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1.
Goal:
We will be introducing aerated compost tea and discussing the science behind it and the lack of science supporting some of the claims. We will talk about how one can properly create an aerated compost tea brew, but will alsorecommend against aerated or non-aerated compost teas for the home gardener.2.
Traditional Compost Tea:
traditional compost tea recipes call for taking maturecompost, wrapping it in a sieve of some sort, and soaking it in a bucket of water for several days, sometimes up to a week or more. Any ideas why this is problematic?a.
Air:
Beneficial bacteria in the garden are
aerobes
, meaning that they needair to survive. In an environment without air, such as a bucket of water  b.
Food:
bacteria need food to survive and replicate, as in a compost pilewhere they have plenty of food to eat and air to metabolize.c.
Conclusion:
with no food and air, aerobes will quickly die submerged inwater, especially for days at a time. Furthermore, and worse for us,without air, anaerobic bacteria flourish. So not only are you not getting the benefits you are looking for, you could actually be applying anaerobic bacteria to your garden.d.
Hand Extraction:
the way to apply compost without top dressing or aerated compost tea. Vigorous rubbing of compost between your handsinto a bucket of water. The water can then be strained into a watering canand immediately applied to your plants.3.
Aerated Compost Tea (ACT)
: a scientific form of making compost tea designedto proliferate bacteria and/or fungi populations by creating a medium in whichthey can multiply rapidly and then be applied through several methods to thegarden.a.
Compost
:
 
high quality compost is an essential ingredient for aeratedcompost tea – a tea with high bacterial counts cannot be made without it.Compost must be tested to ensure a high count of diverse bacteria. b.
Sterility
:
 
The environment in which you are going to be producing your compost tea must be sterile. Have a dedicated five gallon food grade bucket, and clean and sterilize all of your equipment after each use. This isvery important – you are trying to grow bacteria so there should not be anyothers present.c.
Soaps and Cleaning
: Again, remember your goal – to produce a population of beneficial bacteria. To this end, you cannot use cleaningagents or chemicals that are designed to kill bacteria. You need to use eco-friendly cleaners and make sure to rinse thoroughly with water.d.
Water
:
 
To that same end – water in Santa Cruz is chlorinated using freechlorine,
and
chloramine. Chloramine is a stable form of chlorine thatcannot be removed by simply outgassing, like chlorine. Neutralizing dropsmust be used to remove this from the water. Remember – these chemicalsare designed to inhibit bacterial growth. If you forget to do this step, or usechlorinated water, you cannot have a successful tea.e.
Air
: as we mentioned before, air is a necessary component to the survival
 
of beneficial bacteria. Since we are attempting to create an environmentwhere bacteria can not only survive, but multiply rapidly and support a population explosion, we are going to need very high air saturation. For this we are going to need an industrial pump.i.
Aquarium Pumps
: typing in aerated compost tea online will produce tons of recipes and instructions for compost tea.Popularly, you will see people using low powered aquarium pumpsand air stones.
DO NOT
use there. They are not only severelyunderpowered to foster such a large population explosion, but air stones are total junk – the are not designed to be easily cleanableand a sterile environment.ii.
Industrial Pump:
What you will need to produce compost tea isan industrial pump. These will provide enough power to createenough air saturation to succeed with your goal.f.
Distribution method:
The air must be distributed through some form of distribution – this is called diffusion.i.
Pvc tubing:
can construct a very good distribution method byusing pvc and elbows.
g.Application
i.
Soil drench:
you will need to strain the liquid to keep your watering can from clogging, and then you simply soak the areasaround plants with the tea. This is basically inoculating the soilwith beneficial bacteria.ii.
Foliar feeding
: a foliar feed is a method of applying fertilizer or compost tea that involves spraying the plants with a fine mist of the solution at certain times of the day – typically early morningand before sunset when plants “pores” open up to take in moistureand nutrients. Foliar spray should be applied to the underside of theleaves and as thoroughly as possible.
4.Recipes and Strategies
a.
Fungal vs. Bacterial
: Remember our discussions about fungal vs. bacterially dominated soils and plants’ preference for variations of thetwo. Thus, we have an opportunity to produce aerated compost teas withdifferent rations of bacteria to fungi in order to support plant preferencesand create a diversity in the soil.
b.Instructions:
i.Fill 5 gallon bucket with follow instructions on de-chlorinationii.Put compost or vermin-compost in a mesh sack iii.Attach pump to diffuser and submerge into the water iv.Aerate for 12-72 hoursc.
Bacterial Recipe:
5 gallon recipei.1.5 cups compostii.1.4 cup kelp mealiii.2oz blackstrap unsulfured molassesiv.2oz fruit juice
 
v.¼ cup chopped feed hayvi.1oz fish emulsiond.
Fungal Tea
:i.1.5 cups fungal compostii.2oz liquid humatesiii.2oz molassesiv.1oz Yucca extractsv.2oz fish hydrolosatesvi.¼ cup kelp mealvii.¼ cup chopped feed hay
e.Fungal and Bacterial:
i.¾ cup compostii.¾ cup fungal compostiii.¼ cup kelp mealiv.2 oz liquid humatesv.2oz blackstrap molassesvi.2 oz fish hydrolosatesvii.¼ cup green sandviii.¼ cup chopped feed hay5.
Testing:
The only true way of knowing a successful brew is through amicroscope – bacterial and fungal counts can be taken under a microscope. Thereis no other sure way to know that you have made a real batch of compost tea asopposed to brown water. However, following the directions, providing adequateair, sterile environment, clean dechlorinated water will all increase your chancesof having a great brew.6.
Applications
:a.
Agriculture
: aerated compost teas are becoming a popular fertilitymanagement technique. b.
Soil restoration
: is being used to restore depleted soils
7.Evidence:
a.
Evidence:
scientific evidence for compost tea is largely provided by Dr.Linda Ingham, founder of SoilFoodWeb Inc.8.
Criticism:
I have to say that after doing extensive research, my conclusion, for now, is that Aerated and non-aerated compost teas may have narrow applicationsfor specific purposes. Overall, however, I no longer believe the hype – there are anumber of convincing and scientifically based articles pointing out the
lack 
of scientific evidence supporting claims about the benefits of aerated compost tea,especially in disease suppression.a.
Scientific Information:
The conclusions that I have made are based onmy personal study on scientific articles on aerated compost teas. Though Iunderstand that there are many problems associated with scientificresearch in itself, I consider peer-reviewed scientific studies to be thestarting point for gathering information on these topics. b.
Linda Chalker-Scott: Horticulturist and Associate Professor at
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