Merri Bee Organic Fungal Dominated Vermicast ( MBOFDV !)
In the same
manner as traditional European bakers closely guard their sourdough culture,
passing it on in the form of a lump of dough to be
treasured down through the generations, Merri Bee Organic Farmacy’s fungal
dominated Vermicast is a treasure containing living organisms most rare and valuable.
Since
studying under Dr Elaine Ingham, U S
soil microbiologist, in 2014, we’ve been devoted, (some say obsessed) with
creating quality compost. Knowing the key to quality
is DIVERSITY, we have scoured the seaside, the ancient native forests, visited gifted
long- term practitioners of the composting art, sent off to scientists in America and joined secret societies in
the quest for special microbes. Biodynamic preparations are a recent
addition which has taken our compost to the next level.
But the
backbone of our compost production is a huge diversity of green plant materials both native and exotic, a plethora of mature
complex brown materials and a myriad
of high nitrogen materials …..the manure , hair, scales feathers etc from not only
our 8 species of organically fed and managed livestock but untold species of wildlife
both land-based and marine. Interestingly it has been noticed by scientists that Quenda manure makes native plants grow twice as tall .
All the marvellous ingredients are put together in sufficient volume,
in the right ratio and at the right moisture content to be an ideal breeding
ground for the organisms which are introduced by inoculating the heap with some compost
from a previous batch. We make our compost mindful of air quality at the time
and needless to say do not use manure from conventional farms which would
likely contain antibiotics, worm drenches and GM, or at least Roundup treated feed. We monitor temperature, turning
when needed to expose all parts of the heap to temperatures above 55 C to kill pathogens
and weed seeds but not exceeding 68 C in order to maintain the beneficial
aerobic organisms.
It took a
couple of years to achieve the Holy Grail of fungal dominance, and as many
years again to breed up significant biomass of fungi, bacteria, protozoa, microarthropods, beneficial
nematodes and composting worms to go
to work on a few tons of new materials a week, gradually turning them into the black
gold colloidal humus you now behold . In the
famous line from Alan Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, “ this is high quality hand made
shi*t” !
This fact isn't lost on local farmers who have purchased a 20 liter bucket and made a lot of very effective compost tea with it. They state that the results were totally worth the $100 cost.
This fact isn't lost on local farmers who have purchased a 20 liter bucket and made a lot of very effective compost tea with it. They state that the results were totally worth the $100 cost.
How do I use MBOFFDV ?
Here's the The Do’s and Dont’s
Here's the The Do’s and Dont’s
Please don’t
let your Soil Food Web mini critters dry out! Neither should they be left in a waterlogged
state or stored in plastic to go anerobic, nor should they be exposed to excessive
heat or cold suddenly. Care must also be taken not to expose the
organisms to ultra violet light. If it dries out slowly , some critters will go dormant and can be enticed
to become active again when moisture levels are bought back to something like a
wrung out sponge, but many will die. Neither should you store MBOFFDV for
longer than 6 months as by then the woody debris, ie the fungal foods, will be
digested into humus and your S.F. Web critters will start getting hungry. Rather than being held in storage in a shady place, they
would prefer to be active in the garden where mixed mulches will feed them and living
plant roots provide food through root exudates. Worms can get on with aerating the soil and transforming organic matter into humus, the carbon rich storage place for nutrients and water in the soil.
Merri Bee Vermicast is the ideal inoculant for your own compost heap or worm farm, where the
organisms will happily come out of dormancy and breed in the presence of food,
water and air, when the temperature and humidity is right for their individual
species. You can put a handful of MBOFDV
in a bucket of soil- temperature unchlorinated
water, stir one way a while and then the other, creating a vortex then chaos,
for 5 minutes or so. Most of the organisms should now be swimming in the water. This extract can be poured on your favorite plants. You should see a response in 3
weeks or so.
A twenty litre sack of MBOFDV could be applied to a damp garden bed of about half a square
meter . Make sure it is damp throughout the profile, not just on top. Gardening is
best done in the early morning or at the end of the day, to avoid UV . Mulch
well, plant seeds and or seedlings, water well and stand back! The plant growth
hormones, humic and fulvic acids in MBOFFDV can cause a flourishing that seems
quite magical. The nutrient density of your plants demands you fence out any birds or animals that may raid your crops. The value of this produce in health dollar terms will certainly make it cost-effective to build a fence.
Using our vermi cast on your garden will begin
or enhance a process that might take 3 years or more to complete.....the process of transforming
poor, dysfunctional soil into a fully functioning fertile soil. MBOFFDV is a slow
release fertilizer and works as a pesticide and fungicide. It contains predatory
nematodes that feed on root feeding nematodes. The heaving throng of beneficial
aerobic organisms will cover soil particles and plant surfaces, protecting them
from disease and pest. At the same time the VAM Mychorrizal
spores contained in MBOFFDV will germinate, grow towards plant roots, latch on
and begin to grow out into the soil, thereby extending plant roots to obtain so
much more nutrient and even funneling water to the plant. The plant, well fed
with every trace element and macro mineral it needs (which the fungi and
bacteria have unlocked from the sand,silt,pebbles, clay and presented in
plant available form) will resist pest
attack, frost damage and drought. The plant will make sugary root exudates out
of atmospheric CO2 to feed the fungi in exchange for specific minerals it
dissolves from rocks. This means your soil is now a carbon sink feeding your
family nutrient dense foods whilst addressing climate change. WOW! Special pseudomonas bacteria will decompose
toxins. Many of the billion bacteria per
teaspoon full of vermicast will create bio slime or glues which form the microaggregates present in good soil. These "building bricks" of soil are joined by fungi and their glue "glomalin" in to macro aggregates and voila! The all- important crumb structure is created, ensuring
your soil will soon absorb and hold water better, dramatically reducing irrigation costs . At the Farmacy we have
gone from daily watering to weekly or even monthly at the 5 year mark. Placing a
trowel full of MBOFFDV at the bottom of a planting hole is good practice to
build the structure in the deeper layers of your soil.
Just a wiff of our
product will start the 3 year process, and will usually give a noticeable plant response in under 3 weeks, but a 50 mm layer of MBOFFDV on any soil will pretty
much immediately transform a difficult, dysfunctional soil into a fertile one. As usual, cost versus
time applies. If you spend a lot, you don’t wait so long.
Pricing
500 ml of MBOFFDV costs $5.00 plus postage (express postage to anywhere in Australia ) of $8.55 if required . 3 kgs will cost you $ $22.00 plus postage of $15.00 Fifteen liters weighs approx. 10 kgs, costs $70 and 20 litres $80 and weighs approximately 13 kgs. A cubic meter costs $2000.00
To proceed either contact us.
To proceed either contact us.
Just one application
of a compost solution made in a bucket as above will begin the regeneration of good soil as long as you maintain a mix of green living plants, a mulch cover and water.
Those plants could very well initially be weeds. Welcome them, embrace them, be glad they
are hosting your mychorrizal fungi and creating shade and plant residues. Do
not use any icides or synthetic fertilizers but let your greenery grow. Mow or graze them off just before they set seed or go rank
. Soon they will have
improved your soil so much they will not be needed any more and fruit and veges will flourish instead of weeds. It is the trio of soil microbes, animals and plants that co-evolved and built the soil on which all life depends, and all 3 are needed to regenerate deep, loose, fertile soil with ideal PH, good drainage yet water holding capacity, resistance to erosion and the ability to grow plants with health building properties. You and/ or friends
and family will flourish as you eat salads covered in probiotic organisms. They
are hard to wash off as they stick on with those carbon based glues.
SAFTEY precautions.
None!
We stand by our
product so much so that we will happily eat a spoon full in front of you, rub it
on our face and drink an extract, if you insist. The billion bacteria contained in a teaspoon
are all beneficial as pathogens were killed at 55 during the composting
process. The slime on an earthworm’s
body is a supreme sanitizer and wipes out bad guy e coli and other such pathogens.
Soil borne probiotics are becoming recognized as having
medical applications. Read more here
Conclusion.
A man ( it would be) suggested I should just let my let my
beetroots do the talking.. Here is my equally non- verbal male Stewart with a formidable bunch of beets grown in MBOFFDV.
If you would like to learn more about soil regeneration with soil health principles, using a microscope to assess compost, making a compost tea over many acres, and creating
your own quality compost please consider doing our 2 day course "Symphony of the Soil in May" which will be held on May 25th & 26th, 2019. You receive my e book Nourishing Soil on sign up. Please email for further details merribeefarmacy@gmail.com
more numerous than humans on the planet. I entrust them to your care. If you treat them well they will bring you great joy through good health from beautiful plants which will in turn attract beautiful birds, insects, darling little reptiles that eat slugs eggs, and many more. Wishing you a thriving inner and outer ecosystem based on the Soil Food Web.
PS We are really happy to receive your empty vermicast sack back for a discounted re - fill.
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