Re: [compost_tea] Re: new grand pa !!!! Thank you Anne

From: w.reece speas <wrspeas_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 03:37:15 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Anne , Thank you for the opportunity i had a great time, I appreciate your help very much , Thanks again Reece

compostanne <Anne.C.Donahue_at_ci.eugene.or.us> wrote:Hi Reece, Anne here, first of all CONGRATULATIONS on your new
grandchild! Secondly, Thank You for attending and presenting to our
Compost Specialist training here in Eugene. You and your spray truck
were a real hit with the group of veteran and new trainees. We are
lucky to have you and your tea spray service leading the way here in
Eugene.

This might save Jeff a posting...I made a copy of the fungal
inoculating procedures from one of Jeff's previous posts. Here it
is...Anne

2. Start with activated compost. There seems to little question that
starting the fungi growing using a handful of oatmeal flakes of one
sort of
another increases the fungi available to be extracted into the tea.
Activation in a container with a loose lid for three to five days at
80 in
the dark is ideal.
QUESTION: could you please further describe? You once mentioned baby
oatmeal. Specifically, are you activating all the compost that will
be used
in your next batch of tea? How much oatmeal would you add per cup or
other
unit of compost? Do you moisten? How much? Do you consider the
fungi
activated once you see strands -- are you going for a certain amount
of
stranding to consider the compost well activated? Detail: I am
assuming
chlorinated water is not recommended for this process!>>>><>

Activating compost/humus was an idea that developed to see if there
was actually good fungi in it before it was used to make tea. It
turned out that once activated, compost/humus makes more fungal teas.
This is because the fungi in a normal tea brew don't multiply, only
grow. So if you have them started, they continue to grow...a gross
oversimplification, but you get the idea

To activate, use the normal amount of compost/humus you would for any
tea brew. Use either Gerber's Baby Oatmeal or Organic Oat Bran or
even ground up Organic oatmeal. For every four cups of compost/humus
add one cup oatmeal. Mix it in thoroughly. Then add four tablespoons
of dechlorinated water and mix in thoroughly. Put the mix in a
plastic sewing box, Tupperware, salad container...whatever, as long
as you can lightly cover.

Put this box in the dark, on a seed germination heat mat if you
cannot put it where the temp is 80 degrees. Check daily to make sure
there isn't too much condensation i.e. big drops on the lid and dry
it off the lid if there is.

In three days you should have the start of a net work of visible
mycelium--thousands of fungal hyphae, long white ones like the hairs
in a good Santa's beard. You do not want small, round colonies of all
sorts of colors.
In five days you should have a solid mass of compost/humus held
together by fungal hyphae...a perfect demonstration of why
rototilling ruins the structure of garden soil by destroying fungi.


3. Make sure your machine is spotless. It doesn't take much slime to
do in a
good tea.

QUESTION: What materials and techniques do you use to get your
machine
spotless? For example, I poured some peroxide into the clear tube
carrying
air from pump to tea and swished it around. A toothbrush would
probably
work on the threaded screws. I use dish detergent on the trash can,
rinsed
well. (NOTE: This is not an insignificant process time-wise.
Thus,
brewers that are easy to clean translate into money savers for people
who
make tea and use it as part of their business. Inventors, take note!)

I use a sponge so I don't create scratches on the plastic and create
crevices for organisms to lodge.

Cleaning is really an essential part of the whole experience. You
have to get very religious about it. Yeah, sponging is a good
suggestion, though they can be microscopically rough so don't sponge
too hard! I clean my machines off as soon as I stop brewing. A hard
blast of water gets all the grime off, a spray or soak with Oxy clean
helps. Hydrogen Peroxide is great. And don't forget exposure to sun
and some fresh air!
You have to be clean.

4. If you have an air machine, throw in a handful of bark (orchid
bark?) or
large sticks to help break up compost while you brew.

QUESTION: What do you mean, break it up? Do you mean, dislodge
microorganisms? The compost I use is not lumpy, for example. Just
want to
understand.

Yes, provide some grit to dislodge microorganisms via turbidity and
actual contact. This is especially important if you keep your
compost/humus in a confined area while you brew. I use old orchid
bark. It is easy to get out once you stop brewing as it floats to the
top.

5. Use only Kelp and Humic Acids as your ingredients to start.

QUESTION: Do you have a recipe recommendation? For example, how
much kelp
and humic acid per 5 gallons of tea, with how much compost? Also,
kelp
comes as kelp meal, kelp extract, and I think liquid foods with a
percentage
as kelp. Specifics will help people new to these ingredients.

One teaspoon powdered humic acid product per 5 gallons. Not sure what
the liquid equivalent is...
One to two tablespoons powdered (1/2 ounce), water soluable Kelp
extract.

This is a starter recipe. Each machine is different. See how you do
with this and then, based upon SFI recommendations, alter it. You
will note it does not include any sugars. I use Alaska Humus and you
don't need sugars. However, if your compost doesn't have high
bacterial numbers, you may want to add a tablespoon of molasses per
five gallons.

O.K.? I don't have the latest CT manual and lent my old one out this
spring and haven't seen it since! So, if any of this is in dispute
with the manual, let me know.

The key thing, however, is to spend the bucks and do some testing.
Yes, you should be able to rely on the manufacturers and the SFI
tests that have already been done. However, you really need to do
one or two tests to make sure YOU are not an important variable!

Cheers,

Jeff L







---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

   To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/compost_tea/
  
   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
compost_tea-unsubscribe_at_yahoogroups.com
  
   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



                
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th



Received on Thu Apr 15 2004 - 09:50:45 EDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:15:12 EST