• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

tutorial Beginner's guide to AACT/Compost Tea

Decided to try AACT this year. 
 
1014054_508025005970141_8170505046905670700_n.jpg

 
I had no idea bat guano was so pricey.  Seems like I'm farming the wrong stuff!  Time to build some bat houses :D
 
If you guys were starting all this from scratch, what air stone and air pump would you buy? I read a couple pages ago that most of these systems don't result in sufficient dissolved oxygen. Does that mean I need a beastly air pump?
 
SichuaneseFoodFan said:
If you guys were starting all this from scratch, what air stone and air pump would you buy? I read a couple pages ago that most of these systems don't result in sufficient dissolved oxygen. Does that mean I need a beastly air pump?
Click to expand...
*shrug* I'm a noob at AACT and the cheap aquarium stones I get from Wal-Mart seem to work fine for me.  The pumps too.  I have noticed the cheap stones clog and break kind of easily but they're only a couple of bucks a piece.
 
A terrible rule of thumb I use, if there is enough bubbling to "boil/simmer" the surface, your're good to go. If you want to get your tea feet wet, 30 bucks at an aquarium store/department will get a bucket bubbling.
 
Otherwise, EcoPlus is a great brand, ranging from 40-150 bucks. Someone just grabbed that model, the threads over in Grow Tech. GH dual diaphragm works as well, a little pricey though and I prefer Ecoplus. Some people dodge the airstone to save on cleaning, otherwise the ball or cylinder type last the longest. I've got a few aquarium pumps, should have just waited for delivery :D
 
Sooooo what is the skinny on diluting the tea, is it a must do? I made AACT for the first time last weekend, about 3 gal worth. used a little 200ml cup and did a soil drench at full strength. all my in-ground plants got 2 or 3 cups each, one cup for the potted plants (small pots).
 
ikeepfish said:
I have a question; can I use brown sugar instead of molasses?
Click to expand...
 
Brown sugar is often white sugar with molasses added to it, or it could be some processed sugar with residual molasses. I think the general consensus is to stick with raw sugar, hence why people use blackstrap. Myself, since molasses is damned expensive in Japan, I use raw cane sugar for anything that needs fermenting.
Proud Marine Dad said:
I never dilute it.
Click to expand...
 
Well that makes things substantially easier!
 
It was a sweet smell with a hint of sour/acid. I used ewc, composted cow poo, leaf mold (prob no necessary), a spoonful of guano, and some mykos. Cane sugar in place of molasses. This was my second brew, the first one smelled earthy. I wonder if I let it run too long in relation to the amount of sugar.
 
Did you predissolve the cane sugar? Even with m'larsess I find it easier to premix with some kettle/hot tap water.
 
Mykos and guano are a better topdress, mykos specifically can not germinate in the absence of roots and may just become food for other microbes.
 
How long did you brew?
 
miguelovic said:
Did you predissolve the cane sugar? Even with m'larsess I find it easier to premix with some kettle/hot tap water.
 
Mykos and guano are a better topdress, mykos specifically can not germinate in the absence of roots and may just become food for other microbes.
 
How long did you brew?
Click to expand...
 
Good point on the mykos! I suppose in retrospect it was kind of pointless lol.
 
I did pre-dissolve the sugar. gave it a quick stir by hand to dissolve the sugar before throwing in the package.
 
I brewed for 24 hours, I have a dual outlet aquarium pump I am using (brewing in a 3 gallon bucket).
 
That's usually when I start pulling from a batch. I use a similar pump and give it a good stir whenever I remember, or throw in another pump if brewing over a gallon. It doesn't keep the water moving as much as I would prefer.
 
I'm generally of the opinion it is hard to make a bad tea when the basics are met/in balance (food, air, temp).
 
Maybe try a control with just castings/sugar for a nasal reference? :P
 
Sooo,
today I was cleaning out the cage of my Bearded Dragon. I started to think about the piles that I was cleaning up.
 
Reptiles can carry parasites and salmonella, so I'm not sure its a good ingredient for tea as it is. After thinking a little more about it, started to wonder "what is the white stuff in it?"
 
Well I did a little Google-ing and found out what it is. It's almost pure urea (uric acid) mixed with some calcium and sulfur.
 
 
Uric acid, which easily decomposes, provides a nitrogen source for fertilizers that is more quickly available compared to the nitrogen in manure from cows, horses and sheep. When using a fertilizer with uric acid, the soil needs to be thoroughly mixed to prevent the acid from changing into ammonia, which can evaporate. When mixed properly, the ammonia becomes ammonium, which sticks to the soil better and provides more nitrogen to plants.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_6859010_uses-uric-acid.html#ixzz30oRVXiPd
Click to expand...
 
 
Im thinking about a quick way to sanitize it so it can be used in AACT for a little kick of Nitrogen and Calcium. One thing I realized is, when it drys out it breaks up in to a powder. Maybe it  can be broken up in to powder and put in direct sunlight for a few days to dry up any pathogens. Then added to my AACT bucket.
 
 
What do you guys think?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top