can one make a concentrated ewc tea and dilute?

[al-k-mist]

High everyone
just wondering, could i put like 10 cups of ewc and a cup and a quarter of molasses in a 5 gal bucket, with an eco1 pump? then dilute to have lots for the soil?????

i need to bubble an alfalfa tea(2 gal would be fine), and like 15 gallons of vermicompost tea to innoculate the soil for the greenhouse

Love you people!

(~);}

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

How many liters per minute is your pump?

Have you checked out MM's site? I just started following his recipe instructions to the 'tea' hehe. The results have been absolutely phenomenal!

 

[al-k-mist]

thanks..ill have to check that
With 38 liters per minute total output at 2.9 PSI per outlet.
gotta spread rep and all that, but thanks again

 

[SpicySativa]

Al-k-mist: Best bet would be to follow a recipe, THEN dilute it. Brewing with higher concentrations of food won't yield a better tea, it'll likely just sacrifice diversity. For example, with 1.25 cups of molasses, I don't see you doing much other than a big boom/bust of bacteria. Use a proper recipe, and you'll have such an absurdly high diversity and quantity of microorganisms that diluting 5-10x will have minimal affect.

 

[al-k-mist]

What I am saying is I have 1 pump only.
I have 12 yards of soil to innocculate, which a 5 gallon buchet wouldnt do
I want to make a super concentrated tea in ONE bucket, although i could break it into 3 buckets and the 4th use for alfalfa, since i have 4 hoses on the 1 pump(which some think is silly, but i dont have the other stuff, pvc or airlift stuff

thanks for your replies

 

[Microbeman]

ACT works on the basis of microbes extracted and multiplied. To make a 'concentrated' ACT a microscope is imperative. You are not piling up on nutrients, rather it is microorganisms.

 

[SpicySativa]

What I am saying is I have 1 pump only.
I have 12 yards of soil to innocculate, which a 5 gallon buchet wouldnt do
I want to make a super concentrated tea in ONE bucket, although i could break it into 3 buckets and the 4th use for alfalfa, since i have 4 hoses on the 1 pump(which some think is silly, but i dont have the other stuff, pvc or airlift stuff

thanks for your replies

I would say that a 5-gal bucket of well brewed AACT certainly CAN inoculate 12 yards of soil.

Per Dr. Elaine Ingham:

"If the soil does not contain an adequate food web set of organisms, then multiple applications may be needed. For example, in strawberry fields where methyl bromide was injected before planting, 20 liters of tea per acre (5 gallons/ac) were applied at each two week to 1-month interval to maintain soil health. This 5 gal of tea can be added in any amount of non-chlorinated water, as long as the full 5 gal of tea is applied to the 1 acre of area."

If you can use 5 gallons on an acre, I don't see any reason you couldn't use 5 gallons on 12 yards of soil. That much is the equivalent of less than a 0.1 inch thick layer spread over one acre. Add one tea now, and another when you plant, and I think you'd be golden...

 

[Microbeman]

Anyone who has successfully used CT knows that it is minimally effective at that rate.

 

[SpicySativa]

Anyone who has successfully used CT knows that it is minimally effective at that rate.

Clearly I've struck a nerve... Not a big fan of Dr. Ingham, huh?

Like most folks here, I don't have an acre of land to experiment on. That's why I consulted literature from people who do...

 

[al-k-mist]

so, MM, i have access to a microscope that hooks to the computer, and need a trip to the coast anyways....
is it possible..again, nutrients are mixed into the soil(or will be), and i ONLY am interested in a massive amount of microorganisms. just a tea of ewc and molasses, how concentrated can i make it? what WOULD one need to do, or is it possible? my pump is ecoplus1 commercial, 38 liters a minute, 10 gal a minute, .4 gallons per second i guess.

thanks so much for in depth replies, love y'all

 

[OrganicOzarks]

I can't see that 5 gallons on an acre would do shit. This is the problem with people repeating shit instead of quoting it from first hand knowledge. It goes against all logic that 5 gallons of tea could do much of anything for an acre.

Maybe multiply that 5 gallons by 10, and then we could start seeing some nice results. Do that once or twice a month for an entire season, and the next season you will be paid in full.

Last year at the beginning of spring part of my property was gravel with a bit of dirt mixed in with some weeds. I applied compost tea heavily about twice per month for the entire season. I used a 30 gallon brewer for an area that is about 50x30 . I also planted some grass seed. The seed somewhat set last year, and it was much better than before, but it was about as much weeds as it was grass.

So jump to this year, and it is extremely thick, and growing like crazy. There literally may be 5 weeds which I am not worried about. I have had to mow it 3 times already which is very abnormal around these parts.

The heavy applications of tea completely transformed this baron wasteland into a lush golf course like yard in just one season.

The power is there with the tea, but it has to be used in the correct quantities. Last year I was working on a larger design for a brewer so that is why I had so much tea to throw at this part of my property. I did not want to waste it, and I was brewing a billion batches a week.

I will say that Dr. Ingham has done some fine research into compost tea, but I think she does some voodoo magic as well. Unfortunately you are not the only one perpetuating the crap that she says. My friend that took her class years ago just recently quoted the exact same thing.

Back to the op, I would start with a 50 gallon brew, and do it once a week for 4 weeks. Then apply tea once a month for the entire season.(I do it every damn week, get's old but the results are amazing)

Then at the end of the season re-amend and add compost. Let is mellow through the winter(maybe do a cover crop), and next year your soil will be in the best shape ever. All you will have to do is add tea.

You can build a 50 gallon brewer for cheap. There just so happens to be a website chocked full of information by this guy Tim Wilson. www.microbeorganics.com He may not be Dr Ingham, but he does know his shit.

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

I believe my airpump is 45lpm and I make 20 gal batches on a regular basis. Again, check out MM's site, I think it will tell you how many lpm's is ideal. Make the tea as per his instructions, day after day until you've done what you need to on that 12 yards of soil. Seems like it would take a couple of weeks. I might try adding 20gals of molasses/water to every 20gals of tea applied, if I needed to get it done faster.

 

[Microbeman]

so, MM, i have access to a microscope that hooks to the computer, and need a trip to the coast anyways....
is it possible..again, nutrients are mixed into the soil(or will be), and i ONLY am interested in a massive amount of microorganisms. just a tea of ewc and molasses, how concentrated can i make it? what WOULD one need to do, or is it possible? my pump is ecoplus1 commercial, 38 liters a minute, 10 gal a minute, .4 gallons per second i guess.

thanks so much for in depth replies, love y'all

I've included the eco plus 1 in my literature on my webpage. It is plenty for 5 gallons.

 

[Microbeman]

Clearly I've struck a nerve... Not a big fan of Dr. Ingham, huh?

Like most folks here, I don't have an acre of land to experiment on. That's why I consulted literature from people who do...

Why are statements of fact interpreted to have emotion? I could never understand this.

If I were to say that the earth has been proven to be round, would that make me not a fan of catholics?

 

[herbaless]

Lots of people dilute compost tea with 50% water, some dilute even more

 

[xmobotx]

i m not a fan of catholicism but have met catholics which are good people ~those must be 'the faithful' lol

anyway i would say such a low application rate is an example of how a tiny amount will still be beneficial ~how beneficial might depend on circumstances//regional/existing soil type stuff

FTMP i would apply more rather than less {do as MM recommends} remember your soil isnt his problem/he wants to be helpful

some is good and i cant imagine more would hurt {so you dont wash away your soil by erosion w/ CT}

organic ozarks example might run a little high for instance but mostly i m just mad @ OO for growing lawn ~wtf?

waitaminute? they proved the world is round? citation!

 

[OrganicOzarks]

i m not a fan of catholicism but have met catholics which are good people ~those must be 'the faithful' lol

anyway i would say such a low application rate is an example of how a tiny amount will still be beneficial ~how beneficial might depend on circumstances//regional/existing soil type stuff

FTMP i would apply more rather than less {do as MM recommends} remember your soil isnt his problem/he wants to be helpful

some is good and i cant imagine more would hurt {so you dont wash away your soil by erosion w/ CT}

organic ozarks example might run a little high for instance but mostly i m just mad @ OO for growing lawn ~wtf?

waitaminute? they proved the world is round? citation!

If I didn't grow grass there then erosion would have destroyed that area. It does look very pretty in the middle of the woods though. It's like the ninth hole amongst all of the trees and rocks.

 

[SpicySativa]

Because this...

"Anyone who has successfully used CT knows that it is minimally effective at that rate."

...isn't exactly a "statement of fact". It's a statement of your opinion based on your findings. MANY people successfully use CT but don't have the resources or time to test various dilutions on large areas of farmland. I am one of those people. Am I an expert? Hell no. That's why I read what's been written by people who know more than I do. Sometimes (god forbid...) I even pass along information that I've gathered (and cite the source).

All that shenanigans aside... I really would like to hear your opinion about what is the maximum dilution you think would be beneficial.

 

[xmobotx]

If I didn't grow grass there then erosion would have destroyed that area. It does look very pretty in the middle of the woods though. It's like the ninth hole amongst all of the trees and rocks.

trust me i m not really mad {i just havent figured out a good expression for giggles like tee hee or something} BUT i will be if you dont get some damn clover in there!



lol spicy he said "minimally effective" {just in case you didnt notice what you quoted} so essentially; 'some is better than none' which is accurate and 'precise' may vary regionally {as i mentioned} MM is spot on because his response even accounts for potential variance

as i said he has always been helpful and i have learned a lot from him so i appreciate it ~as should you

 

[SpicySativa]

trust me i m not really mad {i just havent figured out a good expression for giggles like tee hee or something} BUT i will be if you dont get some damn clover in there!



lol spicy he said "minimally effective" {just in case you didnt notice what you quoted} so essentially; 'some is better than none' which is accurate and 'precise' may vary regionally {as i mentioned} MM is spot on because his response even accounts for potential variance

as i said he has always been helpful and i have learned a lot from him so i appreciate it ~as should you

It was the snarky "Anyone who's successfully used CT..." part that got me started... Anyway, no one (myself included) needs to get butt-hurt about it. Life goes on...