[compost_tea] Bags Redux (was Re: Bags part vs free suspension

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 15:36:22 -0700

Here is the continuation of my post.

>From Last post:

I broke the problem down to these basic things:

1. What was I trying to do? Create an environment where bacteria and fungi=
 could grow in a brewer. (I didn't know very much when I started . I had =
the compost tea brewing manual but there were still some things I wasn't su=
re of like fungal extraction instead of fungal growth.)

Oops. I just got called to umpire a baseball game. I will continue this em=
ail when I get back. Sorry.

Cont.

First, the game, a juniors (13-14 yr) game was Paso Robles vs. Los Osos. T=
he two pitchers on the Paso team were part of the Paso (11-12 yr) All Stars=
 team two years ago and last year. In both cases, they went to the Souther=
n California championships in San Bernadino, CA. These guys are good and f=
rom 46 feet, were throwing about 70 - 74 upper end with most in the 60s. A=
t 60'6" it's a different story, they were throwing about the same speed but=
 it seems slower because of the added 14 feet. Our (Los Osos) pitchers suf=
fer the same. So the game started off with the Paso team totally destroyin=
g the LO team. They scored 15 runs in the top of the first. The pitcher w=
as missing badly and it is common among umpires that when a team is getting=
 blown out, the strike sone for the losing team widens. You don't get ridi=
culous but it is a bigger zone. Usually these things have a ten run rule s=
o that after 5 innings if one team is more than ten runs ahead, the losing =
team concedes victory and they stop the game. Not the LO manager. He wante=
d to play longer so he did and finally lost 42 to 0 after six when I called=
 the game on account of Lakers. (The Laker game was on and I wanted to watc=
h it along with most of the fans at the baseball game.) The kids weren't r=
eally playing by that time anyway and there was abolutely no learning going=
 on that the kids could benefit from. (Is it my perception or are kids jus=
t generally bigger now? I'm 6' 3" and I don't remember so many guys being =
so tall when I was that age.)

Back to brewing:

1. (Cont.) Ok so I wanted an environment where the bacteria and fungi could=
 grow. I sent the tea to SFI and we got great bacterial numbers but terrib=
le fungal numbers. I started examining fungal growth rates and water and f=
ungi in water and how fast they grow and what type of fungi I wanted and su=
ch. The brewer I was using at the time was a combination Koi aerator and i=
mpellor to shoot the liquid down into the compost. I put that design on an=
 email and posted it.

2. I started reexamining why I was using mechanical means to move water. W=
asn't the idea to get air into the water? So I started looking into the fo=
od processing industry for how they process food and aerate food stuff. Th=
e processing of baby food seemed the best place to start and I found a lot =
of good information about machinery and aeration.

About this same time, I got a contract with a Waste Water Treatment Plant t=
o compost and use tea to try to control pathogens. My ex-business partner =
had done some work composting biosolids in the past and he knew a lot about=
 composting. He is still one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever =
met when it comes to composting. Anyway, during the contract, I spent a lo=
t of time looking into waste treatment. I especially looked at anaerobic a=
nd aerobic biodigesters, trickling filters and other parts of the waste tre=
atment methodology.

3. I kept thinking about what I was doing in my brewer. I had a Soil Soup =
and was designing a lot of brewers of my own. I hit on the idea of using a=
ir jets to move the water through a bag or chamber. I tried a bunch of dif=
ferent materials on both fronts but I still had the problem of moving water=
 and moving air. I also had the problem of clogging and this happened a lot=
.

4. So I eliminated the water movement part and designed a system that force=
d the air up into a chamber that had screen on the sides. My feeling was t=
hat the air in the chamber would eliminate any chance of anaerobic buildup =
which I was seeing when water was aerated in a large container and a bag or=
 chamber was put into this bucket or barrel. This was successful but was =
messy.

5. I went back to my original question. By this time, however, I had come=
 to the conclusion that fungi couldn't be grown in a brewer given the brewi=
ng cycles we needed for high bacteria growth without running into anaerobic=
 conditions. Fungi just don't grow that fast. So how was I going to get t=
he fungi into the tea? I was going to get it out of the compost by agitati=
ng the compost in a way that got the fungi out thought agitation and also m=
ake an environment in the brewer that they, the fungi would like which mean=
 nutrients that favored fungi.

6. More research and more experiments. I tried air pipes into the chamber.=
 I tried air into bags. I tried drilling pvc for aeration and putting part=
 int the bag/chamber and part out. I tried all kinds of things to get the =
compost agitated and the air moving. I bought a Spencer 1000x microscope a=
nd started examining every batch of tea from each brewer at several times d=
uring the brew. My son eventually stated doing all the testing and observa=
tion. I ever looked into the idea of SFI schooling for my son but the cost=
 was beyond my abilities at that time. Instead, a local WWTP guy who ran a=
 course in microscope use and critter id gave him free training. It really=
 helped. I was also looking into ways to get more fungi into my compost. =
About that time Robert and other were touting the benefits of flours to pre=
activate compost and I started looking into what kind of stuff grows on flo=
ur and breads and grains in general. I didn't see a link between stuff tha=
t grows on grains and soil fungi so I dropped that line. I did find others=
 though.

7. So I looked at a brewer that had to get the compost agitated, aerate an=
d mix the water. I decided on a solution that simply got air into the wate=
r in different ways from the same pump. I also decided to add the compost d=
irectly to the brewer and get rid of the bag and chamber system. They were=
 hard to clean anyway. So, some of the air moved the water and stirred the=
 compost and some helped with O2. I designed aerators for different kinds =
of enclosures and soon discovered that the biomass was growing really good.=
  

8. So that is kind of how I got to where I am. Free suspension compost in=
 the brewer and an aeration system designed to move the fluid in the "tank"=
 using air. I got rid of the expensive "barrel" I had been using and desig=
ned a system around 30-35 Gallon plastic trash cans. You can see these on =
www.earth-wise.com.

9. To date I have:

1. Investigated and experimented with and designed a series of brewers with=
 proprietary aeration techniques.
2. Designed small solar power units.
3. Done a lot of experimentation with composting.
4. Completed several projects. Two of the reports I have sent to the list.=
 
5. Experment, experiment, experiment. I was told, early on, that I was was=
ting my time experimenting so much and that I should be out concentrating o=
n just gettng business. But it has all paid off and the business is coming=
 in but in ways I never thought of. For example: I don't really sell brewe=
rs but give brewers away as part of consulting services that are oriented t=
owards a sustainable approach to growing anything.

The goal of my business is to make money. I do this by showing people how =
they can save money and resources using approaches that are more environmen=
tally friendly. I don't think there is a big market for brewers in the hom=
eowner sense of big market. It just take too long and there are too many t=
hings that can go wrong with home brewing. People might buy a brewer but a=
 lot sit unused. I have clients who have bought commercial brewers and who=
 were so frustrated that they wanted nothing to do with tea. Once I got th=
em to simplify their thinking, some came around. A couple of them called m=
e in to 'fix' the problem with someone elses brewer. So the business is st=
arting slowly and I have made some mistakes and have learned a lot.

I think you need to test. Once you figure out a recipe, you do not need to=
 test after that. The recipe should work within a reasonable range so that=
 each batch doesn't need to be tested. I think if you are brewing commerci=
ally, you absolutely need a microscope so you can do your own testing. I f=
irmly believe in soil tests before and after tea application and plant assa=
ys. If you don't have a refractometer, get one. They are about $60 and yo=
u can test for brix which is an important indicator. I suggest you purchas=
e a DO meter and if you are making a lot of compost a CO2 meter designed to=
 compost uses. You need a long probe for this. Test your compost using So=
lvita Compost testing. You can do it at home. Get your compost commercial=
ly tested to see if your testing is the same. If it is, you don't need to =
commercially test but maybe once a year or so. Find out as much about comp=
osting and composts as you can. Experiment with your compost.

Go to library sales or yard sales and pick up every book in gardening, land=
 use, soil biology, chemistry and bacteria you can.

Here is my gardening library. I know it is limited but I am building all t=
he time:

The Compost Tea Brewing Manual -- Elaine Ingham
The Soil Biology Primer -- Elaine Ingham
The Web of Life -- John H. Storer
Zoology -- A.M. Winchester
Trees: Their Natural History -- Peter Thomas
High-Yield Gardening -- Marjorie B. Hunt
The Picture Book of Annuals -- Arno and Irene Nehrling
Weeds of California -- W.W. Robbins
Soil Microbiology -- An Explatory Approach -- Mark Coyne
Soil Ecology -- Ken Killham
Quantities and Qualities: Prep for College Chimestry -- Richard M. McCurdy
General Botany -- Harry J. Fuller
Plant Propagation in Pictures -- Montague Free
Insects Through the Seasons -- Gilbert Waldbauer
Field Guide to the Ferns -- Boughton Cobb
The Complete Garden Handbook -- Maron J. Simon
Introduction to Plant Physiology -- Jacob Levitt
A Checklist of Woody Ornamentals of California -- Mildred E. Mathias
Experiments in Plant Physiology -- Francis H. Witham
Movable Harvests -- Clark Crandall
House Plants Indoors/Outdoors -- Ortho Books
Biology: Visualing Life -- George B. Johnson
Minerolohgy -- John Sinkankas
The Rodale Book of Composting -- Deborah L. Martin
The Manual of the Grasses of the United States -- A.S. Hitchcock
How to Grow More Vegetables -- John Jeavons
The Low Upkeep Book of Lawns and Landscape -- Elvin McDonald
Principles of Microbiology -- Alice Loraine Smith
Ball Redbook -- 13th Edition
Hazardous Substances: A reference -- Melvin Berger
The Herbal Grove -- Mary Forsell
The Flowering Garden Day by Day -- Elvin McDonald
Sunset Western Garden Book -- Sunset Books
Square Foot Gardening -- Mel Bartholomew
Field Guide to On-Farm Composting -- I posted this previously.

I also have about three reams of stuff I downloaded from the internet and a=
 bunch of links. Someday I will post them all based on area of research. =
As you might gusess, I have lately been reading a lot about mollusks (snail=
s.)
   
Experiment a lot and be careful of making claims that you haven't substanti=
ated. Be prepared to be called an utter fool by a lot of people but keep t=
rying until you find something that works for you and gives results with wh=
at you are working with. If you are getting results with your plants and i=
n your applications, it doesn't matter what anyone elses says because you h=
ave the proof of your practice and that is the most important test of all.

Ted Peterson
EW/SOE



Received on Sun May 16 2004 - 21:54:47 EDT

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