow vegetables in my wood chips, especially if I pour fish JLF on them; volunteer/pioneer brambles and forest trees grow side by side with volunteer/pioneer plantains, dandelions, and thistles in man-handled/disturbed areas--sure, many plants don't like compact nutrient-poor soil but seeing it as one or another (fungal OR bacterial) is BS, at least in the sense of using knowledge of plant succession practically in how you should build soil; and, moreover, those so-called bacteria-loving weeds grow lusher in wood chips. What seems to dictate what wants to grow on my land is light (where is the forest canopy, which soil is exposed, and what already has plants on it), what seeds birds and critters are pooping out, and of course the seeds fallen and blown in. This guest doesn't convince me that compost tea works better than compost-in-place, where I throw my plant food scraps (like food waste JLF but not broken down, just fermented in water until the bucket fills up) on the ground and cover them in wood chips, mostly because of one of your last questions which is about putting microbes in an environment (bad soil) that it didn't breed in and all its diversity (which is the benefit of it) can't survive in the long term. If the soil has organic material in or on it enabling the microbes to survive, then it already has microbes in it that prefer that material. If you build it (food scraps, weeds, crop residue, wood chips, fallen leaves), they will come. Even the compost worms (wrigglers) come, it's amazing--makes an awesome source of zero-work (except pulling them out) protein chicken feed as well. The fermented food smell doesn't attract mammals because it starts with an even, foul smell. Even if they come, they are leaving their manure and the moles get there attracted to the worms anyway and they bring aeration. So you have a mix of aerobes and anaerobes, fungi and bacteria, weed suppression (wood chips), cold composting and vermicomposting, microorganisms breeding in their own home and temperature, and with as little work and money as possible and as little disease as possible because disease only thrives where there's lack of competition and health--why try to burn off pathogens in a single place when they're in the air everywhere (look at all the sanitation you have to do to grow mushrooms or mycelium indoors). I understand my methods could make more work for farms, but if I had a large farm, I would just adhere more closely to KNF/Jadam with less of my own tweaks to it.

[@kennypridemore5466]

Troy hasn't add much info .... he just repeats what he has heard from Dr. Elain .... your questions have dumbfounded him .... Troy your a KZbin scientist ! .... lol ... just kidding, I know your not a scientist 😉