Re: [compost_tea] Re: First Time

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 22:40:01 -0800

If all you are doing is putting in compost, air, molasses (or sugar), I wou=
ldn't aerate for 36 hours. We don't know about your compost so fungal cont=
ent is dubious. It may be good or not. Bacteria certainly will be there b=
ut we don't know about diversity. Until you know more about your compost, =
don't waste your money on testing your tea. You don't need it. When or af=
ter you get your compost up to high quality (there are ways to do this and =
I will give you some if you are interested.) you may then want to test to s=
ee if your strategy for aeration and brewer design are giving you the kind =
of multiples you are looking for.

Suffice it to say that simply adding compost and sugar to water and aeratin=
g will give you bacterial growth. At the beginning, that's all you need. =
There are many people who brew different kinds of tea and never test a batc=
h and get good results in their garden.

If you want to make a commercial brewer or experiment with recipes, you may=
 want validation through testing. As a beginner, you want to get through t=
he learning curve and for that, your nose is just fine.

You can use commercial compost from the supermarket add it to water and add=
 sugar and aerate and you will get bacterial growth of the bacteria in your=
 compost. Because you are aerating, you will be creating an environment th=
at will favor aerobic bacteria. If your aeration is too low, you will noti=
ce a swampy smell. This is an indication of anaerobism and either means yo=
u don't have enough air or you have brewed too long or some other factors t=
hat you will come to understand as you brew more batches.

Because we don't know about the pump size or aeration pattern or how you ar=
e going to put the compost into the container (bag, chamber of free suspens=
ion) I would recommend you keep brew times under 24 hours. One day will gi=
ve you bacterial growth and you can describe:

1. How much compost you used.
2. How much molasses
3. How long your brewed.
4. What the brew looked like as you watched it before using. This means ho=
w much it foamed or not, the color and the odor. You can also note other t=
hings you observe.

Odor:

Your tea should smell like the compost you are using and slightly sweet if =
using molasses. If you use sugars, it will smell more earth-like. If it sm=
ells like vomit or bad compost or a swamp, it means you have created a grea=
t batch of anaerobic tea. This can be useful but not in the beginning and =
probably means you either need more air or a different aeration strategy. =
 

Check my web site at www.earth-wise.com for some free recipes and some othe=
r useful information you may need at the beginning.

Ted Peterson
EW/SOE








Received on Fri Mar 04 2005 - 02:46:03 EST

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