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A Basic Compost Tea Guide

V

vonforne

^ taking alot of info from that lady form soil food web would be beneficial I say, as she basically one of the smartest ( as she researches on this topic) when it comes to teas. I always look at my compost tea brewing manual for information

maybe when you update it will be more simple and less words?

-recipes for a 5 gallon brewer: ..

-what to do..

-what not to do..

-compost tea from a microscope..



I know nothing, but I know short, sweet and to the point works well with alot of people. good luck making a new version guys

I think that is the way we are going now to better serve the beginners and then we will have the advanced forums also.

V
 
C

CT Guy

I'd like to really see some good SFI test to support their brewer. It looks like an aquarium pump to me. John is an excellent farmer, but keep in mind that he grew those veggies in Alaska humus with sunlight conditions particular to Alaska. Where else can you get 18 hours of sunlight in a day?
 
C

CT Guy

This is the most complete, BEST, brew kit on the market and is a very, very good place for people new to compost teas should start...

That's quite a bold statement. I don't want to come across as critical of their products, but do you have any microscope work to back it up? I have no doubt that the tea that's made is beneficial, but how would it compare to other brewers on the market? That's something the industry is seriously lacking data in. Is it a bacterial tea? Would additional fungi increase the plant benefits?

Personally, I think the BEST place online for people new compost teas to start is:
http://www.soilfoodweb.com/03_about_us/approach_pgs/c_03a_aerated_tea.html

Please don't take this as a personal attack or even criticism, just trying to bring a balanced dialogue to the conversation. So often in organics I feel like products or sales people make claims on their products without listing ingredients or showing good testing to support their claims.
 

GranddaddyMagic

New member
Someone doesn't like to be wrong!
I am about as far from a sales person as you can get. I am simply a master gardener sharing my knowledge. As for microscope work, I have seen no tea kits or companies that sell such Items that have any sort of data to back them up. Why? They dont need it. Humi- soil is the most micro diverse compost on the planet. Mix that with a specifically designed and researched "bioactivator" then, during the last two hours of brewing add "M3" a marine algae booster ect., THEN, after the tea is brewed add root web, a blend of fungi spores ect. and you have about the most micro diverse tea you can possibly get. Look at that under a microscope and maybe it will explode it your face!!
Just trying to help some people cut through the bull sh*t and get straight to making bad ass teas, so please do not take this personal.. Maybe you should try it too.. :dueling:
 
C

CT Guy

Someone doesn't like to be wrong!
I am about as far from a sales person as you can get. I am simply a master gardener sharing my knowledge. As for microscope work, I have seen no tea kits or companies that sell such Items that have any sort of data to back them up. Why? They dont need it. Humi- soil is the most micro diverse compost on the planet. Mix that with a specifically designed and researched "bioactivator" then, during the last two hours of brewing add "M3" a marine algae booster ect., THEN, after the tea is brewed add root web, a blend of fungi spores ect. and you have about the most micro diverse tea you can possibly get. Look at that under a microscope and maybe it will explode it your face!!
Just trying to help some people cut through the bull sh*t and get straight to making bad ass teas, so please do not take this personal.. Maybe you should try it too.. :dueling:

I love being wrong! It happens all the time! :laughing: But saying something is the "best" just because, doesn't really help in determining what the important variable is in the growing process.

There are very few companies out there that back up their products with microscope work or lab tests, but they are out there. If the company in question doesn't have that and they're working with biology, then why not just make your own? What good are their claims? How many times have you walked into a hydro shop and the sales guy there says "You have to use this, it will double your yields or some other bs." Does he show you any data to support this?

It just sounds fishy to me in your post because you're using big words like "bio-activator" and "humi-soil" and "M3." How do you know that this particular combination was actually beneficial. Maybe it was your soil or your plant genetics and really the other stuff you did was benign. Can you tell me more about this "specifically designed and researched bio-activator?" What is it exactly? Are you referring to the brewer or additional food substrates that you're adding to the brew? Is "humi-soil" another word for soil from Alaska. When I say "Alaska Humus" what I'm referring to is the soil that being dug up in Alaska, it's not a compost, and it's not technically a humus (You can see plant material in it like peat). I like it because it does contain good diversity of microbes and it tends to be very consistent in quality.

Maybe it's just one of the products you listed that's actually helping your grow. How do you know it's the "most micro-diverse tea you can possibly get."

I would also disagree that Humi-soil is the most micro-diverse compost you can get. I think a well-made vermicompost, where the worms have been fed a good diversity of inputs makes the best compost on the planet.

Again, these are just my opinions and I respect your right to share yours as well. I'm sure others have completely different opinions on the subject.

Oh, and I wasn't trying to accuse you of being a sales person yourself. Rather just that many make claims similar to the one you stated in your original post.

Cheers,
CT
 

GranddaddyMagic

New member
If your so interested in knowing every single exact ingredient and detail of their products look on the website. Simply trying to tell growers not in northern california about the tea which is a big hit out here, for obvious reasons..
 
C

CT Guy

GrandaddyMagic,

Look, I'm not attacking you. Please don't interpret it that way. I'm glad you're posting and sharing on here, that's what this site is for. I'm glad that this particular system is working well for you and others in N. Cali. My only issue with your post was the "best" statement without any data to back it up. I think it's important in organics to incorporate science into our growing methodologies just as much as the chemical folk. If we want to be taken seriously as an industry, then we need to stop making unsupported claims that may or may not be true and start documenting data to support organics.

My credentials are that I grew up for 26 years with my parents running a 100 employee plant nursery that also did landscaping and construction. I've been around it my whole life. I then went and got my masters degree in another field and came back and have been working in the compost tea industry for the past 5-6 years. I do microscope work and lab testing and think it's an important standard for the commerical aspects of our industry. If you make your own or use your own products, I'd recommend it, but don't think it's essential. Too many companies in this industry though make unsupported claims, and I think it's important to wade through the b.s. I'm not claiming that the Bount-tea system is one of those products, as I have no experience with it. I shared all my knowledge on this particular system. I hope we can continue this discussion and you will continue to participate in our forum.

Cheers,
CT
 

GranddaddyMagic

New member
GrandaddyMagic,

Look, I'm not attacking you. Please don't interpret it that way. I'm glad you're posting and sharing on here, that's what this site is for. I'm glad that this particular system is working well for you and others in N. Cali. My only issue with your post was the "best" statement without any data to back it up. I think it's important in organics to incorporate science into our growing methodologies just as much as the chemical folk. If we want to be taken seriously as an industry, then we need to stop making unsupported claims that may or may not be true and start documenting data to support organics.

My credentials are that I grew up for 26 years with my parents running a 100 employee plant nursery that also did landscaping and construction. I've been around it my whole life. I then went and got my masters degree in another field and came back and have been working in the compost tea industry for the past 5-6 years. I do microscope work and lab testing and think it's an important standard for the commerical aspects of our industry. If you make your own or use your own products, I'd recommend it, but don't think it's essential. Too many companies in this industry though make unsupported claims, and I think it's important to wade through the b.s. I'm not claiming that the Bount-tea system is one of those products, as I have no experience with it. I shared all my knowledge on this particular system. I hope we can continue this discussion and you will continue to participate in our forum.

Cheers,
CT

CT guy that was more aimed towards microguy but I appreciate your kind words. I didnt mean to overstate myself and say it was the BEST, because I know its not, just where I started with teas and it made it really easy for me. Just new to this posting. Anyways, as for the microscope work thats really cool... Have you ever done one on Bountea?? And also, what kind of teas work best for you?? What teas have you documented to work best during the different stages of growth?? Just curious...

Cheers! :joint:
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Sorry I recently just had some spare time which I NEVER do and wanted to share a little secret of mine.. As for credentials, what would you like to know? Sorry I dont have 500 posts, and WTF is this a job interview??? WTF are your credentials??

I asked for credentials based on the 'master gardener' statement. That is a credentialed title. I'm a self taught soil scientist and microscopist. I have some of my work displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in DC and on my webpage; www.microbeorganics.com . I helped teach CT Guy microscopy but I fully expect him to surpass me some day.
 
C

CT Guy

CT guy that was more aimed towards microguy but I appreciate your kind words. I didnt mean to overstate myself and say it was the BEST, because I know its not, just where I started with teas and it made it really easy for me. Just new to this posting. Anyways, as for the microscope work thats really cool... Have you ever done one on Bountea?? And also, what kind of teas work best for you?? What teas have you documented to work best during the different stages of growth?? Just curious...

Cheers! :joint:

I haven't done any microscope work on Bountea, but have done a bit of work on aquarium pumps with air stones.

As far as the best kind of teas, I believe that putting out a tea that contains all beneficial organisms in good quantity and diversity is the way to go. This allows the plant to choose what organisms it wants to be most successful in the rhizosphere and on the leaf surface. This would go for all stages of growth.

If I was going to break it down by how I think the plant actually uses these organisms, I would speculate that a fungal tea would be most beneficial as a soil drench at the beginning of your growth cycle and that bacterial teas would be most beneficial in regards to foliar applications and further along in growth stages like flowering.
 

willy_lump

New member
Hey guys I have some simple questions regarding brewing my first tea.. Do you stir the tea? How often? How often do you clean your buckets and make a new tea? Can tea go old?
 

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