Aerated Compost Tea

[top_dollar_bread]

before HG post i noticed that my tea's were giving me a slight anaerobic odor. So i began to stir my tea more often till i realized that my cheap air pump wasnt performing as well as when i got it.
(thnx HG) 2 years this pump worked well but since HG post i decided to get me a new better pump.
You get what you pay for and my pumps were 5$ so 2 years of good aeration is ok by me but i want more air!
My brother use to work at petmart so i went ther and talked to a friend of his. He pointed me to these powerheads and said that they will also help aerate your water if you add a cheap air pump to them
he also just gave me the 20-25$ pump for free man i love nice people.
so i went home and connected the powerhead to my old air pump and WOW!!
this power head not only stirs my water for me but throws all kinds of air bubbles threw out my tea brewer..definitely worth the $ i didnt pay
so i got this power head submerged underwater with my cheap air pump helping pump air and stir my brewer nicely.
The powerhead is silent and IMO worth using, i believe now i truly am making AACT!!!
ill be putting this to the test after my water has been stirred for a day and i will see just how good this performs with tea's.
heres a link for more info, i got the 550 model that pumps 145 gallons per hour!!
ther are bigger ones for those who are interested but this works for my 5 gal brewer.
penguin power head

[tedln]

I remember some folks discussing the correct water to use in brewing ACT. The common theme seems to be avoid chlorine. We have a water well which provides very good, very soft water, so I am not concerned about using our well water. About every two weeks, I pull the plug on the water trough our cattle drink from and let it refill with fresh water. Cattle are not the most sanitary animals and don't mind a little vegetation hanging from their mouths when they drink. After a couple of weeks, the water gets pretty rank from the rotting vegetation and algae in the trough. I can almost imagine using the water as compost tea, but I am wondering if it might serve better as the water I brew my tea with. It certainly has a high and varied aerobic bacteria content. What do you think?

We also place the large, round hay bales inside a metal ring for the cattle to eat. As they eat the hay, they pull small amounts of hay which drop to the ground. As they eat, they are leaving manure and urine in the dropped hay around the feeding ring. As time passes, their hooves grind the manure, urine, and hay into the mud resulting in a mix which I think should work well in a compost pile and possibly as a starter for the ACT. What do you think?

Ted

[GeorgiaGirl]

Thanks for the encouragement... this morning I diluted the compost tea with dechlorinated water and applied it to my lawn, mainly the parts that seem to be affected by dollar spot or some other type of fungus. I took a peek a few hours later to see if it looked any different ... I think I need to grow some PATIENCE!! Can't wait to see if it makes a difference... I think I'll start another batch of tea, this time for my flowers... I can see how this could be addictive!!

T$B, interesting idea to just mix the UCGs with water and apply without brewing... I may try that too (I just picked up three more bags from Starbucks).

[stella1751]

Wow. What a difference five days makes! I got ill, quite ill, seriously ill after making my last batch of ACT. Nothing to do with ACT, just stupidity in ignoring the early signs of illness. Anyhow, if anyone was waiting for results on that one, I Gixxed it. I lost all mobility and balance, couldn't even water my plants. (I think I lost two squash plants, maybe more.)

I'm still pretty sick, so I don't when or if I will be starting that recipe again. I think I'll have more fun sitting back and watching GeorgiaGirl play with hers

[gixxerific]

I'm sorry to hear you are sick! I really hope you get better.

I'm getting ready to start another batch myself here in a bit, so it will be ready sat morning. I will make it in your honor.

Nuff said, Get well
Dono

p.s Did you have to turn my screen name into something that means you goofed on your tea.

[Sage Hermit]

Eww don't drink that!

[The Helpful Gardener]

Ted, that sounds like a good watering for a compost pile, and it could be a START fopr aerobic brewing (brewing back from an anaerobic state favors facultative anaerobes, which I have long surmised could actually be beneficial in compacted soils). Still, the safest thing would be to water a compost heap with it and turn regularly; best of both and humus to boot...

Remember, tea is innoculant, so a little goes a long way. Drenching obviously diseased areas is great, but a gallon of good tea should innoculate 1000 sq. ft. of turf (half that in gardens where we are covering more vertically). But the beauty is there is no too much, and it's just Nature to begin with...

HG

[applestar]

I was about to post these photos of my current batch (well actually last batch when the 1/4" soaker tube aerators went in to show how well the bubbles are swirling) :


and the current batch containing drowning weeds (as well as punky brown apple bits, crab rich compost, and molasses) to show how the foam is pushing up the floating cover lid. I have two aerators in this one (a triple coil 2000 in the bottom and a double coil 1000 near the top) to compensate for the weeds stuffed in the bucket obstructing bubble-flow.


... and my brain finally made the 2+2=? connection to wonder if this orange bucket, prominently marked "all purpose...paint bucket" is really what I want to be using. Shouldn't I be using at least a "Food Safe"/"Food Storage" bucket?

A quick google yielded this thread at a home brew forum: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/5-gallo ... -ok-54937/

I think I'll be heading to a nearest bakery or bakery dept. for a 5 gal frosting bucket or two ASAP.

OK -- I was looking for that plastic bucket discussion we had earlier this year (spring?) I thought I opined quite coherently against use of plastics at the time -- well perhaps *I* didn't but HG certainly did -- (Like I said -- ) Definitely re-thinking AND REPLACING the container for brewing my AACT's before starting up a new batch

[tedln]

Scott,

Thanks for your comments on my thoughts about the ACT and compost.

I have also been curious about the recommended brewing times for ACT. I simply don't know what the reproductive rate of the beneficial organisms in the tea is. Has anyone to your knowledge performed a bacterial count on ACT at the beginning of the process and 24 / 36 hours later?

Ted

[stella1751]

Gixxerific wrote:

Did you have to turn my screen name into something that means you goofed on your tea?

No, no. To gix [gix, gixed, gixing] your ACT merely means to let it go anaerobic. Remember that early on HG said the best in the field often do this deliberately, just so they can bring it back to an even higher aerobic state. I look for your screen name to become synonomous with excellence when it comes to ACT.

In the meantime, my recovery is slow. While I'm writing this, in the cool, cool of the morning, I have slick sweat pouring down my face. Therefore, I am learning by watching this time around. Doing is still beyond me.

Once I am able to trust my stomach, I will dump what I have. Right now, it frightens me. Aerate on, my garden friends!

[applestar]

Oh, Stella. When I saw you'd posted, I was SO hoping that meant you were feeling better.... Get better soon! I miss your enthusiastic posts. Sending healing thoughts.

[soil]

I have also been curious about the recommended brewing times for ACT. I simply don't know what the reproductive rate of the beneficial organisms in the tea is. Has anyone to your knowledge performed a bacterial count on ACT at the beginning of the process and 24 / 36 hours later?

12-24 hours looks about best under a microscope from my experience.

edit: that is with a compost tea, this thread is titled aerated manure tea so the range could be slightly off. i don't like using manures and prefer plant based compost.

[a0c8c]

... and my brain finally made the 2+2=? connection to wonder if this orange bucket, prominently marked "all purpose...paint bucket" is really what I want to be using. Shouldn't I be using at least a "Food Safe"/"Food Storage" bucket?

Did you clean the bucket real well? You'll come to find that most paint buckets are just as safe as food grade buckets. Main thing they do is make sure fuels(mostly diesel[used in manufacturing plastic]) don't leach out of the plastic, which would ruin paint just as much as food. Otherwise food grade buckets aren't all the much different. It's only been in the last few years that we've learned about things like BPA in plastic and so food safe buckets still haven't removed things like that. My dad owned a restaraunt and some of the buckets we got were the same as my brother inlaw got at his dads auto shop.

I could be wrong, but I'm sure the bucket's safe.

[tedln]

From the internet, "Food grade plastic does not contain dyes or recycled plastic deemed harmful to humans.".

This does not mean food grade plastic can not contain dyes or recycled plastic. It only means it can not contain dyes or recycled plastic deemed harmful to humans.

It is also required that specific plastics be used to contain specific foods. This is normally based on the acidity of the food to be stored. Some plastics have higher porosity than others. Lower porosity plastics are best for long term food storage.

Which plastic to use for ACT is something we really don't need to be concerned about. The only concern should be what the bucket was used for before it was used to make ACT. Some products commonly sold in plastic buckets could leave toxic or harmful residues in the plastic.

Ted

[The Helpful Gardener]

Even most commercial brewers utilize a plastic tub; I haven't found it to be detrimental as long as you keep it clean of biofilm...

HG

[gixxerific]

Really all this talk about buckets i believe is crazy. The bucket in question I believe was a clean Home Depot bucket, never used. I'm sure it is safe, hell some of us put composted poop in them. As far as used paint bucket I would be leary but I'm pretty sure that bucket is good enough for 36 hours of ACT.

Now the real question is where's Stella?

[tedln]

Dono,

Your probably right, but if someone is concerned; it doesn't hurt to ask. Many people are more sensitive to the "organic" concept than others. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate a five.

Ted

[top_dollar_bread]

im not to worried on my brewer, but by all means do some research. id love to know if i need to replace my brewer. a while back i asked about plastics and if plastic bottles were safe. I was given a link, who led to another and from that link I got some good info
http://healthychild.org/5steps/5_steps_ ... what_to_do
I know follow these numbers when choosing what plastics to grow or brew in

oh and my new pump is amazing, ill take photos if any one is interested

[stella1751]

Gixxerific wrote:

Now the real question is where's Stella?

I think I'm back in the land of the living. Now I need to read all the new postings in this thread to see what I have missed

I'm gonna check the ten-day weather forecast after I read all the new postings in this thread. If we're not slated for a hard freeze, I'm going to try that new recipe once again. The peppers are now pushing 3' and are covered with peppers, probably 3 to 4 dozen per plant. I've been picking about three dozen red ones every five days.

They haven't been fertilized for three weeks. I bet they would really appreciate a nice dose of tea. When you're sick, it's all you can do to keep the garden alive with water!

[gixxerific]

Welcome back Stella, Just made me a new batch a few min ago.

[applestar]

Stella! Good to see you back!

Do you have a season extension plan for your peppers? I'm contemplating hoop tunnel made of PVC pipes (which I already have) or -- I just found out about -- Polyethylene water pipes (which I believe are less toxic) and covered with floating covers for now (lows in low 60's and upper 50's right now slowing things down) and plastic sheeting later. I need to get some rebar to stick in the ground for the pipes to go on, and look around the shed and see if I have some lumber to use as cross brace/support.

Last time, I made a hoop structure just out of the pipes and T and + connectors. It was lovely and seemingly worked well, until the first gusty wind storm pulled it apart. I've found several DIY instructions on the internet -- some of them are more complicated and measurement-intensive than I care to deal with, but hopefully, I still have time.

[stella1751]

I just started another batch of my new recipe. It took about ten minutes to clean my equipment. Normally, I clean it immediately afterwards; this time my stomach said it would rather I waited. Never again! Earlier in this thread (or in the video), someone said to keep the equipment spotless. Someone else said to leave a little of the old as a basis for the new. I think I just did both. I tried to get it spotless, but I gave it up as a bad job after ten minutes of scrubbing. This new recipe is very dark, almost black, probably because of the humic acid.

BTW, my dogs LOVE it when I "cook" outdoors. They are fascinated, watching me measure out each ingredient, eyeing it as I dump it into the pot. I seriously think they believe I make the tea for them, and they are always disappointed when I spirit it away from them

Applestar, thanks for the welcome back! I really appreciated your kind PM

Applestar asked:

Do you have a season extension plan for your peppers?

One of my raised beds is completely finished, with PVC pipe hoops over it for a tarp to slide over. I haven't been able to afford to finish the other seven. I will definitely cover the peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and far back squash for the first freeze or two. After that, when it gets to be a matter of covering them every night and even for days at a stretch, I just let them go.

I'll have to jury rig some kind of a cover for the peppers. I think if I pound some old 2x4's down the middle and drape a tarp over the top, they should make it for another two to three weeks, worth one more batch of compost tea to spur them on to another growth spurt

[tedln]

Stella,

Welcome back! I always enjoy your posts and learn a lot from you. I admire your determination to get every possible day out of your garden before winter sets in.

I do have a question for you. Like you, I enjoy growing peppers. During the gardening season, we eat all of our bell peppers, a few of our jalapeno peppers and very few of our sweet banana peppers. You grow a lot more peppers than I grow. Do you consume them, freeze them, can them, or give them away.

Ted

[stella1751]

Tedlin asked:

Do you consume [your peppers], freeze them, can them, or give them away?

I give them away. This year I am giving them to a local church. Hot cherry peppers are so pretty, a bright red that looks almost fake. I haven't grown them in a long time, and I just love the way they look! Last week I took in 3 dozen tomatoes, 2 dozen cherry peppers, 2 dozen patty pans, and about a dozen cucumbers. The church workers were thrilled. It's not enough for them to pass out to the needy, but it's enough to say thank you for the assistance the church gave my parents, way back when. Best of all, it gives me an excuse to grow as much as I want without worrying about what I will do with it all.

I have decided to take before and after compost-tea photos of the pepper plants' crowns. What's really been cool about using this tea is the spurt of pale new growth within two days of each feeding. Since I have been ill, I have seen some new growth, but it's a few leaves at a time. The post compost-tea growth was generally a full inch of new growth at a time, a lovely frosting of pale new leaves on the top of each plant. It scared me a little the first time I saw it--you don't want your peppers concentrating on foliage. However, there were plenty of blossoms included in the new growth, blossoms that are now cute little green peppers.

Watch them not do it this time

[The Helpful Gardener]

Hey Stella

Glad to hear you are better and very glad to hear about you donating extra produce. I am a big fan of A Row For the Hungry; maybe you could find like minded folk in your area and find out how you CAN make a difference with those needy peeps. Every little bit counts and it's nice to see gardeners coming to the front of positive movements like this. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's gardeners, backyard gardener's like you and I, that will save the world. We can feed the hungry and ourselves, and the wildlife that we ha ve encroached upon, and we can sequester carbon, harness the sun and wind, clean our water systems while we do it.

We're pretty awsome like that

Back to tea, it's like brewing, cleanliness bumps Godliness in this particular instance. Any surviving bacteria are likely real toughies and those are almost always bad guys. Sooner or later you will infect a batch with a lot of facultative anaerobes (like E. coli), they will explode into bloom as the oxygen gets lower and then add alcohols and ammonias (by-products of anaerobic "respiration") that toxify your tea. You spray bad tea, it can actually burn plants. And in this case you CAN'T just trust your nose because there is a pretty big buffer between toxic and stinky. Bad tea can be unscented for hours or days before the hydrated sulfurs start to stink. You all don't have labs and microscopes, so your best bet is religious cleaning. Hydrogen peroxide is your new best friend (iodine combines and clings to plastics, as does chlorine, so don't go there. H2O2 is the answer). FInally when I asked Elaine INgham what she thought was the best sterilant she said "For most living things, dessication is the best sterilant." So instead of brewing back to back, rest the still for a few days. Drying out can be an important ally in good tea...

HG

[applestar]

Huh. Glad to hear I'm doing something right. I have two buckets (I won't worry about them any more, though I'm still angling for those frosting buckets ) and usually, one bucket hangs out in the sun and rain (rainwater is poured out soon after) and generally gets thoroughly dried out.

OT but I've been cleaning my Monarch butterfly caterpillar raising containers with hydrogen peroxide -- most folks recommend 10% bleach, but I just don't like using that. So what you said here was reassuring.

For cleaning a whole 5 gal bucket, though, I guess you'd need some kind of commercial/cleaning supply size peroxide?

[soil]

from the many brewers and batches i have made i find its best to just rinse down with hot water to get all the particle matter and biofilm, then wipe down well with h202 to sterilize and you don't need as much.

[applestar]

Ah! Thanks for the tip.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Nice, Soil. Well put, and exactly so (although I find a pressure washer really speeds things along). Welcome to the mix.

HG

[stella1751]

HG wrote

Your best bet is religious cleaning. Hydrogen peroxide is your new best friend (iodine combines and clings to plastics, as does chlorine, so don't go there. H2O2 is the answer). FInally when I asked Elaine INgham what she thought was the best sterilant she said "For most living things, dessication is the best sterilant." So instead of brewing back to back, rest the still for a few days. Drying out can be an important ally in good tea...

I did a little of both, scouring it with a plastic choregirl and letting it dessicate, not in that order The tea turned out beautifully, btw, with what Applestar called a root-beer-float foam. I fed my second batch yesterday. I wanted to get second day photos of the new growth, but there's only enough out there for me to notice, nothing extraordinary. I'm gonna check again tomorrow; maybe it was on the third day? If not, the plants are just plain tired. It's been a tough garden season, what with hail and having someone walk on their bed and cool temps. I'll check 'em again tomorrow, just in case

Our first freeze should come on Sunday. Ouch.

[Sage Hermit]

[The Helpful Gardener]

Sage, I think the title of this thread is misleading, and I wouldn't ever use a straight up manure in a tea. Just asking for trouble. There is a reason most professionals talk about aerated COMPOST tea (ACT) instead of aerated manure tea; nobody I know recommends or practices actual use of manure in tea. Make it compost first, and the thought there is I would no more use a single source (just horse manure) for a compost than I would use manure in the tea. So asking about single sourcing of any ingredient is missing the point that it is a biodiversity that gives value rather than any one ingredient, and we only get there with multiple inputs from multiple sources.

Aerated compost teas contain all the species that were in the compost. Thus the compost has to be of "tea quality'.Those organisms selected by the temperature, foods present, nutrient composition, oxygen content in the brew grow during the brewing process.

Dr. Elaine Ingham, The Compost Tea Brewing Manual, 5th Edition

Synopsis: GIGO. Limited ingredients in, limited biology out. Limited biology, limited results. Nature abhors only a vacuum more than a monoculture. Good compost is a mix. Good tea is the same thing, only liquid. Make good compost, make good tea...

HG

[stella1751]

HG, I fixed the title of this thread. I should have done that a long time ago, once I figured out I was in error

To those of you who are jumping in right at the end, I wanted to make an aerated compost tea using composted manure. I wanted to give my squash some extra quick-release nitrogen because I didn't like the color of their leaves. I had been studying manure teas online, and I thought manure would do the trick, which it did. However, this thread is really about compost teas; the only difference is that I used composted manure for my compost ingredient.

Hope that makes sense

[soil]

im new here ( not to compost tea) and the thread title was a bit confusing when i came here. glad you fixed it.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Let's be clear here, composted manures are a key ingredient to good tea in my mind; there is a lot of conjecture about the potential for bacterial infection and culture from ACT's out there already and it's really just propaganda from the chemical side. Proper composting denotes acceptably low to almost no fecal coliform cultures at all. ACT has been ok'd for next day harvest by EPA, and I know of no instance that shows ACT as a causal agent for any food poisoning (if only we could say the same for chemicals). For instance the infamous spinach infection, which everyone was trying to pin on organic culture ended up being off-site pollution from the beef CAFO next door. I have spent some time on the business end of a microscope looking at teas, and I can tell you there are specific bacteria and fungii I can associate with manure composts that I do not see in numbers in more natural systems. There is increased biological activity associated with manure based composts that are specifically in the business of breaking down foodstuffs, and that is nothing but good in the soil. Keep it aerobic and it takes care of itself. Bad bacteria are almost always anaerobic; there is the real enemy.

And guys, I see everyone getting excited by foam, that is usually dead organisms giving up proteins. There will always be some, but it usually follows a slightly anaerobic incident, when fungii start to break down (fungii are very high in phospholipids, which is a waxy fat, which is why fungii are water proof. Phospholipids are a protein (lipid) attached to phosphorus, and we know that's what makes soaps foamy...) So foam was something I've learned to eyeball with some suspicion. Check your aeration and see if you can't get a bit more, and keep in mind certasin ingredients (yucca extracts, saponins, nettles) can cause some foaming when they are on the brew bill. It's not the end of the world, but foam ain't always something to jump up and down about. Consider the fungii...

HG

[applestar]

foam ain't always something to jump up and down about

Hmm. I didn't intend to sound like I was -- for my part, I was making an observation because the foam pushing up the cover was so amazing looking. But I did think that the foam was a function of the growth process, much like how yeast gets all bubbly and bread dough rises, especially since the foam goes down after a while. So, that's not it, huh? As always, HG, your explanations for "what's really going on" are fascinating. -- It sounds almost contradictory that more aeration will *keep down* foam, doesn't it?

As usual, additional information leaves me with more questions: Would you say that the tea is more potent BEFORE the foam is high? (i.e. stop and use immediately if you see excess amount of foam starting, rather than continue to let it build -- i.e. wait for more more fungii to die-off)? Would it be a good idea to skim off the foam and put that back in the compost pile before using the tea? Is the tea, at high-foam or after high-foam and subsequent collapse of the foam, useless and should be poured back into the compost?

As an aside, we just went on a nature walk in the Pine Barrens where a naturalist explained the presence of large foamy masses along a brown cedar-water creek (they looked like dark ale foam) by demonstrating that rubbing wet Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) foliage together in his hands makes foam, and explaining that many plants that grow in the area produce saponin.

[stella1751]

I've had some thoughts about why my peppers did not demonstrate the same degree of rapid growth this last time. Yes, it could be the time of the year, and yes, it could be that the plants are tired. However, it could also be the recipe. HG said I didn't need citric acid, which was advised to level out the PH of the tea. I wanted to try citric acid, anyway--I like experimenting--so I did.

I just pulled out the soil analysis I had done on my base soil. The PH was 7.2, which is pretty exciting in a state known for the alkalinity of its soil. No, odds are high that I didn't need the citric acid.

I also need to consider the merits of the seabird guano. That was, without a doubt, the stinkiest soil amendment I have ever purchased. I can't question the humic acid; it appears to have the same qualities, amino acids, as the kelp meal or seaweed concentrate used in previous recipes.

Therefore, to turn this last batch into a learning experience, I think the next time I make compost tea (sometime next summer ), I will avoid the citric acid and the guano and instead go with compost or composted manure, humic acid or a seaweed product, molasses, and one other ingredient, something higher in nitrogen, I think. The squash LOVED the composted manure, seaweed concentrate, alfalfa pellet, and molasses recipe; the peppers LOVED TDB's original recipe of composted manure, kelp meal, fish fertilizer, and molasses.

I'll probably mix it up between the two of those, unless someone comes up with another ingredient to play with

As for the foam on this last batch, it was airier and frothier and taller than on previous batches, bubbling over the side while cooking. The foaming on both pots (same recipe) began at roughly 12-18 hours of brewing and continued bubbling over the side until 24 hours. (Either it made enough space, or it was done with the serious foaming by then.) Based on HG's assertion that "foam ain't always something to jump up and down about," maybe that's another answer to why this batch didn't excite my peppers.

The only batch, by the way, not to foam, was the alfalfa pellet recipe. I think that's interesting

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this learning experience. A lady drove by my place one day while I was out front playing. She stopped and said, "You are quite the green thumb. Every time I drive by here, your plants have grown more." (I gave her a squash.) Although ACT can't receive all the credit, it definitely deserves some. I credit it particularly with having pushed my peppers from having an average year to them having a spectacular year.

Pre-ACT Peppers: July 27, 2009



Post-ACT Peppers: September 20, 2009 (roughly eight weeks later)



Close-up of Post-ACT peppers:



Thanks, Guys!

[The Helpful Gardener]

Nice pics Stella! Peppers look great...

It does not suprise me so much to find alfalfa in the non-foaming category as it is such a bacterial food that it might have kept the fungal mass low. Nor does certain plants liking certain recipes more than others; from weeds to redwoods they all like a fairly specific fungal;bacterial ratio. Wish I had a list, but this is still newish ground we are breaking here. The scientistas are working it... Suffice to say that most veggies like a balanced 1:1, so try to balance recipes around there as well, but keep in mind that fungal is the hard part, and bacteria are looking for just the slightest chance to back down the successiional scale ( Mother always wants to be fungal/old growth evergreen, but fire/flood/volcanoe/bulldozer/anaerobic incident always pushes a stage back towards bacterial/grass and weeds).

Foaming can be an indicator of such an event, but this stuff is still golden; we are trying to stimulate biology to supply nutrient and even compromised fungal counts are still better than none (and we ARE putting back building blocks for more fungal growth). Nope, foamy tea is NOT cause for disposal, it's just an indicator that we might be high in saponin (which is great for fungal) or losing some fungal mass (not a disaster). Use at the point of foam DOES make a certain amount of sense IF it is a low oxygen situation, but would set-back a good tea high in saponin, so without a good F:B count, it's a crapshoot. I'd let it ride...

And if foaming gets too messy, a few DROPS of EVOO does the trick (not too much because THAT is not good for fungal side either)...

HG

[top_dollar_bread]

Stella!!!
Glad to see your back and healthy, and sorry to here the experiment recipe didnt favor your plants, like the other mixes.

But IMO I think seabird guano, should be used for foliage growth or vegetation growth.
Meaning if your plants are flowering / fruiting then its best to use amendments or nutrients low in N.
IMHO I find compost supplies enough N for most fruiting or flowering plants I have. So when I make tea’s for older, fruiting plants or flowering herbs I don’t amend my tea’s or top dress my soil with any amendment or fertilizer with a high N nutrient analysis.

Compost is enough (maybe a little alfalfa) but for new, younger plants, I find seabird guano or other high N amendments (bloods meal, some bone meal, fish meal, etc) work better.
Remember that tea’s can supply NPK as well as micro biology so we have to consider the NPK value of the ingredients we add as well as witch microbes we will be applying.

So IMO don’t add the seabird guano to fruiting flowering plants, try using something with more P or K, or another guano (Jamaican or Indonesian) with less N and more P or K. better not to rely on guano thought! (expensive and shipping), mix it up, lots and lots of alternatives.
Beautiful peppers by the way!! Love how ther just out in the open for people to see!
My italian yellows peppers are finally turning yellow, I have been picking them early but I love the color im getting now! My big dippers and cali wonder peppers are too doing great. I have been laying back on nitrogen and they seem to respond with more & biger peppers. Among tea’s I have been top dressing with composted duck manure 0.6-1.4-0.5 they love it!!

HG
I don’t have a microscope so I tend to ask questions to the food web and other tea forums but have you witness (guessing you have a microscope??) a more fungal dominant tea with the time of brew?? Like 12 hours and have you experimented or can give a recipe or guide for a more fungal dominant tea??
I really want to help out my orange and pink lemon tree and well… any help would be appreciated!!

Also gixxerific and GeorgiaGirl
How did the tea’s work out?? Gix did you notice any new growth?
And Georgia did the tea help with your fungus problem??

[gixxerific]

Them peppers are looking good Stella!

TDB i believe the tea is working it's magic. My lettuces are going strong, even my extremely (Bug) tore up broccoli is producing heads. I have only done about one dose per week I kinda blew it for this weekend. Next time, I will be ready. I get up too early for work to either make a batch or spread a batch.

By the way I have been using the tried and true:
1-2 cups composted manure
5 TBSP of fish emulsion
5 TBSP of kelp meal
5 TBSP of molasses
With little to no foam and pretty good results.

Thanks everybody.