The correct way to make an actively aerated compost tea AACT

[RedCarpetMatches]

the PVC is just resting in the bucket. Its not mounted in any way. I should of said "lazy vortexer"

It's clamped. Same clamp you use on your nippies.

 

[SupraSPL]

I use the hydrolysate as a direct fert if I get any ladies that are hungry in early flowering it pairs up great with blackstrap.

@May11th I don't even bother with an airstone. If the bubbles have enough force to break the surface tension then you are good to go, and ultimately there is no need to clean anything.

 

[KushXOJ]

I put some new potting soil in a sock added a little guano and fish emulsion and unsulfered molasses .....im starttinf to get foam at the top of my bucket ....this is a good thing right ?

I didnt have any compost off hand so I used a good quality potting soil with ewc,kelp meal, and alot of other o
Good stuff..

You guys think this tea is safe to use ? Its been bubbling for about 18hrs

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

I put some new potting soil in a sock added a little guano and fish emulsion and unsulfered molasses .....im starttinf to get foam at the top of my bucket ....this is a good thing right ?

I didnt have any compost off hand so I used a good quality potting soil with ewc,kelp meal, and alot of other o
Good stuff..

You guys think this tea is safe to use ? Its been bubbling for about 18hrs

Please read the first link. It will answer all your questions. I could tell you the answers, but don't want to deprive you of MM's magic.

 

[Mad Hamish]

I put some new potting soil in a sock added a little guano and fish emulsion and unsulfered molasses .....im starttinf to get foam at the top of my bucket ....this is a good thing right ?

I didnt have any compost off hand so I used a good quality potting soil with ewc,kelp meal, and alot of other o
Good stuff..

You guys think this tea is safe to use ? Its been bubbling for about 18hrs

The foam doesn't really mean anything. It COULD be a sign of microbial activity, but tons of stuff can cause the foam. Not good, not bad, just par for the course. If you have kelp in there, bubble for 28 hours at least. Kelp stops the microbial multiplication for about 24 hours. This is why LOS heads put the kelp first, bubble for 24 hours, then add the EWC and bubble for another 24. You DID add the BSM right? That is your main food-stock for the microbes.

It's clamped. Same clamp you use on your nippies.

You must have huge nipples Red

What do you mean "ghetto"? Why's your tea gotta be black?!

Because that is how he rolls. Yo muthafukin brewa has mo' shizzness dat way yo. No seriously, palm in face Red. LOL.

I like it simple & just do the 2c compost 1/2c BSM to 5 gal H20

but these days I am think'n about using kelp & fish hydrolysate {which I've never bought} but I did use kelp 1x before ~mainly, it's the LOS guys talk'n about bubbling the kelp & fish hydrolysate 24hrs before adding the compost/BSM

here's a vid of my brewer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA2KeTcoWGs

I honestly think PURE ACT with only the molasses and EWC is the way forward. Technically, it kinda DEFINES ACT. Depends, adding fish hydrolysate will give you a more fungal tea. Depends what you want... Wish I had a microscope...

Just dumped something very similar on my plants.
I have to admit, it smelled better at 36 hours than it did last time I made it at 48 hours. I upped my bubble strength.
The ppm of the last batch was around 650, which seems perfect.
I used this, stolen from gandalf (among others)


1 tbsp of mollasses
20 drops of G.O. Camg+ (I used pond water from my tap. I do not add camag, is that a mistake?)
1 tbsp of dry all purpose ferttilizer NPK close to 5-5-5-. I use this.....http://www.coastofmaine.com/fertiliz...ter_kelp.shtml
1 tbsp of kelp meal
1 tbsp of high N all purpose peruvian guano
1 tspn of liquid fish fert with some N in it
1/4 cup Big Bloom by FF (I do not have any bottled nutes, I left this out)

Bubble 24 hours then add:

1/2 - cup of fresh compost or ewcs. I alternate.

Bubble 24 more hours. (I bubble it 12 more hours after adding the EWC or compost to stick with the 36 hour deal.)

That is The Rev's All Purpose Tea recipe. A combination nute/compost tea. His soil cooks are coco based, so if yours is peat based, the CaMg+ is absolutely not needed. If it is coco based, then you might want to consider the CaMg+ I personally feel the fish emulsion has enough Ca and Mg. I have treated Mg def with fishy goop before. It works just fine. Leaving the bottle nutes out is a great plan. I substituted it with worm wee. The liquid stuff that comes out a worm farm. DEFINITELY bubble for a full 24 after adding the EWC. Your plants will thank you for that one. It is all about how the extra nutes inhibit microbe multiplication for a while.

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

Fish hydrolysate feeds both fungi and bacteria...MM says so Kelp also feeds microbes after around 24 hours of brewing. Ham you've been off da mutha fuckin chain lately!!!

 

[Mad Hamish]

True. Might as well quote the man himself directly on the food stocks:

Recipes and Technique;

In case I have not been clear enough above, our goal in making ACT is to extract, multiply and grow mostly aerobic microorganisms in as large a diversity as possible and inclusive of three basic groups; bacteria/archaea, protozoa [flagellates & naked amoebae] and fungi. (Some [vermi]compost will contain rotifers which are extracted into ACT. These cycle nutrients in similar fashion to protozoa and are a bonus if present.) Sometimes there may be nematodes surviving the entire brew but this is inconsistent.

Making ACT is not about putting in ingredients which directly benefit the plants. The foodstocks used are strictly to feed or benefit the microorganisms which in turn benefit the plants.

When I jumped on the compost tea bandwagon years back I utilized the whole gambit of ingredients recommended by the current (at that time) supposed authorities. These ingredients or foodstocks included, humic acid, kelp meal, black strap molasses, baby oatmeal (oat flour), fish hydrolysate, alfalfa meal, etc. We used variations of these ingredients in our 1200 gallon ACT maker on our farm and microscopic observation showed success.

I also experimented with using some rock/clay powders as ingredients and observed differences in the microbial make up which had positive results applied to the soil and plants. The types used were mostly soft rock phosphate and pyrophyllite.

Along the line somewhere we left humic acid out of a brew and noticed an increase in microbial numbers so we stopped using it ourselves but, possibly irresponsibly, I continued to recommend it because others did so. It was not until I devised a method to test each foodstock independently that I began to change my tune and begin to go against the grain of the contemporary experts.

By testing some ingredients independently in a liquid I observed;

1/ that humic acid in varying dilutions does not feed any sort of microscopically visible microbe. I observed that it actually suppresses microbial division and growth. This was confirmed by joint testing with Keep It Simple Inc. (KIS) in the Seattle area. We tested two of the most effective and popular brands. I cannot say definitively that all brands of humic acid will have similar suppressive effects in a liquid (ACT) but it is enough for me to discontinue using it or recommending it as an ACT foodstock. Please note that this does not mean that it is not good to use on/in soil….just not ACT.

2/ that kelp meal initially delays all microbial development in a liquid but does feed fungi and bacteria/archaea following 24 hours. If too much is used the effects are suppressive. From this I garnered that it should be used very sparingly and one must be prepared to brew a little longer if using this foodstock. Again, this does not mean that kelp meal is not a good thing to use in/on soil. It definitely is!

3/ black strap molasses (BSM) feeds both bacteria/archaea and fungi equally well contrary to what the A(A)CT aficionados were saying. The story was that BSM feeds only bacteria. This led to all sorts of misconceptions, even including ones made by USDA and Canada Agriculture scientists who declared that using molasses in ACT could lead to e-coli contamination. It is utter nonsense. Besides the testing I have done and ratifying assays carried out by KIS, it is common knowledge amongst many mycologists like Paul Stamets that BSM grows out fungal hyphae just fine.

4/ fish hydrolysate feeds both fungi and bacteria/archaea again contrary to the story at the time that it is mainly a fungal food. (I’m glad to see that story has now changed)

5/ alfalfa meal is also a decent all round foodstock which sometimes introduces protozoa cysts to the ACT. KIS has done more testing on this than I have.

 

[Mad Hamish]

Fish hydrolysate feeds both fungi and bacteria...MM says so Kelp also feeds microbes after around 24 hours of brewing. Ham you've been off da mutha fuckin chain lately!!!

But once again quoting the man himself, there is no need for stinky fish.



Black strap molasses (BSM) is a complex sugar/carbohydrate and feeds bacteria/archaea and fungi equally well.

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

Is it wrong to add a protein shake? Seriously though, can Rev's multipurpose brew possibly slow down the microbes from growing and multiplying? Do have a link of any research?

 

[Mad Hamish]

Is it wrong to add a protein shake? Seriously though, can Rev's multipurpose brew possibly slow down the microbes from growing and multiplying? Do have a link of any research?

For the first 24 hours yes. I don't need a link for that, MM states right-out that kelp does this. Point two in the quote I just quoted a few quotes down. So any tea recipe (including the Rev's) that calls for kelp meal, an extra 24 hour bubble is a good idea. 48 hours is my rule of thumb these days. That's how long it takes to get that delicious 'shroomy' smell MM tells us to watch for

one plus one, Red, one plus one...

EDIT: This is of course not a bad thing at all. It merely calls for a little extra time when bubbling. A little patience never hurt did it?...

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

I just follow his recipe Wish I had a damn microscope!

 

[Mad Hamish]

I just follow his recipe Wish I had a damn microscope!

Those are the two ways to get it right! Follow the recipe EXACTLY including bubbling time, or get a microscope. I am going to buy one of MM's tricked-out ones. And add a digital eye piece to take pics!

 

[May11th]

Ok so I just made my first aact and its ppm came out to 429ppm. What's some numbers to shoot for ph and ppm wise?

 

[Mad Hamish]

Is it wrong to add a protein shake? Seriously though, can Rev's multipurpose brew possibly slow down the microbes from growing and multiplying? Do have a link of any research?

Here's another quote from MM for you, Red:

On adding things to ACT: It does seem convenient to toss eveything you might wish to apply to your soil or plants into your ACT, finished or not but the apparent effect is usually to instantly deplete available O2. I do discuss this in the opening thread. I am not the be all nor end all so certainly, if you have measurement instruments, go ahead and experiment.

As Wayne has alluded to, I discovered that simple is just as good as complex in terms of recipe so usually these days my ACT consists of fresh and aged vermicompost blended then activated used along with molasses. That's it.

 

[GandalfdaGreen]

Ok so I just made my first aact and its ppm came out to 429ppm. What's some numbers to shoot for ph and ppm wise?

Where you are is cool for early veg. I would aim to double or triple the ppms based upon the stage the plants are in. I run it staged based.

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

Here's another quote from MM for you, Red:

On adding things to ACT: It does seem convenient to toss eveything you might wish to apply to your soil or plants into your ACT, finished or not but the apparent effect is usually to instantly deplete available O2. I do discuss this in the opening thread. I am not the be all nor end all so certainly, if you have measurement instruments, go ahead and experiment.

As Wayne has alluded to, I discovered that simple is just as good as complex in terms of recipe so usually these days my ACT consists of fresh and aged vermicompost blended then activated used along with molasses. That's it.

Very helpful MH. Looks like an update is in need. So I'll continue to keep the teas separate...until I get that peeper.

 

[xmobotx]

i dont think PPM & pH are important metrics for ACT, best to quantify living microbial population somehow & other than that it doesn't really matter unless something is way out of whack

this is 1 of the values of using vermicompost; if the worms liked it & produced some EWC from your quality-input compost & conditions are right {~70 to ~80 temps, good aeration, correct ratio of feedstocks} you'll get "good" tea {meaning populated tea} ppm & pH are going to be fairly irrelevant if not possibly mis-leading metrics

 

[May11th]

Its not misleading , I think of it as fine tuning, I want to make sure the ph is between 6-7 and I want to make sure they are getting enough ppm but not overor under, I still havent found a ppermanent recipe to go by so I keep fooling around and checking the stats of each brew. I find it comforting and if you take notes its very good to include all the fine details. I believe that until you ran certain nutrient teas and aact teas in your setup then you shouldnt feel completely comfortable w what your doing. Atleast im not. I check ph of water before nutes after and before I feed and day by day to see if there is fluctuations, it might not be needed but it is deff not a bad thing. Its like microbeman using his scope, im just using diff instruments to do diff things, I dont wqnt t to see bacteria, im a germo fobe and theh freak me out, especially the worm ones, I like the orbs that bounce around making other bacteria dissappear. I watched videos of Tim wilson and I feel he knows his stuff .

 

[SupraSPL]

From what I understand nute tea is a totally different animal. Microbial tea is not intended to be applied directly, it can be massively diluted because the only goal is to give a boost to the microbial population and diversity.

 

[st0wandgrow]

Its not misleading , I think of it as fine tuning, I want to make sure the ph is between 6-7 and I want to make sure they are getting enough ppm but not overor under, I still havent found a ppermanent recipe to go by so I keep fooling around and checking the stats of each brew. I find it comforting and if you take notes its very good to include all the fine details. I believe that until you ran certain nutrient teas and aact teas in your setup then you shouldnt feel completely comfortable w what your doing. Atleast im not. I check ph of water before nutes after and before I feed and day by day to see if there is fluctuations, it might not be needed but it is deff not a bad thing. Its like microbeman using his scope, im just using diff instruments to do diff things, I dont wqnt t to see bacteria, im a germo fobe and theh freak me out, especially the worm ones, I like the orbs that bounce around making other bacteria dissappear. I watched videos of Tim wilson and I feel he knows his stuff .

xmo is right, May. An AACT is simply an extraction of microbes present in your compost. Molasses is used as a food stock (energy) for the microbes to consume during their multiplication. PPM's play no role when brewing an ACT. The only consideration for PH would be for the water source that you're using to brew the ACT. If your water's PH is way out of whack, or if there is a high concentration of chlorine/chloramine then you could end up with a less-than optimal brew, but aside from that I'm not really following what exactly you would be measuring when brewing an ACT?? Measuring PPM's when brewing a nutrient tea might make sense, although I never bother.