Aeration (is the theory). In a bucket- microbes use up the available oxygen faster than it dissolves in the water because it has a relatively small surface area. Spray it out and you have millions of times the surface area.

This is not getting into whether there's real evidence that ACT does any more than the nutrients in the compost itself, if those water-living microbes have any survival when dried, and if in fact unaerated tea may do more good than aerated...

My experience with aerated compost tea has been excellent. I add molasses to the tea to biologically supercharge the microbes, and have experienced much less frequency and severity in plant diseases since starging to use ACT. I will cede science to greater minds than mine, but I have learned what works. My evidence is in my tomatoes.

maupin- have you run controls with unaerated leachate?

For those who should have paid more attention in science class--what is unadulterated leachate?

"Which makes me wonder...what is it about spraying it on foliage or drenching the soil with this stuff that keeps the microbes alive?"

IMO, one of the most tragic manipulations in history relates to compost tea and what it does to/for plants. Some high-minded individual a few years ago managed to shift the focus off of the true marvel of what compost tea does for plants. This person/persons raised the debate as to weather compost tea has any effect on plant disease. This effectively took the focus off of what compost tea is really good at.

You see, compost tea is an excellent way of transporting fulvic acid onto the surface of plants. It is fulvic acid, created by microorganisms within compost that are one of the champions of compost. As an example, please consider this:

"The foods we eat, over-processed and void of many essential nutrients, are grown in soils that have been over-planted and saturated with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, many mineral supplements are not easily assimilated by the body. Scientists theorize that mineral deficiencies subjects us to more diseases, aging, sickness and the destruction of our physical well being than any other factor in personal health. In fact, according to a U.S. Senate study (Document No. 264). 99 percent of Americans are deficient in minerals and trace elements. To the science of living cells, fulvic acids are vital in bringing substantial amounts of nutrients and minerals into water solution and delivering their living energies to the living cells."

Compost tea is the best way to remove fulvic acid from compost, and places it within reach of the gardener by way of a foliar spray. The microbes belong in the ground, yet they may serve a purpose on the outside of plants (time will tell). That is a debate that IMO is a waste of time (for now); the real excitement, again IMO, is in the ability to spray fulvic acid on crops.

Consider and view the related link below, one may come to the conclusion that compost tea is well worth the effort. All other tactics used to discredit compost tea should be relegated to where they belong IMO; directly under the composting horse manure...

Blutranes

Here is a link that might be useful: The Importance of Fulvic Acids

Unaerated. As in- not aerated.

I was sort of getting at some of what Blutranes was saying- there's good stuff in compost and compost tea/leachate. Nobody's given good proof that aeration and activation does anything that just compost soaked in water doesn't.

Now I don't know about fulvic acid, and people debate about foliar spray- but any of these methods at least get nutrient from compost in the soil around plants. That's why I ask if you've run a control.

I get the impression pablo and blutranes are talking at a different level than maupin. I'll try to help. We'll see how successful I am. I know a little bit about fulvic acid, more about microbes in the soil and on the plant surfaces, still more about compost tea, and a lot more about the scientific method. What I know about the first three subject would fill a thimble compared to what I know about experimentation.

What pablo was asking was whether maupin had tried using "tea" that had not been aerated. Technically that material is not tea but is called a leachate. Basically you dump some compost into water, swirl it around a little, filter out the compost, and pour or spray the "leachate" onto the soil or plants. I believe a leachate is made quickly and is not allowed to soak for days. The reason for trying both actively aerated and a leachate is to compare the benefits between the two. And I believe blutrane's argument is that you get the same (or more) benefit from a leachate as you get from an actively aerated tea because the real benefit of any such tea or leachate is the fulvic acid and not so much the microbes in the tea. I am only guessing but I doubt if maupin has tried a leachate or s/he would have mentioned it.

You can't talk about actively aerated compost tea and/or the effect on disease without mentioning Dr Elaine Ingham. She is the mother of compost tea and is behind all the international efforts to use it. She makes no money from the making of tea but she does make money testing people's tea for microbes. I'm not sure what her position is on fulvic acid and the benefits of that ingredient.

I have an open mind on the subject of compost tea. I never had any luck making my own, but I do appreciate the process and have a website showing plans for making a really good tea maker. I know the tea maker is good only because it was tested for microbe production by Dr Ingham and she "blessed" it. I find the argument that the benefit behind the scenes is really fulvic acid. Certainly in the soil, fulvic acid would be a benefit. I'm not sure how it might benefit the millions of microbes living outside the surface of plants.

The microbes living outside plants seem to have an interactive effect with the plant to form a protection system. It seems that when the exterior microbes are in good health (well fed), that the plant is more resistant, or less attractive, to sucking pests and fungal disease. It would be interesting to know if the fulvic acid has an effect and could be the real reason compost tea or leachate is of benefit. I'll bet that work has been done and I'm just not familiar with it.

Not bad Dchall, although there are a few things you have stated that could aid in clarification.

Leachate is water that has soaked through a compost pile during the composting process. I view it as a bad thing, for the only way to create leachate is to put too much water on compost, a waste to say the least, and not a very good composting technique to be exact. Since it is very easy to do in a tumbler most questions about leachate arise from those using tumblers; compost piles and windrows make it very hard to gather any extra liquid from compost making. Since I make piles I have never had access to leachate; I really work hard at not putting too much water on my piles. Nonetheless, most advise against using leachate on plants due to the raw nature of the product, it is too easy to extract pathogens that have not been neutralized by the composting process. This danger alone is good enough reason IMO, to leave leachate alone, better safe than sorry.

The, shall I say, anti-aerated group state that compost tea created using that technique (no air) produces just as good a tea without all the bubble equipment. As it relates to bacteria, this may be true, but one has to contest that air does create a larger population of bacteria in said tea. Anti-aerate counter that the population will reach a limit at a certain point, and thus electricity and all those juicy bubbles are still yet wasted. Pro-aerate counter that the only way to dislodge fungi is to use the bubbles, and stirring with a stick will not suffice in addressing the fungi dilemma. The pro-aerates has a point, so the focus then shifts to the bubbles.

Small bubbles make all that foam, thus giving the tea maker a feeling that he/she is really brewing up a good batch. However, small bubbles mean small air, thus there is a mass death of microbes due to lack of oxygen. Big bubbles on the other hand, mean massive air influx due to the breaking of the water surface, not to mention all the fungi it dislodges while rising to the surface of the pail/drum. Yet, if brewed too long there will still be a mass death due to lack of food, hence the 8-24 hour brewing time.

There is yet one more benefit of big bubbles, the dislodging of fulvic acid into the tea. It is fulvic acid that gives a gardener the rapid response from plants after tea application. If you think about it, microbes on the plant surface have very little to do in a well-amended garden. With a proper level of organic matter in the soil there is little or no disease for bacteria to attack. To my knowledge, fungi on the plant surface serve no purpose, so to put them there is a waste. Only as a soil drench does the massive population of microbe life aid in plant development. And even that has a limit; for once all the food has been consumed by this mass inoculation of tea microbes results in massive death. Not bad for the plant just waiting on all the food those microbes have eaten in the tea to have for a snack. This is where fulvic acid is at its best, converting death into food for the plants. On the plant surface, fulvic acid acts as a super charged plant food converting chemicals created by the plant into food for the microbes in the soil to yet feed the plant more food. Thus fulvic acid is a champion both above and below the ground and in the compost pile.

Well, my reputation for being long winded remains intact; I guess I can shut up now. There is much more to it, I just wanted to clarify a few things to the best of my ability. I will forever remain a strong advocate of compost tea; tea and my computer are two of the most important tools in my garden

Blutranes

blutranes,
How would you suggest making larger bubbles w/out buying an expensive brewer? You said,"Small bubbles make all that foam, thus giving the tea maker a feeling that he/she is really brewing up a good batch. However, small bubbles mean small air, thus there is a mass death of microbes due to lack of oxygen. Big bubbles on the other hand, mean massive air influx due to the breaking of the water surface, not to mention all the fungi it dislodges while rising to the surface of the pail/drum."
Your argument is also further enhanced by my reading the Soil Foodweb site.

Has any one ever used one of these outdoor air pumps? Or is there something cheaper with the same power that can be used?

I use a small aquarium pump with a flexi hose. The "foam" that forms is a sign that the population is building, and yes, dying as well. The proper amounts of N and a simple carb such as honey or molasses is needed to build the herd. I have not found that spraying on the plants is near as beneficial as adding to clean water , diluting as it is, and adding a bit more carb and N such as in fish ferts prior to pouring into container plants or soil. Side by side tests on every species of plant I have grown shows massive differences. The development of microrhyzae (sp?) on harvested roots at end of year is complex and complete. The ability to use a "hotter" organic soil mix and therefor, boost your plants size, health, and yields are evident as well. The plants that have the tea added a couple of times during the season also show less stress, more resistance to insects and leaf infections, molds, etc. I don't have a degree, havent read all the papers published by others, but did hundreds of side by side tests with different teas over the years to determine what works best. How about a 5' tall and square habanero grown in a single season that produces hundreds of savina peppers, in a 6 gallon container? Or the plum tomato plant grown in a 4 gallon container that covered 25' of fence again in a single season, never mind me trying to even guess how many plum maters I got off that one, suffice to say that 40 people at work finally begged off because they simply couldn't eat or store more.. heheheh
Good luck TiMo

TiMo,
Thanks, for your input. I enjoyed reading your post. Yes, I am looking for the same results you are having.

TiMo;

Would you share your recipe for aerated compost tea that is working so well for you and your tomatoes?

Thanks!!

PJ

TiMo

I do exactly what you do. read and read on the subject and never bothered with pumps. All i do is as follows. harvest some worm castings...1/2 gallon..add a small sho vel of compost...add water from a height and get some air into it. let it stand overnight and use the next day after adding about 1/2 cup fish emulsion to the mixture. all this is done in a five gallon bucket. If I have seaweed I add some too. I dilute about 1:5 ratio and simply water all the plants with this mixture. it makes the soil perfect to allow the plants to grow. I never buy any store bought fertilizer...except the fish emulsion.

John

Thanks john for your input here.

rootdoctor

first time that I heard worm castings will increase mycorrhizae. Thanks for pointing that out. What do the roots look like with mycorrizae? I would appreciate knowing what is the hotter organic soil mix that you are able to use.

Tey157 asks:

"How would you suggest making larger bubbles w/out buying an expensive brewer?"

No need to spend any extra money other than what you already have. To get larger "bubbles" just remove the air stones on the end of the tube if you are using the "Bruce Deuleys Little Texas Tea Maker". Tie some kind of weight to the end of the tube such as a stone or large screw using a garbage bag twist tie to hold the tube on the bottom of the bucket, tub, or drum that you are brewing the tea in. IMO, brewing time is shorter (less than 12 hours), the resulting compost tea is more loaded in nutrients, and plant response is impressive. Let it be said I have no scientific proof of said results; however, as "RootDoctor has shared, the proof is in the pudding (maters).

Lastly, let me also state that in my eight (8) years of using compost tea I have yet to have anything less than an extremely impressive vegetable harvest. Again, harvests are overly bountiful, highly nutrient rich, and sought out by people (friends) locally and from all across the country. The use of high quality compost, compost tea, charcoal, mulch, and organic fertilizer are the keys to my continuing success IMO. I trust this helps in some manner, for that is my goal

Blutranes

Blutranes,

Thanks, for the input. I think your right about not using the airstones. It does seem like there would be bigger bubbles. I'm anxious to get started, but I want to do more reading first.

Blutranes,

I bought two 125-gallon Aquarium pumps for the job. I'm going to use the airstones since someone else convinced me otherwise. I do belive the "proof is in the pudding." An I am anxios to show it with my veggies and plants.