Research Summary

The Bountea Compost Tea System and the Soil Food Web
by John Evans, 2002.

In this document, I will explain how the microorganisms in our products works to build up the soil ecosystem and benefit cultivated plants.

Organic farmers and gardeners have long recognized the importance of mineral rich compost and nutrient rich cover crops that provide the initial building blocks for a harmonious eco-system. The Bountea Compost Tea System takes that process to a higher level by introducing Bountea's diverse varieties of aerobically brewed microbes into the soils and onto plant surfaces.

How Happens when you Brew Bountea Compost Tea?
When the Humisoil and Bioactivator are mixed with air and water during the brewing process, a number of important processes take place:
The amount of bacteria increases enormously. Some bacteria will double in population every 30 minutes. The Humisoil has 25,000 – 35,000 species of bacteria with billions of bacteria per cubic inch. After 12 – 24 hours of brewing, the bacterial count is incredible. These microbes also transform nutrients in the Bioactivator and M3 into a form plants can metabolize.

The amount of beneficial fungi increases extensively. Alaska Humisoil contains thousands of species of   beneficial fungi with strong hyphae (fungal threads). The special nutrients in the bacteria allow the fungal spores to sprout and grow to provide a compost tea that is well balanced between bacteria and fungi. These fungi are particularly important for certain plants, shrubs, and trees.

Adding Marine Mineral Magic at the end of the brewing cycle increases nutrients such as organic nitrogen and phosphates with essential minerals and trace elements in a form that is available to the plants and to the microbial soil life. Root Web introduces mycorrhizae and trichoderma fungi.

When the Bountea Compost Tea is applied to the soil, it sets in motion a range of interrelated biological processes:

The microbes make food and become food.
The higher level of beneficial microbial life rapidly processes natural occurring mineral and organic resources in the soils. These continuously supply food to the plant roots and to other beneficial life forms in the soils. A nutrient rich menu is also released to the plants when the microbe lifecycle ends. The plentiful microorganisms themselves become a source of food for all the other life forms in the soils, building a more complete and complex soil ecology.

The microbes act as anti-pathogens. Microbes provide an anti-pathogenic capacity in the soil, and on plant surfaces. This keeps the noxious fungi and bacteria in check through a wide range of mechanisms such as: higher plant energy (natural resistance), inhibition of spore germination and aerobic bacteria eating anaerobes and pathogenic fungi. As the good microbes dominate by sheer numbers, pathogens cannot establish themselves. These active beneficial life forms include aerobic bacteria, protozoa, yeasts, fungi, and beneficial nematodes. There are also chemical antagonists present such as phenols and amino acids along with soluble nutrients and humic substances.

Other life form populations increase. This process is like a natural domino effect, causing all the other beneficial soil life forms to reach a much higher level of activity as they feast on Bountea microbes. The benefits derived from all these life forms in the soils greatly increases as their population and activity grows. This is true soil ecology at work! Plants benefit from higher levels of available nutrients and from the higher levels of beneficial organisms activity around, inside and on the plants.

The earthworms increase. As Bountea microbes process minerals and organic materials in the soil, the populations of earthworms rapidly grow because of increased food supply. As worms tunnel through the soils, roots grow out farther from the plants and more air and water seeps deeper into the soils to sustain the soil food web population.

When Root Web is added to the Bountea Compost Tea , added benefits occur.
•  The mycorrhizae fungi in the Root Web bond to root surfaces and greatly increase the ability of the plant root to pick up nutrients (by 10 to 100 times). This insures that important minerals processed by aerobic bacteria will be metabolized through the root system.
•  Mycorrhizae produce glomalin, an important carbon based ‘super glue', which holds soil particles together. This creates excellent soil tilth and moisture retention and additional food for soil bacteria. Trichoderma fungi in the Root Web, also build soil tilth, fight off plant pathogens, and stimulate more root growth.
•  With added applications of Bountea Compost Tea, the microorganisms quickly dominate and supercharge the ecosystem – plants thrive as even more food is moved through the fungi hyphae network into plant roots.
 •  The extended plant root system provides more surfaces for the aerobic life from the Bountea to live on and generate food for the benefit of the plants and other beneficial life forms.

The Soil Food Web
The soil life that is generated with the Bountea Compost Tea System, produce microbial and nutrient levels tens of hundreds of times higher than occurs in nature. Increasing the soil food web infrastructure enables nutrition for the plants and a multitude of soil building organisms, such as earthworms and beneficial insects. These in turn feed higher life forms such as birds and mammals. Nature's food chain is supported and sustained.

With the use of the Bountea Compost Tea System, you can expect to see more worms, more beneficial insects, and more birds as your soil and garden ecology becomes richer and fuller.

Results
When the Bountea Compost Tea System is used to increase the level of beneficial soil life and strengthen the soil food web, more time and growing related financial resources are made available to the gardener and farmer. There is less need to expend time and money on the prevention of disease and destructive insects.

Vegetables and flowers grown with the Bountea Compost Tea System have great after-harvest sustainability of quality. This is very important for growers who ship fresh, as well as for individuals who can, store and dry their garden harvests.

Increased brix levels in the plants, naturally occurring sugars in the plants cells, achieve this higher quality. High brix levels in vegetables taste better and produce increased nutritional value per pound of produce. With the Bountea Compost Tea System, this happens naturally, with no chemicals and no genetic modifications. The plants do it themselves!

Wherever you garden, whatever you grow, the results are better plants and soils, bigger fruits and vegetables, and more of them on any given plant. Healthy produce contains higher levels of essential minerals and organic nutrition that is better for you, your family, and your customers. Grow better, eat better, and feel better!

Buy the Bountea Compost Tea System Now

Return to Research Summary

• View John Evans and his incredible Giant Vegetables in: The Secret is in the Soil
• Read what our customers say about the Bountea Compost Tea System
• Learn more about soil ecology