Compost tea, pros needed!

keysareme

keysareme

Well-Known Member
SJ KOrganic said:
Yea i am after a an AACT tea. Its the Soluble Seaweed Extract from Technaflora 1-1-16.
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Yah, that's just dry kelp meal, good stuff to have on hand man.

Take a breath, you've got this.

Fill up your bucket with good de-chlorinated water, if you do not have a filter that removes chlorine, fill the bucket up and let it sit out either in your house or outside, or even better, put the air stone in it and let the chlorine bubble out for a few hours before you start to brew the tea.

Take your paint strainer bag, fill it with one cup of EWC, you can go up to 2 cups for a 5 gallon brew, anywhere from 1 cup to 1.8 cups is quite safe for what you are doing and efficient.

Add in 1 - 3 table spoons on Kelp Meal (I would go right in the middle with 1.5 for now)

If you have some molasses, add it about 1 teaspoon.

As for your compost source, for now, using just the EWC and Kelp Meal should give you a beneficial microbe tea. But you can go pick up bagged composts, or source locally, check your local craigslist? Search organic compost, or compost, or vermiculture.

If you want to get your brew on right away, fill up your strainer with the EWC, Kelp Meal, Molasses (if you have any) and let that thing come to life.
 
SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
keysareme said:
Yah, that's just dry kelp meal, good stuff to have on hand man.

Take a breath, you've got this.

Fill up your bucket with good de-chlorinated water, if you do not have a filter that removes chlorine, fill the bucket up and let it sit out either in your house or outside, or even better, put the air stone in it and let the chlorine bubble out for a few hours before you start to brew the tea.

Take your paint strainer bag, fill it with one cup of EWC, you can go up to 2 cups for a 5 gallon brew, anywhere from 1 cup to 1.8 cups is quite safe for what you are doing and efficient.

Add in 1 - 3 table spoons on Kelp Meal (I would go right in the middle with 1.5 for now)

If you have some molasses, add it about 1 teaspoon.

As for your compost source, for now, using just the EWC and Kelp Meal should give you a beneficial microbe tea. But you can go pick up bagged composts, or source locally, check your local craigslist? Search organic compost, or compost, or vermiculture.

If you want to get your brew on right away, fill up your strainer with the EWC, Kelp Meal, Molasses (if you have any) and let that thing come to life.
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Just fired it up, thank you. Sorry i just dont understand the nutrients in these materials yet so to use "this" and "that" is easily confusing me but i think i got it. Its not like i paid a lot for the Alpaca shit, and i can always use it outdoors in the summer time, so im not heart broken. It really comes down to what "kind" of compost i am looking for. Some say that chicken compost is to "hot" meaning to high in nitrogen? So really, if i were to buy pre-bagged compost, i guess i need to know what kind im after. I can find anything with a little research lol!
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
smokey the cat said:
Ain't no way I'd ad a fresh fecal ingredient to a tea I was brewing - a sure fire to expose yourself to fecal coliform. The eventual brew might not harbour anything bad, but the 6-12 hours of splashy raw shit at the start of each brew sounds awful.

Once composted no problem. Raw? I wanna grow compost microbes not some random animal's arse microbes.

Lol, just be safe out there guys. Ass microbes are probably the future of tea brewing.


I figure fine compost and molasses these days. If I wanna feed anything else I do it with a seperate tea that doesn't need to be so biologically potent as AACT.

I love em by the way - they are a healthy plant in a liquid form.
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I would follow^^this^^ advice.

Compost tea = a cup of worm castings/compost, a tablespoon or so of molasses, and 3-4 gallons of water (you don't want to have the bucket too full during the brew.... it can foam over and make a mess).

Brew for 24-36 hours, top off with desired amount of additional water to cover all of the plants you want to hit, and apply.
 
SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
Thanks st0w, was waiting for your input. :) So when (greasemonkeymann) said "I would, alpaca manure is some good stuff, works well and doesn't need to compost." Why is this? I mean, if (Smokey the cat) says it will expose me to fecal coliform and its going to wreek like shit, a good compost won't do either of these?
 
smokey the cat

smokey the cat

Well-Known Member
SJ KOrganic said:
Thanks st0w, was waiting for your input. :) So when (greasemonkeymann) said "I would, alpaca manure is some good stuff, works well and doesn't need to compost." Why is this? I mean, if (Smokey the cat) says it will expose me to fecal coliform and its going to wreek like shit, a good compost won't do either of these?
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Heh, just pointing out that the first few hours of bubble with fresh manure in it'll spread micro drops of whatever biology is in the manure.

Compost tea needs compost, water, molasses.

Every other ingredient is suspect - some of them will slow microbe growth



MicrobeMan's site is the go-to source
 
SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
smokey the cat said:
Heh, just pointing out that the first few hours of bubble with fresh manure in it'll spread micro drops of whatever biology is in the manure.

Compost tea needs compost, water, molasses.

Every other ingredient is suspect - some of them will slow microbe growth



MicrobeMan's site is the go-to source
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I wasn't calling you out or anything i am just trying to get a better understanding is all :)
 
smokey the cat

smokey the cat

Well-Known Member
bongsmilie
good times

bongsmilie
definitely experiment

I've found them great for rehabilitating suffering plants - instant improvement. You don't so much water with it, as inoculate the dirt to transform it into soil.
:leaf:
 
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st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
SJ KOrganic said:
Thanks st0w, was waiting for your input. :) So when (greasemonkeymann) said "I would, alpaca manure is some good stuff, works well and doesn't need to compost." Why is this? I mean, if (Smokey the cat) says it will expose me to fecal coliform and its going to wreek like shit, a good compost won't do either of these?
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You could add manure to a brew, but you don't need to. I'm not a fan of using it in teas due to potential pathogens. The odds of having pathogens in fresh alpaca (or rabbit) manure is very low (especially if you know the source of the manure), but remember what's going on in a tea: It's an oxygen rich environment where any microbes present will rapidly multiply. Needless to say, you don't want to be introducing large counts of detrimental microbes to your soil. With composted manure you have given the beneficial microbes time to out-compete any anaerobic microbes, or pathogens creating a "clean" source of microbes to extrapolate.
 
DonTesla

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Oh man! PURE FIYAAAAA!!!!!
Sub cool and the rev, yea they big, dem make headlines.. they be like Beyonce and Jay Z .. but you gotta get on that Kweli, Protoje shit, Albo, Lowkey shit..all one needs to stay sharp is the petro's unorthodox approach, stow's smooth summaries, and pat's encyclopaedia of minute clarifications. Microbe man, Lowenfels from the Teaming series, positivity/supra for DIY LEDs, shit son, the League of Extraordinary Growers, son.. don't forget big Mo, shit son, i'm set for life now. Ima be a genius soon as i can remember everything Im learning, lol
st0wandgrow said:
Subcool has mastered it eh? I think he's mastered the art of bullshitting people like you. That and marketing.

I'm not saying that his soil isn't any good, but he is no savant when it comes to organics. There are multiple folks in this section alone here at RIU that have a far better knowledge of organics, botany, and soil microbiology than subcool.

Continue to worship the cat if you wish....
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SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
DonTesla said:
Oh man! PURE FIYAAAAA!!!!!
Sub cool and the rev, yea they big, dem make headlines.. they be like Beyonce and Jay Z .. but you gotta get on that Kweli, Protoje shit, Albo, Lowkey shit..all one needs to stay sharp is the petro's unorthodox approach, stow's smooth summaries, and pat's encyclopaedia of minute clarifications. Microbe man, Lowenfels from the Teaming series, positivity/supra for DIY LEDs, shit son, the League of Extraordinary Growers, son.. don't forget big Mo, shit son, i'm set for life now. Ima be a genius soon as i can remember everything Im learning, lol
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This is an English forum sorry son...
 
DonTesla

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Stow brotha, you don't brew for 36-42 hours ? Thats one of the things i got off our boy the microbe man, but yea 24 is good too. I guess if you have good o2 longer is good for peak populations, if your pump is weak its good to go shorter, and avoid potential anaerobic 'robes..and most beginners have weaker pumps, so if you were suggesting 24 as a good starting point, then all i gotta say, is…

…. 1 800 stow know

when you gonna start it up buddy. lol
 
SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
DonTesla said:
Stow brotha, you don't brew for 36-42 hours ? Thats one of the things i got off our boy the microbe man, but yea 24 is good too. I guess if you have good o2 longer is good for peak populations, if your pump is weak its good to go shorter, and avoid potential anaerobic 'robes..and most beginners have weaker pumps, so if you were suggesting 24 as a good starting point, then all i gotta say, is…

…. 1 800 stow know

when you gonna start it up buddy. lol
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Yea I would assume mine is shit....I paid 10 bucks for it...ecoair2 non commercial
 
DonTesla

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
SJ KOrganic said:
This is an English forum sorry son...
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je ne care pas! you don't think i don't cypher thru enough directionless stupidity and senseless sarcasm, SJ? its just Patois, a couple words won't hurt anyone.. its a form of english, it hails from Jamaica, the origin of some of the best exotic herb on here.. why hate? we've all said mon, mon, its your turn, mon hahahaha
 
DonTesla

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
SJ KOrganic said:
Yea I would assume mine is shit....I paid 10 bucks for it...ecoair2 non commercial
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just don't use too many gallons or litres! for the tiny airstones, just one, i wouldn't do much over a gallon..
that said, no hard feelings, feel free to pop in sometime.
And good luck!
Im out!
 
SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
DonTesla said:
je ne care pas! you don't think i don't cypher thru enough directionless stupidity and senseless sarcasm, SJ? its just Patois, a couple words won't hurt anyone.. its a form of english, it hails from Jamaica, the origin of some of the best exotic herb on here.. why hate? we've all said mon, mon, its your turn, mon hahahaha
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I am sorry, i was deeply confused. Story of my life

DonTesla said:
just don't use too many gallons or litres! for the tiny airstones, just one, i wouldn't do much over a gallon..
that said, no hard feelings, feel free to pop in sometime.
And good luck!
Im out!
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Well i have 2 mediums and 2 smalls in there right now in a 5 gallon mix, that should be ok right?
 
DonTesla

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
SJ KOrganic said:
I am sorry, i was deeply confused. Story of my life



Well i have 2 mediums and 2 smalls in there right now in a 5 gallon mix, that should be ok right?
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Should be golden, then bud.. each small stone should be able to handle 5 - 6 litres for 24 hours easy. Just make sure it stays rich and earthly smelling, if it starts to go sour smelling at all, you'll be able to tell.. thats past the point of diminishing returns. Should be more than good though. As long as there's a good pump or multiple cheap pumps
 
SJ KOrganic

SJ KOrganic

Active Member
DonTesla said:
Should be golden, then bud.. each small stone should be able to handle 5 - 6 litres for 24 hours easy. Just make sure it stays rich and earthly smelling, if it starts to go sour smelling at all, you'll be able to tell.. thats past the point of diminishing returns. Should be more than good though. As long as there's a good pump or multiple cheap pumps
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smells....molasses...ey...lol
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
DonTesla said:
Stow brotha, you don't brew for 36-42 hours ? Thats one of the things i got off our boy the microbe man, but yea 24 is good too. I guess if you have good o2 longer is good for peak populations, if your pump is weak its good to go shorter, and avoid potential anaerobic 'robes..and most beginners have weaker pumps, so if you were suggesting 24 as a good starting point, then all i gotta say, is…

…. 1 800 stow know

when you gonna start it up buddy. lol
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Yes, 36 hours is my brew time for compost teas. According to MM that's the sweet spot. Brewing longer doesn't add any value so that's where I keep it.

I've tried going longer but I tend to get a bio-film on my air diffusers around the 30'ish hour mark and I worry about the DO2 level dipping below where we want it because of this.
 
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