A Basic Compost Tea Guide

[somebody041]

CC -

I've used that companies products before. They are my main source of worm castings. My hydro store guys were telling me that she made a fortune selling the rights to the patent to her plastic package to NASA!

 

[Clackamas Coot]

somebody

I talked with Dr. Rollins for about 30 minutes or so. There were 4 or 5 different compost tea folks at this trade show. This product was the most interesting to me if the claims are factual.

I wish them the best of luck in getting their products into retail stores which is why they were at this particular show.

CC

 

[Microbeman]

CT Guy

RE: Beneficial nematodes

Some of the organic pest control folks sell what they refer to as 'beneficial nematodes' (the specific strains are Steinernema and Heterorhabditis)

Assuming that you're using a high-quality compost and/or EWC, are there sufficient colonies of nematodes in an aerated compost tea? What contribution do they make to the soil food web concept?

I read an article and I was more confused than before.

Thanks!

CC

In compost there are mostly bacterial feeding nematodes which contribute by consuming bacteria/archaea and releasing ammonia N the same as protozoa. It is difficult to keep them alive in ACT for an extended period. I believe they are covered on my webpage.

 

[iniquity]

HELP

HELP

ok so i have recently made the switch to organic teas for my girls. why is my tea PH at 4.5 when its done brewing? recipe i used is as follows-

1/3 cup EWC
2 tbs molasses
2 tbs high N guano
1 tbs liquid humus
1-2 tbs of maxicrop liquid seaweed.

all that in about 2 gallons of tepid water. brew for 36 to 48 hours then dilute 50/50 with tepid water. PH after dilution is 4.5. WTF? i used some canna rhizotonic to bring my ph up to 5.9 to 6.1.

 

[Cool Moe]

Thanks CT for all of the quality information in this thread. I have a question I am hoping you can answer. I am using organic mushroom compost as a soil amendment i/o worm castings in order to save money. So I am wondering if organic mushroom compost could be used in ACT instead of worm castings? Or should I use only worm castings? Or both? I appreciate any advice you can offer.

 

[MrFista]

No Moe

Mushroom compost is not suitable for teas. A waste product, it is often sterile, or full of chems, or both.

 

[Cool Moe]

Thanks MrFista for the quick reply...will stick with EWC for the tea along with EJ and molasses. In your opinion should I reconsider my plan to use the mushroom compost as a soil amendment or is it okay for that purpose in place of EWC? I was planning on using the Black Velvet brand mushroom compost available at Lowe's. Thanks again for your help.

 

[MrFista]

I can't help with brands sorry I'm many miles from you. Most compost is good as a soil amendment but not to replace worm castings. Worm castings are gold. If you have the mushroom compost already by all means use it in your soil... AND castings.

Good compost is hard to come by. There must be some recommended US brands by now though?

 

[Cool Moe]

Your recommendations are duly noted and appreciated. I'm very happy to have found this site and thanks to all for taking the time to share your knowledge.

 

[CT Guy]

Thanks MrFista for the quick reply...will stick with EWC for the tea along with EJ and molasses. In your opinion should I reconsider my plan to use the mushroom compost as a soil amendment or is it okay for that purpose in place of EWC? I was planning on using the Black Velvet brand mushroom compost available at Lowe's. Thanks again for your help.

I really doubt you're going to find anything at Lowe's. I'd be more inclined to throw in some good forest litter or soil, than anything from a big box store. Have had some success with Black Gold EWC but it was mostly bacterial.

Spend your money on your soil, it's the best investment you can make in the life of your plant!

 

[dub 6]

just got a shit load of snow. I was wondering if you had to do anything to snow water before brewing a tea... besides melting it.

 

[NWestCoast]

So I am only on page 14 of the thread, but I am wondering, has anyone tried using wort extract used for making beer in order to provide the sugars to the tea. I imagine it would come with the additional nutients, enzymes, vitamins and such that barley contains. Plus the sugars are in an easy to use, natural plant form.

Any ideas?

 

[Cool Moe]

I just bought a product called "Compost Maker" made by Bonide. It's a powder and the only listed ingredients are "a blend of ocean kelp, fish and alfalfa meals." Would this make a good tea on its own? Or should I add to ewc/molasses tea? And approx how often during veg and/or flower? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[rupertb]

1

 

[onegreenday]

I just bought a product called "Compost Maker" made by Bonide. It's a powder and the only listed ingredients are "a blend of ocean kelp, fish and alfalfa meals." Would this make a good tea on its own? Or should I add to ewc/molasses tea? And approx how often during veg and/or flower? Any advice is appreciated.

where are the microbes for compost?
thanks.

 

[mrred]

in the earthworm castings and kelp?

 

[onegreenday]

in the earthworm castings and kelp?

no castings in that product (per post)
but I'd expect some of that specific BMO stuff......

Is it a good $$ value??? thanks.

 

[maryjohn]

Anyone know if magnetic stir bar / plates would work instead of air stones for 1 GAL teas?

First off I think it is fucking awesome you have one! I would be using it if I could borrow it for my anaerobic pursuits.

For 1 gal, you need to disturb the surface enough with your mixing to exchange sufficient air. A gallon of water has a very high surface area relative to its volume, which is to your advantage. Personally I would take a look and see how much the surface is disturbed before making a guess, then maybe use my nose to tell me since I have no meters or microscope.

Perhaps a passive protuberance positioned perpendicular to and penetrating the surface water would create more turbulence. (that's a six word alliteration, I hope you like it!)

To prove it works, nothing short of microscope work will suffice.




Check it out though: if you are only making a gallon, why not go with compost slurry? The primary benefit of brewing aerated tea over a brute force extraction is to use less compost, but with 1 gallon, we are not talking a huge difference in resource consumption unless we are thinking logarithmically. A further advantage is that instant compost slurry is always as microbially (is that a word?) balanced as the compost. If you are talking guanos and such, there is really no reason to bubble those anyway. You are not going to water compost bat poo in 24 hours or even a week of aeration. It's manure and it will work like directly applied manure unless you feed it to your worm bin.

 

[justiceman]

when you guys brew teas do you bubble the tea until the ph rises to a desired range or do you not pay attention to ph at all?

 

[maryjohn]

It's basically follow the directions and trust or monitor with a microscope.