Help with Compost Tea

 I'm making some compost tea and want to be sure I'm doing this right.
I've taken a 5 gallon bucket and added two shovelfuls of compost.
I've taken an old aquarium pump and run an air line to the bottom of
the bucket to aerate the tea.  Then filled the bucket with water.

QUESTIONS:  

• How long does this tea have to steep?  I've read everything from
overnight to two weeks.
• My tap water is chlorinated.  Will the chlorine kill off beneficial
bacteria in the compost?  If so, will adding chlorine remover used for
acquariums help?
• Is it really necessary to have the air line plugged into a gang
valve for multiple bubble streams, or will one good stream of air
bubbles do the trick?

Thanks for the help.

-Fleemo

 

1. Tea should steep 1- 5 days. It depends on what you feed the "herd".
2. Chlorine kills. No need for a chlorine remover when stirring it every few
hours for 24 hours will do the trick.
3. No need for a gang valve. The microbes get oxygen from the water's
movement at the surface. Thus one air stone is sufficient.

Try here:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0813080726617.html

Also read the FAQ at gardenweb.com : http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/soil/

hth,
Fito

 wrote:


All testing for maximum diversity clearly shows 18-24 hours with
adequate oxygen is ideal.


Chloramines are persistent and may not be volatized.


NO NO NO!!! The dissolved oxygen needs to stay of 5mg/L and will not
stay at that level from the surface movement MORE AIR IS NEEDED!!!!

THE GARDEN WEB INFO IS JUST PLAIN WRONG AND CONTRARY TO ALL
TESTING!!!!

www.soilfoodweb.com

 Not all compost tea is the same.  The state of the art tea is made aerobically.
The aerobic tea  made at my favorite garden center:

 http://www.naturalgardeneraustin.com/

...sells it for 5 dollars per gallon, 6 if they have to supply the jug.

When diluted it can cover 7500 square feet.  What you are doing is adding
beneficial organisms to soil, and leaf surfaces to prevent and in many cases
cure certain diseases and pest infestations.

If the compost tea they sell has been on the shelf for a while, it is not
aerobic tea.  It also probably has some sort of bacterial suppressant so the
bottle doesn't explode from the organism growth.

That said, what type can you buy?

opined:

 Well, it sells, like you say, for about five dollars a gallon. You bring
your own jug and save a few cents. They fill it from the contraption it's
"cooking" in.

So, do you have to use all of it within a few days? Does it die if some is
left in the jug for a week or so?

karen


aerobically.