Re: [compost_tea] Re: First Time

From: Jack Hickman <jackhickman_at_bellsouth.net>
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 14:30:24 -0600

Hope you guy's don't get tired of these questions.(trying to learn) If the =
CP is put in and around the plants,and they grow good.Wouldn't that show th=
e CP is good?
                                           Jack
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Ted Peterson
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 12:40 AM
  Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Re: First Time


  If all you are doing is putting in compost, air, molasses (or sugar), I w=
ouldn't aerate for 36 hours. We don't know about your compost so fungal co=
ntent is dubious. It may be good or not. Bacteria certainly will be there=
 but 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 =
after you get your compost up to high quality (there are ways to do this an=
d I will give you some if you are interested.) you may then want to test to=
 see if your strategy for aeration and brewer design are giving you the kin=
d of multiples you are looking for.

  Suffice it to say that simply adding compost and sugar to water and aerat=
ing 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 ba=
tch and get good results in their garden.

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

  You can use commercial compost from the supermarket add it to water and a=
dd sugar and aerate and you will get bacterial growth of the bacteria in yo=
ur compost. Because you are aerating, you will be creating an environment =
that will favor aerobic bacteria. If your aeration is too low, you will no=
tice a swampy smell. This is an indication of anaerobism and either means =
you don't have enough air or you have brewed too long or some other factors=
 that 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 =
are going to put the compost into the container (bag, chamber of free suspe=
nsion) I would recommend you keep brew times under 24 hours. One day will =
give 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 =
how much it foamed or not, the color and the odor. You can also note other=
 things you observe.

  Odor:

  Your tea should smell like the compost you are using and slightly sweet i=
f using molasses. If you use sugars, it will smell more earth-like. If it =
smells like vomit or bad compost or a swamp, it means you have created a gr=
eat batch of anaerobic tea. This can be useful but not in the beginning an=
d 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 ot=
her useful information you may need at the beginning.

  Ted Peterson
  EW/SOE



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Received on Sun Mar 06 2005 - 16:59:40 EST

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