Colloidal Compost

[Hopalong]

I have been making and using my own compost since the 1950s and had no problem, getting excellent results in terms of size, taste, fertility and less bug problems. but on surfing the net I came across Colloidal Compost which claims to give superb results and that the compost I make is only suitable for using as a mulch. The article goes on to re-assure me that I too can make colloidal compost quickly and easily. All I need to do is purchase an e-book for a mere Australian $37.50.

So, what is colloidal compost, is it really more effective than normal garden compost, is it easier to make and is it possible to make it without buying a book or activator?

[Two_Sheds]

I have never heard of Colloidal, so Googled it - and, none the wiser! Colloid means glue

"colloid = Substance consisting of particles that, although too tiny to be seen with the unaided eye (typically 1 nanometre to 10 micrometres), are substantially larger than atoms and ordinary molecules and that are dispersed in a continuous phase. Both the dispersed phase and the continuous phase may be solid, liquid, or gas; examples include suspensions, aerosols, smokes, emulsions, gels, sols, pastes, and foams. Colloids are often classified as reversible or irreversible, depending on whether their components can be separated. Dyes, detergents, polymers, proteins, and many other important substances exhibit colloidal behaviour."

[skegblade]

Maybe I'm being too cynical, but this sounds like a money making scam to me. If you've always been happy with your own compost, I should just keep using it.

Phil

[Flummery]

Sounds like one of those 'You too can give me a lot of money!' articles. It must work or they wouldn't keep trying. Like all the Nigerian princes trying to open bank accounts.

[Madasafish]

Walpaper paste is a colloid iirc.

[Birdie Wife]

Okay, let me see if I can explain - dredging up some A-level chemistry here - it's been a while! A colloid in chemistry is a bit like a solution, where one thing is dissolved in something else - but in a colloid, the dissolved bits are much bigger and not dissolved so much as held in suspension, so the bits don't sink to the bottom of the container. So like wallpaper paste, the bits swell up with water and are held in a thick suspension. Does that make sense?

Still none the wiser about colloid compost, unless they are claiming that the nutrients are bound into a colloid rather than being leached out by rain - so more accessible to the plants over time? Just a guess.

[Madasafish]

sound like a 3Bs compost



3Bs = "bullshit baffles brains"

[Birdie Wife]

What do you know, I just found this... I think madasafish has it right on the nose.

[Snadger]

From what I remember, plants can only absorb nutrients at the colloidal level. Any take up of nutrients must be at the colloidal level. A plant can't distinguish an organically produced nutrient from an inorganically produced nutrient as at the molecular level there is no difference!
All compost/manure has a certain proportion that is absorbed by the plant.

Colloidal compost is simply liquid manure methinks!

[Hopalong]

Thanks for all the responses, I will carry on as before and keep my money in the "seeds for next year" bin