A customer has a question and I hope we can get some opinions on it, thanks
What should I use to make a good compost tea
It really depends on what stage of the grow you are in. I use my homemade compost as the base for my teas. I have 2 different compost heaps , 1 for vegetative teas, 1 for flowering teas. The veg compost contains clippings of materials that were actively growing at the time such as grass clippings and leafy hedge trimmings etc, things that were actively growing tend to contain more nitrogen. The flowering compost contains more fruit and vegetable scraps and the remains of any flowering plants/ fallen blooms etc, these contain more flowering friendly nutrients and less overall nitrogen. I brew my teas in a 20lt/5 gal bucket and i use rainwater(not ph adjusted) in which I suspend a good handfull of the required compost in a bra bag hanging over the side of the bucket. I have 2 airstones in the bottom to provide oxygen and to help turn over the tea. I typically brew for 24/48hrs or until a dirty thick scum starts to form on top of the tea. You can also add any organic nutes you like, fish emulsions , seewead extracts etc. The microbes in the tea need to be fed in order to multiply and this is done by using unsulphered molasses. I usually add about 2 tablespoons to my bucket and find this is usually enough to keep them happy but if you notice your foam/scum level start to decrease it indicates that the microbes have consumed all the available food and more molasses needs to be added. Do not brew for more than 48hrs and try to use your teas immediately after the air supply is removed to get the most benefits from your tea. The microbes die quickly without air so do not store your teas as the will turn anaerobic and be harmful to your plants. Hope this helps.
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More molasses isnt actually a good thing. There is a great websites I suggest everyone read called Microbeorganics.
What too much molasses will do, is make the bacteria multiply too fast, and if you do not have the oxygen saturation in your tea, the bacteria will hypermultiply, and end up killing themselves due to not being enough oxygen to support themselves.
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Very good information!
I usually add EWC, and some Humus first and let it brew for 10-15 mins, before I add the rest of the ingredients, I add molasses after 12-16hours of brewing and it has shown great results.
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Thanks for that @Aolelon its good to hear other opinions on what works and why it happens. I have in the past let my tea brew for longer than originally intended and the scum level dropped significantly and I suspected the microbes had run out of food and added more molasses to provide more food and the scum/ froth level increased again. In reality what you are saying is more likely the case and I had a mega increase in microbes and should have used the brew earlier before things went into overdrive.
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