A Basic Compost Tea Guide

[Burt]

i have some relevant info on "shelf life"
it seems that the longer you let it go the more bad anarobics multiply-by day 7 or so i was getting a strong whiff of certain bad bacteria and threw it out at that point-i now realize the reality of making a fresh batch every 3 days or so
by throwing out i mean i gave it to the veggies/flowers which have gone bonkers over it so while it may not have bad per se, i wasn't going to chance it on my precious meds

 

[Vetus Fossor]

Thundurkel, sounds, er, reads like you have the right idea. But I can't tell you if you will get better results as I've never used any bottled nutes ever. For vegging, I'd skip using the bat guano and go with just the balanced 5-5-5 Fox Farm product. I'd use that in my teas for the first couple of weeks of 12/12 and then use the bat guano.
One thing I have noticed is a lot of folks just assume that their tap water is just chlorinated and not chloramined. Water that has chloramine in it will not bubble the chloramine away. Nor will the sun dissipate it.

 

[Thundurkel]

So how am I to tell if I have chloamine?? I can notice the difference in smell of the water after being bubbled for 24hrs it's plain like river water but not bubbled and I smell the chlorine like I was at the pool and now my tea's bubble up WAY faster

 

[maryjohn]

gamehaze, for what you must be spending on additives, you could just buy the pot.

Why not start a worm bin, and use the spirulina on yourself instead of the plants. That stuff is expensive and a great food for people, but man, you are giving filet mignon to dogs, if you ask me. I love my dogs, but they get kibble and the occasional scraps.

Organic means spending less money, not more. I bet you if you took a look around you you would find all kinds of sources of food for your soil.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

So how am I to tell if I have chloamine?? I can notice the difference in smell of the water after being bubbled for 24hrs it's plain like river water but not bubbled and I smell the chlorine like I was at the pool and now my tea's bubble up WAY faster

Thunkurkel

Calling the local company responsible for supplying your water is the best way to find out the levels used - if any. It's my understanding that the information about the condition is a matter of public policy. At least around here it is.

While it is true that bubbling the water will not get rid of the chloramine, it's my understanding that a small of organic material (compost, earthworm castings, garden soil) in a small bag and dropped into the cistern causes the chloramine to convert to chlorine and then the regular bubbling takes care of the converted chloramine.

A good place to learn more is to visit a high-end aquarium shop, especially the ones which carry the expensive saltwater reef systems where water purity is the most important aspect for this hobby. Go there for answers and not products, per se. If you think that grow stores over-price their stuff, you aren't going to believe what goes on for the owners of $5,000.00++ reef systems. But they know the science and more specifically they'll know more about your local water supply than any other type of retailer.

HTH

CC

 

[El Vexilix]

You can check the chloramine levels with a cheap pool ph kit .

Great info Clackamas Coot .

Does anyone pull their tea for a lil before they use it ? sorry if pic is too big

 

[CT Guy]

So how am I to tell if I have chloamine?? I can notice the difference in smell of the water after being bubbled for 24hrs it's plain like river water but not bubbled and I smell the chlorine like I was at the pool and now my tea's bubble up WAY faster

Thundurkel,

If you smell it, then it's chlorine. Especially if you notice a difference after bubbling, because as CC mentioned already, chloramine does not degas with aeration.

That shouldn't effect the speed of your teas bubbling though. Make sure it's not some placebo effect and that you're actually smelling chlorine, or call you local water company to make sure.

 

[Joey56789]

Yeah, but if you smell chlorine, it doesn't mean you don't have both. Many water supplies use both. And Thnud, you might just want to google water analysis for your area. A lot of that is posted online.

 

[vegginMN]

nice one vonforme, except that outside north america/oz/europe you can't find any of the froo froo shit included in the recipes above--liquid kelp, peruvian guano, high p guano, bat guano, liquid karma, blackstrap molasses...

so since i'm about to brew up a batch i will share my third world recipe, dig it:

in approx 10 L of water--this will be delivered directly to plants in different stages of growth, from early veg to early flower, some with and most without dilution:

dry ingredients:

4 tbsp homemade worm castings
2 tbsp shredded dried green kelp (culinary)
1 tbsp dried comfrey
1 tbsp dried chamomile
1 tbsp wood ash
1 tsp grated tangerine rind
1 tsp crushed dried egg shells
1 tsp dolomite lime
1 tsp bone meal

(all of this will go in a cloth coffee filter that hangs on the rim of the bucket)

liquid additives:

1 cup aquarium water
1 cup starch water from rice soak
2 tbsp soy sauce (for fungal tea) or molasses (for bacterial-dominant tea)
1 tbsp old lemon juice

this is bubbled with a submerged aquarium pump with venturi valve attached for oxygenation, ready to use after 48-72 hours.

if anyone has any other homemade recipes or suggestions, i would love to hear them.

How many times have you used this concoction

 

[vonforne]

How many times have you used this concoction

Muddy has not been around for some time now. He lived in South America and was working on substitute ingredients for his plants.

V

 

[CT Guy]

Muddy,

Have you tried upping the worm castings? I would think that would make a better tea. Also, soy sauce seems pretty salty to me just from eating it, I would think it might not be the best thing to add, though you have excellent fungal food sources in the top part of your dry ingredients. Kind of wonder about the lemon juice as well, it's awfully acidic.

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

3. A pair of old socks or a # 2 panty hose.

You mean size 2 pantyhose? Went with my girl to the store the other day and there wasn't any thing numbered other than size. She thought it was funny repeatedly saying out loud what kind of pantyhose I needed again....Might go in a lone this time heh

 

[Bass Akwards]

How to test for NPK in Compost?

How to test for NPK in Compost?

The kitchen compost, when watered, has an amber run-off. This would probably skew the results of a "shake it up" NPK home test kit since the color indications wouldn't be readable.

The same might hold true, if to a lesser degree, when using litmus paper to measure the PH of the compost.

Is there a quick, easy, inexpensive, way to get those key measurements from a batch of compost?

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Aerated compost teas are not a 'fertilizer' or even a 'nutrient' - they are a microbe inoculant.

Why would one want to measure the NPK of one of these teas? Much less the PH.

Is there a quick, easy, inexpensive, way to get those key measurements from a batch of compost?

Get a microscope to determine levels of the micro-herd colonies.

 

[Bass Akwards]

Here's why ...

Here's why ...

Aerated compost teas are not a 'fertilizer' or even a 'nutrient' - they are a microbe inoculant. Why would one want to measure the NPK of one of these teas? Much less the PH.

The thread title does not differentiate between aerated and non-aerated tea.

In this case, instead of dissolving the compost, or mixing it in the soil, it's being used as a top-dressing. ( with other, slower released, nutrients ) When it rains, it becomes the functional equivalent of a non-aerated tea.

The dark amber color of water that filters through the compost is unlikely to be caused entirely of bacteria and fungus, other soluble ingredients must be responsible. Whether they are nutrients or not has yet to be determined. I, for one, would like to know.

Even "pure" rain water is filled with bacteria and fungi, and it's PH can vary widely depending on geography. ( "Acid Rain" isn't a myth. )

If the PH of the rain water is out of whack, and the PH of the compost is as well, the nutrients will be not be as readily available for the plants to use.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Ok - thanks for sharing.

 

[floydfanx6]

Hey I dont know if this has been covered in this thread,but somethingIi read ,a hint besides the airstone in the bucket,pop an airstone in the tea bag as well,for even more oxidation and to really hit whats inside the bag

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Give me an example where 'acid rain' has affected an agriculture process.

And then please give a legitimate example where 'compost which is out of whack' with regard to PH. Who did this compost anyway? What method of 'testing' of the PH was used?

What method of measuring the 'PH' of the rain water was used?

Just curious as usual.

 

[Bass Akwards]

Give me an example where 'acid rain' has affected an agriculture process.

Here you go, straight from Wikipedia: Soil biology and chemistry can be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some microbes are unable to tolerate changes to low pHs and are killed.[18] The enzymes of these microbes are denatured (changed in shape so they no longer function) by the acid. The hydronium ions of acid rain also mobilize toxins such as aluminium, and leach away essential nutrients and minerals such as magnesium.[19]
2 H+ (aq) + Mg2+ (clay) 2 H+ (clay) + Mg2+ (aq) Soil chemistry can be dramatically changed when base cations, such as calcium and magnesium, are leached by acid rain thereby affecting sensitive species, such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum).[20][21]

And then please give a legitimate example where 'compost which is out of whack' with regard to PH.

Have no idea, that's why I'd like to test it!

Who did this compost anyway?

The compost is removed every Spring from the bottom of a plastic container designed for that purpose. Several times a year, commercial bacteria based preparations are added to encourage breakdown of the vegetable matter.

What method of 'testing' of the PH was used?

No method was used. It hasn't been tested. I asked whether doing it with litmus paper, which is a color indicator, would be affected by the color of the run off water.

What method of measuring the 'PH' of the rain water was used?

Same as above.

 

[OrganicManic]

And then please give a legitimate example where 'compost which is out of whack' with regard to PH.

If you go overboard with certain ingredients you could cause your finished compost to be more acidic. For instance, sawdust is pretty acidic.