Re: [compost_tea] Newbie Introduction

From: Sonshine <sonshine_at_houston.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 11:17:16 -0600



  This kit has recently been mentioned, and some concerns voiced about the =
amount of air the pump can supply and the difficulty of cleaning the carboy=
 after each brew, but no-one has tried it. Could you post the instructions/=
information/supplies that comes with it? I think it may be wise to use the =
tea as a soil drench only, and not a foliar feed, as you grow medicinal her=
bs. And add compost/vermicompost to your soil.

  Brewing tea is simple, but it can easily go wrong too. Too much food and =
not enough oxygen and the tea will go anaerobic (bad - smelly). Aerating a =
tea containing only compost will increase microbial content to an extent, b=
ecause they will munch on the food contained within the compost. Adding mol=
asses (or other foods) will accelerate the breeding and growing but you hav=
e to be sure of the oxygen for the whole brew cycle.

  Stuart hello and thank you for the welcome!

  Thank you for your responses. Yes, I didn't think it was quite that easy=
 and that's why I'm delighted to have found you. My medicinal herbs are us=
ed for medicine, either dried form or in a tincture form (alcohol extracted=
) so I must be careful. Our eco system in my part of Houston is horrible, =
difficult to grow and I'm desperately trying to learn good and productive o=
rganic methods. Haven't used pesticides or commercial fertilizers for year=
s. I do make my own compost, use an organic fertilizers that is suppose to=
 contain friendly microbes (in fact, after applying on the soil I can see l=
ittle fungal growth), have loads of mushrooms in the garden after the summe=
r storms, and am forever fighting fungal growth on leaves.

  Here's the link to the little kit I bought:
  http://gardensalive.com/item_display.asp?ProductNumber=8798

  The kit includes: "Your Gardener's Gold Compost Tea Kit includes one batc=
h of Inoculant, 5-gallon plastic carboy, air pump, flexible air stone, 3' c=
lear airline tubing and easy-to-follow directions -- everything you need to=
 make 5 gallons of super-potent compost tea!"

  For the price decided I couldn't go wrong but after your comments am wond=
ering also how will I clean that 5-gallon plastic container. Should I canc=
el the order if possible and wait for the experts on this group to tell me =
what to buy and rig up my own?

  Last year someone suggest a home brew using yeast, molasses, fresh non-ci=
trus fruits, blood/bone meal, compost, etc and brew it up in a large contai=
ner. lol that was the anaerobic tea and my plants didn't like it plus the =
stench was horrible.

  Thanks for caring,

  Rosie







Received on Wed Mar 24 2004 - 12:42:59 EST

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