[compost_tea] best practices - first try at an outline

From: chris reid <reidchris_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 09:19:32 -0400


A number of interesting, fact-filled posts have been coming in to the list
lately and they point out how many areas we can illuminate by gathering our
information together and organizing it. I think a lot of people don't
realize how much information they're sitting on, because they think everyone
else knows or they're the only one to have had a puzzling experience with
their use of tea. So here's a quick on the fly list of some of the areas we
can illuminate.

If you see other areas that you think should be added, post the suggestion
and copy me so I can keep the copy in my file for this project. (I get the
digest and I don't want to cut and paste -- but your individual message can
easily be dragged into a folder). Once there is a good start at a list of
questions, people who have answered in the past and know how to find their
posts could send them to me, heading the message with the name of the
question to which they apply. I can assemble this stuff.

Is this a perfect approach? No, but it's like the beginning of assembling
the 10,000 piece puzzle. All the pieces are lying around in our archives
(and members' minds), and now we take all that rich info and put it together
so we can see the whole picture.



1. Brewing tea
        selecting a brewer -- considerations
                ease of cleaning
                brew time
                type of tea consistently brewed (testing results of mfr)
                flexibility of batch size
                how to determine what size you need

          Container characteristics (relevant to Bob machines -- you use your own
container)
                Effect of size and shape on oxygen
                Materials to seek and avoid (are there garbage cans or containers embedded
with disinfectants to be avoided? not sure if they are made)
                Angles less than 120 degrees in container and effect on oxygen content
                Ease of cleaning - buildup of deposits

        water
                water temperature and effect on micro herd growth
                Chlorine and chloramine -- ways of removing
                Well water considerations
                Water pH and effect on brew

        Ingredients
                Ingredients, what they are and what type of organism they feed,
characteristics of the ingredient that are important (no preservatives, form
dry or liquid, fresh or aging, etc.)

        theory of brewing -- how it works and what to watch for

        Troubleshooting (make a table that shows common reasons for failure and
their causes)
                adding too much food
                adding too much compost
                effect of using too hot or too cold water
                effect of wrong pH
                effect of wrong container size/shape
                effect of not cleaning your brewer

        How to clean a brewer (this will vary by manufacturer -- some general tips
about cleaners and techniques to use, when to do it, and why to do it.

        How to store your ingredients (what will happen if too hot, too cold, too
dry or wet, how long shelf life, storing near other things and effect,
precautions about ingredients animals may love)

2. Applying tea

        Theory of applying tea -- what you are trying to do here
                Soil application
                        Understanding why you're drenching the soil and knowing the biological
condition in your soil and whether the tea you made is appropriate for
that condition (testing very useful here)

                        Different methods for applying to soil (bucket, watering can, spray,
inject, what else?) - specific equipment used, specific type of
application - as farm field, vineyard, landscape, trees, etc.

                        Rates of application
                        Frequency of application and knowing WHY you have selected that
frequency.

                foliar
                        Theory - why you apply, when you apply, what you are trying to get to
happen, preventative foliar vs. attempting to overcome an established
pathogenic fungal population on a leaf
                        What will prevent it from being effective-
                                spray pressure, straining too much out of tea, inadequate leaf coverage,
                                not enough or wrong kind of spreader/sticker to get the leaf covered,
bad time of day, weather considerations

                        Recognition that different plants have different amounts of waxy
substances in leaf and different leaf textures - therefore, you must test
to see what

                Spraying tea
                        Small scale - review of small equipment and characteristics (ease of use,
cleaning, clogging, techniques for spraying )
                        Nozzles (floodjet nozzles, other nozzles, how they test)
                        Spray pressure
                        Unclogging
                        To strain or not to strain
                        Adding other things with your tea (spreaders, stickers, foods)
        `

3. Using tea as part of a response to specific situations

                Recognize the goal of improving soil biology. Specific situations are
part of the symptomatic picture of soil biology that is off.

                Other cultural practices to change -- what practices support development
of good biology, and what work against what you are trying to do.

                Balancing your plant's needs and the soil biology buildup -- how to feed
the biology AND feed your plants. More is not necessarily better.





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Received on Thu Oct 02 2003 - 12:39:10 EDT

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