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| I have been looking at setting up a vermicompost bin, such as the ones shown on Vcompost.com. They also include a section on compost tea, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with using compost tea on bonsai rather than chemical fertilizers.
My concerns are with clogging up the drainage of the soils. Although proper filtering should take care of any significant chucks, right? |
Here is a link that might be useful: vcompost
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jack_r 9 (jrbonsai@verizon.net) on Thu, Nov 19, 09 at 0:38
| I have thought about it but never acted on it. None of the people I know in bonsai do it. Many save rain water to water their trees with however. The trend in bonsai right now seems to be toward using frequent dilute fertilizers to encourage even growth and maximum health. Some people use liquid others use granular or pellet fertilizer. The little I have read on the matter suggests that there is too little nutrient in compost tea to be sufficient by itself. It might be useful as a way to get beneficial bacteria into the soil mix. I have added worm castings to some of my soil mixes as an experiment. I have not noticed any difference in the growth of the trees but I have noticed that the worm castings caused a slowing of the drainage rate. I don't think I will continue with the castings except for a few trees that need more moisture retention. I would be interested to know anyone elses experience with compost tea or worm canstings. Jack |
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- Posted by forestelves 6 KS (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 17:42
| Your tree will be healthier with the vermi-compost tea then it will with the Gasoil base fertilizer. Plus it comes down to whether you want to stay and be like everyone else or be yourself and do what you think. Hey, jack_r he was talking about tea not the casting it’s self. Plus, when you add casting you mix it in the soil don't leave it has a mulch, in nature the casting are found in a cavity that is used as restroom for ground worms. Red wigglers are like chickens and are ok with a lot of manure near them, but are healthier with a cleaner environment. I recommend that get the PVFS Compost Tea Brewer from Groworganic.com and brew the compost that way. If you still brew the tea then all the good stuff will be at the bottom of the bucket. I use the PVFS Compost Tea Brewer and my plants are healthy. |
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| GardenSteve, I use compost tea, composted seaweed tea, ground up egg shells, vinegar, molasses, and rabbit pellet tea on my bonsai. Shohinken |
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| The thing is Shohinken, that you're living more or less in the tropics, but the rest of us are growing indoors, and I wonder if all that good stuff would end up attracting bugs that we would have trouble with. |
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- Posted by greenman28 Nor Cal 7/8 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 19, 09 at 11:10
| Tea and coffee have compounds that can potentially inhibit root-growth. Compost belongs in the garden, in my opinion, not in the container. In a container situation, the fewer accumulated salts, the better. Josh |
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| "Your tree will be healthier with the vermi-compost tea then [sic] it will with the Gasoil base fertilizer." That's a pretty absolute statement. You're guaranteeing that? I think this thread has a LOT of additional information/suggestions (by more than a single poster) that would be potentially harmful or of no benefit to your trees as well. Please be guarded in what you accept as something you would like to incorporate into your growing regimen. Al |
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