SHORT Review: Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes, and Environmental Management

• The authors pretty much say that vermicompost teas (VT) are used any place that plants (food or non-food) are grown. 
• Large and small-scale agriculture, gardens, community gardens, viticulture (wine), turf, general or not so general landscaping, and orchards all can benefit from VT.
• • WHY? Because VT, although lacking in significant amounts of organic matter, possess filmic acids, which are a foundational building block for the desirable humic acids that everyone talks about. In addition to the fulvic acids, VT is basically like plant kombucha.
  • • Let me explain…as your stomach is to you, the soil is to a plant.
    • So, here we have VT, aka plant kombucha, which is teeming with millions of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. All of which go into the soil, break down organic matter and mineralize the soil to release nutrients and act in a symbiotic manner to plants. 
    • ALSO, VT contains plant growth hormones, forgive me for not knowing their specific names at the moment, but it helps the plant grow stronger root systems, fuller foliage, and ultimately larger and more nutrient dense fruiting bodies. 
    • • The more nutritious fruiting bodies is the part that directly impacts and increases human health 🍻 
    • Lastly, for the plant health and agricultural benefits, CT ultimately leads to a reduction in use of fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides. This is largely due to soil microbiology that has a significantly higher quantity of beneficial bacteria competing for nutrients and establishing a positive soil food web, and in turn, stronger plants with a greater amount of sustained nutrients at their disposal. 

"V Compost Tea, Vermicompost Tea, and the National Organic Program (NOP)"

• Alright the other thing that I learned from this brief reading is that the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) caught wind that a bunch of people started using compost and vermicompost extracts/teas on their crops and plants, and of course, had to put their nose in it to figure out what risk this could pose to humans. This is a good thing, but comes with some baggage and regulation if you’re certified organic by USDA. 
• • So the NOP put together 13 people with some knowledge on the matter and named the group the “COMPOST TEA TASK FORCE” 
  • Shout out to the Task Force
• I will copy and past the Recommendations of the Compost Tea Task Force below: 

1. Potable water must be used to make compost tea and for any dilution before application.
2. Equipment used to prepare compost tea must be sanitized before use with a sanitizing agent as defined by 21 CFR 178.1010.
3. Compost tea should be made with compliant compost or vermicompost, using the NOSB Compost Task Force Guidelines set forth on April 18, 2002, for thermal compost and vermicompost, or compost as defined in section 205.203 (c) (2) of the NOP rule. For compost tea, this applies to 100% plant feedstock materials in addition to manure feedstocks because non-manure compost feedstocks may harbor high levels of fecal bacteria (Epstein, 1997).
4. Compost tea made without compost tea additives can be applied without restriction.
5. Compost tea made with compost tea additives can be applied without restriction if the compost tea production system (same compost batch, additives, and equipment) has been pre-tested to produce compost tea that meets the EPA recommended recreational water quality guidelines for a bacterial indicator of fecal contamination (US EPA, 2000). These indicators and the passing criteria are Escherichia coli (126 CFU/100ml) or enterococci (33 CFU/100ml). At least two compost tea batches must be tested using accepted methodology (APHA-AWWA-WEF, 1999; US EPA, 2000), with the average population of indicator bacteria across compost tea batches used as the measurement of passing. Each new batch of compost would require that the system quality assurance pre-test be conducted again as indicated. After it passes again, compost tea from the system can be used without restriction. If compost tea made with compost tea additives has not been pre-tested for indicator bacteria, its use on food crops is restricted to the 90/120 day preharvest interval. Crops not intended for human consumption, ornamental plants, and grain crops intended for human consumption are exempt from bacterial testing and 90/120 day pre-harvest interval restrictions. In the view of the Task Force, educating producers about the potential for contamination and its impacts on public health and marketing, as well as how this recommended quality assurance testing system would avoid potential contamination will provide compelling incentives for producers to follow the rules.
6. Compost extracts - any mixture of compost, water, additives, and adjuvants that is not held for more than one hour before use - may be applied without restriction.
7. Raw manure extracts or teas may be applied to the soil with a 90/120 day pre-harvest restriction, foliar applications are prohibited.
8. Compost leachate may be applied to the soil with a 90/120 day pre-harvest restriction, foliar applications are prohibited.
9. Compost tea is not allowed for the production of edible seed sprouts.
10. The emerging national acceptance of compost tea as a biologically-based crop production tool by organic as well as conventional growers clearly indicates the need for further scientific investigation to validate the benefits and concerns of compost tea use. The Task Force unanimously urges USDA and its agencies to strongly support additional research on the potential for crop contamination and plant disease/pest control by compost tea. There is an urgent national need to address critical data gaps, uncertainties, and variability in existing data that limited the evaluation of potential crop contamination by the current task force. Data are urgently needed to provide science-based recommendations on how compost tea production and application practices impact potential crop contamination, while at the same time preserve the means for improving plant health and vigor. Critical issues requiring further data include compost quality, compost tea additives, temperature and duration of compost tea production, and the population dynamics of human pathogens in microbially diverse agro- ecosystems relative to pre-harvest intervals for application of compost tea.