Re: [compost_tea] Information for Newcomer

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 22:18:56 -0800

Look people, we have to be able to make a product that will work without ex=
tensive testing. We have to be able to say: "add this and this and this mu=
ch air and you will get this."

It is unreasonable to ask a casual user to go through everything I did to c=
ome up with my formulas. It is unreasonable to ask a person to spend $200 =
on testing for a brewer that may brew each batch differently. That would m=
ean, if we follow the logic, testing each and every brew because there are =
just too many variables. I have been doing this for two years and have bre=
wed over 300 documented batches. If I can't tell a user how to get somethi=
ng out of his/her tea, I have wasted all the work I have done.

I was offering advice to a new person trying to brew. I didn't go into all=
 the differences of turf, woody plants, food crops, etc. because first they=
 need to just brew. There are enough sources, many of them errant, that ma=
ke the process too difficult for the average person. It's far easier to ju=
st get some Miracle Gro and be done with it.

A person should be able to brew tea based on a procedure and formula and be=
 reasonably sure that they will get good results. If they can't and need t=
o test all the time, formulas are useless and procedures have no validity. =
 Notice that I mentioned testing when you try something new or alter existi=
ng formulas. There is no reason to make this more difficult than it is. I=
 personally offer suggestions to get people interested. I don't even sell =
brewers any more except custom jobs for specific clients so I can give away=
 as much information as I want.

If I was new to this and followed the advice of this list, for the most par=
t, I would be lost in a sea of details that while important are way above w=
hat I need to start.

Yeah, we can all give advice and try to sell our $500 Kiis and Bobulator an=
d whatever brewers and we will have a lot of unhappy users. If you want to=
 waste money, go and by a Soil Soup brewer and play with bags. I have look=
ed at virtually every system and have found containerized compost in a brew=
er to be nothing but trouble which is why I advocate free suspension materi=
als. If you want headaches, use systems that require containers or bags. =
Also, systems that pump liquid seem to be less reliable than those that aer=
ate directly and pump separately. Harder to clean and more damaging to the=
 microbes.

Filtering:

You want to get around 200 Microns. One layer of window screen will not do=
 it. Period. I have experimented with many variations and can document eac=
h and every one. Remember, we have to assume that some of this tea will be=
 sprayed through a sprayer. Window screening is about 1/32 of an inch and =
that is way too big.

Ted Peterson
Earth-Wise/Spirit of the Earth








Received on Mon Feb 23 2004 - 01:55:46 EST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:15:04 EST