KIS brewer is the best I've had, way better than the one I built. Not worth the hassles of building your own one. KIS brewer produces excellent numbers and they have very good compost that have been tested for your own purpose. I'm sure you know how expensive it is to have your own compost tested to make sure you have the proper number needed to make a difference. I've gone down the road.... My advice... Try KIS 5g brewer. Very easy to clean for sure.

Yes, I've been researching and I came across the one you describe and I also know it's expensive to have your brew tested. It is cheaper than others. I also have had recommend to me Bob's bitti.

Problem with building one is the air agitation. Smaller bubbles are not supposed to be good. Thanks for the advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bob's bitti

Yes I am familiar with Bob's brewer as I'm a member of compost tea forum and organic lawn forum where Dr Ingham sometimes post messages there. I do not see SFI testing on their website so I do not know how that compares to KIS brewer.

lou_midlothian_tx,

What does SFI stand for? What's the link to that forum? I came across it before, but forgot to book mark it. I have a small sub-urban lot so a 5-gallon is the way to go. Thanks, for all the advice.

The same person that recommended the Bob's bitti is going to talk me through making it. It does sound a little complicated though. I have to find a good air pump too. I don't think an aquarium pump is adequate enough (from my research.)

It depends on the amount of tea you are going to use. I do use a simple double aquarium air pump with two flexi hoses, and it works fine. Trial and error has brought me to the mix I use now, and most folks scoff and poo-poo at me! The proof is however, in the end results. A couple of teas a year will help any plant IMO. Good luck TiMo

rootdoctor,
I'm looking to make a 5-gallon jobber. I've read 5-gallons is good for up to one acre. I have much less land than that. Thanks, for the advice.

Once your tea is finished, with a healthy foam, but before the foam hardens, you need some other water with 1 T of molasses and 1T of some organic N such as a fish fert mixed in per gallon. Ive typically used 1 gallon of tea in 10 gallons of water and the other which makes 11 gallons. Make sure your soil is moist before adding it, you want it to saturate deeper and not sit on top of the soil. Good luck TiMo

TiMo,

Thanks for the suggestions. i'm still taking it all in.

TiMo,

Do you dilute your tea w/ water? If so at what rate do you do it?

You don't have to dilute it when foliar spraying. Not really needed.

For soil drench, you can if you want. My plan is to fill up 5g buckets (6 buckets that I got from Walmart) and let chlorine dissipate overnight then pour in with a large cup of compost tea before soil drenching around the young trees. This ensures that I cover more area spreading microbes more throughly. A little bit of vitamin C will help get rid of chlorine. Humic acid will do the same. Chloramine is more difficult to remove so I don't know if it will work with soil drench if tap water has chloramine in it.

Lou_midlothian_tx,

Okay, I'll only dilute it if I want it to go a little further.

How long does it take for Chlorine to dissipate I've heard about two-hours? I do have some Hast Gro it's mainly humic acid from what I understand. Could I add some of that to my compost tea? Good luck w/ your trees. Thanks, for all the input it's very much apperciated.

Tey

The reason I dilute it AND add the molasses and fish ferts is to "boost" the populations and vigor of the colony. I let the diluted tea sit for a couple of hours before using it. Under the microscope the populations still pretty dense. I only use rain water now for the dilution, and spring water for the tea. Check your populations after mixing it with chlorinated water, even after it has sat for 48 hours. The herd is in bad shape. I have checked all this mydarnself, I am not the kind of person who believes in what I read, or am told "hardheaded!", so I try everything out myself and use what works. An inexpensive microscope will show you amazing things in your teas. You might even have nightmares heheheh. TiMoTEA-o heheheh

rootdoctor

have you tried humic acid or vitamin C to get rid of chlorine?

Adding fish fert and molasses to diluted compost tea sounds like a great plan. I might have done the same thing last year with fish hydrolysate, seaweed liquid and humic acid when I did that on young trees in the mulch to boost fungi growth as you know trees do best with high fungi:bacteria ratio in the soil and that takes forever without any help from us esp in the ground where land has been extensively razed over for a new subdivision.

I tried vitamin C and the results were almost identical to non treated, or so thought my slow and feeble mind as I peered into the microscope. There is humic acid in my tea from my compost, but probably not in the amounts you describe. You can actually use your tea as a sort of "sourdough starter" if you will. Once you have a great tea herd going, you can take a cup of that and add it to a gallon of springwater with some molasses or honey, and some fish ferts, and the herd will bloom and grow again. You can get the foam going again and again, but the foam is much cleaner every time since there is less organic material in the tea. I have even taken some of my container soil that I mix a few weeks early and treat with teas to inoculate them with growth, and use a cup of that to produce my teas. Almost the same results. Your urine can also be used as a feed to "boom" the population, but more than a 1/8 cup or so diluted can actually kill the herd off. I had a couple of container plants last year that were so "chained up" along the roots, that I would feed them straight urine, not diluted, and they thrived on this. No burn zero nada. This stuff is amazing. TiMo

Thanks guys, I'll have to look into getting a cheap microscope. I don't want to have night mares though. LOL!

Well, I don't have a microscope, but I can say that I did have some decent microbial populations. I say this because I used Hygrogen Peroxide to clean the air rocks and they fizzed like crazy. I know in a couple of days time how my plants respond. I watered the vegetable garden w/ it.

Here's another link for your reading pleasure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Deuley's Little Texas Tea Maker

Thanks, I've already bookmarked that page!

How long after using a compost tea on veggies before they can be harvested?

I wouldn't know the answer to that. In fact, after my first year with teas, I have never used them as a spray, only as a soil drench. In my test pots, the tomatoes and peppers that were sprayed didn't show any significant difference in the test vs. the plants that weren't sprayed. Again, I've received many thumbed noses and poopoos from the guys and gals at the nursery's on this, but the results show me what I believe. Maybe if I didn't use such wonderful soil mix in the pots it would make a difference.

Thanks, rootdoctor, I did a combination of soil drench and wetting of the leaves w/ my watering can. I just want to make sure i don't make myself sick from eating some microorganisms. LOL!

Does any one reuse there filter mesh bags? I bought the paint filter bags. If so how do you clean them?

why did you get the paint filter bags? Are they 400 micron size? http://www.simplici-tea.com/reusable_mesh_bag.htm - the size makes a big difference to get the fungi out of the bag otherwise you'd be getting mostly bacteria. Fungi is truly the key to compost tea for the most part. Most soil tend to lack enough beneficial fungi.

I bought it because I'm on a budget right now. I'm sure there not 400-micron sized. Okay I know the Fungi are important.

If you are using all of the tea, why use a bag? If ou want to make a foliar drench, remove the bubbler, let the tea settle for half an hour, the drain and spray. I find the teas with no bags tend to have more microlife and I just pour it all into the ground, cover with a little fresh compost and viola!

rootdoctor,

You raise an intresting question. Yes, it is possible to do it that way. In the future I shall try it that way and see if there is any marked difference. Thanks, for your input as always.

I've read before you can increase the fungi by applying corn meal or some other meal to your compost and letting it sit for a week in a dark place. What's your thoughts?

Dean

corn meal, soybean meal, baby oatmeal, fish meal will help fungi grow. I checked on mine this morning and i have a lot of growth already. It may look gross to most people though.

Thanks, lou!

Hi every one i am new to compost tea hence i googled and found these topics contradicting all your feel about compose tea

www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Compost%20tea%20again.pdf
www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/FactSheets/Compost%20tea%20fact%20sheet.pdf

these study say no diferent between just using compost vs compost tea few more sites also say the same
your input is appriciated
vnswamy

In addition,adding worm castings to your tea will spawn a gazillion more microbes that are beneficial to your plant. Mostly what a brewed and aerated tea does is add beneficial microbes to the soil that actually help the rootstructures of your plants. The microlife actually thrives on large amounts of N and passes the waste through digestion to your plants roots. Happy roots = happier plants. Fascinating stuff. TiMo

I definately wouldn't buy an expensive brewer. I made my own system quickly and with very little money. I just followed the instructions on Vcompost.com. I started into this by first starting a vcompost bin, then this year I started making compost tea and I have had amazing results. Especially on my bonsai.

Here is a link that might be useful: Compost Tea

I make my own ,its simple and there are all kinds of recipes on the net. I make 55 gallons a week and my hole set up cost maybe 10 dollars.a food grade 55 gallon barrel,air pump,already had,molasses, my own compost,yeast,alfalfa meal. It works great on my plants. But like i said look on the net you can Taylor yours to whatever your growing.

Here is a link that might be useful: compost tea

I am doing some experimenting with teas and will be sending my soil samples to Dr. Ingham's Lab because of the problem we have with arsenic in our soils. The levels are high enough to have an impact but not high enough to be abated and there are no clear answers about how to deal with it other than dilution or removal. (or raised beds)

I went to Walt's Organic in Seattle and purchased a professional grade organic compost mix but without a microscope how do I know how my tea is doing?

Is it the foam or amount of foam that comes up? Which compost brand do you purchase? I add my own worm castings but I do not have compost due to lack of materials. I have made teas using the suggested ingredients and my tomatoes and other veggies in raised beds seemed to do great. I only used the tea on a monthly basis in the spring.

I read Dr. Ingham's work and it supported experiences we had with compost teas on a farm and past experimental use with some shrubs in a different location. I read the Microbes book and this so motivated me to try and see what we could do here with this soil that is pretty inert. (aside from adding compost etc.)

Could someone more clearly elucidate the idea of bacterial vs fungal dominated compost, and brands of organic compost for this purpose. I read the book and I understand the concept but I am unfortunately dependent on purchasing other compost at this point. Lou, I am a bit confused, add your ingredients to the tea or your home compost?

I think this subject is fascinating and I became interested in using teas instead of chemicals when I started on my path as an organic gardener. My soil appears to be pretty dead.

You can email me directly if you wish.

Thank you.
Sunny

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Ingham's Lab.

Making a compost tea can really help speed up vegetable/fruit growth and produce a bigger crop for harvest. A basic compost tea is made up from adding compost to water and using aeration to breed bacteria that are beneficial to plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make Compost Tea.

Two hundred and twenty seven dollars for Bob's Bitte!!

I paid $7.50 for a fishing bucket airaetor at Walmart. For one or two batches a year, its all I need.

Have any of you tried obtaining like an instant compost tea from a worm bin? I have a large barrel that houses a lot of worms and there's likely a lot of old composted material in the bottom that I haven't gotten to. But anyway, I tried pouring about a gallon of water down into the barrel and waiting it to drain into a bucket below (we installed a spigot at the bottom). I've been using it on tomato plants and it works awesome.