scio me nihil scire

2 in 1 day....! ?? What the.......
Ok I wanted to put down some thoughts which have settled in the last few weeks, whilst they are fresh and .. to record.. who knows what may happen tomorrow .. Fate is a fickle mare....

So another side show to the main event but a very important one all the same.....

There is no secret in the fact that I like Brewers... I like the concept of Compost Tea's see

But more importantly I seem to be drawn to the people brave and smart enough to set into that whole 'Way of Life'.. I LIKE Brewers 

If you want to go this route there is no half measure, it works for some, is not quite there for others and for a big majority is just not practical for them to implement... it is not just a management method.. it IS a 'Way of Life'

BUT there is a problem, as I see it there is seemingly a piece of the puzzle missing and having visited a few, walked over others, talked and read read read then looked with my own eyes... it suddenly hit me.. bit like that roof the other day..

But first the other angle that helped clarify this.in my mind... Marmite...

I am a Lover... First heard about Marmite being used by some Bonkers Bowls Boys couple of years ago without wondering why then Mad Manx Mike told me he was playing with it.. Now for this fella to be trialing ANYTHING it has to have some merit OR it damn close to something that does, so I was intrigued and as ever we shared thoughts and info.. Now Mike is mad enough to have worked out that the Optimum Application is 250g per Hectare....... Yes you read that right... g! not kg! but g per HECTARE!.. Obviously diluted and sprayed..

So I do some playing...  First was on 2 of the Cores from the earlier trials then on my rough ol lawn

And from my point of view after 2 or 3 applications (it's a slow burner you see, takes a little time to start work) not only does the lawn smell gorgeous but it has definitely greened up without ANY fertiliser applications. 

I ponder on what has happened and why.

How can so little make a difference, has it made a difference? What is it giving the plant?

Now picking up on all this a few people have started trialing with Marmite, seeing what it can do or not, some scoff, some are equally intrigued as I was, others think we are all completely Bonkers..

One however.. one brave but completely deluded soul... one lunatic greenkeeper decided he would trial it properly and applied it to his Tees.. ALL his Tees, 

 Now I am sure Phil won't mind in me saying his place gets battered, its a busy PAYP Course who seem to get everyone elses members when their courses are shut, who then go on to bitch like mad about stupid little things when THEIR COURSES ARE SHUT!!!.. I digress...

So Phil takes on the 3 Application Challenge and starts with the first 250g... YES gramme per Hectare application and after making himself extremely hungry for the first time (you will know when you try) he gets on with the day to day stuff. And then the second App goes on, same again, about 4 weeks later and Phil is convinced he is seeing some.. perkiness in the Tees, they are greener and they respond to water far quicker everyone thinks... Naaah its just a coincidence... 

So the 3rd App goes on ... and it is timed JUST before some rain.......

And BOOM they go MENTAL! they are growing like absolute mad things.. 4 cuts in 1 week! 4 cuts it needed and they STILL were not on top of them..

'Must've fed 'em' I hear... Nope........ Not a drop of nutrient ALL Summer.. Zilch.. Nada ..Nothing.. it was JUST Marmite..

OK they have settled now, as expected and predicted cos this is what happens see, when you start to 'wake' things that lay comatose...

So what is in Marmite that can be giving this major nutrient boost..... Nothing.. well nothing directly, its just Yeast, Vitamins, Salts and Acids.. Wheres all the N or Fe to make it go Green?

And lets look at the amount shall we .. 250g per hectare that is 0.025g per sq.m ... Well it ain't no boost there then..

So what has happened?

Well in my bad mad insular world I can now only see Marmite as a... 'Facilitator'.. It makes things happen .. it is like a switch or a tap, 

it turns on processes in the soil that are redundant under use of applied nutritional sources.. It 'awakens' soil from an induced sleep

It stimulates some how the natural soil process of nutrient recycling so that elements that are locked or just left are made available to the plant, that is the only sane explanation my fuddled brain can come up with...

This was Phil just before he went on holiday!

So this whole 'Facilitator' thing had then got my mind racing away on tangents.. and then back to Brewing...... BOOM!

Ok what is Compost Tea...?

It is a Biologically rich liquid extract from the soaking of soil/compost/grass/wood/manure (or any singular or variation of above depending on experience) with added stimulants and feeds again depending on source/confidence/budget.

It can be a relatively cheap exercise IF you are confident enough to create safe compost mixes, others will buy pre-packed or some will buy 'straights' so breed on rather than brew up.

Then you have the bug food and everything else that is (or isn't) needed.. or afforded. Some will add their own special ingredients, all to kick the brew off.... 

And you sit there for a couple for days like some demented wizard chanting weird incantations through the night...  OF COURSE YOU DON'T! although from the fuss of the vocal Anti Brewing Brigade you would think they were somehow.... you just ensure a nicely aerated and circulated 'Brew' period where the bacteria are able to boost and Fungi to set.. the period dictating what dominance you wish the Brew to be.. bacterial or fungal.. This is important..

And then you just spray it on, all those thousand of little bacterial soldiers and fungi battalions off to fight the good soil fight... Well that is how I always took it anyway and to some degree that is what most think.. and in part it must be true..

One thing I will say.. NO STATE... is you can smell a Brewers soil and know... it smells earthy sweet.. not musty or sour.. So whatever is going on the soil likes it...

I have said in the past year, up until 3 months ago anyway, that IF I was a Greenkeeper I would be brewing... I like the ideology, I like the ethos, I LOVE the end result... I just do not know how many people would keep their jobs getting there.. It is not just a maintenance regime, it s a way of life see..

I know some who have tried it for a  couple of years but it wasn't for them, I know others are couple of years in and they are fighting the good fight..

I also have said there is something missing... a piece from the puzzle.. the whole picture is not clear...now I think I know why..

I visited Ken Barber a month or 2 ago, Ken is one of the guys from the 80's and 90's who was working at the top end, on the prestigious new USGA builds, creeping bents, top Specs, higher budgets.. He is now at one of the older USGA spec courses in UK working at the opposite financial scale end for budgets although the Course qualities are not that far apart... And he has been Brewing for 7 years.. and he loves it and it loves him.. the last couple he has gone from Brews to applying 'straights' ie pre-cultivated biology rather than chomping it out...

The Greens looked blooming lovely.. a nice mix of Bent, Fescue and Poa.. and it looked healthy and he keeps them healthy, no Wetters no Fungicides, minimal nutrition... very NICE..

BUT its taken him 7 years..

And I do some more thinking.. so it obviously works, look at these Greens and the Poster Boy Courses with their Cores dangling 6" plus of root... It must be the Brewing...

Earlier in the year I was fortunate enough to be able to blag myself along to a Soil Association Field day to discuss the use of Compost Teas in Agriculture.. Now I only wanted to see Symbio's talk and Dr Su to understand the difference between Bacteria and Fungi under a microscope ... which I did but boy was I pleased I went, it was fascinating to see how these Agri boys are using it.. and using it a number are..

Farmers are never ones to suffer fools and they also will not spend a single penny unless they know it is a viable return so for them to be using Compost Teas and for it to be showing in the yields where used again there MUST be merit in it.. and the Farm Managers talk about what he did and the timings had me hooked in and only in the last few days have I suddenly gone 'Click'..

You see they will apply a Brew onto stubble just after cropping.. to encourage the stubble breakdown.. They will then apply just before or at sowing to help kick growth off, all standard stuff, next would probably be at a young leaf stage..

Then he surprised me.. completely.. as I hadn't put the use of Teas as being possible for this... They applied 2 or 3 Apps as a FOLIAR!.. at disease pressure points... They would Brew and apply to the leaf, the theory being said was the 'bacteria' would support the plant... Oh so wrong but OH so right...

I went away fascinated by this and completely surprised..

You see a Farmer would not be doing it if it wasn't worth it and from the discussions it was well worth it in terms of crop health and yield.

Then you read the science like this and think... hmmmmm https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2014am/webprogram/Paper88611.html so in certain circumstances it is having very little effcet on populations so what on earth is it actually doing?

Then you think about Marmite and again...... it hit me... BOOM!

I now understand Compost Teas...

I know understand why the Farmers use it as a Foliar...

I know understand why Greenkeepers talk of Brewing out disease......

I know understand why it is a long slog to get to where Ken Barber is and why some falter along the way.....

Brewing is a Facilitator

Brewing is a 'Switch'

As I now think in my mad world Brewing makes sense I categorically state I would be Brewing if I was a Greenkeeper!

BUT.............

I may not be using it how some of the Brewers seem to use it... I would use it how the Farmer boys are using it...

You see Brewing for Greenkeepers is a 'Way of Life' and THAT.. that is key...

It's not the Brewing which is making the massive difference to the soils health, yes it is helping but not to degree we all think.. it is the DETOX that goes with it... THAT is what is allowing the soil to recover.. BUT it takes years... and that is the problem... the problem with going Cold Turkey, it takes time and its painful...

So what are the Brews doing.. well it ain't jacking up the biological levels according to the research above and this http://ow.ly/d/2qxi does suggest it is having a direct influence on the plant

For me it is PART right but the critical thing in my fuddled mind is to look to what and why the Farmers use it for as the foliar... Disease Suppression.. How the hell is it doing that?

And you look to Marmite and see that that is kickstarting processes within the plant and soil.. and this simple brain goes... 'kerching'

My theory... Yes a bit of bacteria will populate and sit and munch away at you thatch.. or stubble BUT the Foliar bit is more critical... HOW can a few bugs on a leaf fight disease pressure?

It is because the pathological diseases and fungal attacks on plants are being made by biology that has evolved to attack plants.. and plants and good biology fights back.. so the bad guys go away and evolve a new way to sneak up, masking their presence until its too late as they are in and infecting... The plant didn't see it coming so didn't pull up the drawbridge!

What are Compost Teas? they are a mixture of soil bacteria, fungi and biology..

What happens when they are sprayed on a leaf?  The plant thinks OH SHIT I am under attack, when it may actually be from a hidden foe, and up comes the drawbridge and the defense mechanisms are started... THIS... this is how Brewers talk about brewing out some Fuzz... It awakens the plants natural defenses that are comatose...

Its just like having a flu jab! 

IF I was Greenkeeping I would definitely be Brewing!

condemnant quod non intellegunt

This is the 3rd go... scrub that 4th now..... at this latest ramble.... so lets see how far it goes...

Eventful week in eventful Summer in eventful year in eventful decade........ Fate just keeps giving.. or taking whichever way you wish to look at it..
I am losing the plot too many times to be good but that supposed to be one of the side effects of the other thing BUT this.... this was something else and its getting to the stage I starting to worry I love a drama too much now..

So it has got to the stage with my embracing the Inner Geek where I am now seeing everyday occurrences as mini .. observational experiments.. simple things like watching rain and how it moves and soaks, or doesn't and erodes... and this weekend it was the turn of Physics and Gravity to come to the fore..
Being the dutiful Son in Law had arranged to replace a very tired and leaky garage roof for the In Laws, who are both the wrong side of becoming an octogenarian and deserve any help I can give especially as the last gales saw the roof literally flapping ready to take off.
Saturday was too wet so we postponed til the Sunday, forecast to be a much better day especially to spend stripping and resheeting a roof. Weather was just as they said and had the roof cleared in no time and started sheeting down ... all simples .. and all done carefully and very mindful of the height and age of the joists, albeit without a full scaffold but safe none the less. Was just fixing the last 2 sheets when I needed to ask a question so moved over to corner and placed my hand on the parapet wall ..... The end brick decided to shift and rolled off AND my hand followed it.. along with the rest of me as I had just shifted my weight over.. So there I am going head first down onto the garage below at the point that my Father in Law hears me swear for the very first time...

I learnt a valuable lesson the Weekend.... Gravity hurts !


Ok... back to soil....the time has come, no sleep for the next few months... I NEED to get this on paper, the thoughts, the observations, the madness, the mistakes, the retakes, this whole shebang needs to be outed...
I then need to know is it me?... Is this for real? Am I really Chasing Shadows or is there some merit to all this... time only will tell.

But first...
Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs, J'espère que vous apprécierez le Blog...
Had a run of French views you see, probably someone saying 'Cette façon vous ne faites pas un blog'
AND now to add as an edit we have a load of Kiwi eyes burning into the pages so...
'Nau mai, haere mai'

So for now I MUST get some pH retesting done, I have a new calibratable Meter, neat bit of kit AND I feel I can trust it with regular use of Standards. pH is a big player in this you see, well it is a consequential player at least, involved in the Fe moving about, not driving it just the oil lubbing the shifting....
I have had real major head and balls aching distractions with pH testing, started with a Tenax pH Indicator Test Kit, Agri grade stuff, a good indicator rather than defining BUT ALL I need is indication, I don't particularly care what the point part is I want to know how far it sits which side. Well I ran out... simples you'd think phone Tenax and get some more..... Harrumpff.. Not interested, asked where I could get replacement and the person I spoke too took my details but wasn't very interested and didn't call back.. Tenax off my Christmas card list now as they only interested in supplying Garden Centres with mini Kits it seems...
So foolish ol me thinks all Indicator Solutions (you would think from the science of how they work wouldn't you!) are equal and searches high and low for pH Indicator Solution.. or Fairy Wee as I now call it.. its as rare as anyway.. Finally found some on Amazon! and bought in bulk... Miss the Postie so go to collect a soggy package from the Sorting Office as the bottles have leaked! To be fair supplier was good as gold and supplied a replacement FOC.. top man..
I then resume pH testing... OMFG.. its all gone wrong, completely different so consistency is lost I am now at the point of thinking retest EVERYTHING, well I had enough gear for it now at least!!
But first I want to check the stuff I have, was it a rogue batch throwing results or was it the fact it wasn't designed to test a dry soil sample like the Tenax stuff.. so I do my tap water... then distilled water... coffee... Banana.. citric acid... soap... vinegar... bicarbonate of soda.. ALL did just what you expected them to do EXCEPT the distilled water.. threw a really odd result like it was alkaline when you would expect it to be neutral.. or if its CO2 up acid at least
So I go and buy some Water Test pH Kit from a 'Hydroponics Supply Co'  hmmm very 'odd' aroma from the place, can't quite put my finger on where I smelled that before man... but hey .. I also get some pH paper from China...
And yet again my Distilled Water was kicking an 8. reading... it shouldn't, recheck with cheap TDS and NO EC !! I am very very confused so it's time to spend some money on the above...

Added to the basket was a very neat new calibratable EC/TDS Meter while I was at it.. important you see, to be able to monitor variations.. salts and stuff... are they players or just ball boys ?

And while I was at it to add to the shiny new pH and EC/TDS Meters I just had to add a Moisture Meter... not the ideal BUT I am on a budget here people so I get a spike probe Meter as I can't afford a TDR or lets face it, the really fancy one the POGO although I am hopefully getting to look hands on at a Delta-T SM150 which looks the part budget wise, or at least at the next level for me. Hopefully be next month if the man from Delta-T keeps to his word!!

Lastly I got a really nice couple of boxes from the LaMotte guys shipped in from US today... now THAT will add another angle to what I am looking for........ More lights to shine in the shadows..

And today I became the proud owner of an Ebay Clegg Hammer!! Ok its an old un an 801 and she's a 4.5 kg'er BUT I aint interested in the surface remember.. HELL I would buy a Parry Meter if I wanted bullshit numbers on the top bit whilst ignoring the rest.... its beneath that counts so lets see what she says when it gets here.... Whats the worse that can happen off Ebay..... (pray)

And lets not forget my Dobber... what a mighty mighty tool The Dobber is.... 

When I am out and about I feel 

 I have a new air of confidence when I walk around with Dobber ready to whip out at any moment and I invariably come away from any site inspection enriched for it. Hell I even whipped it out in the rain today to see what was happening with all that moisture.... 

Excellent.......