AACT First Worm Tea Of 2016.. Who's Brewing This Year?

SvtCobra · Jan 30, 2016

I just love a good compost tea. Here is my first batch of worm tea for 2016. And my babies first inoculant.

jedisushi06 · Jan 30, 2016

iv'e been brewing mine for 4 grow seasons now this one will be my fifth. Another good thing to add to it is grow kashi flakes.

Hybrid Mode 01 · Jan 30, 2016

I'm going to be starting a batch in a few days or once I get a few hooks at least. I'll post some pics of my ingredients and process when I do.
What kind of air pump are you using? Do those four hoses have stones on the end, or are they just open ended hoses?

SvtCobra · Jan 30, 2016

Hybrid Mode 01 said:
I'm going to be starting a batch in a few days or once I get a few hooks at least. I'll post some pics of my ingredients and process when I do.
What kind of air pump are you using? Do those four hoses have stones on the end, or are they just open ended hoses?

50L Minute Commercial Pump. The reason there are 4 lines is because I have it hooked up to a 10" diffusion ring that sits at the bottom. I made 4 T lines in it so it distributes air evenly through out the ring.

jedisushi06 said:
iv'e been brewing mine for 4 grow seasons now this one will be my fifth. Another good thing to add to it is grow kashi flakes.

I have heard about that before. I put many ingredients in my tea. Aloe Juice, a Catalyst, Compost, Worm Castings, Oat, Kelp Juice etc etc. Makes for a very diverse tea.

Hybrid Mode 01 · Jan 30, 2016

SvtCobra said:
50L Minute Commercial Pump. The reason there are 4 lines is because I have it hooked up to a 10" diffusion ring that sits at the bottom. I made 4 T lines in it so it distributes air evenly through out the ring.

My pump is similar in size and I just run it to a hose held down with some washers in the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket. Do you find much benefit to using the ring?

SvtCobra · Jan 30, 2016

Hybrid Mode 01 said:
My pump is similar in size and I just run it to a hose held down with some washers in the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket. Do you find much benefit to using the ring?

To be honest with you, that is something I am sill trying to figure out. I know the bacteria like smaller more dense bubbles. While Fungi like bigger bubbles as well as more water flow to knock them off the compost. However I have read many times that bubbles too big or too violent actually kill and shred the fungi apart. I do know that the fungi are actually quite fragile, more so than most people think. So I try to make the bacteria happy while preserving the shape and size of the fungi without being overly aggressive with the flow of water and bubbles. I might be totally wrong but this is just how I do it and my results have been excellent.

Hybrid Mode 01 · Jan 30, 2016

SvtCobra said:
To be honest with you, that is something I am sill trying to figure out. I know the bacteria like smaller more dense bubbles. While Fungi like bigger bubbles as well as more water flow to knock them off the compost. However I have read many times that bubbles too big or too violent actually kill and shred the fungi apart. I do know that the fungi are actually quite fragile, more so than most people think. So I try to make the bacteria happy while preserving the shape and size of the fungi without being overly aggressive with the flow of water and bubbles. I might be totally wrong but this is just how I do it and my results have been excellent.

I've heard that too, about violent bubbling hurting fungi. But realistically, it seems like any hyphae that get broken up will still be perfectly viable as far as inoculating soil and plants goes. Maybe more so - higher number of CFUs and all. I've also heard that the only thing that matters for aeration is getting the bucket contents to turn over - bubble size doesn't matter as long as the tea is churning. I dunno. Maybe I've just developed a selective memory to justify not changing my ways, but if I let my tea go for more than two days, it's full of thick clots of hyphae just using one air hose. Plus aeration stones always seem to get plugged up really fast.

SvtCobra · Jan 30, 2016

Hybrid Mode 01 said:
I've heard that too, about violent bubbling hurting fungi. But realistically, it seems like any hyphae that get broken up will still be perfectly viable as far as inoculating soil and plants goes. Maybe more so - higher number of CFUs and all. I've also heard that the only thing that matters for aeration is getting the bucket contents to turn over - bubble size doesn't matter as long as the tea is churning. I dunno. Maybe I've just developed a selective memory to justify not changing my ways, but if I let my tea go for more than two days, it's full of thick clots of hyphae just using one air hose. Plus aeration stones always seem to get plugged up really fast.

Probably true. The ring I use is made of a rubber that is flexible and has a very cracked and has a very porous surface. It was designed specifically for brewing AACT. So it actually keeps out the fine particles so it does not get clogged. It still works as good as the day I bought it. And with the pump I have actually creates a strong rolling boil in the water. So I get a lot of water movement from the ring. In my opinion there is no single correct way to brew tea. Everyone has their own ingredients and methods and brewer design's. I believe that as long as you have good chlorine free water, compost, feeds and base ingredients your going to get a good tea. There is no one way of brewing tea " To Each Their Own". I do like hearing about how others do it though. Spreads good information and knowledge around!