scroglodyte
Well-Known Member
microbes do not die at those temps, they go dormant. i bubble them again before use. i've had yeasts in my fridge for one year, and they were viable. i brew too. they're in there, ya just hafta wake them up
help plz compost tea!
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Buddy Hemphill
Active Member
Elaine Ingraham says its best to use it within 4 hours. Shes kinda the guru.
Have you scoped the stuff you are "waking up".
I bet its not the same stuff you put to "sleep". ACT and bread/beer yeast aren't at all alike. I have yeast I use for brewing a specific Belgian Tripple Ale that was designed to eat slowly for along long time. Thats the reason for the high alcohol levels in Belgian Tripples.
The microbes in ACT dont go dormant like that, they die.
Nobody , besides Vermicrop, suggests refrigerating tea.
Yes, there will be some life, but nothing like using fresh tea.
Its Aerated Compost Tea...take away the air and it goes anaerobic and dies. Unless you have a pump in the fridge.
scroglodyte
Well-Known Member
i agree.....nothing like fresh. i often pour the last of it on my pile of compost. but after 36 hours, the microbes have done their work.....the "plant" food (bacteria waste and corpses...lol) are in there. that's why we re-charge the tea in the bubbler, if we wish to go longer. i was thinking about a perpetual brew......scary
RawBudzski
Well-Known Member
What if the water is cold.. will it still work, will it take longer? or not work @ all.
scroglodyte
Well-Known Member
it will slow the process. i use room temp rain water.
RawBudzski
Well-Known Member
i do it in my garage.. guess I can not be a lazyass and move it inside.. its a large bucket..filled w/ water -_-
Buddy Hemphill
Active Member
how cold you talkin?
Life will slow and grind to a halt as temps drop lower and lower.
Life will slow and grind to a halt as temps drop lower and lower.
RawBudzski
Well-Known Member
nights, like now.. 40-50 degrees, day.. 60-70? I can move it indoors though, normally did it in my garage.
Buddy Hemphill
Active Member
I would bring it in. I keep my bucket in the tub. Its an easy clean up and I can turn on the fart fan if I have some special fishy concoction going.
And the temp is always in the 65-75 range.
Tea just goes soooo damn far. I am always throwing it out. I do 1-2 gallon batches. Saves money and it doesn't get every fuckin where in the bathroom. It stays contained in the bucket better with smaller batches.
You also get better DO ratios with the shitty pumps most of us use in smaller volumes of water.
And the temp is always in the 65-75 range.
Tea just goes soooo damn far. I am always throwing it out. I do 1-2 gallon batches. Saves money and it doesn't get every fuckin where in the bathroom. It stays contained in the bucket better with smaller batches.
You also get better DO ratios with the shitty pumps most of us use in smaller volumes of water.
jane's phasm
Well-Known Member
So would you guys recommend amending the brew mix with powdered fungi or does fungal compost work better? I read that when a fungi-rich tea is desired, you need a stronger flow to dislodge the fungi from the compost matter.
missnu
Well-Known Member
It should froth that does mean it is alive. It should never ever smell like anything fermenting. That is the sign of anaerobic functioning...as in not enough oxygen so the sugars are being converted into alcohol which will kill anything beneficial you had going...
I use some worm castings, some molasses, some Ancient Forest alaskan humus soil, bat guano and seabird guano...and then I sprinkle some gerber baby rice cereal on the top every few days...I have some crazy thick foam like car wash bubbles....lol. Should never ever smell like alcohol...or fermentation.
Buddy Hemphill
Active Member
Nah...you're wrong.
Look up BounTea on youtube.
He has the most basic explanation of ACT I have seen.
I have described it exactly as he does because ...thats how it works.
Have you ever brewed beer?....It smells differently at different stages.
One of them is ..."alive smelling"
I never said smells like alcohol.....
Froth is not an indicator of a good ACT. Could you post a link to that? Thats just not true! You can have explosive microbial growth in an ACT with ZERO foam.
Its foaming because of all the shit you are using.
hyphae
Member
Most of the time I don't observe a huge amount of foam with EWC, kelp, and molasses, i would dare say a minimal foaming. I have noticed that if I let it brew for longer than 36 hours there will be no detectable odor from the molasses. My conclusion is that if I cannot smell the molasses odor and it does not smell sour or aenerobic after 36 hours it must be because of the microbial populations depleting the sugars.
I would probably be using two airstones also..
The only time I have observed a dramatic amount of foaming is when I have used guano in teas in the past which I no longer do, or when I had added a wetting agent because I was concerned about how dry I had allowed the soil to become...
I would probably be using two airstones also..
The only time I have observed a dramatic amount of foaming is when I have used guano in teas in the past which I no longer do, or when I had added a wetting agent because I was concerned about how dry I had allowed the soil to become...
RawBudzski
Well-Known Member
The more items I add the more foam I get.. If I add alfalfa meal, kelp meal, mycco, grass cuttings, molasses, guano, ewc it gets really frothy
Though when doing simple teas of 3 or so items, I hardly get any foam.. more like little bubbles. But I still know it works great.
Though when doing simple teas of 3 or so items, I hardly get any foam.. more like little bubbles. But I still know it works great.
Buddy Hemphill
Active Member
Not trying to argue...
There aren't temperature specific microbes in ACT.
This statement is completely false.
dante76
Active Member
had a similar problem but mine was that i wasn't getting enough aeration. Consider the pump and airstone you are using. My setup includes a 45L/min pump from Active Aqua (hydrofarm) and a 8.5" round airstone. At first i was using 2-6" rectangle airstones and a small aquarium pump and that shit wasn't kicking enough bubbles. Go with Active Aqua pumps; atleast the 45L/min pump and you wont be dissappointed; just make sure you clean the airstone as soon as you finish brewing. Check out my thread; hope it helps...
https://www.rollitup.org/organics/504792-airpump-airstones-brewing-tea-help.html
https://www.rollitup.org/organics/504792-airpump-airstones-brewing-tea-help.html
Try aerating your res. more. I know from brewing tea that one air stone isn't enough, I have a large "diffuser" to oxygenate my res. Its the same as an air stone but the diffuser creates lots of oxygen that actually penetrates the surface of the water , which is what really oxygenates your water. I also use a circulating pump to move the water around. I use a large Burlap bag , put all my compost in the burlap bag along with the diffusor and aerate for 3 hours. Add molasses , for 40 gallons of water I added 400ml of molasses. (almost 2 cups)
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missnu
Well-Known Member
Holy hellcats that is a shitload of bubbles! I want one of those...Jpil, so you say the diffuser works better than airstones? you have any pics of this in action? does it disperse air though the two ends or through the grey area?
I use an 8" round airstone
