Compost Tea Bubblers: do they actually help? + Large bubbles vs small bubbles?

There is some controversy online as to whether compost tea isn't the same as just adding compost or worm castings as a top dressing, and watering.

Have you seen any large benefits to brewing your own compost tea, vs just applying compost directly?

(Also, does bubble size matter when brewing compost tea? Some say you need large bubbles, some say small, some say it doesn't matter).

RenaissanceBrah said:

There is some controversy online as to whether compost tea isn't the same as just adding compost or worm castings as a top dressing, and watering.



Have you seen any large benefits to brewing your own compost tea, vs just applying compost directly?



(Also, does bubble size matter when brewing compost tea? Some say you need large bubbles, some say small, some say it doesn't matter).

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It isn't the same, otherwise you could just top dress. The benefit of compost tea, is to quickly multiply microbes. Ime, they work well, if you do it correctly. Keep the water warm, and provide aeration. I don't believe bubble size matters, and I think you just want to break the water surface to oxygenate the water.

i stopped brewing teas a couple of years ago i dont see a difference with my plants. if you have a wormbin and fresh homemade ewc you always have healthy colony of microbes

crimsonecho said:

i stopped brewing teas a couple of years ago i dont see a difference with my plants. if you have a wormbin and fresh homemade ewc you always have healthy colony of microbes

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Not everybody can have a worm bin though. Compost tea is the next best thing, imo.

Not sure about the actual bubble size but the volume of bubbles does make a difference in how active your teas can be. I was using a regular cheapo Walmart fish tank airstone to bubble my brew at first but then I upgraded to a red frog air diffuser which pushes a multitude of bubbles through the bucket. Definitely makes better tea. Foams up real good
As far as top dressing vs tea; tea wins every time. Not to say that adding ewc in solid form is not beneficial to soil it’s just that teas aerated for 36+ hours could have doubled or even tripled the original population of microbes in the compost. Brewing up a tea essentially grows microbes; that’s why you bother taking time doing it. It goes to work faster than just an ewc top dress but providing compost in any form is still better than none. I don’t give teas much anymore either but that is only because my home made ewc is so clumpy. Usually I need to add perlite & coco to help lighten it up.

crimsonecho said:

i stopped brewing teas a couple of years ago i dont see a difference with my plants. if you have a wormbin and fresh homemade ewc you always have healthy colony of microbes

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Yep!

Richard Drysift said:

Not sure about the actual bubble size but the volume of bubbles does make a difference in how active your teas can be. I was using a regular cheapo Walmart fish tank airstone to bubble my brew at first but then I upgraded to a red frog air diffuser which pushes a multitude of bubbles through the bucket. Definitely makes better tea. Foams up real good
As far as top dressing vs tea; tea wins every time. Not to say that adding ewc in solid form is not beneficial to soil it’s just that teas aerated for 36+ hours could have doubled or even tripled the original population of microbes in the compost. Brewing up a tea essentially grows microbes; that’s why you bother taking time doing it. It goes to work faster than just an ewc top dress but providing compost in any form is still better than none. I don’t give teas much anymore either but that is only because my home made ewc is so clumpy. Usually I need to add perlite & coco to help lighten it up.

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Does anyone try growing side by side plants with and without teas?
If not, how do we know if tea does anything?
Agitating the water will actually kill fungal microbes. Does not grow microbes. Test it before and after. You will not increase the nutrients you put in the bucket by aerating it.
Try an experiment and then share your knowledge.

Django66 said:

Agitating the water will actually kill fungal microbes. Does not grow microbes. Test it before and after. You will not increase the nutrients you put in the bucket by aerating it.

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Not quite...

Is Anaerobic Compost Tea made without Pump Harmful?

If you’re finding a way to make compost tea without a pump, think again! A supposedly useful compost tea made without needed aeration can turn into a harmful element. How? We’ll brief you in this article.

Anaerobic vs Aerobic

Aerobic – requiring air, specifically oxygen, in order to remain active. Aerobic organisms require between 6 and 8 mg of oxygen per ml of tea in order to continue growing.

Anaerobic is the opposite of aerobic and means lacking oxygen. When oxygen falls below 6 mg per ml, facultative anaerobes will begin to convert their metabolism to anaerobic metabolism, producing alcohol, highly acidic organic acids, and other metabolites that can be toxic for aerobic organisms such as plants. As oxygen concentration drops below 2 to 4 mg per ml, strict anaerobes begin to grow, producing materials that are ever more detrimental-to-plants.

Read more at Leaffin

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Same as the temp when brewing teas, different organisms live and die at various temperatures. So getting the brews temperature in the right range is also important to promoting growth and multiplication of good beneficial bacteria, rather then producing bad bacteria.

I think the goal of any tea is to rapidly increase the microbial activity in a soil. In my experience, it helps the biology in the soil jumpstart and adds more life to the soil food web.

If your soil ecosystem is young and starting to take off, I feel like compost teas make alot of sense. If your soils are slightly more mature and you are taking good care of each part of the web through top dressing and feeding it different types of food, whatever form it comes in, then I dont know how effective a tea will be in that case.

Jeff Lowenfels talks about this in some detail in his book, Teaming with Microbes, he is well respected in the world of Living Soil Cultivation so I wouldnt throw out the idea of the tea because of nah sayers.

Remeber when considering the benefits of these tools, you need to consider the fact that the are other factors that could be benefiting from adding additional microbial life to soils.

As I understand, soil microbes are the precursor to the develooment of certain terpenes. So who knows what flavours, aromas and tastes you could be gaining/missing out on.

I think it is definately something that could add more value doing and therefore, in my opinion, its a practise I include in my cultivation approach.

SST's and a Protozoa Tea will also add so much biology to your mix that I feel like your missing out on getting fuller genetic expression from your plants when you wre relying on a single source of microbial life. Diversity is key.

Hollatchaboy said:

Not everybody can have a worm bin though. Compost tea is the next best thing, imo.

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yeah it may be the next best thing but also keeping a wormbin is so easy that instead of dealing with the brewing processes and the equipments and cleaning etc, one can just keep a wormbin imo.

Richard Drysift said:

Not sure about the actual bubble size but the volume of bubbles does make a difference in how active your teas can be. I was using a regular cheapo Walmart fish tank airstone to bubble my brew at first but then I upgraded to a red frog air diffuser which pushes a multitude of bubbles through the bucket. Definitely makes better tea. Foams up real good
As far as top dressing vs tea; tea wins every time. Not to say that adding ewc in solid form is not beneficial to soil it’s just that teas aerated for 36+ hours could have doubled or even tripled the original population of microbes in the compost. Brewing up a tea essentially grows microbes; that’s why you bother taking time doing it. It goes to work faster than just an ewc top dress but providing compost in any form is still better than none. I don’t give teas much anymore either but that is only because my home made ewc is so clumpy. Usually I need to add perlite & coco to help lighten it up.

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I use a pond aerator.

Imo/e compost teas are a great way to rejuvenate outdoor beds/ pots if you have a lot and want to reuse it ( soil that is)
I have not used much tea indoors, my indoor soil mix contains compost from my own pile which I make every run.

I don't make compost tea I make JMS. No bubbler needed.

crimsonecho said:

i stopped brewing teas a couple of years ago i dont see a difference with my plants. if you have a wormbin and fresh homemade ewc you always have healthy colony of microbes

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Just curious, how did your tea setup look like? Were you using an airlifter or bubbling stone?

Hollatchaboy said:

Not everybody can have a worm bin though. Compost tea is the next best thing, imo.

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What about brewing compost tea with worm castings?

Richard Drysift said:

Not sure about the actual bubble size but the volume of bubbles does make a difference in how active your teas can be. I was using a regular cheapo Walmart fish tank airstone to bubble my brew at first but then I upgraded to a red frog air diffuser which pushes a multitude of bubbles through the bucket. Definitely makes better tea. Foams up real good
As far as top dressing vs tea; tea wins every time. Not to say that adding ewc in solid form is not beneficial to soil it’s just that teas aerated for 36+ hours could have doubled or even tripled the original population of microbes in the compost. Brewing up a tea essentially grows microbes; that’s why you bother taking time doing it. It goes to work faster than just an ewc top dress but providing compost in any form is still better than none. I don’t give teas much anymore either but that is only because my home made ewc is so clumpy. Usually I need to add perlite & coco to help lighten it up.

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Thanks Richard for your feedback - I was thinking of going with an airlifter, think that would be a good solution to aerate the tea, vs a airstone?

Also, what are your thoughts on compost extracts vs aerated compost teas? Some say extracts are better, but I am still researching on the subject.

Btw, if your worm bin is too muddy, have you thought about feeding peat to your worms, and to use as a bedding? That's what I do, I found it works quite well, gives the castings a good consistency and the worms like it.

Django66 said:

Does anyone try growing side by side plants with and without teas?
If not, how do we know if tea does anything?
Agitating the water will actually kill fungal microbes. Does not grow microbes. Test it before and after. You will not increase the nutrients you put in the bucket by aerating it.
Try an experiment and then share your knowledge.

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I need to try that.

I've heard enough people say that aerated teas helped them (someone said they're growth was like 50% more, compared to just watering). But I'd like to try comparing side by side just EWC top dress / aerated worm tea / worm extract.

One day. I also need more pots to grow in.

xtsho said:

I don't make compost tea I make JMS. No bubbler needed.

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Interesting! Is this pretty much the same as KNF (Korean Natural Farming)?

What benefits do you see with using JMS over aerated compost tea?

RenaissanceBrah said:

Just curious, how did your tea setup look like? Were you using an airlifter or bubbling stone?

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i was using a big bubbling stone in a small 10l jar (3l of water) with an above average aquarium pump. i dont have pictures anymore because it was like 2-3 years ago.

RenaissanceBrah said:

Interesting! Is this pretty much the same as KNF (Korean Natural Farming)?

What benefits do you see with using JMS over aerated compost tea?

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I have never noticed any difference using it vs not using it in container plants. I have noticed a difference in the vegetable garden though and since it's so easy to make I apply it prior to planting and then several times throughout the growing season.

JMS is JADAM which was started by Youngsang Cho who is the son of Hankyu Cho considered the father of KNF. JADAM is simpler and you don't use brown sugar to make the inputs.






You dilute it 1-20 so I make a 5 gallons and then split it up between a bunch of other buckets and spread it the garden plots.

RenaissanceBrah said:

Thanks Richard for your feedback - I was thinking of going with an airlifter, think that would be a good solution to aerate the tea, vs a airstone?

Also, what are your thoughts on compost extracts vs aerated compost teas? Some say extracts are better, but I am still researching on the subject.

Btw, if your worm bin is too muddy, have you thought about feeding peat to your worms, and to use as a bedding? That's what I do, I found it works quite well, gives the castings a good consistency and the worms like it.

Click to expand...

From what I understand is that aerated teas create your starter bacteria that will then go into the soil food web and break down organic material. So here you will be boosting the biological activity in your soils by adding large amounts of bacteria into the soil.

Compost extracts or ferments, especially when mixed with certain beneficials and given some time, have already broken down the organic material and the solution/material is already in form that the plant can take up. So its direct food for the plant.

This is why both are recommended. I use a variation of raw organic material, compost teas and ferments. Organic material as food for microbes and possible nutrients for my soil, the tea to boost biological activity and the ferments to increase the amount of a nutrient that is available in food form for the plant.

I could be wrong here but thats what I have understood about these processes and what thet contribute to our soils biology.