Re: [compost_tea] Pumps and Aerob-a-jet

From: Jason Austin <jason.austin_at_shaw.ca>
Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 12:15:36 -0700

Thomas Giannou wrote:

> Hi Peter,
>
> I don't remember seeing anything from Elaine on this topic. But who
> knows, she sometimes replies but doesn't copy text from the message.

Sometimes ? <grin>

Here is Elaines's message from May 6th under the heading of Simple CT maker

> Compost tea brewers are a bit different from fish tanks. Fish don't
> get growing quite as fast as bacteria. When you feed bacteria well,
> they can use up all the oxygen in any amount of water within minutes,
> and therefore the aeration rate needs to be high enough to offset
> bacterial and fungal growth.
>
> The fine bubbles are not the preferable condition. The fine bubbles
> are really hard on the fungi and seem to break them up and shatter them.
>
> If you suspend fine bubbles in the water, by over-aerating, you end up
> with problems. Too much air, and not enough water (supersaturation?),
> and the organisms will be killed because the environment become too
> oxidizing.
>
> Cute, huh? Not too much, not too little..... Goldilocks strikes again.
>
> We need some additional testing on the fine bubble versus coarse
> bubble situation. The fine bubble work we've done suggests that fine
> bubbles are quite detrimental. The bigger bubbles seem to do a better
> job of extracting hte organisms from the tea, and keeping things as
> aerated as possible.
>
> Always something more to know. So, what is the optimal aeration
> rate? Depends on how much food you add, the compost you use, the
> temperature of the water.
>
> Check the www.magicsoil.com web site. Some interesting insights there
> about aeration.
>
> Elaine Ingham
> President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
> www.soilfoodweb.com

Jason




Received on Mon May 12 2003 - 16:46:28 EDT

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