Compost Tea Aeration question

maupin

14 years ago

What benefit, if any, is there to my compost tea to start the aquarium pump to aerate it before I add molasses?

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Comments (3)

blutranes
14 years ago
None that I can think of unless there are chemicals in your water donated by your water system provider. I usually set up all the materials before I plug in the pumps, but I also squeeze the bags holding the amendments and compost during brewing as well.

One of the benefits of using air pumps is that the bubbles will dislodge the fungi within the compost, the bacteria will multiply on their own. With a short brewing time of 24 hours or less one is assured of aerobic compost tea that should be maximum population of microbes limits. IMO, the acids and pre-digestive juices are as important as the microbes, so brewing longer seems like a waste to me. I trust this helps in some small way...

Blutranes
maupin
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you blutranes. Your answer was helpful, but raised another question for me.

It has always been my practice to steep compost tea for a day or two before adding molasses. For the life of me, I can't remember why--that's just how I do it.

Would there be any advantage to putting in the molasses at the same time as the compost tea bag? I make tea in a 32 gallon plastic garbage can.
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I use a small aquarium pump with a flexi hose. The "foam" that forms is a sign that the population is building, and yes, dying as well. The proper amounts of N and a simple carb such as honey or molasses is needed to build the herd. I have not found that spraying on the plants is near as beneficial as adding to clean water , diluting as it is, and adding a bit more carb and N such as in fish ferts prior to pouring into container plants or soil. Side by side tests on every species of plant I have grown shows massive differences. The development of microrhyzae (sp?) on harvested roots at end of year is complex and complete. The ability to use a "hotter" organic soil mix and therefor, boost your plants size, health, and yields are evident as well. The plants that have the tea added a couple of times during the season also show less stress, more resistance to insects and leaf infections, molds, etc. I don't have a degree, havent read all the papers published by others, but did hundreds of side by side tests with different teas over the years to determine what works best. How about a 5' tall and square habanero grown in a single season that produces hundreds of savina peppers, in a 6 gallon container? Or the plum tomato plant grown in a 4 gallon container that covered 25' of fence again in a single season, never mind me trying to even guess how many plum maters I got off that one, suffice to say that 40 people at work finally begged off because they simply couldn't eat or store more.. heheheh Good luck TiMo
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Greyentropy asks: "Does anyone have any thoughts to why a shallow tea brewed in a rain storm would not have sufficient oxygen to keep the micro herd alive?" This topic has been discussed to the N-th degree all over the Internet. There are members on this forum that have stated a good stir with a stick every now and then is enough for good aeration; and then comes the shop-vac idea (with photos) that takes ideas to a different level. I do wonder what kind of fungal strand count survives after all that violent air time suspension after each explosion of air bubbles. My understanding is that one wants to dislodge the fungus from the compost gently to allow the strands to remain intact, but then I am still in the learning mode and may be getting taught something that I have not considered before. Time will tell on this one, for sure. Your idea was kicked around about five (5) years ago on another forum that I know of. The final verdict was that no amount of air was going to be adequate to keep the biomass alive no matter how much air is infused into the tea. It was from that discussion that I came to the conclusion that larger air bubbles are good for the tea (for what that is worth) than smaller bubbles. As time has gone by many new discoveries have come to pass. IMO, the most important is the danger in using animal manure based compost used in tea making with molasses added could breed e-coli bacteria. Needless to say the flame from that fire is still hot. Your idea of using a large (wider) container sounds like something I will try to see what happens. I will admit that my opinion is that biomass has nothing to do with the dynamic results of using compost tea. The link below will take you to the before mentioned thread, there may be something said that could be of use as you journey on this still exciting subject. I trust this may be of some help in some small wayÂ Blutranes Here is a link that might be useful: Compost Tea Brewers
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Thank you Henry. Looks like a rose study from Iran.
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blutranes
14 years ago
"Would there be any advantage to putting in the molasses at the same time as the compost tea bag?"

Yes, less brewing time to get a good tea to use. Waiting more than 24 hours can set up the dynamic for the tea to become anaerobic, which is not good if using the tea for a foliar spray IMO. A fresh, sweet smelling compost tea gives me the results I have come to expect and enjoy watching as the leaves and stalks of my plants open up as only compost tea will give. I really don't feel stronger tea is a good thing Maupin, I have found weaker, diluted solutions work better in most cases, and allow for a better spread of the tea while spraying (more bang for the buck).

Again, this is my experience, and I will admit I have gotten almost as good results from just dumping compost in a drum (I make 55-gallons at a time), stirring it, waiting a couple hours and then using the tea. I guess it boils down to weather one is willing to go through the trouble of making aerobic tea; for me there is no trouble, I love the entire process....

Blutranes

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Compost Tea Aeration question

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maupin
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