[compost_tea] Re: CT RECIPES FOR 5 GALLON TEA BREWS

From: irene bensinger <irene_at_trilliumwoods.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 22:03:54 -0700

Thanks, Jeff, for a lot of good information.

>As for a recipe, five gallons of good tea can be diluted at least 5 times

Boy, it's great to know is that I can dilute 5 gallons of tea 5X!

>One (of many) recipes for a 5 gallon brewer and which I have
>specifically tested in the KIS:
>
>1. One cup compost
>2. One ounce Soluable Kelp (Maxicrop? or?)
>3. One teaspoon of powder Humic Acid (Humisolve which makes about a
>pint of suggested root soak) or liquid equivilant

I'm not clear on the bit about 'a pint of suggested root soak'. Is
that a use for Humisolve separate from adding it to CT? Does 'root
soak' mean a pre-soak for bare roots, or as a soil drench for
established plants?

Can you recommend a website where I can find Humisolve?

>This should make a killer tea with fantastic fungal numbers. Want
>bacterial tea, then substitute 2 ounce Black strap molasses for the
>humic acid.

Is 70 F the correct temperature for that recipe? I'm still looking
for *the* perfect way to keep the brew warm in my attached/unheated
greenhouse room. Ambient temperature in there is between 50 F and 60
F until summer arrives. I'm thinking a small square grow-mat might be
a good way to go. Any good suggestions?

>I don't use a bag when I use the KIS and I use Alaska Humus,
>obviously. However, your compost will do for sure! If you want, you
>can re-use the KIS bag (after carefully cleaning it) using duct tape
>to close it up or make your own. Add a few wood chips(better
>agitation) and perhaps a ping-pong ball (for a bit of floation to
>keep it off the bottom.

I'm hoping that the 'up to 35% solids' sprayer I have coming will
deal well with tea made without a bag. I'll probably have to strain
out the big stuff (wood chips, for instance). What's the best to
eliminate the big hunks without harming the good guys?

>It is important to test the first tea or two you make after you have
>the system down. If you have a KIS machine, I tested this recipe and
>it is a killer fungal and the results have been posted. If you are
>trying it out on your own machine, you really should have SFI test
>it.(<http://www.soilfoodweb.com>www.soilfoodweb.com)

I definitely plan to have my tea tested once I've got it worked out,
but first I need to get the mechanics of making it figured out. I'm
looking forward to receiving the Compost Tea Manual to answer some of
the many questions I've been saving up.

>As for the slugs, use coffee as a spray or coffee grinds. The USDA
>announced last summer that this will kill slugs in two days...

Well, since these are Pacific Northwest slugs, maybe they thrive on lattes! : D
Last summer I tried mulching the strawberries with coffee grounds
from the local espresso wagon, but they just crawled (and munched) on!

I'm finding that Sluggo (non-toxic to everybody but slugs) and beer
traps keep the slug numbers low, but as we're surrounded by forest
and there is decaying forest floor all around us, I'm afraid that
_some_ slugs will be always be with us.

Thanks again for all the good suggestions.

irene

Irene Bensinger
Fibers on the Internet
http://trilliumwoods.com/

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Received on Fri Apr 25 2003 - 02:12:33 EDT

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