[darkhollo]

At what rate do you apply EWC tea to a hydro setup (per gallon) to innoculate with benes? What is the recommended frequency to maintain a good population?

TIA
--dh

[robertmarley]

would like to know the same thing

[darkhollo]

does anyone use EWC tea in hydro? I saw this recommended in the slime thread sticky in the infirmary.

Just wondering cuz of the no response I got here.

--dh

[Clackamas Coot]

A company called Natures Technology has a link to a 5-part article on using aerated compost teas in a hydroponic growing environment - here

Look to the menu on the left under 'Articles' for links to the various pages.

DISCLAIMER: This company, Natures Technology, is a manufacturer of compost tea brewers. They also manufacture and distribute a 'ready to go tea' of which I know absolutely nothing about. So the 'buyer beware' paradigm is important to remember.

HTH

CC

[D.I.trY]

i just added some compost tea i made with some broken down rich bokashi soil full of humic acid and some pond dirt from the bottom that smelt very earthy. If it had smelt bad i wouldnt have put it in. It was for the garden but i borrowed some for the ladies! . For food i used kelp and two tablespoons of rolled oats put in the blender. The little oat particles swelled up and had fungal growth all over i could see without a microscope after 3 days. Smelt good and fungaly too. i put about 500ml in a 6l dwc.

Compost tea is an innoculant for the life in your dwc which is its purpose rather than for its nutrient content which is low. You cant burn by adding too much of the aerated tea. Of course the chemical nutes really have bad affect on the microbiology. Some die and others go into hibernation but how do we do without chemical salts in a dwc? I have added bokashi juice for the past two weeks and its great stuff too. It cleans up the roots of all the dead stuff.

[onthedot]

1-2 oz. per gallon after a 24-48 hour brew.

Our experience has been around 2% in relation to your reservoir. Any more than 5% and you're risking bio-film buildup. Be sure to flush the system as well.

There's good info. on tea over in the Organic Soil section, that's where a lot of us tea guys hang out. All the info. in relation to making good aerated compost tea is going to be the same, it would just be your application rates that will change.

Just a little background, I'm a commercial compost tea manufacturer, so you know where I'm coming from. There's a sticky in the Organic Soil section entitled "Tea Article" that may be helpful.

[robertmarley]

My tea turned to smelling funny after 48 hours.. read that 12-24 is optimal and risk funkies afterward

Add some Subculture B or M, Oregenism XL, or Great White. It will be shelf stable after 4 days with all of the goodies available to plants.

Jack,

How do you know the tea is "shelf stable" for four days? Do you have any data or microscope data to support that?