I'm part of the "big business, energy- and resource-consuming compost tea industrial complex"

We started selling compost tea last year, and soon enough the name Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott came up. Dr. Chalker-Scott is a professor at WSU (Washington State University) who has written about compost tea before. She feels the science is far from proven, and has emerged as the most visible counter point to the compost tea hysteria going on in northern California. Yesterday in "The Garden Professors" Dr. Chalker-Scott posted "Compost tea-now a part of landscape design?", as an answer to the APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers) recently published "Guide to sustainable soils".

Dr. Chalker-Scott say's, "Imagine my frustation, then, when I was sent the national APLD 'Guide to Sustainable Soils.'  Most of this document is very good - lots of information and graphics from the USDA and other reliable resources.  But scroll down to page 5, under the section 'Soil Additives.'  And yes, there it is, compost tea.  Acccording to the APLD member who sent me this (not a Washington state member, by the way), the advisory committees that write these guidelines include people who make money from selling compost tea.  Surprised, no.  Disappointed yes."

Dr. Chalker-Scott makes valid points, just as proponents of compost tea do. At the end of her post Dr. Chalker-Scott says, "Compost tea is marketed, very effectively, through targeting emotional response.  We've already got science on our side, so here's my suggestion to those of you who fight the compost tea battle:start a little emotional targeting yourself:" You can read the suggestions for "fighting the battle", but the part that caught my attention was where the she suggests to, "point out that using compost is a natural, environmentally friendly approach to caring for the soil, rather than the big business, energy- and resource-consuming compost tea industrial complex that's exploded in that last decade."

As a seller of compost tea that puts me in the “big business, energy-and resource-consuming compost tea industrial complex”.  It seems that beyond the science there is a bit anger that people are making money selling tea. Dr. Chalker-Scott say’s “In this economy, there aren’t many people who can afford to live on principle rather than a paycheck.”

Why is it so important to “fight the compost tea battle”? Wouldn’t it be better that we sell compost tea that my customers like rather than some synthetic fertilizer produced by a real "industrial complex"? I don’t mind talking about, and discussing all aspects of compost tea. What I want to point out is that most tea brewers in my area are small business, not the ” big business, energy-and resource-consuming compost tea industrial complex” described.

Compost tea serves up controversy

We have started brewing and selling compost tea at our garden center. Never having brewed or used it I though it would be fun to see what happened. So we have been applying it in my vegetable garden as a drench. No other fertilizers or plant growth products we're used. We do routinely mix in organic matter before planting. In the past we would have to fertilize even after the organic matter was mixed in since the plants would show signs of nutrient deficiencies. This year the tea is all we have used. The garden has never been so lush or vibrant. I understand there is some controversy on the use of compost tea. Linda Chalker-Scott is one of authors of The Garden Professors, a blog for the extension service of Washington State University. Linda has written about compost tea and why she feels it's an un-proven science. Here is a post from 2010.

We are wondering if anyone else out there uses brewed compost tea, and what the results we're? I am trying to reconcile my  success in the garden using this stuff, with the science that Linda writes about. It does seem the controversy centers on the use of compost tea as a foliar spray (applied to the leaves) for fungus and insect control. We use it as a drench for "feeding" the soil, and plants.

Do you use it, or have you used it? What we're the results for you? Any explanation on why it "seems" to work in my garden, yet scientifically it shouldn't? Fascinating subject. Thanks in advance for your input.

Feeling crunchy?

Got my latest issue of one of the trade magazines we receive every month, Today's Garden Center.Jennifer Ploanz,

editor writes about "Going after 'Crunchy". As she explains, the term "crunchy" is a newer more positive version of hippy. It's about people who shop organic, understand what the term "carbon footprint" means, and live in a way they feel is sustainable. The whole magazine is devoted to "Green", with articles like "3 keys to make eco-friendly profitable" and "32 products to help your customers get greener". It's clear from this publication, and others like it that the nursery industry is starting to see the potential for organics, and natural products.

What are you going to do in another year when everything is "green"? How are you going to differentiate your business with organics when the box store down the street, and your other independent competition is on the bandwagon? Soon "green" is going to be "mainstream", and advertising that you carry organic products won't differentiate  you from anyone else. There may still be time to position yourselves as the "organic go to place" if your the only ones in the area that have organics. But eventually others will jump in, and your position as the only place with it will change to the "first" place that had it.

If you want to be known in your area of influence as the "go to" place for organics you will need someone on staff that lives and breathes this stuff. They need to understand about microbes, soil, pest control, and everything else concerning organics. When everyone is selling the same products all labeled organic, what will you do? Make your own fertilizer!

Have you ever made or sold "compost tea"? This stuff, if it's made correctly is a living product that needs to be used within a couple of hours of brewing. I am not going to get into the benefits of tea here. There are loads of web pages devoted to it. The main thing is it needs to be made, and used quickly. The places where it is sold brew this stuff on regular days, maybe Mon., Wed., and Friday. People bring, or buy empty gallon or five gallon containers to be filled on these days. At home they put the tea on the soil, and every couple of weeks it's spayed on the leaves for disease prevention. It's really works!

Here is why we are going to be brewing and selling tea this year. People are asking about it so the demand is there. It has to be made on site, so it becomes "Golden Gecko Garden Center Tea". That makes it one of a kind, and unique. The third reason is it involves people returning on specific days to buy more! Demand, exclusivity, and regularity are something we all would all like in our businesses. In addition it makes people feel good as they are re-using the containers to fill with the tea.

We will be setting up our tea system soon and will post pictures. We're excited as we have done research on compost tea and feel it's the way forward for many. Especially for the locally owned independent garden center it's a niche that will be hard for the box stores to compete with(for now). The tea is brewed very carefully with customer and employee knowledge on how to use it being vital. You cannot just bottle this stuff and sit it on the shelf for days on end.

The way forward for the locally owned garden center will involve more "unique" products, and methods. Here is the most important point about organics. It requires knowledge to do it right. For the last fifteen years in the nursery trade we have been told that the customer want's everything simplified for them. Don't confuse the customer, keep it simple, and sell them a bag of something. That is changing, thank goodness. Customers who are interested in this stuff want to know how to do it right, and that requires knowledge. They want to learn! Let's teach them the right way from the get go.