AACT not frothing up

[Johnei]

I'm not a scientist that ran these tests, but from what I understand, compost/guanos/castings etc. sitting in the bucket with no brew bag can create anerobic dead spots in that heap at the bottom proliferating bad bacteria into the mix. The bag helps to suspend the compost right in the o2 column and help breaks free and wake up the microbes.

 

[Bugeye]

I'm not a scientist that ran these tests, but from what I understand, compost/guanos/castings etc. sitting in the bucket with no brew bag can create anerobic dead spots in that heap at the bottom proliferating bad bacteria into the mix. The bag helps to suspend the compost right in the o2 column and help breaks free and wake up the microbes.

Exactly right. For about $100 I put together this DIY 5 gal vortex brewer, with most of the expense being the air pump.

Second pic shows it running with just water, you can see the inside of the vortex that sucks air all the way to the bottom, keeps all your ingredients moving about with saturated o2 levels.

 

[calliandra]

Exactly right. For about $100 I put together this DIY 5 gal vortex brewer, with most of the expense being the air pump.
View attachment 3962514 View attachment 3962515
Second pic shows it running with just water, you can see the inside of the vortex that sucks air all the way to the bottom, keeps all your ingredients moving about with saturated o2 levels.

wohoo that's way cool! Have you documented this build on here somewhere?!

 

[Bugeye]

wohoo that's way cool! Have you documented this build on here somewhere?!

Not me, but here's a thread from SpicySativa that describes the build:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-airlift-vortex-compost-tea-brewer-5-gal.634492/

 

[xmobotx]

i actually do a 4 gallon brew in a 5 gallon bucket.

there's 2 eco-plus comm1 {1 would be enough} i like having a bubbler stone at the bottom & the airlift {overkill?} maybe but i can sprout some barley seed, rinse them & do my SST in the bucket because there's enough oxygen the seeds will continue to develop.

anyway, following microbeman's formula i round off to a 1.5c of EWC/compost {both or either but total 1.5c} & a shot {1 0z or, 1/8c} of molasses.

what makes the teas froth is saponins. if your compost has been based on saponin rich plants, you will get froth. it's basically only an indication of the source ingredients & their own "soapy" quality.

 

[Johnei]

 

[iHearAll]

View attachment 3963627

 

[Johnei]

LOL My first picture on Rollitup.



Old pic of mine I just found of experiment to see how long you can keep a tea bucket going repleshing it and continuing to use same brew and still be beneficial to plants. There were crawling red and white beneficial mites living in there after a while staying on top of the tea bag above the water line. Conclusion: I now only brew for 24-48hrs max with different ingredients depending if I want fungal dominant or bacterial dominant brew, and keep the brewer and stones CLEAN between brews,

 

[iHearAll]

LOL My first picture on Rollitup.



Old pic of mine I just found of experiment to see how long you can keep a tea bucket going repleshing it and continuing to use same brew and still be beneficial to plants. There were crawling red and white beneficial mites living in there after a while staying on top of the tea bag above the water line. Conclusion: I now only brew for 24-48hrs max with different ingredients depending if I want fungal dominant or bacterial dominant brew, and keep the brewer and stones CLEAN between brews,

good man. i gave up on my vortex brewer. waste of space and power for my needs. i just use a stir plate and a stir bar. i have a bunch of 1" bars i use for quart size brews and a 4" bar i use for gallon or two brews. only uses .5 W of power. i dont imagine it has anywhere near the same disolved oxygen but it keeps the microbes well and alive.

 

[Johnei]

Beneficial fungi from my soil mix added to compost brewer as inocculant. Fungi don't like floating in water, they need something to hold onto so I cut a little square piece of coco mat and let it float in the brew then added the fungi.
Old pics I found:

 

[iHearAll]

Beneficial fungi from my soil mix added to compost brewer as inocculant. Fungi don't like floating in water, they need something to hold onto so I cut a little square piece of coco mat and let it float in the brew then added the fungi.
Old pics I found:
View attachment 3963996
View attachment 3963997

You can actually propagate fungi directly in water with no nutrition or agitation. Aeration does help fight pathogenic contamination. Under sterile and nonsterile conditions I have been growing mycelium in water. It works well for something to dump on to the soil or compost and significantly increases in size over the course of 11-20 days.

You fungi look great!

 

[Johnei]

Above pics^ This is why one of the ingredients I use in my compost tea brew is a few tablespoons of my soil mix. Gets it going nice. -Tip.

 

[Johnei]

You can actually propagate fungi directly in water with no nutrition or agitation. Aeration does help fight pathogenic contamination. Under sterile and nonsterile conditions I have been growing mycelium in water. It works well for something to dump on to the soil or compost and significantly increases in size over the course of 11-20 days.

You fungi look great!

Thanks for the info growbro! Good to know.

 

[Rasta Roy]

@Rasta Roy. What's your thoughts on this? This is my first time actually brewing tea.

Froth is not an indicator of microbe activity, my teas froth up as soon as I add molasses to the water, before anything else has even been added. Yucca extract will make your tea froth up and onto the floor. I would pay more attention to the smell. Catch a whiff when you first add the molasses, aquaint yourself with that sweet smell. Now, when that sweet smell dissipates and is replaced by an earthy smell...then it is done.