Compost Tea Slime

This is my second time making compost tea for the beneficials. I use earthworm castings, bat guano, unsulphered molasses, Kelp and DeChlorinated water.

The first time went good. Smelled earthy and was foamy..

This time seemed the same but I am about to use it and realize my tea bag and airstones are covered in a thick clear slime.. which was not present the first time.. Id like to know if its a good thing or a bad thing asap so i can use the tea. Its been brewing for 48 hrs

Actually rather than clear I would say green.. which I'm newer to to bennies both fungal and bacterial. I have great white microhayze but I didn't use any of that this time.. Anyways Ive heard green slime is usually bad so I'm wondering if this is normal or not in AACT teas

My stones are covered in a thick thick slime after 36 hours. It's never been green though, always a white/ clear goo. I would go by the smell, If it smells bad don't use it. if it Smells earthy/sweet use it.

Also, brewing your tea too long can form anaerobic conditions. (This might be where the green slime is coming from). Max I'd go would be 42 hours with a minimum of 32. 36 being ideal

ok I wont do it as long as next time. I would say it still smells sweet but has lost the earthy smell a little. it doesnt smell "foul" should i just rebrew or you think Im good with this.

Inside of bucket. It didn't smell bad so I plan on using it. but I will have to see how the next batch goes after I tweak it a little

peacepipe17 said:

Inside of bucket. It didn't smell bad so I plan on using it. but I will have to see how the next batch goes after I tweak it a little

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Can't really tell what's going on in the bucket. But if you're just going for a compost tea I wouldn't worry too much.

A lot of people get the ratios of ingredients screwed up and often add food sources they don't need. This in turn causes stress on the microbes and will eventually lead to anaerobic conditions.

The recipe I follow
Per 5 gallons of water:

2 cups compost
6 Tbs molasses
3 Tbs kelp
12 ml fish hydrolosate


I used to add Guanos, and alfalfa, and aloe and whatever else. I never saw any production in terms of microbe development. This recipe Creates a nice fungi/bacteria balance.

If you'd like to use nutrients Id suggest top dressing or watering them in separately.

Just be sure to remove/wash off any residue left from your brewing be fore starting the next run....It greatly reduces bio counts if not!

BTW,,,,The use of any Kelp product IN the brewing of the AACT tea will reduce the overall bio count by over 30% on average!!!
When I need Kelp in my tea - I add it as a liquid after, I brew the tea!!!!

I've done the counts myself on many simple bio teas......The best ones start with no Kelp in the brew and simple like this.

1cup EWC (fresh) 2 cups if from bagged commercial EWC
1/3 cup US molasses
1/3 cup Dr. Earth's (my fav) Alfalfa meal

I'm in organic soil so putting it in a "tea bag" is not important to me.....I just stir and apply...I run a vortex style brewer....

BTW, the slime is a fungus type...scrape it off and add it to your tea bag before you wring it out.....you'll add more bio's that way!

Doc

Dr. Who said:

BTW,,,,The use of any Kelp product IN the brewing of the AACT tea will reduce the overall bio count by over 30% on average!!!
When I need Kelp in my tea - I add it as a liquid after, I brew the tea!!!!

I've done the counts myself on many simple bio teas......

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I wouldn't say it depreciates the bacteria, just slows down production.

Did you see higher fungi/archaea counts when using kelp??
How long are you brewing your tea?

MistaRasta said:

I wouldn't say it depreciates the bacteria, just slows down production.

Did you see higher fungi/archaea counts when using kelp??
How long are you brewing your tea?

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#1 Correct! (counts taken with and without kelp and at 24, 36 and 48 hrs of brew time.

#2 Some, brew time and tea content dependent = more / longer with higher fungal ingr. Not enough to offset the bacterial loss in my mind..

#3 Depends on what I'm doing with it.....18hrs = foliar, 24 is not used much anymore (unless a "fert" tea is brewing) as 36 to 48 (temp controlled to 70) has what I feel are the best counts for the bio's I'm looking for in it.

Doc

Dr. Who said:

#1 Correct! (counts taken with and without kelp and at 24, 36 and 48 hrs of brew time.

#2 Some, brew time and tea content dependent = more / longer with higher fungal ingr. Not enough to offset the bacterial loss in my mind..

#3 Depends on what I'm doing with it.....18hrs = foliar, 24 is not used much anymore (unless a "fert" tea is brewing) as 36 to 48 (temp controlled to 70) has what I feel are the best counts for the bio's I'm looking for in it.

Doc

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I like my compost tea the most around 38 hours. Nutrient teas go 18 to 24. I'm curious, what do you brew up for your foliar feed doc?

I love some alfalfa and kelp, just started using aloe as well. Plants love it

MistaRasta said:

I like my compost tea the most around 38 hours. Nutrient teas go 18 to 24. I'm curious, what do you brew up for your foliar feed doc?

I love some alfalfa and kelp, just started using aloe as well. Plants love it

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Same as the basic bio......spray it on full strength...kills and prevents molds very well! Depending on what I'm wanting, I might give the whole thing (batch, 5 gallons) a shot of one Tbl of old age Kelp when using some for a foliar feed early on (after transplants mostly). I'll pull what I need for the foliar and finish out to around 36 hrs and water with the rest.

Doc