An Introduction to Actively Aerated Compost Tea Brewers

In this video Paul Taylor and Dr. Elaine Ingham of the Soil Food Web Institute demonstrate different design for actively aerated compost tea brewers and the importance of sufficient oxygen in the brewing process.

[@jnathanbush1780]

Am here 10 years later..... Talk about being late for class.... 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@alexandervanloggerenberg8579]

Here I was thinking the same thing and boom! I find a newbie.

[@toadali]

LOL, Dat vocal bomb by the birds at the end.

[@erinslack5405]

I enjoy your use of metric!

[@Pigearvet]

Interesting system. So far I just have a fish aquarium bublar and a tub to put the water in. Used this system last year and grew giant cantaloupe and butternut squash. You have a better setup than mine. Thanks for the useful instruction and demo Rob and Nat

[@TARALEELive]

Two Turtle Gardens good choice 😁👍

[@ThePlantDoctorGlobal]

this was very informative

[@jaredattaboy]

I understand your point but I get my water from a well or pond water ... it seems to work well👍🏻

[@plantlifenoww4237]

i'd love to have the soil food web institute test our compost teas, craft brewed in a HOMEMADE compost brewer system that puts out results. Don't need to be downplaying "people that have tried to do similiar things", the brewers in this video personally seem pretty basic. but results speak for themselves, no need to paint it a certain way, let your tea talk and let your plants decide

[@kannaworxindustries8983]

Fantastic

[@piet618]

Aerated Compost Tea- a wonderful accompaniment to sustainable agriculture.

[@bernardlively6321]

Love the music!!

[@istzxca]

love the birds! i think the birds like elaine and paul lol

[@altafshaikh2096]

Very nice

[@Jakiedog]

I have a tote like that. I'm wondering what the "below the waterline" design is.

[@dougkuykendall1547]

I am in northeast Texas. Where can I have compost and compost tea brews tested?

[@GraemeOfCawdor]

Hey Paul, We met at Geoff's In Australia in 2010. I am Building a brewer for our Farm here in Canada and was wondering the aeration needs to be equivalent to the volume of water every minute Ie 1000L/min in the 1000L Brewer? Also I have been doing research and the PVC is designed to kill bacteria so the KISS brewer will have a built in deterrent to producing bacteria as it will kill them at the same time. Is it not better to use a HDPE or LDPE pipe?

[@GraemeOfCawdor]

Hey Paul, We met in Australia. I am wondering what kind of bower i need for the Kiss brewer?

[@bosatsu76]

What's the CFM of the air pump for that 275 gal tote

[@ReggaeRising1]

Thank you very much beefytroy! I have been putting alfalfa meal,kelp meal,azomite,compost,molasses,worm castings, chicken manure,coco hulls/coirs, and crab meal together in a mesh bag and squeezing that out 5-6 times a day while it soaks in a 60 gallon container! I have 2 air pumps for just this container the aeration is great! I am making what I call super compost/fertilizer tea! I guess from now on I am only going to add the compost,molasses, and other foods to feed if I am using right away!

[@DaringDanielletravels]

Edgar Poe whoa, this sounds amazing. Have you been getting higher yields using this recipe? What have you changed?

[@ttmallard]

If anyone uses red-blue LEDs for greenhouses this is just the same idea applied to your compost tea, yeah it seems high-tech but it works for row-cropping where any dent to yields costs money, doesn't matter as much for backyard gardens.

[@buckonotthedog]

i'm amazed how people think Bigger's Better for aeration... you could learn a lot from aeration of aquariums -- it's not the quantiti of air, that is pumped trough pipes, that maters, it's quality of bubbles! if you have tiny bubbles, than you get more surface to diffuse air into water per pumped air, as you would get with larger bubbles. So, first you have to make a nice diffuser, like air stones or similar which will make tiny bubbles...

[@suzannesutton5636]

can it brew in the KISS brewer longer than 24hours w 3oz fish emulsion and 3 cups of wormcastings? (I think Elaine has said it can brew longer in other videos)

[@KrazyKajun602]

what formula should you use to calculate how much compost to food to water?

[@ReggaeRising1]

If you keep your tea highly aerated can it last for a few weeks if you keep feeding it molasses?

[@alfapainting]

Does the "blow off" work on chloramine?

[@davidtrees1714]

So beefytroy, you are saying that from this point, if you want to cause the tea to "grow" then you need to aerate it and feed it. Assuming you have primarily bacteria and not mostly, fungi, flagellates, amoebae, nematodes? When you say agitate, what do you mean? Vigarous like a domestic washing machine agitation (left right left right) or simply lifting it up and out, then back in and out etc from the water for about 30 minutes. I've not heard of this Tea extract concept before. This is good :)

[@napoleonsmith7793]

use the cone tank.

[@Avner-Avdav-Inner-Light]

can i use reverse osmosis water ?

[@larryjones4534]

How big is your aeration pump?

[@capeguy]

chloramines are not removed by air stripping use an inline hose carbon dechlorinator...its 25$ and cheap insurance

[@rvv3251]

Is there any published study about the effects of compost tea? I’m having a hard time to find any peer reviewed studies.

[@elibennett3034]

Wait around for the studies, or do them yourself. It's not hard.

[@suzannesutton5636]

can one use a pair of pantyhose as a compost tea bag or are the holes too small? I heard 200 micron holes is necessary

[@anthonymiller6187]

I know this is old but where and can I buy this system

[@ChlGigi]

Hi everyone! Does anyone know how long would I have to brew with water that is 14 celsius... 57 fahrenheit? Adding my compost / wormcastings to this is probably quite a shock to the organisms in the compost... is this temperature okay or do I need to either bring the brewer indoors, or get a heater??

[@regenerativeliving3478]

I've brought my brewer inside before when I'm doing small scale. I've also been successful insulating the brewer for larger scale. Hope this helps

[@bosatsu76]

Seems to me that once a system is run once, simply leaving some dregs in the bottom of the brewer contains all the biology needed to run another cycle... And another... And another... A kick start in the spring with worm castings etc... And then, just feed it each time... Am I missing something? In fact each cycle becomes more species diverse as bacteria and spores floating by in the wind are grabbed by the air pump and injected into the brewer.

[@Veto2090]

You're missing the fact that the companies couldn't sell you more so they purposely spread misinformation

[@AutumnHorses8]

where are these brewers sold? I am located in Quebec, Canada. I am looking for similar brewers or detailed information to create my own.

[@crpth1]

Depending on the scale of your implementation regular water tanks and respective pipe work can be put together easily. ;-)

[@sparksj20]

geotea 275 gal brewer

[@Practicalapologetics]

What is the cfm on the aerator? From what have seen else where they want .08 cfm per gallon so for a tote would be 22 cfm which is probably 1000 times smaller than the one in video. Can you advise?

[@sandeepvazrapu]

Did you find out any answer for it? As I am too confused to buy the appropriate one for 250 gallons compost tea

[@napoleonsmith7793]

what is a tote? this is not a tote. you dont need the amount of air to be huge, just bubbly.

[@donnieboy007]

Where can I purchase this same stainless steel air diffuser and tea bag

[@roberthooper7687]

did you find it ?

[@IHav2BlackCats]

@@roberthooper7687 look up "geotea brewer", perhaps they will sell one seperate

[@roberthooper7687]

@@IHav2BlackCats thanks, I have built a pretty nice brewer and found the rubber diffusers work great. Just looking for ingredients to fertilize my pastures for grazing livestock

[@srgbuffalobuffalony7112]

I have been following Dr Elaine here for many many years and I wholly believe in her approach to soil biology and microbiolgy and composts, etc... I own And operate a medium scale compost operartion in Buffalo NY. Much of my processes - fungal dominated for bioretention and green infrastructure - have been inspired by the SFI. I must note that the SFI, Dr Ingham and Paul here - very politely and strtegically avoid mentioning ANY specifics as to what is added and when - as far as foods. Remember, they are in it for the $$ and they need to sell. They cannot jeapardize proprietary information - absolutely not. People come to KZbin thinking that they will get the recipe or panacea for solving World Hunger in a 10 minute video. No! Dr Ingham, understandably, has to hold back on much data so that people will buy her books and sign on to webinars.... Which I have done through the years. It is important to understand these business aspects - yes, even with KZbin.

[@bobknowle5841]

this is ruining reality..... please please please you arre on the correct track... just stop skipping steps...

[@CoachChris503]

Holy Shit, it's Dustin Haufman.

[@az459]

Is there any concern over the possibility of a batch being contaminated with a pathogen?

[@ElDr1m]

Most pathogen are anaerobic. Here you have aerobic fermentation. And you need good compost too.

[@mightyconker3903]

It isn't fermentation. No alcohol produced

[@buckonotthedog]

bigger blower -> more noice :) bigger blower -> probably more Watt :s and more bubbles does not automatically mean equal oxigen distribution to water.. bigger bubbles do ascent faster and there for have shorter time to deliver, so you have to pump a lot more air to have same effect :s in the end choices are few, but i like it smooth and easy :D

[@raurkegoose5233]

The O2 does not mix from the air bubbles to any appreciable degree. O2 mixes primarliy from the aggitated surface of the water, thus the more/bigger bubbles are best.

[@TARALEELive]

Raurke Goose r u both saying the water needs to be broken up more?

[@superfishle]

About 250 grams of compost? So the quantity isn't critical then? There is a very good reason why all soil products are sold by VOLUME! =)

[@tracymarkovic6554]

I understand how easy it is to off gas the chlorine but what about chloramines also negative to the food you're growing.

[@oursacredseeds]

Chloramines become deactivated quite quickly in the presence of organic matter. They will bind up into innocuous compounds...at least for bacteria and plants...not for us though.

[@TrustNatureNST]

Our Sacred Seeds thanks for this information on Chloramines, this could be one reason why dam water makes great compost tea. You can get products from aquarium shops to nutralize Chloramines as well. This is a great reason to have a microscope, or test occasionally to make sure that your organisms have not been killed and remain in high diversity. thanks: paul

[@andrewyoung2084]

You can't blow off chloramine only a reverse osmosis can do that. My question is will chloramine kill my tlo?

[@andrewtowell6074]

Humic acid binds it up I think

[@psbjr]

+Andrew Towell I read somewhere that molasses may do so as well, also a common additive to teas

[@andrewtowell6074]

psbjr cool, elaine ingham says use humic acid

[@TARALEELive]

Andrew Young r u sure a that statement??? 🤔🤔🤔 How up to date is your information?

[@billwilson7383]

In 2019 in the midwest us i was told most cities use chloramine. It was my understanding you can't blowoff chloramine but can add a water conditioner. Will lock up the chlorine but leaves ammonia.

[@docno6424]

could you post a design or a link for this design so I can start scavenging parts! thanks much.

[@TrustNatureNST]

if you seek advice let me know what you are doing and what you want to apply the compost tea to, unfortunately compost tea is highly misunderstood, it is based in a complex science but it is actually not complicated. I believe that Elaine's work is often misunderstood, at trust nature, we take the mystery out of the science and teach it as 1 element of Trust Nature's Bio-Vital(™) system of sustainable soil management, Remember you can't make a decent soil pro-biotic (compost tea) unless you have very good compost and aerate the water. thanks: Paul

[@ESALAZAR146]

Any Luck finding what kind of pump she uses?

[@joseluizgarcia6367]

It is not a pump. It is an aerator. Look for aerators. Insuflator, whatever.

[@stevehughes594]

spa pump

[@TARALEELive]

Paul Taylor So true, Water is a must! 😁💧🌊☔

[@capeguy]

your right and wrong.... your correct that finer bubbles allow more oxygen to transfer to the water because of the increased surface area of the smaller bubbles. However pumping more air makes more bubbles so having a bigger blower helps. Temperature is also an issue, lower temp more DO...to around 55F...but bugs grow faster at higher temp...trade off

[@raurkegoose5233]

This is incorrect, sorry.

[@MrTimjwilson]

Compost tea is a poor environment for nematodes.

[@napoleonsmith7793]

chlorine doesn't comes out for 24 hours, not 45 minutes. never heard of less time, till now. thumbs down. now fill with dirt, then try to easily mount it, not easy is it? stupid design. You say that adding to much food turns it anaerobic, but with that much air, you will never turn it anaerobic. only by feeding the fungi foods, does it turn anaerobic, so feed the bacteria, not the fungi as much, still need, but not overwhelmed, by fungi food. Dont spray leaves of what you are going to eat, taste like crap. never spray leaves of flowers. The cone tank is the way to go, gentle air bubbles, underneath, just hang the tea brew, not some god awful rod in the center of a bag. the cone tank is NOT transportable, nor is the square tank, but the square one can be put on a trailer first. the cone tank is to heavy and bulky to move easily. i do like the little 5 gallon bucket with pvc pipe coiled in the bottom with holes and a bung on the end to stop the flow out the end and go thru holes drilled in it. the air pump is way OVERKILL. way way to big for 5 gallon bucket. they are going to kill the microbes, not produce them. dont put compose in a bag, just dump it in, free flowing.

[@maxk5065]

i think you are used to aquarium water change. it take (at least) 24h if you juste let it be but if you stir the water it might be faster. althought it seems quite fast to me too considering the size of the first container.... (but i'm not a bioogist like elaine)

[@dannyhoneywell9784]

Too much work , just saying the Westcoast we do much slipper,

[@paultaylor8415]

All credit for Bokashi composting and please note that this is 'fermentation' not 'putrification' and it has its place. What we are making is specialist compost to use as a plant and soil pro-biotic that rebuilds and improves soils including highly degraded soils like we find on mining sites. We are working with a soil regeneration process and making specific aerobic compost, aerobic compost with a very high diversity of beneficial plant and soil microbes that set the stage for making humus. We view 'humus' as a state of matter, the essence of long term fertility. We are defining 'sustainable agriculture' as 'our ability to build soil fertility as we improve production and reduce labor'. There are not many systems that deliver this result. The brilliance of Elaine is that she has developed and refined compost tea so we can apply a microbial workforce that can fast forward Natural Process without overriding Nature. This is a powerful product when properly used, Yes there are many composting processes, this is a specific and brilliant development of Elaines. Now we can use agriculture for recovering degraded soils by using the full work force of Nature... beneficial aerobic microbes. thanks: Paul Taylor