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Pleasant Hill, Or

I have had a lot of interest from people for the Compost Tea Brewer plans from the Oregon State Extension Service, so here is the link to the unit:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/horticulture/documents/25gallonRubbermaidbrewerplans_2_.pdf

And here is a short explanation of how I used it, and the recipe I used; 4 cups black strap molasses (unsulfered feed grade)
4 cups worm castings
4 cups alfalfa pellets (used every other brew)
2 cups seaweed extract (maxicrop) alternated with the alfalfa

This was for a 28 gallon batch. Brew was warmed to 80 degrees with fish tank heater. Air pump was the 50 watt outdoor pump found here: http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/6575/cid/1793.

After using many different air diffusers, I found the most trouble free and reliable to be 25' of 3/4" soaker hose. Leave it rolled up and weight it to make it sink, find fittings to convert 1/4" air hose from pump to couple to 3/4" soaker hose.

I would pre-warm the water to 80 Degrees and add all ingredients. Brewed for about 24 hrs, then applied either/both foliar or fertigate at a rate of 5 gals/plant every other week.

1/25/2008 3:54:18 PM

Seattle, WA

Starrfarms,

Brewer looks fairly straightforward. Couple of questions/comments:

1. Have they tested it to make sure it makes good tea?

2. I would avoid gluing the pvc that sits in the water, as it would be much easier to clean if you could take apart the pipes in the bottom. Otherwise you'll have to really scrub those connections to prevent biofilm.

3. Many brewers in the industry use a hailea or sweetwater pump. You may want to check them out. Dr. Ingham has recommended the sweetwater pump, and I believe the hailea is just a Korean knock off.

4. We put a diffuser on the end of our pipe that goes into the mesh bag.

5. I still think 4 cups is way too much molasses. Even the OSU guys are recommending 2 T./5 gallons of water (I think that's even a bit high initially, until you know that you're not overfeeding)

6. Make sure to dechlorinate/dechloramine the water

7. Brew at ambient temps. that you're applying at.

Looks good though, thanks for posting!!!

1/25/2008 6:54:20 PM

Mt Vernon Ky

Starrfarms how big was your biggest pumpkin this year brewer looks good might just have to put 1 together thanks for posting vic

1/25/2008 9:04:56 PM

Vancouver Washington

Hey Thad, I'm not sure what you mean by using a diffuser. Isn't that the purpose of all the 1/16" holes in the bottom ring and the four holes in the middle tube? Did you modify the airflow from the OSU diagram?

1/25/2008 9:42:50 PM

Vancouver Washington

Thad's biggest pumpkin, in case he is too ashamed to tell you, was a meager 1524lbs. He currently holds the Half Moon Bay all time record. Maybe next year he can grow something more respectable.

1/26/2008 12:34:29 AM

Pleasant Hill, Or

Tad12. As far as I know, they didn't test it. I ran into them at a fair and their "master gardeners" were handing out free samples and brochures.

I used the brewer per plans, but have since modified the air delivery. I used a plain old 25' 3/4" soaker hose. It really delivers, doesn't clog and is easy to clean. Pretty cheap too. It worked much better than the diffuser in the OSU plan.

Vancouver; by diffuser I mean a device put on the end of the air hose to break the bubbles into smaller ones and distribute them throughout the brewer. Air stones is one example.

I didn't put any air in the castings. Put the castings in a large mesh bag and let the float in the brew. The circulating air/water does a pretty good job of exchanging water thru the bag.

Thad

1/26/2008 1:01:12 AM

Mt Vernon Ky

i knew it was 1524 so he doing something right

1/26/2008 3:53:52 PM

Vancouver Washington

Is the process of dechlorinating water simply to put just the water in the brewer and blast it with air for a few hours?

Or.. is there a better way to eliminate the chlorine?

1/26/2008 5:24:05 PM

Eddyz@efirehose.net

Tad
As far as overfeeding, I don't think you can overfeed these plants, They'll groww in a fresh manure pile, where anything else will burn.
The think with molasses is, I had a mix, about a quart that would have been 30-40 percent molasses, and I poured it on one of my secondary plants, and it sure had a week long growing spurt with no ill effects after that, in comparrison to my other plants.
Also should mention, the plant was about a month old, only about 6 leaves.

1/26/2008 6:21:52 PM

Westford, MA

Starr, How DO you clean the soaker hose to ensure no contamination of your next batch??
kevin

1/28/2008 9:36:38 AM

Seattle, WA

Iceman,

I think it's different when you apply directly to the plant than inside the tea. On the plant you have much greater access to oxygen, than in the compost tea brewer. It's very easy for a brew to go anaerobic, which will cause a variety of problems for you and your tea. The rapid growth of bacteria can lower your oxygen level quite rapidly in just minutes.

1/28/2008 1:50:12 PM

Seattle, WA

Vancouver,

There are other ways to remove chlorine, but letting the water sit for 24 hours or aerating it for a few hours will do the trick too.

~Tad

1/28/2008 1:50:58 PM

Seattle, WA

Starrfarms,

Next time you brew a batch, if you want to send me a sample I'll take a look at it under the microscope for you if you're interested...

1/28/2008 1:51:55 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

How clean does everything need to be between batches? I am a bit on the lazy side so....

1/28/2008 2:20:23 PM

Pleasant Hill, Or

Klancy, cleaning it up is pretty easy. First I wash it down with a jet nozzle on the end of a garden hose, then I hook up the garden hose to the soaker hose and run water though that. It will force out and residue caught in the soaker membrane. Takes just a few minutes and looks brand new.

Tad, I'll take you up on your offer! It won't be for a while until I brew, but I'd love to send you as sample when I do. How varied will the results be of the contents after the shipping time, versus testing it right out of the brewer?

1/28/2008 5:57:15 PM

Seattle, WA

Starrfarms,

I'm sure there will be some variation. I can send you a link to the page on the Soil Food Web site for sampling the tea when you're ready.

Another suggestion with cleaning would be to use some hydrogen peroxide. It will kill any microbes that don't get flushed out.

1/28/2008 10:22:42 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Hey Tad,

Great point regarding the Hydrogen Peroxide to insure a clean brewer. Some designs can be very difficult to clean properly & this is EXTREMELY important.

We know that regular gaseous chlorine can be bubbled out by evaporation. What do you recommend for those folks who are stuck brewing with chloramine treated municipal water? I've heard of using humic acid but not sure it works.

1/28/2008 10:53:58 PM

Seattle, WA

Tremor,

Chloramine has been a HUGE issue for compost tea users for the past couple of years. Essentially, it turns into chlorine when it comes into contact with organic matter, and cannot be degassed or evaporated.

The two most popular options right now are humic acid (like you mentioned) or ascorbic acid. With humic acid, it's recommended that you use enough for the water to change to a dark brown color. My issue with this method is twofold:

1. It's not very exact, as you're basing whether the chloramines have been complexed on something subjective (color).

2. The humic acid will also serve as a fungal food source in your tea. This will effect whatever recipe you're using, and it's hard to know in what way.

As for ascorbic acid, we use a product called vita d chlor. If you google it, you can see a calculator on their website for how much ascorbic acid per gallon of water. Also, it has no nutrient value for the organisms. Vita d chlor is expensive, but you don't use very much at a time. You could also get generic ascorbic acid to do the same thing.

When spraying chloramined water out of your hose onto your plants, apparently its not as much of an issue because you're dealing with huge masses of organic matter (though I'm guessing there's a small amount of organisms loss). If you decide to dilute your tea before spraying it, then you need to make sure you have clean water for that ready too.


~Tad

1/29/2008 12:42:24 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Ascorbic acid is also a darned good preservative which is bound to be counter productive to brewing at some rate. I doubt you'd need so much as to be a problem but...

Folks on a chloramine treated water supply should probably consider collecting rain water.

In time organic material does overwhelm chlorine in all of it's forms. But at what cost to the brewing cycle?

Our water is Chloramine treated as of some time last year. If I fill a really clean white bucket I can see the subtle color differnce.

In a white bucket:

Rain Water = white
Chlorinated water = blue
Chloramine water = green

When in doubt call your water company.

1/29/2008 11:17:56 PM

Eugene, OR

An interesting article on chloramine and how to eliminate it from a water supply: http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/14/11/2579#T1

1/30/2008 12:33:47 AM

Jericho Vermont

I have used an active charcoal filter the last couple of years but am still not sure I am getting rid of enough chloramine for good AT. Does anyone know if the charcoal filter systems really work. I try to use rain/brook water fot my tea but I use regular water supply for the rest of the garden.
John

1/30/2008 6:15:51 AM

Seattle, WA

Good article. I wonder if the charcoal filtering has any effect on the organisms when used in making compost tea. I wouldn't think so, but then i've been wrong before.

The amounts of ascorbic acid we're talking about is so minimal, I haven't noticed a detrimental effect on the biology in compsot tea. In fact, most people in the industry use this method for removing chloramines where it's an issue.

I really wish our water companies would just stop using the stuff...everything I read seems to suggest that it's not safe.

1/30/2008 4:56:04 PM