Bokashi composting and Effective Microorganisms® – a quick analysis

A few weeks ago an attendee at one of my seminars asked me about bokashi composting.  It’s a term I hadn’t heard before, so I promised to look into it (and the science behind it, of course).  I haven’t had a chance to do much more than a cursory analysis, but even that has proven interesting.

For those of you who, like me, had never heard of bokashi, it’s a composting technique that utilizes Effective Microorganisms® as a way of creating a “positive” compost product using “positive” microorganisms.  Unlike those found in aerated compost tea, these microbes are primarily anaerobic.  They have been packaged and marketed for a number of applications, including water and sewage treatment.  Since this is a gardening blog, I limited my search to journal articles on whole plant experiments.

I found almost 50 articles in my initial sweep through the literature – I pulled out articles that included the word “bokashi.”  (There are many more [over 300] that mention “effective microorganisms” but it will take some time to winnow through those.)  Without reading the abstracts of my collected articles, I separated them into three categories:  top tier journals, lower tier journals, and meeting proceedings.  Top tier journals are generally those that have been around for a long time, have an international distribution, and are considered to be rigorous in their peer review process.  Lower tier journals may include those limited to a university or a single country, written in a language other than English, or relatively new; in many cases, this means that the peer-review may not be as rigorous as for top tier journals.  This may be unfair, but it’s one of the ways that scientists consider the impact of published research.  And finally, published meeting proceedings are almost always unreviewed.

(For those of you interested in how academics stress over journal ranking, you’ll be amused, depressed, and/or in total disbelief after reading this and this in the Chronicle of Higher Education.)

So here’s what I found when I read the abstracts of the articles in all three categories.  Briefly, I noted whether or not the bokashi treatment (which generally included Effective Microorganisms®) was effective in disease control, improving crop yield, etc.  I only read the abstracts, as many of the articles are not available as electronic resources.

Proceedings – no peer review (16)
Bokashi treatment better than whatever it’s compared to: 15
Bokashi treatment no different or worse than whatever it’s compared to: 1

Journal articles – lower tier resources (25)
Bokashi treatment better than whatever it’s compared to: 15
Bokashi treatment no different or worse than whatever it’s compared to: 7
Mixed results: 3

Journal articles – top tier resources (5)
Bokashi treatment no different or worse than whatever it’s compared to: 5

Quotes from abstracts of these last five articles:
“…did not improve yields and soil quality during 4 years of application in this field experiment.”
“We consider EM products to be ineffective.”
“…the chard treated with [EM products] lost considerable water and weight…the organic methods tested produce a vegetable that can not sustain its quality when commercialized through the conventional supply chain.”
“The treatments did not notably modify the physical and chemical quality of the chard when compared with control plants.”
“Overall, the results confirmed the…effect of compost application on plant growth. However, under the conditions of this study, EM showed no special effects in this.”

Interesting.

An update on the APLD’s soils guide

A few weeks ago I posted on the disappointing inclusion of compost tea in the APLD’s Guide to Sustainable Soils.  Included in my discussion of the issue was the suggestion that people involved in writing the guide also benefited financially from compost tea applications.  This led to some very honest and constructive emails between me and the APLD’s national leadership, which resulted in educating both parties.

Here’s what I found from the APLD’s President Susan Olinger and Sustainability Chair Toni Bailey:  “As members of the Board of Directors of APLD, we can verify that there was no financial motive behind the inclusion of compost tea by the volunteers that wrote the soils guide.”  This is heartening and makes me feel less cynical about the motives behind including compost tea in the publication.

And here’s what I was able to impart to the leadership of APLD:  that while landscape designers may like to include compost tea as a soil amendment, the belief in its efficacy in improving soil tilth or biology is not supported by legitimate science.  It’s not a matter of sides, or opinions, but a matter of scientific evidence.

If the APLD doesn’t intend its guide to be a scientifically supported document, that’s certainly fine; landscape designers aren’t scientists, after all.  But since good soil science-based information is found throughout most of the guide, the inclusion of compost tea and mycorrhizal inoculants could easily be interpreted by others as science-based as well.

What’s the matter with kids these days?

Photos by Tom Fernandez

Ok, admit it.  If you’re over 40 or so, at some point in your life you’ve muttered that phase, likely more than once.  There is no doubt the younger generation can do things to get under your skin and raise your blood pressure.  But then they can turn around and do some pretty cool things, too.  The cool side was on ample display this weekend as over 750 college Horticulture students from 62 college and universities competed this weekend at the annual PLANET Student Career Days (SCD).  For the initiated, SCD is the landscaping Olympics for undergraduate students across the US (and a few from Canada to boot). The competition is organized by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and sponsored by companies such as Stihl, Gravely, and Husqvarna.   Students competed in 28 events including arboricultural techniques, plant identification, skid-steer operation, sales presentation, paver construction and landscape installation.  The event moves around the country each year, and Kansas State hosted this year’s event in Manhattan. 

The logistics of the event are astounding.  For example, in the paver construction, wood construction, and landscape installation events, 40 teams are given the exact same set of materials and tools.  When the starting horn sounds the teams are given their plan and then allowed two hours to complete the job.  Watching 40 two or three person teams racing against each other and the clock to complete their project is truly inspiring; as is the camaraderie and sportsmanship.  At PLANET SCD everything is on the up and up. No performance enhancing substances, no under the table payments; just college kids working their hardest to do their best for themselves and their team.  And everyone can contribute.  The plant geek who can nail plant ID or the persuasive saleswoman-to-be who gets their customer to sign on the line can score as many points for their team as the athletic tree climber or skilled equipment operator.  So, what’s the matter with kids these days?  When you watch them compete in SCD: not a darn thing.

For more on PLANET student career days, including a pretty cool video clip  on last year’s event go to: http://www.studentcareerdays.org/

For the record: BYU-Idaho was the overall winner this year.  MSU finished 4th and Virginia Tech was 9th. 


Students compete in Landscape CAD at PLANET SCD


Team MSU is all smiles after the Landscape Installation event in the mud-pit


MSU Horticulture club President Jackie Grow (left) closes the deal en route to a 3rd place finish in Sales Presentation

Why I Love Bachman’s

Back in February I had the opportunity to give a talk on a new book that I put together with a friend of mine, Meleah Maynard, who is a Master Gardener and garden writer here in Minnesota (you can see our promotional video here  — this is the video our administration let us run — you should have seen the one they didn’t!).  We conducted this talk at Bachman’s — a very well known garden center here in Minnesota.  For this talk we took products off the shelves and talked about them — some we trashed, like high phosphorus fertilizers.  Some we raved about, like cotton seed meal.

Anyway, Bachman’s got word of what we’d done.  How could they not?  some of their employees were there –and they loved it.  In fact, they brought me, as well as some internal people and John Lloyd — a well known and well respected tree guy in the area — back to talk to their sales force about the good and bad products they carry.  No holds barred.

This is the kind of thing I love, and here’s why.  I’m pretty difficult to pin down politically.  On some topics there’s no doubt I’m a liberal, on some a right winger.  Sometimes to the point of being a libertarian.  When it comes to garden centers I’m a libertarian.  Companies needs to make money, so they should have a diverse inventory, if that’s what brings consumers in, and let the buyer beware.  Part of Bachman’s success comes from the huge variety of products it carries, and I think it would be a shame for them to reduce this variety in any way — it could hurt business.  HOWEVER, Bachman’s knows that this freedom doesn’t mean that Bachman’s employees should be ignorant of the environmental consequences of some of the products they carry, or that they should recommend these products to their customers when asked.  So they have the best of both worlds — If you want some nutty product, hey, Bachman’s has it, and if you really want to know which products are good or bad?  Hey, just ask their knowledgeable sales force.  Nice!

Rules, guidelines, and to-do lists


Elizabeth: You have to take me to shore! According to the Code of the Order of the Brethren…

Captain Barbossa: First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I ‘must’ do nothing.

And secondly, you must be a pirate for the Pirate’s Code to apply, and you’re not.

And thirdly, the code is more what you call "guidelines" than actual rules.

Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner!

—  Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl


There are ways, and then there are ways.

I’m always torn on this topic when it comes to pirate…I mean, gardening. How much I consider “rules” is minimal.  There are few absolutes.  Guidelines? Yes. Lots.

I know, absolutes and rules make decision-making easier and life simpler. Do this, now. Don’t do that, you’ll kill it.

Novices (at anything) especially appreciate rules.

As a not-so-seasoned beekeeper, the wildly diverse range of opinions and conflicting information on any one point is making me nuts.  Plus, all direction seem to come with the unspoken sentiment “…or they’ll DIE”.  March comes…”feed a 1:1 syrup to ensure a strong brood before nectar flow." Just as popular: “do NOT feed syrup in the spring, the bees have to exert too much effort to evaporate the water out and the hive will be too humid (and then you-know-what happens).  Aargh

To-do lists: great suggestions or fun-crushing obstacles to gardening enjoyment?

As the seasons change, you can’t pick up a gardening magazine or read a local paper column without some mention of Things You Would Be Doing In Your Garden Right Now If You Were Worth A Damn. Some lists even use the term "chores."  Chores are splitting wood and cleaning the toilet. Gardening, though requiring physical activity, is not a chore. Back to lists: a very fine regional gardening newsletter I just received had no fewer than 32 items on their March-April "To-Do List".  Thirty-two.

Three to-do directives I’ve seen in the last month and my judgement thereof:

“Browse plant and seed catalogs and get your orders in.”  Duh. Rule.

"Don’t prune Buddleia and other sub-shrubs until the buds are breaking. If you prune it in the fall, it will DIE."  Guideline.  I’ve done both, with no fatalities (has anyone actually killed a  butterfly bush by accident?).

“Wait until after last frost to set out tender annuals and warm-season vegetables.” I think our last frost was sometime back in February. Every man for himself on this one. I’m shooting for tomatoes in May.

Some lists skew more towards hard labor while others are not so time-consuming – such as “cut some daffodils and bring them inside to enjoy!” Marvelous! I may actually get around to that!  But wait – there’s a caveat – “because daffodil sap is ‘toxic’, don’t mix any other species of cut flowers in with them."

[or they’ll DIE]

The Living Desert

I had to laugh at Bert’s post about how warm it is in Michigan. Two days ago I drove to Vancouver BC from Seattle through a snow storm. Sigh. I’m already wishing I was back in Palm Desert…so today I’ll introduce you to The Living Desert, one of my favorite plant places to visit. It’s got stellar display gardens featuring the vegetation of the southwest desert ecosystems, all labeled, with tidbits of information on natural history, medicinal uses, etc. (American desert purists will need to grit their teeth and endure the exotic animal exhibits, the miniature railroad display, and Village WaTuTu.)


One of these things just doesn’t belong…

But back to the desert display gardens:


Note the sprinkler spray in the background against the sky.  It takes a lot of extra irrigation to maintain this planting density in a desert environment.

And here’s one of my favorite desert natives from last week’s post – Nolina parryi – on sale in their nursery:

I’m always a sucker for Bad Staking Examples and The Living Desert did not disappoint:

The Living Desert is a mecca for local wildlife, given the plentiful food and water available.  We had company for lunch:

Until next week, I’m in a warm, happy place…at least in my mind.

The winter of our discontent

I was in the field today at our Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (SWMREC) so just a quick post and a couple of pictures.  Today is the last official day of winter but you’d never know to look outside. Our current temperature in East Lansing is 78 deg. F.  Our late winter warm up has officially reached historic proportions as we have blown by 1945 as the warmest winter in record in lower Michigan.  To give you an idea of how messed up things are the current temperature in Minneapolis, MN (77 deg.) is 21 deg. warmer than Los Angeles (56 deg.). 

While I hate the be the messenger of doom as Chicagoans enjoy fun and frolic at the beach, for many segments of horticulture what we’re watching unfold is a slow motion disaster.  Phenological development (bud-break, flowering etc.) is currently running almost a full month ahead.  Many important fruit crops such as plums and peaches have started to flower and the rest aren’t far behind.  Based on long-term records it is virtually certain that we will have several hard freezes before the weather warms up for good, meaning that many of these crops will be severely damaged if not destroyed entirely. So, if you’re in the Midwest or East, make the best of the good weather but recognize all good things must come to an end…


Plum crazy.  Plum blossoms at MSU SMREC, March 19, 2012


Just peachy.  Peach tree in bloom. MSU SWMREC, March 19, 2012.

A Good Potting Soil

On this blog we get mad at lots of things.  Sure, anger is fun, but sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and say something nice for a change.  So today I thought I’d point out a product that, while it comes from a company that I’ve had issues with in the past, is, itself, a good product.  I like Miracle-Gro Moisture Control potting mix.  The reason is that it utilizes coconut coir, a waste product from coconuts which holds lots of water and which can still maintain good aeration.  That means a reduced amount of peat.  I also like that the fertility present in this product (so you don’t need to fertilize right after you plant) is 3-1-2 which is appropriate for most situations.  Now, could you mix up you own coir potting mix more cheaply?  Sure, if you can find it.  You could also fertilize with a renewable organic fertilizer.  Still, I think Miracle-Gro got this one right.

Dry doesn’t have to mean dull!

I’m on vacation this week in Palm Desert, California – part of an annual ritual that I’ve enjoyed for about 30 years. Nearly the first thing I do while I’m down here is get away from the golf courses and shopping malls into the high desert mountains. Yesterday my daughter and I hiked Horsethief Creek trail (great name, huh?) in the San Bernardino Wilderness and admired the spring flowers that are just starting to emerge.

One half of my brain was busy noticing all of the native plants that I felt had great ornamental value for home landscapes, while the other half worried about what to do for my blog posting this week. And finally both sides of my brain got together for a chat and here we are with today’s posting.

For many years, the home landscapes down here were primarily of the petunias-and-palms persuasion (or in this case snapdragons and olive trees).

That’s been changing as water has become more limited (i.e., more expensive) and people’s appreciation of native plants has increased. Still, an awful lot of native landscapes rely on traditional desert plants like barrel cacti or agave. They’re pretty – but predictable. And the results are often not natural looking.

So…why not shake things up a bit by using some lesser known, but nonetheless stunning species? While many nurseries might not carry these, the only way to change that is to request them. Savvy nurseries respond to customer requests. Or check with native plant societies, who often have plant sales featuring unusual native species.

Without further ado, here are some great plants from yesterday’s hike, which tolerate low water conditions but have great ornamental and/or functional value.


Arctostaphylos glauca (manzanita) – deceptively tough green leaves against a red-striped bark

The lovely Charlotte displays a good-sized manzanita

Juniperus californica (California juniper) – because every desert landscape needs its own gin mill

Opuntia basilaris (beavertail cactus) – the symmetrical arrangement of tiny spines is aesthetically appealing

                           

Nolina parryi (Parry’s beargrass) – absolutely stunning plant with wickedly sharp leaves

Pentagramma triangularis (goldenback fern) – yes, you can even find ferns in the desert

                             

Astragalus spp. (vetch) – sturdy groundcover with brilliant purple flowers. And it fixes nitrogen!

(A final note: don’t dig these up in the wild and try to transplant them. It’s doubtful they would survive, and in many instances it’s illegal. Do the right thing – support your local native plant nursery and buy them legally.

The Cold Truth

Last week I decided to continue my discussion on cold hardiness and so now, of course, temperatures are forecast in the mid-70’s for this week.  Oh well, I’m still convinced we’ve got one more blast of winter to go and some of this will still matter to someone.

One of the questions posed in response to last week’s post was how much cold hardiness changes during the winter.  Before I get into that, it’s good to review how cold hardiness can be quantified.  Cold hardiness is essentially how much cold a plant can withstand before it suffers damage.  There are two common ways by which this can be measured.  The simplest and most straightforward method is through a whole plant (or whole shoot) freeze test.  In this test, entire plants, usually seedlings, are placed in freezer that is programmed to drop the temperature progressively colder, say from 3 deg C to -36 deg. C

At set intervals, often 3 deg. C, a group of plants are removed.  The plants are allowed to slowly thaw and are then examined for needle damage or bud kill.  At the warmest temperatures, plants are undamaged.  As we examine plants subjected to colder temperatures, we’ll begin to find some with damage.  Eventually we’ll find a temperature where all the plants are damaged.  When we plot the percent of damaged plants versus temperature we can identify an LT50, or lethal threshold where 50% of plants are damaged.


Examples of determining bud damage during whole shoot freeze tests.

The second common assay for cold hardiness is termed Freeze-induced electrolyte leakage or FIEL.  FIEL testing is similar to the whole plant freeze test except that instead of freezing the entire plant or shoot, just a small portion of tissue, such as a conifer needle segment is needed.  The FIEL test is based on the fact that plants can withstand inter-cellular ice (ice between cells) but not intra-cellular ice (ice within cells).  When intra-cellular ice forms it disrupts the cell membranes and cell contents are released into solution.  The amount of leakage of cell contents into solution can be easily measured using a standard conductivity meter.  Again, we can estimate an LT50 by plotting the amount of damage versus exposure temperature.

By assessing cold hardiness periodically through the winter, we can assess changes in hardiness associated with acclimation and de-acclimation processes.  A classic study by Karen Burr and her colleagues demonstrates how quickly acclimation can change.  In their study they tracked cold hardiness of conifer seedlings that we exposed to acclimating conditions (short days and progressively colder temps) and then de-acclimating conditions (longer days and warming temps).  The resulting chart demonstrates how dynamic cold hardiness can be.  When we describe plans based on Hardiness zone we’re talking about their maximum hardiness or the temps they can stand in the mid-winter period.  But note how quickly the lethal temperature rises during de-acclimation.
Seasonal trend in phases of cold hardiness: Acclimation, Maximum hardiness, and De-acclimation

Typically, our most common winter injury problems occur during the de-acclimation phase as temps warm and hardiness is lost.  We saw a dramatic example of this several years ago in western Michigan when an early March warm-up with temperatures in the 50’s F was followed by nights with temps as low a -5 deg.  This resulted in widespread bud-kill in conifer plantations.  With a week of highs in the 60’s and 70’s forecast, it’s easy to see why our current warm-up has everyone nervous.

Maximum and minimum temperatures from a west Michigan weather station