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tutorial Beginner's guide to AACT/Compost Tea

And just like that,
 
 
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solid7 said:
I was good up to this point...


But what is this?

Was this recipe recommended? If so, did they give you a timeline for the brew?

Volume doesn't matter with teas, the brew time is constant according to the proportions of the ingredients. Unless these ingredients have some property that inhibits microbial development, you should have been done and dusted by 28 hours, for sure. But again, that's provided that your extra ingredients don't have a say in this. I'm just not familiar with what you're cooking up...
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Complex sugars and calcium syrup in a nutshell.
 
I just used mine today.
 
3gal batch
 
3gal tap water with air stones running for a day or so before using.
1cup worm casting
1 tbs molasses
Handful of Alaska fish and kelp pellets.
1 tbs of dried ground kelp.
 
Foamed like mad within 24hrs. Let it run for around 36hr.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
I just used mine today.
 
3gal batch
 
3gal tap water with air stones running for a day or so before using.
1cup worm casting
1 tbs molasses
Handful of Alaska fish and kelp pellets.
1 tbs of dried ground kelp.
 
Foamed like mad within 24hrs. Let it run for around 36hr.
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It's the proteins in the fish pellets that are making you foam. It's just like adding dish soap. You may want to put those in the last couple hours of your brew. They dissolve super easy. Plus, then you can gauge the health of your AACT...
 
ColdSmoke said:
I know folks who brew their tea for three days
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It's true that there will be something left after the 20-28 hour typical brew period. It's just that that time frame has been found to be optimal (by those who actually studied it) for both numbers of microbes, and diversity. Apparently, after some time in captivity, certain of the little germs start to eat certain of the others. I guess if we're going to the trouble of making this stuff, we probably want it to be at its maximum effectivity.
.
Some people suggest that as long as there is food and air, there will be microbes and microbial growth. But in fact, this isn't exactly true. Like a fish tank, the microrganisms, if left in a closed environment, will begin to stagnate in their own waste products. So that's why there is a time frame assigned to the brew.  It's also why it's not recommended to "recharge" the brew with more castings or carbohydrates.
.
I don't actually measure microbe counts, so I can't speak with authority on what numbers of which microbes are present. But I do have faith in the process, and follow it as such. :)
 
I'm planning to run a small batch of tea using a pump recommended for 10 gal aquariums. I'm thinking I'll brew only about a quart in a half gallon bucket size. I crunched the numbers relative to using a more powerful pump (e.g. 40 liters/min) in a 5 gal bucket. I think my pump will suffice to aerate a L of tea. Anyway, it's a practical amount for me, as it can be diluted 1:10 and I'll only be using it for some of my plants.
 
The tea appears to have worked fairly well the first time. I diluted 1:1 with warm distilled water before slowly top-feeding my plants. Should I instead- dilute the tea with distilled water, which I have also cooled and aerated?
I started the second batch. I'm going to try brewing it for 39 hours.
 
I decided to step it up and get a more powerful pump (4 outlets, 6W, 15 lpm).
That converts to .52972 cfm at max, but I'll dial it down to about 80% because I'm using 4 small air stones capable of jetting about .1 cfm each.
Still well over the recommended .05-.08 cfm per gal.
 
Today at 2PM, I started brewing a batch of compost tea with the following recipe.
5 gallons of water 
15 mL hydrolyzed fish and seaweed
1 tsp TM-7
5 mL molasses
Xtreme tea (kelp powder and compost source)
 
The more nutrients are included in a tea, the more important it is to have strong aeration components that keep the dissolved oxygen levels constantly high.
My air pump setup is pretty effective, and I’m not adding many nutrients, just a little molasses and a 1 gal regular strength dosage of neptune’s harvest 2-3-1
My tea should not be in high demand of oxygen since the nutrient concentration is so low. 
I have not tried it yet, but I have heard good things about using the hydrolyzed fish as a food source for fungi. 
The molasses is barely any, because I don’t want the tea to become bacteria dominant.
It’s my first attempt with this type of recipe, adding a variety of bacteria and fungus foods. 
One concern I had about my ingredients is the high levels of sulfur overall. The TM-7 is a lot of humic and fulvic acid chelators with micronutrients including a lot of sulfur and trace metals. The recommended dosage on the package for container gardening and compost tea is (1/4-1/3 tsp) / gal. I used 1 tsp, about a gram of it. I think the fish hydrolysate and seaweed also has notable Sulfur and Zinc levels.
 
Got my worm bin and I will be brewing like the old days! 
 
Looks like I got about 8 years of posts in this thread to go through! Anything new in the World of AACT in the last 3 or so years?
 
Is the focus still on
-mycos
-castings
-sugars
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Are people still using compost tea?
I dropped that fad long ago.
I prefer to just aerate some sea kelp powder and alfalfa and pour that on the soil.
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I have a local place that gives it away for free every Tuesday.  Would you say no to that?  :think:
 
solid7 said:
I have a local place that gives it away for free every Tuesday.  Would you say no to that?  :think:
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Go for it. I personally don't think it does all that much.
Top dressing with good compost and mulching does just as good in my experience.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Go for it. I personally don't think it does all that much.
Top dressing with good compost and mulching does just as good in my experience.
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I don't disagree, but those things are either purchased or seasonally available for me.  And I'd still recommend a compost tea as an early season innoculant.  Just to give things a boost, without going all fertilizer dopey.
 
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