COMPOST TEA BREWERS

Compost tea has been used for centuries but often with very inconsistent results. Even today, simple methods of soaking manure or compost can create ineffective or even dangerous tea. Microbiologists discovered that it is vital that compost tea be made with adequate levels of dissolved oxygen. Relatively recent technology has developed specialized brewers that ensure an ample supply of oxygen for microbes.

The uses for a well-made, aerobically active compost tea range from fertility to pest control. Many tea users have reported a significant reduction in the need for fertilizer and apparently, most of the organisms in compost tea that are delivered to plants and to the soil parasitize, antagonize, or just plain steal food from many pest organisms to the point where they can no longer compete. Making effective tea, however, requires as much attention and care as making good quality compost. In fact, if the compost, from which the tea is to be derived, is not high quality, there is little hope that the tea will be either. North Country Organics offers a special tea compost available for customers who are unable to make quality compost.

Compost tea is brewed with
a continuous supply of air.

Aerate water for one hour to
drive off chlorine.

Unlike the tea that is served with crumpets, compost tea is not steeped in hot water until the color of the water darkens. Cool, non-chlorinated, and highly oxygenated water is used. Chlorine kills microorganisms and is commonly used in municipal water systems. If chlorinated water must be used, it should be aerated with the brewer's air pump for one hour before brewing tea.

The organisms in compost tea consume oxygen as they reproduce so it is important that the brewer can dissolve enough oxygen into the water to sustain the proliferation of beneficial organisms. If the oxygen is consumed at a rate faster than it is added, aerobes begin to die off and anaerobes can begin to grow.

The pre-measured scoop
makes filling the brewer a
no-brainer.

Ingredients added to the mixture can also affect O2 levels. Care should be applied when adding materials rich in protein and amino acids like fish emulsion or fish hydrolysate. Too much can stimulate microbial reproduction to a point where oxygen is consumed faster than it is generated. North Country Organics provides recipes and special additives for making high quality compost tea. Unfortunately, not all brewers can generate enough air to ensure adequate amounts of dissolved oxygen for aerobes.

Just pour in compost and
you're ready to brew.

The Bobolator Brewers, featured by North Country Organics, have been tested for over five years in many different conditions and dissolve more than enough oxygen for aerobes to multiply. Their unique design has almost no moving parts (except for the air pump) and are the only brewers in the world that tumble the compost in the brewing chamber.

18 - 24 hrs of brewing produces a
dark, rich, biologically active tea.

Good quality compost tea is not something that is likely to be commercially available. It has to be made with enough aeration in the container to ensure adequate oxygen levels in the water or the valuable aerobic organisms will be destroyed and the possibly destructive anaerobic organisms will be cultivated. Additionally, compost tea must be used as soon as possible after production or the aerobic organisms will die and anaerobic organisms will grow.

Compost tea can be applied as a fine mist with small droplets that adhere to the plant leaf surfaces or it can be used through an irrigation system, tank sprayer, drip irrigation, or any other liquid delivery system. It is an ideal amendment for the hydro-seeder tank.

Many modern compost tea brewers are expensive, heavy, and have a lot of moving parts that will inevitably need replacing. Not these. They are simple, relatively low-cost, low maintenance, easy to use and clean, reliable, alternative for making batches of 5 to 250 gallons of rich, biologically active tea.

Join the revolutionary advance in sustainable agriculture and horticulture using compost tea and expect healthier plants, fewer problems, and less need for fertilizers and pesticides.

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The brewer is compact and can be transported easily in the trunk of a standard sized car.