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This article was written by Bruce Lee Deuley's and was reprinted here with his permission please have a look at his site its full of organic ideas.
Compost Tea Maker
This is a very basic but very functional compost tea maker. In fact, Malcolm
Beck founder of Garden-ville. calls it "the best compost tea maker at
any price for the small gardener." The purpose if spraying compost tea is
to restore beneficial microbes to your soil and plants. The benefits of these
microbes include protecting plants, improving nutrient uptake, retaining
nutrients in the soil, improving soil tilth, increasing root depth and improving
all
aspects of the soil.
The benefits of a tea maker is its ability to start with a good compost
that contains aerobic beneficial microbes and growing and multiplying
them by a factor of 1,000 times or more simply by feeding and protecting
them for 12 to 24 hours while giving them enough oxygen to keep the whole
mix aerobic.
The design looks common but there are a few clever differences in the design
and the way the tea is brewed that make this one perform as well as tea
brewers costing hundreds of times more. When Malcolm and I tested tea
made with
this exact set-up, we found bacteria, fungal biomass,
protozoa and
flagellates in good number and even some beneficial
Nematodes. A very
difficult microbe to maintain in compost tea. We found this little tea maker to
compare
favourably with tea makers that sell for many times its
modest cost.
Where this tea maker really shines is in its ability to generate large amounts
of beneficial fungi. Research has shown that our typical garden soils are
weakest in fungal species and could use much more. If you follow the
directions for constructing this tea maker, follow the recipe, and especially
follow the instructions for brewing the tea, you should have a great fungal
compost tea for just pennies per batch. Everything needed to make this tea
maker is available at Wal-Mart as well as many other large store outlets
that carry fish and aquarium supply.
Figure 1 shows a typical 5 gallon
bucket with lid
A pump with two outlets is best to use as it allows you to put one set of air
stones inside the “tea bag” and still have a couple of air stones at the bottom
of the bucket. Try to find a pump rated for about a fifty-gallon aquarium. The
one I mentioned at Wal-Mart states it is intended for a 30 to 60 gallon aquarium
and does a fine job in the 5-gallon bucket. The main point to remember is
that enough oxygen must always be present to prevent your tea from going
anaerobic (running out of Oxygen). I am sure you could do just as well with
a couple of smaller pumps if you already own them. Just be sure you are
pumping lots of oxygen through your tea maker. It is probably impossible
to have to much oxygen in your tea although I suppose you could overdo the
movement of the tea and beat your fungus to death. No chance of that with
this tea maker.
While in the “fish department” you will need to purchase some air stones. Air
stones are used in the aquarium to make lots of bubbles. The tiny bubbles bring
lots of oxygen to the water and promote all the beneficial microbes in the
aquarium. The air stones bubble air and provide oxygen in the tea maker,
too. I use 4 stones, 2 one inch stones inside the tea bag and 2 five inch
stones on
the bottom of the tea maker. Figure 4 shows how the air
stones are
connected to the clear air tubing.
These air stones are blue porous synthetic stones. Some
are gray, white
or even black but all should work fine. Your nearest Wal-Mart should have
stones just like these but other stones have worked fine for me in the past.
The stones in figure 4 have been used several times and have become stained
from the tea, but I clean them between each batch of tea by soaking them
in Hydrogen Peroxide(3 % solution bought at your local drug store or from
Wal-mart
is more than adequate). If you do not thoroughly clean
the equipment
between batches, a slimy coating of anaerobic bacteria
will form on the
stones and in the tea maker which can be detrimental to the well-being of the
beneficial bacteria in future batches of tea.
Cleaning the tea maker between every tea batch is VERY important.
You will also need
several feet of aquarium tubing like the tubes shown
here
in
the pictures. The cost is another $2.00 or $3.00 dollars
at Wal-Mart.
Also, you will need two t-valves to split the air line
between the air stones.
The valves shown here are inexpensive plastic and work well but there are
better
valves made of brass if you see fit to spend a little
more.
Now that
you have purchased your necessary hardware, there is one
more item that is very useful. Back to the paint department. Buy a
paint strainer bag. It is a nylon bag use to strain junk out of paint
normally but is a perfect tea bag to hold compost.
Now lets put this thing together:
First I drill a couple of ¼ inch holes in the side of the bucket a few inches from the top. If you decide not to use the top, the tubes can just run over the edge of the bucket but I prefer using the top.
I also
drill a hole in the top of the lid to run a string
through for holding the tea
bag off the bottom of the bucket. This may not be necessary because the air
stones inside the tea bag usually keeps it floating and bobbing around but it can’t
hurt! Remember, this exact design has been tested and works well.
First cut the necessary tubing to get all of the stones connected to the pump
housing You will need 2 t-valves. One to split the line to the larger stones
(5 inch stones)
The other to split the smaller air stones to be put into the tea bag
Now attach one set of stones to one side of the pump and the other line
to the other valve.
Now you need to make a decision as to what kind of compost is best for your
garden or lawn. Worm castings are one of the best composts to base your tea
on but there is still much to be learned about what types of compost are best
for what crops so keep well read on the subject . You only need a small amount
of compost so get the best brand named compost you can find. Bags marked,
“composted manure,” usually are not adequate for a really great tea. Good
brand names for compost in Central Texas are Garden-Ville, Dr. Gobbler, Living
Earth Technology, and Lady Bug to name a few. I use about a pound or pound
and a half of compost. Put it in your tea bag and place the smallest set of air
stones in the bag and tie it off to keep the compost in the bag.
Fill your bucket with water. Note that a 5-gallon bucket holds exactly 5
gallons when filled up to the very top. This “5-gallon” tea maker will make about
4 gallons of tea. I add 1/2 ounce of molasses per gallon (shown in Figure 13)
to help feed the microbes, but don’t overdo it. At tea temperatures above 80
degrees, a little molasses goes a long way and can even destroy your microbes
if you aren’t careful. If you question whether to add molasses, leave it out.
Put your larger air stones on the bottom of the bucket and add the tea bag
containing your compost and the other 2 air stones.
Plug in your pump and take a look at the movement of the water to make sure
you have plenty of air and water movement
The string is now run through the hole in the lid and will later be tied to the
handle on the outside of the bucket so it does not settle on the bottom of the
bucket.
Now set the pump on the closed lid and let her brew for about 6 or 8 hours.
You should expect to see your tea bubbling as if it were boiling. If you used
molasses in the tea it will have a sweet smell, faintly like rum, for several
hours. When the molasses is used up, the aroma of the tea will change to a more
yeasty
smell. You should also expect to see a brown foam form
on top of the
tea. Whether you have foam or not, either is normal
depending on the nature
of your ingredients. After 6-8 hours remove the tea bag and attach the tube that
was running the tea bag air stones to one of the long air stones and use the other
tube to run the other air stone
Continue to brew the tea with the air pump running for another 16 to 20 hours and
then use the tea as soon as possible after that. The tea will start to deteriorate
immediately after the air pump is turned off. You can prolong the life of the tea for
a day by leaving the air on, but all the food has been used up in the tea, so it is
deteriorating even with the air on.
WARNING:
NEVER TRY TO STORE YOUR FINISHED TEA IN A CLOSED
CONTAINER.
If you made your tea well, a
closed container will develop pressure inside and burst open.
Using your tea
As a
foliar spray, five gallons of tea will cover a full acre
of lawn or garden. As a soil
drench five gallons will cover about 10,000 square feet of lawn or garden. It doesn’t
really matter how much water you use to dilute and spread the tea. The water is
only a carrier. Just remember to stay in the area to be covered until you run out
of tea. I have never heard of any time when too much tea was used so don’t
worry
about over doing it. You can spray tea every day, every
week, or monthly.
This is a quick run down on how I make my tea bucket.
Feel free to email me
if you have more questions. Some of the important concepts that make this tea
brewer work are as follows.
1. Use a pump with two outlets and four
air stones.
2. Put two air stones inside the tea bag to keep the
fungus in the compost agitated.
3. Don’t over do the molasses.
4. Never turn off the air pump or remove the air stones
once you have started brewing.
5. Remove the tea bag after 8 hours.
6. Brew no longer than 36 hours or you can lose the
benefit of the tea.
7. Use all the tea right away. This tea cannot be stored
under any circumstances.
8. Clean and disinfect your equipment after each batch.
Scrub the slime off of
everything with a stiff brush and a hydrogen peroxide wash.
Good luck and happy tea brewing! Bruce
Lee Deuley
Questions? Email me....
natureapproved@yahoo.com
