C. 3b. Fermentative Compost Tea

Fermentative growth implies facultative anaerobic organisms in the medium.

Facultative organisms have the metabolic pathways for BOTH aerobic growth, and for anaerobic growth. They carry an “extra” genetic load, which makes them non-competitive with strict aerobes who carry the DNA for only aerobic metabolism, and non-competitive with strict anaerobes who also carry only one set of genes, for anaerobic metabolism. When conditions are fully aerobic, or fully anaerobic, the facultatives cannot compete well, but in the intermediate ranges of oxygen, where flucatuations in oxygen will shut down the true aerobes, or the true anaerobes, the facultatives “win”.

When organisms growing in the tea use up oxygen at a rate faster than oxygen can diffuse into the tea, true aerobes go to sleep, and organisms that grow better in reduced oxygen conditions wake up and grow.

If fermentative facultative organisms are present, or are added, such as EM inocula, lactic acid fermenters such as in production of yogurt or kimchee, the facultative anaerobes will compete with and prevent the growth of the human pathogens. Typically the organic acids produced by fermentative facultative anaerobes and the competition for foods suppress human pathogens.

Inhibition of un-desirable organisms through production of antibiotics may occur, which means bio-pesticide abilities should be recognized.

But, the conditions that routinely encourages the growth of the inhibitory, competitive biology that removes the human pathogens and other disease-causing organisms, has not been documented. The problem with compost teas that become reduced in oxygen for a period of time is lack of knowledge of how long was the tea brew anaerobic? How reduced in oxygen did it become? What foods were present, to select for the growth of which organisms?

Once facultative, fermentative organisms growth conditions become as well understood as the conditions for actively aerated beneficial organisms to grow, then this kind of compost tea might be as accepted.

But until we understand how to make fermentative teas so they consistently and routinely produce the desired results, we should avoid the hype that says they can be used safely.

Please note that the Soil Soup machine, the Growing Solutions machine, most of the not-tested machines, and the drip-through the compost into a trough types of machines fall into this category of tea machine, where the tea drops down into anaerobic ranges. Sometimes these brewers get good results, because they either did not become fully anaerobic, or they managed to achieve conditions where the beneficial fermentative organisms grew. But consistency is lacking. The people who make these brewers do not know what product their tea makers are actually producing at any particular time. It seems that until they do proper documentation, buyers should avoid these machines.

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