Compost ripe with potential

By Lynn Dewing

There could be a bright future brewing at Turf Ecology Compost Tea Co.

The company, created by Lynda Schmidt and her scientist partner, Anton Wytenburg, produces a specially brewed tea for lawns and turf.

The tea is designed to reduce the need for chemical fertilizer applications, eliminate the need for aeration and dethatching and reduce water consumption, mowing and gas emissions.

The tea is a live aerobic culture that contains a mixture of worm castings, Yucca extract, kelp and other microbial sourced materials.

The ingredients are mixed and allowed to interact for 48 hours. During that time, the microbe population doubles every 20 minutes.

The resulting tea is applied to lawns within four to six hours, reinoculating the turf and root zone and accelerating the soil eco-system.

"Before chemical companies dominated the industry, organic gardeners used different recipes with different herbs and minerals", said Schmidt.

"This is a hobby right now. My farming friends get way more out of a little acreage using it".

Schmidt said the pioneering work of Elaine Ingram of the Soil Foodweb has helped reveal the potential of compost teas.

Ingram's ideas have led to the use of compost teas on 10,000 acre crops in the Lethbridge area, reducing the need for agricultural chemicals.

 

The OACC gratefully acknowledges the author for her permission to post this article on our website. December, 2006.