Just a little poll, about compost teas. Do you use them as an organic grower?

Hey guys. I hope this finds you well.

I've been doing some reading about compost teas, about how they aren't as cool as I once thought they were, and now I'm kind of indecisive about them.

What I knew about Aerated Compost Teas (AACT or ACT) is that they were good for maintaining the microbial life in soil. That what a compost tea does is (besides having some small amount of npk and micronutrients) increase the number of microbe population inside a 5 gal bucket for exemple, which can later be dumped into our pots in order to increase the microbe population over there and also this new microbe population can help dealing with diseases the plant might have or as a preventive measure.
Recently I read about how there isn't really much scientific data to backup compost teas. I read that yes we have a lot of microbes, but we have no control of what kind of microbes are being dumped in our soils. They might be the good kind or the bad kind of microbes since salmonella or E.coli can live in both anaerobic or aerobic systems. That some studies are very inconclusive about how much the compost tea helps battling diseases, some sets of plants got better, some got worse and some were left pretty much the same. And we'll you can increase the microbial life by just top dressing some compost or ewc, instead of the teas.

So I like more or less brewing teas, but if they are no real benefits then why do I go through all the trouble. The thing that really scares me is the point about salmonella and e.coli.

I decided then to ask you guys, how many of you organic growers are using them? Do you find them useful? They work? Have you got some bad experiences with such bad bacterias?

Thanks for your time. If you have any advice about how to diminish the chance of getting bad bacterias such as E.coli or salmonella, comment about it, it will be very appreciated. Thank you and have a great day!

I'm just starting organic, so I haven't used a tea yet, but I'm interested to know how well they work, so I'll be watching the thread.

Hollatchaboy said:

I'm just starting organic, so I haven't used a tea yet, but I'm interested to know how well they work, so I'll be watching the thread.

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They work. But then I have to work harder. I got tired of the cleanup. I just top dress now.

PadawanWarrior said:

They work. But then I have to work harder. I got tired of the cleanup. I just top dress now.

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Lol I hear ya. I work hard enough at my real job. So I'm guessing it's not beneficial enough to outweigh the work?

Noob grower and without a formed opinion, but i give you some observations about my experience:

4 weeks ago i mixed a organic soil batch, with EWC coming from not the best source.
And 1 week ago, i bought good quality EWC, so decided to brew a tea with this better quality EWC to water my already mixed batch. And because i was kinda lazy and the soil got a little dry.

But in the meantime, i took a sample of that soil and top dressed some plants with it. Those plant seem to have loved it. I will also be transplanting to 1gal pots filled with that soil that didn't receive the tea.

So first guess is that letting the soil cook is enough for the microorganisms to reproduce and populate it.
Not sure about the "quality" and diversity of microorganisms populations when comparing EWC and compost from varying sources. Maybe in that case it was a good idea to brew the tea with the high quality EWC and water the lower quality one. But's just a thought.

5 years in the same 25 gallon no till and the only time i ever used a compost tea is with a patch of old dryed out soil. Compost tea is good for bring old soil to life again. Now kelp meal tea is another story. That shit I use all the time. Foiler with Coconut and Aloe. Winner.

Alaskan Humus soil
Bountea bioactivator
Kelp

The growth rates I get from those 3 aerated for 24 hours is crazy. It also increase brix level in the buds.

Yea, maybe I don't have scientific data, but I do feel like they work, I did recently a compost tea with fish emulsion and gave it to two of my plants that were kind of yellow, I think it was caused because I didn't let sit my soil mix for long enough, and they recovered their green in a couple of days after receiving the tea. I'm curious about how growers manage to eradicate the E.coli from their teas. I've read that in order to kill E.coli you should boil the water for a couple of minutes. Maybe should I do that with the water I'm about to use for compost tea? Maybe I shouldn't make compost tea with ewc/compost that I bought at home depot, and only do it with high quality compost?

DoobieDoobs said:

I'm curious about how growers manage to eradicate the E.coli from their teas. I've read that in order to kill E.coli you should boil the water for a couple of minutes.

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City Municpal water in the states should have enough chlorine and shit to take care of that. Use tap water, however, you have to let it rest for a few days before using it. Chlorine will kill the microbiology of the tea.

DoobieDoobs said:

Maybe I shouldn't make compost tea with ewc/compost that I bought at home depot, and only do it with high quality compost?

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Good idea there. Or even better dont waste your time with teas. If you have a quality hand built soil and your running into Nitrogen issues then you would be better off doing a kelp tea.

Bokashi tea

@m4s73r oh yea, I completely forgot about the chlorine and other stuff they put into the water. Then when I read about compost teas that developed E.coli and we're poured in vegetables, they must have done compost teas with rain water and stuff right?

Bubbling right now EWC, Molasses and a tablespoon of Kelp Meal and one of Alfalfa in 3 gallons. Use also for herbs and ornamentals. Been doing it for ten years or more.

I voted no but only because I don’t think I have the volume of soil that warrants it. I’m sure they work when done right.

I’m only running three 10 gallons(recycled) for flower and try to maintain a fairly consistent water level in the media.

I feel top dressing the ingredients and also dressing smaller amounts more often in general can result in the same effect. I might not be right on that it’s just my instinct. The plants definitely respond to top dress. A soil drench would be more effectively delivered so again not questioning if they work. More if its worth the effort for me. Top dressing is so easy and the results ends up right where I want it.

On a large scale teas would become much more economical I’d think.

M.O. You are not wrong. That is exactly what layered mulching is. And imo the best system. However the best use of teas would be after your harvest and are re-ammending your soil for your next grow. When its all depleted. Throw some EWC/ and a good couple handfuls of your soil and bubble away. Throw that on your chopped up rootballs, cover, and presto!

Now thats not to say i dont mix some shit up and throw it on my plants. I just use rehydrated kelp meal, aloe, and coconut. Hillbill above has:

hillbill said:

Bubbling right now EWC, Molasses and a tablespoon of Kelp Meal and one of Alfalfa in 3 gallons.

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I use to use this exact recipe in 5 gallons. Easy and simple. I stopped useing it when i got the same results i was looking for with just the kelp. And being the cheap bastard that I am, I was a easy sell on it.

Just keep in mind. Compost teas are all opinion. (Why do you think theres so many recipes out there?) The science has not proved out one way or the other. Some people swear by it. Others like myself, feel that compost teas are a waste of time. (Unless your a soil biologist that is looking at it under a microscope) In some cases if you're not careful you can kill your soil with a bad batch of tea. If you ever brew a tea and you get close and it smells like anything other then forest-y heaven throw that shit out.

Topdressing still makes me laugh. If you google topdressing you get cannabis and if you do mulching you get the rest of the gardening community. Its like we had to come up with different names for the same shit so we could pass the info on more directly.

Before I went to all containers outdoors I raked my mulch aside and top dressed with layer of compost and recovered with the mulch. Do the same now with EWC in my ornamental and herb containers.

The teas help me since I grow in 5 quarts of mix.

I thought organic growers were all lazy?I know I am.

I feel more confident in the teas since a couple of long time gardeners have done it with good results.

myke said:

I thought organic growers were all lazy?I know I am.

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Yea, not even ph-ing the water, it's just great. Well that and healthier plants throughout the whole grow is why I converted, and so far even with my great lack of knowledge my plants are green and happy.

I’ve checked my rainwater ph several times over a decade and has always been 7.0 and a tick either way but very close to neutral.

DoobieDoobs said:

Recently I read about how there isn't really much scientific data to backup compost teas.

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Read what and where?

If you don't believe teas are beneficial try growing DWC sterile and get hit with the slime.

Jjgrow420 said:

Bokashi tea

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Just started bokashi - how are you using it in a tea?