Organic Fanatic Collective

[Smurf]

Awsome effort there jay,.... have you thought about how to clean those hoses?

I would think that anaerobic microbes would build up in the crevises after a couple of runs?.....which could keep the aerobic count down, what about smooth hose lines? What do you think?

 

[jaykush]

hey smurf thanks.

well its sort of a in the make project. i actually put a thaught about the hoses and them getting dirty im not to sure about how its going to work i might have to run it a few times and check it out. as for the anaerobic microbes the water is moving pretty fast i doubt they can hide in the crevises, but hey who knows.

i might look for smooth tubes but for now lets see how good it works. then ill tinker with the little stuff.

then about 5 mins ago i found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0dI0GJbiRE

make me want to make one of them too shit.

 

[Smurf]

That vortex machine looks the part, definitely makes you want to knock one up.

as for the anaerobic microbes the water is moving pretty fast i doubt they can hide in the crevises, but hey who knows.

What I was referring to jay was when you have finished using it.... that is when the nasties will do their stuff, unless you can clean it out thoroughly. But what a pain in the butt that would be.

 

[Smurf]

I hope this helps you jay, I had read this ealier on the SFI site,.... its in reference to purchasing tea machines......

Ease in cleaning is important.

Can you get to the bottom of the tank? Are there square corners in the pipes, knowing that in a month or so, that corner will be bio-film filled. It isn't right away that the problem develops. With the commercial Microb-Brewer, altered from the original design we tested at OSU, the pipes and pumps were changed to make the machine look prettier. The numbers on the changed machine were similar to the original, not-pretty design for the first couple of runs, but then, look out, the numbers dropped terribly as the bio-film developed. The manufacturer claimed that our methods had gone awry, that we didn't know what we were doing, because the numbers were coming out lower. It wasn't us, it was bio-film. But the manufacturer got mad at me. Stopped speaking to me all together. Called me all sorts of bad things.

SFI just tests the tea, we don't have to know why the numbers are coming out poorly. Usually I try to figure it out, and with the Microb-Brewer, we did figure it out. But not until after the damage was done. The Microb-Brewer is no longer for sale in the US.

Are there surfaces in the machine you can't see, can't get to to clean? Those places build-up biofilm. There's a brewer on the market that has discs in it, and you can't see, and you can't reach, the bottom sides of the discs. It is not fun getting the discs out to clean their bottom sides. Think about the time involved in cleaning. Most LARGE brewers should have a way to rinse the tank down as you pump the tea out. Talk to Bruce Elliott on this one. He developed the solution for this.

 

[jaykush]

hmmm ok smurf i get what your saying now. but actually i would try to clean it after every use or every other. and all in all if it doesnt last that long oh well. it was free.

one thing though is its made for a small pool and they can get just as bad with algae and fungus sometimes so i suppose it will be able to handle somewhat. as for the tubes yea i just had them laying around figured id use em since there doing nothing. ill look for some better tubing. you gotta remember i said this is a prototype in a way needs some work of course thanks for pointing all that out ill take it into consideration.

well im going to load it up today with some fresh castings and compost well see how she works.

 

[vonforne]

Suby, here is another web address for you. It comes from Dr. Ingham's site. Soil Food Web Inc..

http://www.earthfort.com/shopexd.asp?id=33

Smurf, I'm attending the August SFI in Oregon this year. You got me interested in it and now I have the bug.

V

 

[jaykush]

hey V i was at that site earlier today. i also found this one hes got some amazing plants ill say that. you'll be amazed i guarantee.

http://www.bountea.com/index.html

 

[Smurf]

I’m so glad you have the bug V,,, don’t tell too many of your friends tho ,,,,, unless you don't mind being labelled a nerd too late here!

suby,, how's your bunker coming along?

jay,,, thats the same guy from AlaskaGiant tea makers ,,,,,, seeing is believing!

For anyone interested here's some excellent reading,.... back issues of (e-zine) by Dr. E Ingham on compost teas etc.

There are 3 years of PDF files (e-zine) @ this archive:
http://www.soilfoodweb.com/04_news/e-zine_archive.htm

International Compost Tea Council website:
http://www.intlctc.org

Another excellent site.
http://www.mycorrhizae.com/

smurf

 

[vonforne]

Ya Smurf, I mentioned this stuff to one of my friends and He looked at me like I had just grown a horn out of my forehead. HaHa!

V

 

[vonforne]

Hey everyone, I have been doing some home work on the tea brewing.

first here is a picture after one day of brewing.

After 1 day.

solution contains 5 TBS of castings...fresh, 2 TBS fresh Alfalfa meal, 30 ml of yucca extract, 5 TBS of molasses, 70 ml of liquid seakelp, 45 ml of Humic acid 1 TBS of guano, 1 TBS of rock phosphate in 4.5 gallons of tepid water.



Here is the second day....I added more molasses...pouring onto the sock 30 ml or 2 TBS






It is my goal to reach 300 ppm for bacterial count and 300 ppm for fungal count.

I would like to see how long I can keep this alive with aerobic bacteria.
It is on day 5 right now. Every day I provide it with a different type of organic material and molasses. Rotating the casting and the alfalfa. Adding 30 ml of molasses. I have noticed that the slime build up on the sock is enormous. I agitate it each evening.

If I refresh the water every other day and use the tea on my garden.

Now do you guys think I need to refresh a certian % of the solution with fresh water?

Will it harm the bacterial/fungal count with in the solution?

And how long do you think it would take to recover.

I know you have experience with this type of thing Smurf. what is you opinion.

Jaykush, what is your opinion on this and how long have you kept an active aerobic tea brewing?


V

 

[jaykush]

I would like to see how long I can keep this alive with aerobic bacteria.
It is on day 5 right now. Every day I provide it with a different type of organic material and molasses. Rotating the casting and the alfalfa. Adding 30 ml of molasses. I have noticed that the slime build up on the sock is enormous. I agitate it each evening.

If I refresh the water every other day and use the tea on my garden.

Now do you guys think I need to refresh a certian % of the solution with fresh water?

Will it harm the bacterial/fungal count with in the solution?

And how long do you think it would take to recover.

I know you have experience with this type of thing Smurf. what is you opinion.

Jaykush, what is your opinion on this and how long have you kept an active aerobic tea brewing?

hey V thats cool my new brewer is doing some serious work i love it. just started a new batch ill get pics of the brewing process.

ok lets see here if you want to use it every other day id say use half, replace half with new fresh water. the microbes are going to need food and molasses wont do all the job. fungi like to feed on other things like rotten fruit. im sure pyrex has seen them eat the rotten fruit down quick.

as for hurting the micro heard i doubt it. of course youll be taking out half away but there numbers will increase once you get to brewing again.

longest tea ive brewed, hmmmmm few months i think. but i like to make it fresh if i can.

 

[vonforne]

When you split it up as I have been doing...then it is fresh. Right? You are adding new organic matter and carbohydrates each time. Leaving the old 1/2 tea in the brewer helps aid in the reproduction of new micro-organisms. What is your take on that.

Now,about the fungus.....they are eating my sock, along with the other organic material in the bucket. After all it is cotton.

Don't they attach themselves to it?

Get those pictures up. I would like to see that thing in action. What do you plan on running in it? how long?

V

 

[jaykush]

well in my views your splitting the tea at its peak, the fresh water is to make up the volume and the new food is to keep them going and multiplying. so i wouldn't say its "old"

yea ive noticed the fungi on the sock before it happens. im looking for a better way to put the ingredients in and keep the particles out

ill get some pics right now, at the moment im brewing

castings
kelp
nettles
raw cane sugar
molasses
old beer

 

[jaykush]

ok heres the pics sorry for the noise i forgot to turn down the iso settings. gives you an idea, the tea has been brewing a good hour and a half here.

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

I use dry molasses on a soybean substrate. The carbs and protiens in the soymeal is a banquet for the microkiddies.

Just thought I would mention this.

minds_I

 

[vonforne]

Thanks MI, I always tell peeps you have been brewing your tea for a year now. And I have some soy meal also.

JK, I have been looking at the cane sugar....we have it in the grocery store here. In the raw form. It is produced where I live. Still on the stock.
Your set up looks good Keep us posted.

V

 

[ThaiPhoon]

Hello,
I LOVE this thread!

What do you guys think about using a powerhead type thing for making teas. The one I use seems to do the job. I don't know if it is killing microbes by shredding them in the impeller. To get more oxygen in the mix I attach some aquarium type clear tubing to the venturi on the powerhead. I also angle the powerhead so that the intake part is about 1mm above the surface of the tea, I think this lets it suck even more air. I don't have access to alfalfa meal or kelp meal (yet) I use a homemade fish emulsion porphyra seaweed bat guano and some teas made from fermented weeds around here. I brew small amounts in a 10 gallon pail to keep the foam at bay!

 

[theFLINTSTONERS]

this is a great thread. . . one we thoroughly enjoy and have only this to offer. . . we have one of them fancy tea brewers about the size of a laundry tub and holds about 20 gal. . . it has a fancy pump/aerator and it works good enough. . . however we would not advise folks to purchase one especially when home items are so available. . . anything from a 5 gallon bucket up will do depending on how much watering you need and a good med quality aquarium air pump with long airlines and a stone held down by a weight of some sort. . .
We use guano of choice, some molasses, and whatever else you need into a nylon sock and hang in the stream of bubbles. And let the fun begin,. . . the one thing not to do is use straight tap water. . .the chlorine kills. . .therefore we allow tap water to sit for 24 or more hours first. . . you can get active microbials from a hardware store that sells septic additives. . . . one can keep adding brewing material and de-chlorinated water and the live bacteria keep on thriving. . .
We are still experimenting with various formulas and the results. . . now back to your regularly scheduled program. . . .

 

[jaykush]

V im not to sure i really like the raw cane yet. im just giving it a few test runs to see whats up. the brewer just kicks ass, the pump leaves the tea at the most perfect temp even when its cold its still a bit warm.

thaiphoon welcome to the ofc its a great thread, i like how you dont have certain things but it doesnt let that stop you. how do you go about making the fermented weed tea? ive been collecting im going to either do that or start a compost.

the Fstoners! yea its too simple to make your own for a 10th of the price

 

[Smurf]

I’m fine tuning as well v,
I 've been gradually using tea and replacing water/compost & food for a while now with no harm so far but then I'm not testing my tea yet so I can only go by the results of my garden,,,,, every now and then I give the tubs a good clean out. But I have also had to rethink the way I’ve been making teas, fine tuning it so to speak with an emphasis on the critical elements and process.... your temps will give you an idea of your dissolved O2. Don’t forget that, to maintain your O2 at 6ppm or higher the tea needs to be no warmer than 28degC. I just keep a probe in the tea for constant monitoring now andpump 9l/min of air thru 4 x 6 inch stones. (the DO drops 4% for every 300m or 1000 ft of elevation)

Be careful when fungi grows on your sock or tea bag because it prevents the 02 from entering the bag which creates an anaerobic state inside the tea bag,,,,, you can over come this by using a basket attached to the inside or your tea maker that allows the water to flow freely through the compost, plus you’ll have a higher F/B count, but you must have a aerator in the basket to stop the compost from compacting which will also go anaerobic after 10 hours (with out the aerator) ........ another good project jay.

“Bubble sizes should be medium to large, not micro-sized.
Tiny, tiny bubbles are a bad idea. They shatter the fungal hyphae”.... Dr. E. Ingham

another good idea is to feed the fungi in your compost by adding egg shells, calcium carbonate (lime) fish hydrolysate, humic acids, and humus etc.(2 - 3 weeks before used in your tea for an even higher F/B ratio)


I like the smell test - if your tea ever smells bad (anaerobic) then use it on weeds to check the results

smurf

edit; the best way to check the compost tea bag hasn't turned anaerobic is to lift it out of the bucket and smell it on a regular basis,... as you will find that most of them do once they become compacted !
oh yeh,.. I try to make a habit of regularly using tea on my compost heap