"The Soil Food Web is like a mini universe that keeps getting bigger as you dig deeper with the power of a microscope. It is a complex and integral part of our planet and much is still to be discovered"
Jason Pepe

​Stop relying on pesticides and chemical fertilizers!  

Composting basics for healthy compost teas & soil

Compost is made in various ways. The typical method involves the use of layers of organic matter in a pile. The pile temperature should be maintained at or above 131 degrees for 14 days. The pile needs to be turned regularly to encourage the growth of beneficial organisms. The turning introduces air and this stimulates aerobic bacteria and fungi to thrive. A pile that is not turned and aerated would very likely create an unhealthy mix of organisms to thrive. Other methods like vermicomposting work well and are also used. All composting takes time. Fresh brewed compost tea saves you time and money.  

Compost teas are only as good as the source of the organic matter, the type of organisms present and the aeration that went into creating the compost. The brewed tea must also be handled and prepared properly so it is safe for your plants and the harvest consumed from the plants. 

Some of the beneficial organisms in good compost teas are plant friendly fungi, bacteria and protozoa. 

All the organics in quality compost teas play nicely and won't hurt your plants leaves or roots. Actually the tea will help control and eliminate any unhealthy protozoa and nematodes that could be in your soil harming your plants right now! You see, compost tea fights off the unwelcomed root eaters and it helps suppress diseases naturally. Another important benefit is that the tea will improve the health of the soil and also release nutrients to your plants.  

Preparing a healthy quality compost is no easy task. For example one thing most gardeners and farmers do not know is the following:  

For optimum beneficial protozoa populations, a fully completed compost pile must be kept undisturbed and allowed to cool just below 125 degrees for one week.

For beneficial nematodes the completed pile is allowed to rest for two weeks below 115 degrees. These are just two of the many important details often overlooked when people make compost in a bin.  

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking you can use compost tea liquid stored in a bottle. Unless it is made fresh it is not beneficial.

A bottle of fresh brewed tea should ideally be less than a few hours old. You want to brew your very own fresh  tea and you must use it within hours for it to be most effective. Using a fresh quality aerobic compost tea mix will greatly benefit your plants, the environment and each and every creature on our planet.

Healthier plants grown naturally with compost tea is a win - win situation. Stop killing the soil and our planet. Break away from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides!    

Let's all enjoy cleaner air, water and more nutritious fruits and vegetables. Are you ready to jump on board and begin to see the benefits of  fresh brewed compost tea?  

Many of you still ask about an old product called Organkithrive and ask me to sell it again. That Organikthrive was really good stuff.  I no longer offer it but you really should follow the link below.

While Organikthrive was a spectacular fresh brew you could make, it was not as good as Compost Tea in A Box.  I discovered this new product about six months ago and decided to try it. Well that was it, I actually immediately switched to Compost Tea in A Box. You will be amazed and your plants will be very grateful!

Below is a link that offers you everything you need to start brewing a great compost tea.
I truly believe it is amazing and use it on all my plants.

​Thanks for reading this and go ahead and try Compost Tea in A Box. Give it to your plants and you will be impressed!!

Plant Nutrition and Deficiency Symptoms

Keep your plants healthy:
      
Nitrogen (N)

• Symptoms: Older leaves, generally at the bottom of the plant, will yellow. Remaining foliage is often light green. Stems may also yellow and may become spindly. Growth slows.
• Sources: Any compound containing the words: 'nitrate', 'ammonium' or 'urea'. Also manure.
• Notes: Many forms of nitrogen are water soluble. Our atmosphere is composed of 78% Nitrogen. Our planet is 75% water.

Sources of (N)
Dried Blood, Garden Manure, Cottonseed Meal, Ammonium Sulfate, Urea

Organic farming and gardening methods focus on feeding the soil and not the plants. Reliance on synthetic fertilizers and most chemical pesticides are avoided completely. The organic grower focuses on the importance of all micro organisms in the soil and the ability they have to release natural nutrients found in composted organic materials. Although the Major Nutrients known as
 (N), (P) and (K) are needed in the greatest quantities, a deficiency of any one nutrient listed here can prevent plant growth, or reduce it to unsatisfactory levels.

Using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides often destroy the natural balance of the soil food web and breeds diseases. This allows for an overpopulation of damaging insects to develop. The organic grower produces a healthier more nutritional food that is better tasting and protects the environment and the food produced.

Understanding the soil food web and how plants interact with it is fundamental to growing a healthy, abundant crop.  

Phosphorus (P)

• • Symptoms: Small leaves that may take on a reddish-purple tint. Leaf tips can look burnt and older leaves become almost black. Reduced fruit or seed production.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the words 'phosphate' or 'bone'. Also greensand.
  • Notes: Very dependent on pH range.

Sources of (P)
Rock Phosphate, Bone Meal, Single Super Phosphate, Triple Super Phosphate  

Potassium (K)

• • Symptoms: Older leaves may look scorched around the edges and/or wilted. Interveinal chlorosis (yellowing between the leaf veins) develops.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the words 'potassium' or 'potash'.

Sources of (K)
Sulfate of Potash, Sulfate of Potash Magnesia, Muriate of Potash, Greensand, Kelp.

Macronutrients

• Calcium (Ca)
  • Symptoms: New leaves are distorted or hook shaped. The growing tip may die. Contributes to blossom end rot in tomatoes and also tip burn of cabbage. 
  • Sources: Any compound containing the word 'calcium'. Also gypsum.
  • Notes: Not often a deficiency problem and too much will inhibit other nutrients.

• Magnesium (Mg)
  • Symptoms: Slow growth and leaves turn pale yellow, sometimes just on the outer edges. New growth may be yellow with dark spots.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the word 'magnesium', such as Epson Salts.

• Sulfur (S)
  • Symptoms: New growth turns pale yellow, older growth stays green. Stunts growth.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the word 'sulfate'.
  • Notes: More prevalent in dry weather.

Micronutrients

• Boron (B)
  • Symptoms: Poor stem and root growth. Terminal (end) buds may die. Witches brooms sometimes form.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the words 'borax' or 'borate'.
  
  Copper (Cu)
  • Symptoms: Stunted growth. Leaves can become limp, curl, or drop. Seed stalks also become limp and bend over.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the words 'copper', 'cupric' or 'cuprous'.
  
  Manganese (Mn)
  • Symptoms: Growth slows. Younger leaves turn pale yellow, often starting between veins. May develop dark or dead spots. Leaves, shoots and fruit diminished in size. Failure to bloom.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the words 'manganese' or 'manganese'
  
  Molybdenum (Mo)
  • Symptoms: Older leaves yellow, remaining foliage turns light green. Leaves can become narrow and distorted.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the words 'molybdate' or 'molybdic'.
  • Notes: Sometimes confused with nitrogen deficiency.
  
  Zinc (Zn)
  • Symptoms: Yellowing between veins of new growth. Terminal (end) leaves may form a rosette.
  • Sources: Compounds containing the word 'zinc'.
  • Notes: Can become limited in higher pH.

        Cobalt (Co) and Sodium (Na)

 A cobalt deficiency may be indicated by Reduced growth and
yellowing of foliage. Sodium deficiency can lead to a wilted appearance for a prolonged period of time. Plant stress from over and under watering may also cause plants to wilt.

​How To Fertilize Fruit Trees
Top dress with organic fertilizer when planting and every 8 to 12 weeks with a type that has a 3:1:2 ratio of Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P) and Potassium (K) for optimal growth of the tree for the first year or two.

Fertilizer should be applied in a wide circle around the tree, starting at the drip line and extending out. The idea is to encourage the roots to grow away from the trunk, become anchored and seek nutrients. The canopy of the tree generally follows the root growth.

When the trees reach fruiting size, change your fertilizer to a type with a ratio of 1:1:3 N:P:K. This  slows the leaf and branch growth ( vegetative growth) and promotes flowering and fruit development.

​Always mulch the ground and keep the mulch six inches away from the trees trunk. Use composted or fresh cut leafy plant material to provide humus. Humus is developed from the decomposing plant mulch by the soil micro-organisms. Humus helps the soil hold nutrients around the tree for longer periods and helps to slow down the release of the nutrients, steadily over time. The mulch keeps soil temperatures lower and helps prevent weeds.

The Soil Food Web
​"Pepe" on Compost Tea   

​The future of farming and gardening seems to be returning to the past. The ancient people of our planet somehow understood the importance of the soil almost instinctively. The ancients had more of a universal or micro cosmic understanding of our soil and the importance of it to human survival. They understood rhythms, and natural cycles. The ancients had a keen sense of our planet and the power of the moon, stars and our sun.

Today, The Soil Food Web is a fancy term for the incredible diversity of organisms present in healthy soil. These organisms range in size from the tiniest one-celled bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa, to the more complex nematodes and micro arthropods, earthworms, insects, small vertebrates, and plants.

The interaction of all these organisms offers tremendous benefits in organic farming. All of these organisms eat, grow, and move through the soil. These diverse creatures help our planet to have clean air and water. They also assist in keeping plants healthy and in managing soil compaction and water flow.

These organisms maintain an ongoing cycle of decomposition. They decompose organic matter in the soil such as manures, plant residues and even pesticides. They also sequester nitrogen and other nutrients from the air and soil that might otherwise enter groundwater. These important creatures also fix nitrogen and make it available to plants. Many organisms like larger visible earthworms enhance soil aggregation and porosity. Soil organisms prey on crop pests and are a source of food for above-ground animals. The Soil Food Web is like a mini universe that keeps getting bigger as you dig deeper with the power of a microscope. It is a complex and integral part of our planet and much is still to be discovered.

Today, our new understanding of Actively Aerated Compost Tea offers tremendous benefits for our soil, air, water and the food we eat. Our health begins with the soil. When we care for the soil the plants will pretty much take care of themselves. Healthy soil is possible because of the billions of tiny hard working friends that live, reproduce and die in it. Returning balance to our soil is possible with compost teas. These teas can be applied as soil drenches or as foliar applications. More and more farmers, landscapers and homeowners are turning to compost teas and its benefits everyday.

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​The finest micro brewed compost tea can be the one you make yourself!

Why not make your own fresh brewed compost tea? Your tea can be formulated to intensively breed beneficial organisms found in organic soils. Bring the soil food web to your garden and start growing better, healthier tasting fruits and vegetables. 

Tip: A compost brew that has an ammonia smell is not good to use
because it has gone anaerobic! That tea will not benefit the plant and could make you sick. 

About mycorrhizal fungi and fruit trees

​​Mycorrhiza are fungi found on nearly 90% of plants on earth. In nutrient-poor or moisture-deficient soils, nutrients taken up by the fungal hyphae can lead to improved plant growth and reproduction. As a result, mycorrhizal plants are often more competitive and better able to tolerate environmental stresses than are non mycorrhizal plants. Two types of mycorrhizal fungi exist. Endo and Ecto. About 5% of plants benefit from Ectomycorrhizal fungi. 

​Tropical fruit trees are endomycorrhizal. This mycorrhizae lives inside the roots. In the tropical jungles, the mycorrhizae digest the litter which continually falls from the trees, being decomposed and recycled back into the trees. It works in conjunction with the roots of the trees and does an absolutely fantastic job.


Mycorrhiza, is defined as a fungus-root.
Fungus (Myco) and the Roots (rhiza) Mycorrhiza

The term was first applied to fungus-tree associations in the writings of the German forest pathologist A.B. Frank in the year 1885. Since then we have learned that a majority of land plants form symbiotic relationships with fungi. Mycorrhizal colonies form on plant roots in natural conditions in healthy soil. 

These fungi in combination with other beneficial soil microbes and other organisms release nutrition from the soil and they transport these nutrients to the plant. The plant provides the fungi, bacteria and other organisms in the soil with carbon and carbohydrates. In this (win - win) symbiotic relationship the fungus and the plant benefit. Additionally the increased surface area of fungi all around the roots helps defend the plant from soil borne diseases and assists in water absorption. 

Mycorrhizal Fungi is just one part of the Soil Food Web. Understanding the interactions between these organisms and using the knowledge of natural soil science is the fundamental principle for organic or natural food production.

Healthy soil requires more than just beneficial fungi, it also needs bacteria and many other organisms, minerals, water etc. In general, Most fruit bearing trees benefit from higher concentrations of mycorrhizal fungi than vegetables. Vegetables are better cared for when concentrations of beneficial bacteria populate the soil.

Pepe's Planting Tip:
When planting a fruit tree mix mycorrhizae with some soil in a ratio of 1 to 10. Do not use chlorinated water or you will kill the beneficial fungi. Avoid using soil fungicides. When adding after a tree has been planted follow these steps.

Make some holes about six inch deep and about 3 feet in from the tree's drip line. Add a scoopful into the holes and cover with the soil.

For smaller potted plants, poke holes in the soil using a stick or a pencil. Place about one teaspoon of mycorrhizae in each of the holes. Use three holes for example in a 10 inch diameter pot. You can also add the mycorrhizae to seed starter mixes for planting seeds.


Below are links for two great products you should consider trying. Use it when planting your fruit trees.

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​Organic Gardening tips 


Warning:  Always test on a small portion of your plant before use. Protect yourself from inhalation or any skin, eye contact or ingestion of any of these formulas. Keep all formulas away from children and pets. Mix and use at your own risk!

​Organic slug and snail deterrent:  

​​ Spread a ring of wood ash around individual plants in your gardens. One or two handfuls and it's better to use composted wood ash. Wet wood ash no longer works as a pesticide. Apply some more but don't over do it or you will change soil pH and have salt buildup that will likely hurt your plant and not the pests. Much safer to use the composted wood ash dry on pests.


​Organic Fertilizer:  

Do not use on acid loving plants like blueberries! Wood ash will raise soil pH.
​Wood ashes ​from fireplaces contain 10-25% calcium, 1-4% magnesium, 5-15% potassium and 1-3% phosphorus and other trace minerals. Use it in the vegetable garden and around the drip line of fruit trees. Use some on your tomatoes and other nightshade relatives like eggplant etc.

Use wood ash that has been composted. Uncomposted wood ash contains salt.  A small amount (handful or two) won't hurt your plants generally but large repeated applications might. Always test an area around a plant and wait a few weeks to see how it reacts. Wood ash from Maples and Oaks will contain higher concentrations of minerals than softer woods like Pine.


​Organic Weed Killer:  
​ 
​Mix together thoroughly 5 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 5 tbsp baby shampoo, 5 tbsp Listerine mouthwash and 1 gal water. Transfer mixture to a garden sprayer and drench each weed. Do not overspray the surrounding plants or sod. Be sure to rinse out the sprayer before using again. Rinse it three times with just soap and water.