[compost_tea] Mesh size

From: David Anderson <danderson_at_backpackgeartest.org>
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:29:21 -0700
Okay, I admit it, I'm a tinkerer and need to play with making my own tea
brewer.

I'm not a fan of the idea of just dumping the compost in the main
chamber, then filtering it when it is done brewing. It seems to me that
it would only give the critters one chance to get through the mesh, and
as soon as the mesh starts clogging, it effectively reduces the mesh size.

Whereas with a highly aerated chamber, and high water turnover, there
would be many chances *per minute* to make it through the filter. (if
anyone can point out anything that I may have overlooked in making this
assumption, please point them out)

So, here I sit with The Compost Tea Brewing Manual in front of me, and a
webpage listing the specs on various wire cloth, and I am a little confused.

The Compost Tea Brewing Manual suggest that "the largest beneficial
nematodes are 150 to 200 micrometers in length but only 30 to 50
micrometers in diameter."

Should I be looking for an aperture of 53u (270 mesh) to account for the
diameter, or 220u (60 mesh) to account for the length? Or should I shoot
for somewhere in between and figure that with enough chances they will
pretty much all get out?

I guess a related question would be, at what mesh size do I have to
start being concerned about sprayer clogging? And which backpack or
smaller sprayers are the best for using with ACT? What features should I
look for?

Dave

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Received on Tue Jul 13 2004 - 15:54:20 EDT

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