I was brewing some Aerated Compost Tea today or should I say Aerated Vermicompost Tea because I was using some worm compost!
What is Aerated Compost Tea or ACT?
It's not a tea for drinking! It's just the process of steeping some finished compost in dechlorinated water (or rainwater) while aerating and feeding the micro-organisms found in the compost. The goal is to breed (multiply) three basic group of soil micro-organisms: bacteria, protozoa and fungi. Those micro-organisms are part of the soil food web participating in the cycling of nutrient in the soil. In nature, those guys are the reason why plants have food!
Check out my other post about "What makes vermicompost a good fertiliser? A little intro to the soil food web"
A nematode through a microscope
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quochuy and click on VoteThere are arguments about whether ACT is really useful, in my personal humble opinion, I do see good results and I think there is no harm in adding ACT to the garden and it is a good way to get the best out of a small amount of vermicompost available. With just a litre of vermicompost I'm brewing 27 litres of ACT which is then further diluted into 60 to 100 litres which I then use with a watering tank or in a hand spray on the leaves.
To brew some Aerated Compost Tea you need a container such as a 20L bucket, fill it with rainwater or leave tap water for 24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate. Then add some compost or worm compost, the food for the bacteria and fungi then aerate the mix. There are several ways to aerate:
- some people use a stick and stir the mixture for 5 minutes every hour or so
- you can use an aquarium pump with a air stone, however, due to the power of such an air pump the level of dissolved oxygen would not be high enough for a 20L bucket and there is risk of the ACT going anaerobic
- you can use an vortex system like the one in my video above
For detailed info, head to Microbe Organics website by Tim Wilson, it's a bit long to read and a bit messy too but it contains all you need to know about ACT.
I also have couple of posts on my pre-steem blog:
Previously on my Ulog:
- ULOG 090 - What's the truth behind DLive leaving Steem for Lino blockchain!
- ULOG 089 - SBS On Demand releases their new feature: Autoplay Next Episode
- ULOG 085 - Garden Spring Video Tour
- ULOG 082 - Propagating some veggies
- ULOG 081 - What plants have survived in the garden over winter?
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You have a minor misspelling in the following sentence:
It should be further instead of futher.Your aware of Elaine Ingham right? In my instagram bubble of knf, no till and general organic farmers there is a concept of using extracts vs. A.A.C.T.s. in general its best to note only 0.03 of this stuff is truly understood in a complete way. Its mostly because large universities have made it extremely hard for Elaine ingham to do her research as monsanto has been censoring her for a while...
Chris Trump is extremely brilliant on this matter. I highly advice you to pick his brain if he ever has time. On instagram microbeherder is a great person to learn about A.A.C.T.s from...
He, if I recall right loves compost extracts over teas. But i havent followed too closely in 10 months. Heck i havent made a tea in a while...
Yes I know her work and am aware of the concept of compost extract. It’s a topic that was raised several times in the vermicomposting and the soil food web groups on FB.
I brew my tea for 36 hours instead of the usual 24 in order to get that balance in the three basic groups of organisms.
I also have a microscope and practice identifying the groups.
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I have done 48 hour brew when temps are cooler and water temp is lower with great results with the higher DO rates in lower temp water over the normal 78 degree water temps I have most the year here. Usually it is when I want a more fungal dominate brew for spraying the sandy pastures I have here but I will feed at start of brew and then again end of day 2 or beginning of day 3 to help keep everything lively. Nice to see your getting back to your roots, lol kind of literally, with your garden and worm post.
Oh, do you have a tool to measure DO? I wanted one but I think they are quite pricey.
Spring is back so there are more activities in the backyard :-D
Yes I have a ex tech DO meter I got to start testing the DO and the difference in how my brews functioned at different temps and DO levels.
Ah that’s cool! Have you had experience with compost extracts too?
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I was blessed enough to take chris trumps basic microscope class... He basically said most of the work needed is to identify the bad stuff. But seriously he is super knowledge able on it too...
Check this guy out...
He is an Eliane disciple in ways but really an over acheiving student who does this everyday for his job...
Kind of cool Elaine ingham's husband was the nematode guy at the university they worked at together... He was the nematode guy and she was the microbe lady...😎
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