Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier
P.S.
One of the key features of compost tea is the living microbes. Do you have a plan to keep them alive in the compost tea until you use the compost tea? Or will they die within days while the compost tea is in storage before you get a chance to use it? That's the single biggest reason I haven't ventured into making compost tea, I haven't learned how to store the unused portions effectively yet.
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These are very good questions, and will make my best attempt to elaborate.
First as lets look at three different compost teas:
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1. AACT Actively Aerated Compost Tea
2. VCT Vermi-Compost Tea
3. FCT Fremented Compost Tea ( Bokashi Composting)
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1. AACT Actively Aerated Compost Tea
http://www.inbloomgardendesign.com/f...urces/AACT.pdf
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2. VCT Vermi-Compost Tea
Vermicompost tea (VCT) : University of Minnesota Extension
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3. FCT Fermented Compost Tea
Bokashi Composting - The Art and Science of Fermenting Kitchen Scraps
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Now as we have read about the 3 kinds of compost teas we can see that AACT and VCT are just about the same, and FCT is alot different. AACT and VCT both use aeration and FCT doesnt ( I would like to add that FCT isnt appealing for hydroponic use) also FCT is acidy. So, AACT and VCT both of these can be used as a viable organic
nutrient in hydroponics, AACT and VCT are both viable teas to use as a hydroponic nutrient. As long they are brewed correctly.
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Increasing ammounts of Microflora and Microfauna in a nutrient tea when used in a hydroponic application, can be an issue due to the fact that the bacteria, nematodes and fungi, that are living in your system are multiplying, and further more they occupy the roots of your plants. an increased amount of Biota can smother a plants roots and deprive the plants of oxygen and
nutrients making the plant weak and vulnerable to disease. Proper flushing of your
hydroponic system will help control increasing amounts of biota.
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Just assuming your talking about bottling it and saving it for later use...
GPS the answer to your question about storing compost tea. Well I really dont think you can unless you have the proper lab equiptment because all the living organisims cant survive without a constant supply of sugars and most importantly oxygen. But you can alway keep a constant supply of bacteria nematodes and fungi and of the same type .
All you have to do is save the used compost after you have made a batch of tea and mix that in with your compost pile, or add it to you next batch of tea.
You simply just make more.
Or you can culture it.