JoyousFaith08
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Compost Tea Dangerous?

I've been reading about compost tea on this forum and looked it up on YouTube to get a visual of how to set up a system before I purchased the materials. I like to see both sides of things, so I watched a short video that claims that aerated compost tea is dangerous because a person doesn't know what bacteria is in their compost and feeding sugar to the compost could make bad bacteria like e. coli grow.

I chose to go with all the experts on here and have my first batch of compost tea brewing as I type this, but I am curious. Does anyone worry about growing bad bacteria? Are there specific composts to avoid in order to lessen the chances of growing bad bacteria?

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rainbowgardener
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As long as you keep it well aerated (bubbler running constantly that is appropriately sized for your container) and use it immediately, it is not a problem. Bad bacteria like e coli and others are anerobic - they do not grow in aerated environments.

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applestar
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I think it makes a difference when you are making your own compost.

You know what ingredients you used. If using only your own ingredients from your own property, even better. If using collected ingredients, at least you know where you are getting them from.

If concerned about pathogens, you can run your piles hot -- but not too hot. Too hot can be detrimental to the good microbes and only the superbugs survive, so you want pasteurizing temperatures. If you do this yourself, you are better assured of quality even if you don't have the lab science to back it up.

If you feel unequal to the task, you can adjust your expectations and ingredients and interim processes.

If you are getting the compost from someone else, hopefully they are trust-worthy.

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Gary350
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applestar is correct, if you make it your self with your own stuff you know what you have.

I made my first compose tea from organic material only. It was basically worthless for the plants I grew from seeds in pots.

Next I mixed a pint jar of wood ash with a 5 gallon bucket of organic material that was better for my plants but no nitrogen and still lacking something.

Next I mixed up wood ash and organic material plus a quart jar of garden soil, that was much better but still no nitrogen.

Next I mixed up wood ask, organic material, soil, and a quart of urine. It a few days it smelled like Ammonia so I added water to make compose tea. I watered my plants and they grew very well.

Wood ash contains Lime, Potash and several minerals.

Soil contains different type minerals.

Urine contains more minerals plus it turns to Ammonia when it comes in contact with wood ash and organic material. Ammonia is high nitrogen.

Years ago I planted lots of seeds in plant trays and grew my own garden plants. I mixed the compose material with water then used the water to water my plants. I think it works as well as Miracle Grow that comes in a box where you mix 1 spoon full to a gallon of water.

20 years ago I was more energetic than I am these days. I had all my plants on a 2 wheel flat bed utility trailer. I rolled the trailer into the garage at night and closed the door to protect plants from frost. Every morning before going to work I rolled the trailer out into the driveway so the plants got real sun light. Once seeds germinated plants were large enough to plant in the spring garden in 3 weeks.

These days I buy a lot of my plants at the Amish Garden Store.

Image
Last edited by Gary350 on Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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applestar
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I believe this is the kind of "compost" that is being discussed in the thread --

University of California
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
https://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu
California Master Gardener Tip Sheet Publication 8367 / September 2009
Composting Is Good for Your Garden and the Environment
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8367.pdf
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that decomposing organic matter in aerated static piles exposed to 131°F (55°C) for 3 days is enough to eliminate parasites, fecal bacteria, and plant pathogens as well as inactivate most weed seeds. However, piles need to be turned 5 times and maintained at 131°F (55°C) for 3 consecutive days between turnings. Turning the pile regularly to allow cooler surface zones to mix with hot center areas is recommended to maintain 131°F (55°C).

How Hot Is Your (Compost) Heap?
https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/gard ... mpost-heap
Your compost pile can get too hot, Ingham cautions. “If the pile starts getting into the range of 160 to 165 degrees, the organisms are growing so fast that they can use up the oxygen in the pile, causing the good-guy aerobic organisms to start to go dormant or die.” Then the anaerobic bacteria and yeasts (the anaerobic forms of fungi) start growing and, sooner or later, alcohol will be produced.
Last edited by applestar on Thu Jul 13, 2017 7:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Added references about the composting process temperatures

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rainbowgardener
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Gary has eccentric ways of doing things. Apparently they work for him and he reports great harvests.

But honestly I would not use compost tea that had not been aerated, regardless of what else you put in it.

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applestar
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Ha. Sorry @rainbowgardener -- you came along while I was hunting up citations. :wink:

JoyousFaith08
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Thank you to everyone for your replies. Ive been brewing on them for the past few days.

The compost tea that I had started to experiment with made was compost (Nature's Care purchased at my local big box home improvement store), fish emulsion, and molasses. The recipe that I found on the sticky thread in the composting section of this forum also included keep meal (which I did not have).

When I got home from the store, I read the reviews of the purchased compost and decided not to use it any further. I ordered bat guano and kelp meal from Espoma organics and they arrived today.

I can see that it is best for a person to use compost that he or she has made because it provides confidence in the ingredients. I am not able to compost where I currently live. There are many local organic growers in my area and I probably could request some compost, but I'd rather not since I would have to post on a message board and only need a few cups at a time.

In your opinion, would organic bat guano, organic kelp meal, fish emulsion, and unsulfered molasses make a safe-to-use compost tea?

Thanks in advance,

Joy

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applestar
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Picturing Joy with a teacup standing on somebody's welcome mat -- hullo neighbor, could I borrow a cup o' organic compost? :()



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