Problems with brewing Earth Juice Tea

I've been using earth juice for about the last 4 months and tend to run into some problems with the low PH. I have been attempting to get into compost teas, and since I have a very small Dr. Bud style SOG setup, i've been brewing a 1/2 gallon batch (dilute it to a whole gallon) with 2 tsp Grow and 2 tsp Bloom. I also add 1 tbsp of molasses. I've tried to brew this several times and I can never get the PH to rise above 4.0. I've read that at some point between 24 and 36 hours the PH should start to rise, but I never get the ph to get up. I grow totally organic so I know PH does not matter, but I've still had some PH issues because even with the lime in my soil the PH of the solution is too low. My mothers experience a lot of nutrient lockout.

My brewer is a 1/2 gallon jug with two, five inch airstones attached to an aquarium pump. I do not know the cfm of the air pump but i've read on numerous gardening websites that an aquarium pump should provide enough oxygen for a 1/2 gallon brew.

Anybody have any tips or ideas? Am I actually getting enough air in my mixture to cause microbial activity to increase?

I think you are probably getting enough air, but there probably isn't much life going on in that bottle. Who knows how long it's been sitting sealed and anaerobic on a shelf...

If you are stuck on using the Earth Juice and you believe the low pH is causing you problems, try adding a few tablespoons of earthworm castings to your brew. That should supply the bacterial growth needed to raise the pH a little.

Good luck!

That's a good possibility, I have had the bottles for a long time and they were sealed even longer than that. I am picking up some EWC today, gonna add it to the soil. I'll throw some in the brew and see if that helps any. Thanks!

SpicySativa said:

I think you are probably getting enough air, but there probably isn't much life going on in that bottle. Who knows how long it's been sitting sealed and anaerobic on a shelf...

If you are stuck on using the Earth Juice and you believe the low pH is causing you problems, try adding a few tablespoons of earthworm castings to your brew. That should supply the bacterial growth needed to raise the pH a little.

Click to expand...

Yes skip the grow use earthworm casting and EJ bloom. Earth Juice is made with fossilized bat and bird guano. Gives it a very long shelf life but no micro lifeforms. I use EJ high brix molasses its cheap. Do you use mikes and bb ? like oregonism xl. You could add that to your tea. Also shake the bottles very very good and check to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. I have had this happen to me and I didnt see it till half way through a bottle.

So the one garden supply store in my town does not have EWC in yet, which is strange to me. Anyway, I found a bottle of Fox Farm Big Bloom. Says its a worm casting culture, think throwing some of this in the brew would bring things to life? This is an old bottle too, over 6 months old.

You won't find healthy, living, breathing AEROBIC organisms in a sealed bottle. If you sealed living bacteria in a bottle, it would likely explode (just think of that swollen up OJ or milk jug you find in the back of your fridge).

You need real compost or worm castings if you want a diverse population of real, living microorganisms.

There ARE some bacteria that can go dormant rather than die in anaerobic conditions. Some even form endospores, which can withstand harsh environments and then resume growing and reproducing when conditions improve. The thing is, with bottled products you only get this small subset of the giant diverse population you want.

Call your local nursery. They have compost. I promise....

Ok, got my worm poo, now I have one my question: How much should I add per gallon if I am brewing it with 2 tsp Grow and 2 tsp Bloom?

Ignore that comment haha, SpicySativa already told me what I need to know. Thanks Spicy!

Glad to help! Good luck

Ya da man spicy, right on point as always.

Way back when I was brewing EJ nutes the PH started low (4ish) and would rise eventually (at least 24 hours). I believe all liquid organic nutes are acidic for storage reasons.

Now I brew tea and add organic nutes to the final tea as needed.

You need LOTS OF AIR when brewing tea.

Here is a good read on brewing tea:

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1110985-act-aerated-compost-tea.html

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you want to brew a tea it kind of defeats the purpose of a tea to use something like that. Next time, just buy yourself a nice bag of earthworm castings and brew your own teas since it seems you've got the equipment already. Check into The Rev's TLO book, lots of great tea recipes in there. Good luck!