Aerobic Compost Tea

Aerobic Compost Tea - Start Here

Aerobic means "With Oxygen" or "Requiring Oxygen".

NOTE:

I have seen some videos which say that you almost need some kind of scientific degree to make compost tea.

If you start with healthy soil components and then add more healthy components, you end up with healthier plants and then you need to consider that whilst it is ideal to have the best soil quality, not many people can afford thousands of dollars for testing etc.

The methods listed below incorporate almost 5 years of direct organic products sales and advice from my then partner who was a qualified agronomist with multiple degrees in soil science, agronomy, plant biology and agricultural science.

His wife used to joke that she always knew where he was - down in his den studying something.

BTW: When I say "partner" I use the term very loosely, Tim would tell me what to do and I would do it. He was the brains and I did the heavy lifting.

Tim would explain everything from A - Z that did and why he did it and I learned a massive amount from him in 5 years.

And while there are a few rules such as which "Mycorrhizal Fungi" to associate with your specific plants and also the plant to soil pH, for 99.99% of the rest you can wing it with just the basics.

I have included plenty of information within these "Compost" pages so if you read them 1 or 2 times and make your own specific notes, you should have almost all of the information you need.

STAY AWAY from trees which like "Ecto Mycorrhizal Fungi" Ecto Mycorrhizal Fungi and you should be OK.

"See this list" for plants you can gather leaf litter (mulch) from that are beneficial to your garden.

As far as "poor soil quality" which some people bag on about repeatedly, you can easily build up your soil "quality" using the BioChar (Terra Preta) method.

Also, if you buy a large "drum" 60 gallons (220 liters), then you can effectively make a potent Compost Tea every day in Summer so long as your water temperature is over 25C (77F), the bacteria will multiply every 20-30 minutes with enough food and minerals (which I also explain).

Please READ Section 1 before you proceed.

Important - Please Read ↟↟

Almost all of the information and courses I did on Compost Tea dealt with feeding the bacteria sugars etc.

The FACT is that bacteria (lithotrophs) also love "Minerals" and you can easily test this yourself by buying some Ferrous Iron (Fe) from a Chemist (Drug Store) and crushing several tablets into powder and then feedng this to the bacteria after you have been making your Compost Tea for at least 6 weeks.

These days you can even buy liquid iron (but I have no idea if this works in compost tea).

If you have done things correctly, you should get a foaming (bubbling) reaction almost immediately.

This should be done while the water is being Aerated and while the water temperature is between 25C - 35C (77F - 98F).

There are 3 main ways you can mineralize your bacteria:

1. Add trace minerals to your "brew".
2. Dehydrate and powder Comfrey leaves and other dark leafy greens (like spinach).
3. Dehydrate and powder Seaweed and or Kelp.

Spirulina

Many people say that Spirulina contains lots of minerals, but IF you grow Spirulina in sterile water, then most (if not all) of these minerals are not IN the water to start with - so how can they be transfered into the Spirulina if they do not exist in "Their" food source?

This principle applies to all plants.

Think about how unhealthy you would be if you just ate "oats" 3 times a day. The same principle applies to feeding bacteria.

TIP:

Avoid Manganese (toxic), Sulfur (too acidic), lead (deadly), Aluminum (deadly) and other nasty metals.

1 teaspoon of yellow (flowers of) Sulfur can easily destroy the entire pH of the average home garden.

You are better off using "small amounts" of MSM Sulfur or even Epsom Salts (MgSO4) because the sulfur has had time to react with water and lose a lot of its acid issues. That is where the O4 comes from.

• Simple Version

You should also note that I have seen people being charged $150 - $300+ for the "Simple Version" information.

Larger Volumes

• Aerobic Is Different
• Nano Air Stones
• Dissolved Oxygen Emitters
• Maintain Your Water Levels
• Ceramics Air Stones
• Hemispheres
• Liquid Oxygen
• Magnets?
• Grass and Leaves
• Pumps
• Whey Better
• Venturi Injectors
• How To Make Aerobic Compost Tea
• You will need
• When To Use
• How To Feed
• Refilling
• Food Balls

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Larger And Commercial Volumes ↟↟

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Air Pumps ↟↟

Lph == Cubic Air Liters per hour.

GPH == Cubic Air Gallons per hour.

1. "Hygger 150 GPH (560 Lph)"
2. "Hygger 180 GPH (680 Lph)"
3. "Hygger 230 GPH (870 Lph)"
4. "Hygger 350 GPH (1,300 Lph)"

Hygger 150 GPH NANO air stone, will easily do up to 220 liter tank (60 gallons).

A Hygger 180 GPH NANO air stone, will do up to 2 x 220 liter tanks (2 x 60 gallons).

A Hygger 230 GPH NANO air stone, will do up to 3 x 220 liter tanks (3 x 60 gallons).

A Hygger 350 GPH NANO air stone, will do up to 4 x 220 liter tanks (4 x 60 gallons) - and even up to 1,000 liter water tank (260 Gallons).

Nano Air Stones ↟↟

This is critical and without the Nano Air Stones, this will not work.

I would recommend the Hygger Nano Air Stone and every 3 or 4 months, take it out and soak in regular Vinegar for 20 seconds (MAX) to clean. Plus it comes with very useful peripherals (like a water Check-Valve).

• "Hygger Nano Air Stone"
• "Pawfly Nano Air Stone"
• "Upettools Nano Air Stone"
• "Jeffergarden Nano Air Stone" {Japan}
• "Carefree Nano Air Stone"

ECD NANO Bubble Diffuser Discs

These ECD NANO Bubble Diffuser Discs are also worth considering. The 7 inch will easily do up to 500 liters (132 Gallons) in one tank and the 9 inch and 12 inch will do up to 1,000 liters (260 gallons) in one tank.

• "ECD Nano Bubble Diffuser 7 Inch"
• "ECD Nano Bubble Diffuser 9 Inch"
• "ECD Nano Bubble Diffuser 12 Inch"

Compared to the 1990's, people are spoilt for choice these days. All we had back then were sandstones and noisy sandstones at that.

Commercial Scale Infusers

If you are looking for commercial scale Nano-oxygen devices ("example" ), may I suggest LivingEnergies.BIZ "in English" products + ("in Japanese" ).

You can actually use a closed circuit water pump and infuser like the following example.

You insert the NANO-bubble Aerator inside a fully sealed container and have the input coming in at the bottom and the output exiting at the top.

Not to scale.

Dissolved Oxygen Emitters ↟↟

Dissolved Oxygen Emitters also called O2 Emitters are good IF you monitor your water levels daily.

This is because "Dissolved Oxygen Emitters" separate the Oxygen atoms from the Hydrogen atom and this forms clouds of oxygen rich gas in the water.

From my own experience, these do not need to be used on anything less than a 500 liter (130 gallon) tank due to the evaporation rate caused by the separated atoms.

The Theory

According to the theory of everything posted by the manufactures of "Dissolved Oxygen Emitters", the evaporation rate is negligible adding up to several millimeters per day (up to 1/4 inch), but consider if you are busy and forget about this tank for several weeks and the evaporation is higher then they claim?

By splitting the H2O into hydrogen and oxygen, the hydrogen escapes and eventually so does some of the oxygen.

Having done these projects on a commercial scale, my instinct is to be cautious first, second and third.

This is because people actually have lives to lead and they do not want to be tied to an automatic water maintenance regime when it can be easily installed and do this job for them at extremely low cost.

Maintaining your water levels is very important if you are doing this on a large scale.

Plus you also have to compete with everyday evaporation from sun and wind.

Maintain Your Water Levels ↟↟

The easiest way to ensure that your water levels remain constant (especially if you use a "Dissolved Oxygen Emitter") is to install a ball-and-arm float on the side of your tank, either on the tank itself or on a post right beside the tank so that the "arm" can easily reach into the tank.

A ball-and-arm float is primarily called a ballcock, float valve, or fill valve and in rural areas, it may be referred to as a "stock tank float valve" or a "cattle tank float valve".

These "ball-and-arm floats" were common on old toilet cisterns and on cattle, sheep and other livestock farms (Ranches, Properties, Stations etc) so that the animals always had a constant supply of water.

Avoid copper and even brass "arms" and if you can get them, I would strongly suggest Stainless Steel but you should check to ensure that the stainless steel does not have deadly levels of Manganese (mainly from China but may also be locally produced as well).

To test your stainless steel kitchenware, simply buy a Manganese Reagent like this "Manganese Tester" and then apply 1 drop onto the metal.

If it turns red, throw it out after you smash it with a hammer. (not in anger but so that no one else can use it)

Manganese is deadly over time and while you can "Detox Manganese" , it is safer not to have it in deadly amounts to start with.

The price is usually less than $10 + delivery.

Wait up to 10 minutes and if it turns RED, your stainless steel kitchenware is toxic and even deadly to your health and your family's health.

This "flexible" version is a good idea as I have worked on many older Copper Arm models which can easily bend with a lot of (sunlight) heat and a little nudge or 3 from cattle. + (www).

Once the arm "bends", these systems can lose a lot of precious water if you are in rural areas.

I have even had trouble with brass "arms".

Plastic "arms" tend to become brittle when exposed to sunlight.

One final point on this subject, you do NOT need to set your tap to full and create unnecessary pressure, you can set your tap pressure to just above trickle (very slow) and you will end up with the same result because the evaporation is constant but Not massive daily.

Ceramics Air Stones ↟↟

In fact, if you use ceramics air stones you could even use multiple ceramics air stones and get a comparable effect running from the same air pump.

The biggest problem with tanks larger than 500 liters (130 gallons) is circulation and to fix this you will need to run a secondary water pump but make sure that the "Intake" has some kind of mesh filter to ensure that the intake does not get clogged.

The second problem you will have with water pumps is if you buy some cheap "cr***" from china which (in my experience) lasts between 40 - 60 hours and "often" uses a "Steel On Steel" Pump Shaft (in Centrifugal Pumps) and has no cylindrical ball bearings which then over heats and other problems.

All of the pumps I have seen on Amazon are junk from China.

Avoid submersible pumps also if you are doing large volumes. Especially poor quality pumps from China.

Running electrical cable out into your back yard is not a wise decision especially if you have children or pets and especially if you have young Teething Dogs.

If you do need to run electrical cable out into your back yard, please ensure that the cable is OFF the ground and at least 2 meters (over 6 feet) up so people do not get caught. Also check that it uses Water Proof connectors.

Hemispheres ↟↟

Pumping water tip:

Try and use a 3/4 inch (19mm) pipe and hose for maximum flow through rate.

1 inch (25mm) or 2 inch (50mm) requires a much larger water pump which you will need for anything over 10,000 liters (2,600 gallons) + Plus possibly an Impeller.

Personally I used a Venturi Injector and if you want to magnify this, you can but 3 very small "Venturi injectors" and split the hose into 3 sections and then rejoin them again after the Venturi Injectors.

Remember that 2 == 4 and 3 == 9

A 2 inch hose (pump) will pump 4 times as much as a 1 inch hose and a 3 inch hose does not just pump 6 times as much water as a 1-inch hose, it pumps 9 times more.

This effectively means that you can split the "output" flow with 9 Venturi Injectors but the cost of the pump is only worth it if you are doing 10,000 liters or more.

I still do small projects but not the commercial sized ones like I used to.

When you pump the water into your tank, set your lower pipe footer canted to approximately 20 degree - 25 degrees off the "inner" tank wall. See image.

Also ensure that the "down pipe" is approx 2 inches (5 cms) off the wall side to help avoid blockages.

And 2 inches OFF the floor of the tank as well.

This will help create a slow whirlpool effect and ensure maximum circulation of the dissolved oxygen.

PLAN B ↟↟

If you are only using a 220 liter (60 gallon) tank, AND you want to use a water pump and venturi injector, then even a 1/2 inch (12mm) pump will be enough.

Water circulation is important but you still need to balance the cost versus the rewards and the absolute cheapest method is just to use a NANO Air Stone (set at the bottom of the tank).

Liquid Oxygen ↟↟

Prices depend upon your country, location and the company you are dealing with.

Some companies also charge for the "container rental" so be aware of this.

If you want to use Liquid Oxygen (for whatever reason), be aware that you have various grades and the 2 that I will cover here are the "Welding Grade and the Medical Grade".

Do NOT quote me on pricing and you should ask before buying (or renting).

Prices are based on Per Liter.

Typical Welding Grade oxygen will set you back around $8 - $15 per liter (2.2 pints per liter) depending on volume. (2026)

Hospital Grade oxygen will set you back around $10 - $20 per liter (2.2 pints per liter). depending on volume (2026)

*** Depending on your country and supplier.

How to use?

You need a closed circuit container and a Water Pump.

The ideal rate is equivalent to 1 - 3 drops per minute or if you are gas feeding directly, this should be run through a Venture Injector.

Make sure that your hoses are silicone hoses and the Venturi injectors must by HDPE or better plastic.

Timeline

An "M6 Oxygen Tank" (holds ~164 liters) and lasts around 3-4 days at the lowest possible setting rate. Price $1,000 ++

A "D Oxygen Tank" (holds ~350 liters) and lasts around 7-8 days at the lowest possible setting rate. Price $??? ++

An "E Oxygen Tank" (holds ~680 liters) and lasts around 14+ days at the lowest possible setting rate. Price $??? ++

Make Your Own Oxygen?

IF you want to go the "pure" Oxygen Air method and you want to save truck loads of money, I would personally consider buying an Oxygen "making" machine (but not from China).

An oxygen making machine is officially known as an Oxygen Concentrator.

For high-quality oxygen concentrators manufactured outside of China, consider leading medical brands based in the United States Inogen (USA), CAIRE (USA), Invacare (USA) or "Japan" .

We have a domestic Oxygen concentrator which requires constant water replacement so IF I may suggest something, make sure that you get an "Industrial Oxygen Concentrator" if you are doing large commercial volumes of Compost Tea.

These are not cheap, but they become extremely cheap after just a few days use when compared to buying bottles oxygen.

These US and Japanese devices are highly reliable, they meet medical-grade standards, and are designed to last for years.

Do you require continuous flow of oxygen or a pulse dose setting?

Alternatively, you can use an "Electrical Timer" and run for 5 - 15 minutes every hour.

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3rd Party Infusers

You also have 3rd party infusers which take the Oxygen you have "bottled" and infuse this into your water at greater rates than normal.

Impeller?

You will also need a mechanical (electricity driven) Impeller to rotate the water and ensure maximum exposure of the water / oxygen combination. This is an additional cost.

You can reduce the running costs by using an "Electrical Timer" and set this to run for 5 minutes every 30 minutes. (Some timers use 15 minute increments so check before you buy)

Personal Note

This is a giant waste of time and money.

Geographical tip:

In the Northern Hemisphere set your water to rotate counterClockwise.

In the Southern Hemisphere set your water to rotate Clockwise.

The image above is set to rotate counterClockwise.

This way you are utilizing the natural synchronicity of nature to help your spin naturally.

Magnets? ↟↟

DO NOT use magnetic compression water because over a certain Gauss Rate, it will cause the bacteria (in many cases) to explode thereby killing them.

Magnetic compression means south to south or north to north (on 4 sides) magnets. See "Magnetic Compression" here.

Grass and Leaves ↟↟

Firstly make sure that the grass has not been sprayed with any chemicals (weed killer or glyphosate like Round UP etc).

When you or your neighbors cut your lawn, add these grass clippings into a garbage bag until it is full as per the Garbage Bag Method above.

Then add 4 liters (1 gallon) of clean filtered water and tie off the bag and leave for several months until it converts into compost. Then you can Also use this in your compost tea.

DO NOT add sticks for 2 reasons:

1. They do not break down.
2. They will poke holes in the plastic and the moisture will vent out.

This will decrease your compost decomposition time dramatically.

Pumps ↟↟

If you are doing large scale or industrial scale compost tea, I would strongly suggest that you use the Aerobic method as it is faster and you can use air pumps and water pumps.

Large Volumes

If you are doing very large volumes of Aerobic compost tea (10,000+ liters or 2,600+ gallons), then you will also need an impeller or a 3 inch (75mm) pump.

I would suggest that you split the OUTPUT of the pump to at least 3 different pipes and placed every (approx) 120 degrees so that you have pressure pushing water in 3 locations (instead of just 1).

An impeller is a rotating component - usually a disc with curved blades or vanes or even something like a ships propeller - that transfers energy from a motor to a fluid causing (in this case) the fluid (liquid compost tea) to rotate.

When you "set" your impeller, set it so that it forces the water in a downward motion.

This should be set to slow rotation to reduce moisture loss from evaporation and 3 - 4 rotations per minute is more than enough to create and sustain momentum but this will depend on total volume.

If you are doing more than 20,000 liters (5,500 gallons) per batch, then you may like to increase the speed up to 10 rotations per minute.

The "impeller" should be "stationed" over the middle of the container (tank) you are working with too maintain rotational fluid consistency.

Remember the Hemispheres Rule please.

Venturi Injectors ↟↟

What is a Venturi Injector?

A Venturi Injector is a solid device which works on a compression differential which pulls air (or other liquid substances) into the main water stream as the water is forced through the pipe.

They are most commonly used to syphon "in" chemicals, liquid fertilizers etc but they can also be used just to suck air into the water stream, thereby oxygenating the water.

How does a Venturi Injector work?

Water is pumped through a Venturi Injector which has a small "slanted" hole along the body.

The point near the "small hole section" is tapered so that it constricts the water flow thereby creating a natural vacuum (if constructed correctly).

The pressure difference between the forced water flowing through the main piece of pipe and the small hole section, sucks air down into the water stream and forces a convergence of the 2.

This literally aerates your water (although not as effectively as a NANO Air Stone) and this merging at constant high pressure is usually enough for most people.

What are the benefits of a Venturi Injector?

Most people doing their own Compost Tea use an Air Stone made from sand which is highly inefficient when doing tanks over 120 liters (30 gallons).

Plus standard "fish tank" air stones do not move the water due to very poor circulation.

Using a water pump and a Venturi Injector overcomes circulation issues as also overcomes the oxygenation issue.

If you are using a Venturi Injector and you set it up properly with proper filters to stop large pieces entering your pump, then a Venturi Injector is a simple solution for most Aerobic Compost Tea tanks (over 220 liters of 60 gallons).

Plus it is cheaper than running 2 or more electrical devices because here you are only running 1 water pump and simple mechanics does the work for you.

Whey Better ↟↟

If you make your own "Yoghurt" may I suggest that you keep the Whey (even in the freezer is OK) and then when your are making compost, use the Whey water instead of tap water.

Whey is the yellowish watery substance which you drain off from your "curds" or main yoghurt.

Caution

IF you are going to add a lot of Whey once your Aerobic Compost Tea is established, I would seriously caution you against doing this or it will literally erupt out of your container like Mount St Helens (Washington State 1980).

I strongly recommend that you use one or 2 tablespoons of Whey powder or just 1 regular coffee (Tea) cup of the liquid Whey leftover from Yogurt making.

Most people throw this out and it is such a massive waste of bacteria food when they do this.

You can also buy Whey powder but this is an added expense.

When I was making "Compost Tea" I would add a cup of Liquid Whey (or a couple of tablespoons of Whey powder) and the bacteria would literally "go nuts" and often the compost tea would bubble over the top of the drum I was using. (making a giant mess I might add which did not impress my wife for some reason?)

You will need ↟↟

• 2 Kgs (4 pounds) of potatoes.
• 2 Kilo (4 pounds) of white rice
• "Blackstrap Molasses" 1 liter (2 pints) "Unsulfured" or (2 Kg) Brown sugar
• "Humic Acid"
• Organic Cow Manure (1 or 2 buckets full of wet or dry). If this is from a farm, remember to sift out the stones as (1) they are not needed (2) they may clog your pump if your pump intake is set too low.
• 2 buckets of Comfrey leaves (if you can find them).
• 1/2 a bucket of Dehydrated Seaweed or Kelp. (lots of minerals)
• De-chlorinate Water
• OPTIONAL: Worm Castings are excellent as well. (1Kg or 2 lbs per 220 liter drum you will be using).
• Ideally a 220 liter HDPE plastic Drum or 60 Gallon US version.
• A NANO aerator (airator) and this SHOULD BE a ceramic aerator (stone) and NOT a sand stone (you need NanoBubbles).
• Air pump plus applicable air hoses - Buy silicone hoses and NOT rubber. Silicone lasts much longer.
• OPTIONAL: If you do not have access to Comfrey or Worm Castings, then 1 bucket of Organic compost.

How To Make Aerobic Compost Tea ↟↟

First cook your rice and let it cool down. Add plenty of water so that it is very "gluggy".

Half fill your tank (drum) with unchlorinated water and add the following.

1. 2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses
2. 1 tablespoon of Humic acid
3. Puree in your blender all of your potatoes 3 Kgs (7 pounds) and mix that into your water.
4. Add your blended up comfrey leaves and grass (no need to blend the grass).
5. 1 or 2 buckets of worm castings (if available).
6. Stir this in very well.
7. Add your cooled rice which should look like blended white mush.
8. Add your dehydrated and blended seaweed and or kelp.
9. Insert your NANO micron air stone and start the air compressor.
10. Add 1 or 2 buckets of organic compost.
11. Gently Stir and then fill up with water so that it is several inches from the top of the tank (drum).
12. Water Pump should be added at this stage and REMEMBER that the pump draws water from your tank (drum) so you WILL need some kind of filter to stop large chucks of "whatever" blocking your pump.

If you are doing amounts larger than 220 liters (60 gallons), you may like to consider a small water pump.

When To Use ↟↟

Refilling ↟↟

When you remove some of the water (decant), you need to replace this water before you feed your Aerobic bacteria.

Make sure that your water is filtered and that any chlorine has been removed.

Chloramine

Some antiquainted water boards still use Chlorine + Ammonia which forms a 3rd compound called Chloramine.

Chloramine requires AT LEAST 20-30 minutes contact time with a catalytic "BLOCK" carbon filter which means that you must literally run this 1 drop at a time (just like reverse osmosis).

In fact, Chloramine is so deadly to bacteria, I would suggest that you used the following combination of filters.

1. A "Twin" filter with the first filter being 10 microns and the second filter being 1 micron.
2. Followed by a Triple solid block carbon filters.

This way you may need to change your "sediment filters" 3 or 4 times a year and your carbon filters just twice a year (depending on volume of water you use).

DO NOT BUY the combo sediment + carbon filters.

Set this up properly to start with and you will have a lot less problems later on.

If you are handy at fixing things, then the following will help you, otherwise you can always employ a professional to install the system for you.

IMPORTANT

I do not care how smart they say they are, you only need the water to be DRIP FED into your storage tank.

DO NOT OPEN THE TAP UP TO ANYTHING BEYOND A DRIP.

• 10 inch Sediment filter 1 micron x 1
• 10 inch Sediment filter 10 micron x 1
• 10 inch Chloramine catalytic block carbon filter x 3
• 10 inch Cartridge Spanner x 1
• John Guest Fittings
• 32.8ft (10 meters) Blue water filter hose 1/4"
• 30 Meters (100 feet) Blue water filter hose 1/4"
• 10 inch Water Filter Housing x 5
• 10 inch Water Filter Twin Housing bracket x 1
• 10 inch Water Filter Triple Housing bracket x 1

Plus You will also need some Vaseline (from chemist or drug store) to rub around the "O" rings when you reset the housings back onto the tops after changing the filters.

I used to use a "Flow Restrictor" but I found them too unreliable and they produced too much water flow.

So I switched to a Brass Tap and adjusted it so that it literally let through just a few drops at a time.

That is the MAXIMUM speed you should be looking at and this is why I recommend that you have a secondary 30 liter tank (with BUNGS) which you can fill up with water and maintain a reservoir of filtered water to refill your main tank after you decant up to 50% of the liquid and water your plants.

TIP DU JOUR

DO NOT BUY the "clear" (see through) 10 inch Water Filter Housings which are clear (see through).

Unless things have changed a lot, from my personal experience, these tended to degrade and break very quickly (usually within 1 or 2 years) compared to the fully white Housings which I never had any problems with.

John Guest Connectors

Also, get some John Guest connectors (clip on and clip off) and some silicone hose (measure your own requirements).

Your "tap" should literally be set to "drip" and my suggestion is that you have a 30 or 60 liter reservoir tank set up in a position which is above your main 220 tank (drum) so that you have plenty of water available when you "decant" your main tank to water your plants (or from evaporation loss).

Chloramine reacts with decaying carbon matter to form Trihalomethanes (THMs) and many of these reactions are carcinogenic.

Use a 60 liter tank with the double "bung" option (see image on right). DO NOT use an open top tank in this case.

Use a long piece of wood with a small gole in the wood which fits your "spiggot" (out side tap) and then use that to apply pressure to the "spiggot" when you install it inside the 60 liter container so that you can add an HDPE double-ended male-to-male pipe fitting (also known as a male adapter nipple or double male nipple) allows you to connect two female-threaded components - or in this case one female-threaded component on the out side of the tank so that you can then connect the "Arm And Ball" to this.

I have found it easier to get the "male-to-male pipe fitting" than it is to get the single male threaded pipe (for some reason).

Also remember to use a silicone washer on the outside and even use silicone gel if you can so that the system is 101% waterproof.

Buying Drums

There are 2 ways to buy 200 - 220 liter (55 - 60 gallon) blue drums.

1) Buy from Amazon of other supplier / manufacturer.

2) Buy 2nd Hand drums which have been used to transport FOOD items (usually Olives).

IF you do buy a 2nd hand drum, you MUST get something in writing from the seller that these were only used for food and NOT for chemicals.

Even an email will suffice IF you need to take legal action some time in the future.

To buy from Amazon (USA):

• 55 Gallon Open Top Drum (Blue)
• 55 Gallon Open Top Drum (Yellow)
• 15 Gallon Open Top Drum

To buy from 2nd Hand:** (Disclaimer)

** (Disclaimer) We are not liable for any decision you make or any item you purchase regardless of whether it is in good faith or other. The information provided above is for information purposes ONLY and it is your legal obligation to perform your own "due diligence".

• "USA"
• "UK"
• "Europe"
• "Canada"
• "Australia"

How To Feed ↟↟

In the next section called "Food Balls" I make Food Balls which I freeze and then add 1 or 2 a day as required.

Agar agar is made from red algae (seaweed), such as Gelidium and Gracilaria.

The seaweed is harvested, washed, and boiled in water for several hours to extract the gelatinous substance.

The resulting liquid is filtered, cooled into a gel, frozen, thawed to remove excess water, and then dried into flakes, bars, or powder.

You cannot make agar-agar using green seaweed.

Brown seaweeds like "Kombu" are higher iodine and Iodine is an antibacterial so if I may suggest that common Green Seaweed or Green Kelp is used instead of brown seaweed.

If this is too complicated, then please disregard completely.

You can always buy "store bought" Agar Agar ($$$) but you need to boil this Agar until it becomes like Jello (Jelly) and then mix this with your other ingredients

You can add this solution to your Food Balls below if you like.

Food Balls ↟↟

I like to make up food balls (that is what I call them) which comprise of the following:

I used a 20 liter stainless steel cooking pot and I make 3 Kg rice + 5 Kg pureed potatoes, 10 tablespoons of Blackstrap Molasses (or 20 tablespoons of brown sugar), 3 or 4 cups of powdered seaweed and 10 tablespoons of Whey powder.

You can add Agar Agar at this stage if you like.

Total cooking time is around 20 minutes once you are set up properly.

I make around 100 + "cup" sized containers of this which takes several batches of the above and then I pop these in the freezer and after the first week, I add 1 container a day to the container.

1. Powdered seaweed (and or kelp)
2. Powdered comfrey leaves
3. Pureed RAW potatoes
4. Pureed boiled and cooled white rice
5. I also add approximately 1 teaspoon of Blackstrap Molasses + 2 table spoons of Brown (or black) Sugar + 2 tablespoons of Whey Powder.
6. AgarAgar - I also used to add Agar into this mixture but it became quite expensive.

Other Sources High In Starch ↟↟

• Isolated Cornstarch (100%)
• Cornmeal / Corn Flour (74%)
• Rice Krispies Cereal (72%)
• Pretzels (71%)
• Millet Flour (70%)
• Sorghum Flour (68%)
• White Flour (68%)
• Banana tree Root (CORM) 70% - 82% starch by dry weight
• Inulin (Inulin )
• "Banana Tree" (10% - 30%)

The reason that I do NOT include Cornstarch in this list is because SO MUCH corn is potentially deadly GMO.

Inulin

Inulin is a PRE-Biotic which means that bacteria like to feed on it.

The most common source (as of 2026) is Chicory Root which contains roughly 35 - 48 grams of inulin per 100 grams of Chicory Root.

"Chicory" has a distinctive flower.

Extraction

Inulin is extracted from chicory roots through a hot water diffusion process, similar to how sugar is extracted from beets and this process should be done while the roots are still fresh (not dry).

Similar to "simmering" a pot of tea, you simply slice or grind the roots and then "Steep" (soak) in Hot water (NOT BOILING WATER), at 80°C to 90°C (175F - 195F), followed by purification, filtration, and drying to yield a fine, prebiotic fiber powder.

• "Laser Thermometer"

Water

Once you have the Chicory Roots finely cut up or "ground up" (my preferred choice), add 1 part (by volume) or Chicory Roots to 10 parts of water and then heat up the pot.

You cannot use a double boiler for this as the temperature rarely goes over 65C (150F) when you use a double boiler.

Heat the mixture to 80C - 90C (175F - 195F) for 50 - 60 minutes with constant stirring. Hot water quickly allows the Inulin to dissolve out of the plant cells.

Filter the mixture through a Cheese cloth bag or fine mesh to separate the liquid crude extract from the fiber.

NOT FOOD GRADE

This process is NOT FOOD GRADE for Humans, but it is perfect for plants - and this crude extract is turbid (dirty looking) and contains impurities like proteins, pectins, and minerals.

REMEMBER - This is NOT FOOD GRADE for humans.

I will NOT include the Ultrafiltration, Demineralization or the Precipitation processes here.

Alternatively, you can simply buy "Inulin Powder" and take a tablespoon or 3 and experience how it makes you literally fart your head off (childish male expression only) so you actually see how it directly affects your gut bacteria.

KUDZU?

Do you live near a Kudzu infestation?

Apart from the many medicinal benefits from Kudzu, you can also harvest the roots for it starch content (sold as Kuzu Powder).

The starch concentration in raw Kudzu roots (Pueraria lobata) typically ranges from 6.5% to 16.2% by weight.

The exact yield depends heavily on the age of the root and the time of harvest, with 3 to 4 year-old roots harvested in early winter (around November / December in the Northern Hemisphere) yielding the highest starch content.

Once the processed starch has been carefully washed, extracted, and processed, the resulting Kudzu starch is remarkably pure, up to 99.5% pure starch in fact.

Kudzu is highly valued in cooking and traditional medicine.

How to "extract the starch" from Kudzu roots?

NOTE:

If you are making lots of this activated compost tea, may I suggest that you also buy a smally dedicated freezer.

This way you can spend 4 - 6 hours making "Food Balls" for your compost tea and then have enough to last you 1 or 2 months.

Next

Next I would put these in small Cup Sized plastic containers and let them basically dry out for 24 hours (cover them with cloth) and then pop them into the freezer.

TIP: Strainer Bags ???

This is a great TIP whether you are using a water pump or not.

When you take the Frozen Food Ball our of the freezer and feed it to your pet bacteria, DO NOT just drop it into the tank.

I used to glue a special plastic "D" ring on the TOP INSIDE of the tanks and hang the Food Balls from this using a strong plastic "S" hook (utility hook) and I used plastic for a specific reason.

This was because IF you accidently dropped it into the tank, it would float.

DO NOT use aluminum for your "D" Hooks (especially aluminum carabiner clip) as the aluminum will scratch and deposit deadly aluminum dust into your compost tea.

Alternatively, you could put your plastic or stainless steel Carabiner at the VERY TOP of your tank and actually THROUGH the tank, then seal it with silicone sealant.

This is a good suggestion for anything over 220 liters (55 gallon) tanks.

Other Toys:

• "Carabiner Plastic Small"
• "Carabiner Plastic Large"
• "Strainer Bags Small"
• "Strainer Bags 5 Gallon"
• "Venturi Injector"

Venturi Injectors

When you buy a Venturi Injector, make sure that you also get the associated parts to connect it to your pump, PLUS the air hose (which should be SILICON and not rubber).

TimeLine:

Making over 100 of these Food Balls took me around 4 hours and then I was done for 2 - 3 months depending on how much I was "feeding" the bacteria.

I used a 20 liter stainless steel pot to Cook and cool the rice and several buckets to mix everything else

Blender TIP:

DO NOT over fill the blender, use small handfulls of comfrey or other material you want to blend and make sure that you CUT IT UP while green so that it processes much faster. This way I can process 5 or 6 large bags of comfrey leaves in less than 20 minutes.

Remember to wash your comfrey leaves in COLD water to remove as much car soot and other crud as possible. This will take you around 2 hours for 6 - 8 large bags of comfrey leaves (if you do it properly).

Then hang up to dry and cut up into small pieces while still half green.

I use the cheap mesh clothes laundry bags to air dry my leaves (etc) after that and this usually takes a few weeks dependent upon the weather and how dry the air is where you live.

1. "Laundry Bag 1"
2. "Laundry Bag 2"

If you do not live in a very dry area, then may I suggest that you also use a small fan to blow air onto these bags so that the moisture evaporates much faster. This is what I do now that I have moved to Northern Japan.

Fast drying prevents mold and fungi growing on the wet leaves.

I flip my laundry bags at least several times a day and shake them as well.

• Why Make Your Own Compost?
• Make Your Own Compost
• Compost - Bag Method
• Compost - Drum Method
• Anaerobic Compost Tea
• Aerobic Compost Tea
• BioChar - Terra Preta
• JADAM

Watering Daily Tip

This is for people who are running tanks (drums) over 60 gallons (220 liters).

If you are in a hot climate (as some are) or it is the middle of Summer and you want to capitalize on the sun's heat to multiple your Aerobic Bacteria, then you need to feed them "during" the day - especially if you want to use the Aerobic Compost Tea to water your plants daily.

As stated above, bacteria love temperatures between 25C (77F) - 40C (105F) - so if you have this kind of heat from the sun being applied to your water, then you can easily apply this compost tea to your plants daily.

I am repeating myself for those who did not read the first section.

Warm Water ↟↟

When you refill your tank (after you have removed 50% of the Compost Tea, try and use WARM (NOT HOT) water when you refill the tank, and try and make this water around 35C (95F) maximum and this will help dramatically repopulate your bacteria.

The Process ↟↟

This is for a 220 liter (60 gallon) tank or greater.

Remove 50% - 60% of the top water and use this to water your plants

Refill using WARM water as described above.

Add and Stir the following.

• 1 cup of wood ash (silvery powder ONLY)
• + 1 cup of Brown Sugar
• + 1 cup (rice / corn / potato) starch

Aerobic Compost Tea Only OK.

Repeat the following every 60 minutes that the water temperature is between 25C and 35C.

• + 1 cup of Brown Sugar
• + 1 cup (rice / corn / potato) starch

If you have access to heaps of WHEY or WHEY powder, you can also add 1 cup of this every 2 hours.

Cheap Drip Feeder ↟↟

These days you have dozens of Cat, Dog, Bird, Deer and other "feeders" you can use to add food to your compost tea while you are not there.

And while they all cost $$$ and most will only "feed" up to 4 times a day, all of the ones I looked at were either unsuited or industrial versions costing even more money.

My Solution.

While I was trying to be a little more Up-To-Date, I realized that the system I used back in the late 1990's and the early 2000's was just as good and literally costs almost nothing to set up.

Here is how it works.

What you need are:

• 1 or 2 x 2 liter bottles or 1 x 1 gallon bottle.
• 30 cms (12 inches) of 8 or 10mm ID (Inner Dimension) SILICONE tubing. ***
• Either a drill OR a hot piece of straight steel or iron (like a screwdriver).
• Some way of supporting these bottles suspended above your compost tea.

*** If you use a heated piece of steel to poke a hole in the lid of the bottle, PLEASE make sure that it is SMALLER than the silicone hose (or it will leak everywhere).

After you drill the holes or use heat, feed the silicon hose through the hole and make 1 piece approximately 1/4 inch (6 mm) longer than the other piece of silicon hose.

Make sure that the hose inside the lid is "flush" with the bottom or the lid. It should sit upright when you set it down - see image).

Hanging The Feed Bottles ↟↟

2 Parts here.

Part 1) 20 liter (5+ gallon) jerry cans need to be strongly supported on a stable table like platform.

This is for OH&S purposes as well as common sense.

Part 2) 1 liter or 2 liter bottles can be suspended using a long wooden stick (2x2 or 2x4) dug into the ground and tied to the 220 liter (60 gallon) tank (drum).

The image on the right is obviously Not To Scale.

Then you can use a nail or screw, some solid string or nylon rope and a very large Old Sock with a small hole cut in the end of it to allow the lid of the bottle to poke through.

And a little bit of common sense.

• "Orange Braided Rope"

Once this is set up, you just need to unscrew the bottle top and refill, then rescrew the bottle top and hang in the water again.

Using a funnel, this whole process will take around 60 - 90 seconds.

NOTE:

As the feed bottle empties, it will get lighter and the "Sock" will retract, thereby lifting the bottle higher and thus allowing more "food" to be deposited into the Tank.

How It Works ↟↟

Test this first.

Fill up a bucket with water.

Next - fill up your bottle with ordinary tap water.

Put your magic lid on (with the 2 hoses).

Next, suspend this bottle over the bucket filled with water.

Now take a cup and remove 1 cup of water from the bucket so that the smaller of the 2 hoses is exposed to the air.

Now you should see that some of the water in the bottle has moved into the bucket and this transfer will stop when the bucket water blocks the smaller hose from sucking air.

The Theory ↟↟

During the day, with the bubbler and the heat of the day, you will get evaporation.

How much evaporation will depend on your geographical location - whether you live in a wet area, a humid area or a dry area etc.

TIP: Put some kind of covering "ABOVE" the drum (tank) to stop water getting into the tank from rain, but high enough above the tank to allow for evaporation to occur.

Daisy Chain: If you have a higher evaporation rate, or a much larger tank, you can "Jerry-Rig" a daisy chain of these bottles all using the exact same method.

HDPE: Whilst the lid I show in the above image comes from a 2 liter water bottle, I would strongly suggest that you buy and use a 18 liter or 20 liter (6 or 8 gallon) HDPE Jerry Can.

Using PET (soft) plastics in sunlight or on a hot day will cause the PET plastic to break dows and chemicals to leech into your water - so please avoid using regular plastic bottles.

I am showing the image above for example purposes only. (plus I cannot fit a 6 gallon jerry can on my keyboard)

• Buy Watering Can 5 Gallon Blue online.
• Buy Watering Can 6 Gallon Blue online.

TIME TIP: If you have a busy schedule, buy two x 5 or 6 gallon (20 liter) HDPE jerry cans and have one "ready-to-go" when the first one is empty - and then you will be able to change these in a minute or 2 instead of making up the "food formula".

In most cases, you can easily buy these HDPE Jerry Cans at most hardware stores and even some other stores like WallMart. It is worth a phone call before you go to the shop.

PET (soft) plastic sheds micro plastics which are dangerous to your health.

HOSE LENGTH NOTE:

The length of the 2 silicon hoses can be any length so long as the AIR Intake hose is shorter than the second "feed" hose.

There should not be any kinks or bends in these hoses either.

Food Mixtures ↟↟

The 8mm (ID) hose I mention above is ideal for mixtures of brown sugar, molasses, whey - BUT you will have problems if you use starch powder as it tends to precipitate and glom on the bottom of the bottle (container). Even a little amount of starch tends to drop out of solution and block your drip feed system.

Adding the powdered wood ash minerals will also block your hoses so the Starch and the Silvery Wood Ash need to be added manually once or twice a day. At least using this system.

Bigger Hoses ↟↟

You can also use bigger hoses for your gravity feeder.

Hoses of 12mm (1/2 inch) or bigger would then allow - in most cases - for you to add starch and minerals to your "feed" container.

Experiment - especially with the starch - as it will cause you the most problems.

When you use a bigger "feed" hose size, the "AIR Hose" should be smaller than the "Feed Hose" because air compresses much more than water.

Also, the bigger the "feed hose" the longer it should be compared to the Air Intake hose.

The Feed Hose can be 2 or even 4 inches (50 - 100mm) longer than the air hose as this helps provide a greater back pressure against the ingressing water from the food bottle.

Adding Calcium ↟↟

Calcium is critical for so many functions in a healthy plant and yet it is one of the most overlooked additives when it comes to improving the health of your soil.

Many hydroponic fertilizers (that I have looked at), do not contain calcium and if they do, it is absolutely minimal.

This is a method I have been using for many years abd it involves just 3 things. + 2 weeks.

1. Egg shells.
2. ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar (pH @ 5).
3. 1 x large glass container which you can cover to let the gas out.

EGG SHELLS

Every time you cook eggs, you can either pop the shells into a bag and then put these in your freezer - or you boil them and remove the junky stuff and then pop into the freezer.

Option 2 is to boil them once you have a serious collection of these egg shells and then remove ANY egg white which is still attached to the shells.

Once you have cleaned your egg shells, crush them (DO NOT BLEND or make into powder).

Next, pop these into a large saucepan and simmer until almost all of the shells have turned brown.

Do Not blacken the shells.

Why do we do this?

Egg shells contain a membrane which need to be removed (burnt off) to stop the solution we are about to make from going off.

It helps to understand this membrane business if you know "How Eggs Are Made".

Mixing

Let's say that you have 100 grams of egg shells.

You need a ratio of 1:10 (1 egg shells and 10 vinegar) so for 100 grams of roasted egg shells, you would need +- 32 ounces (1 liter) of ACV @ 5 pH.

Cover your container with a cloth to stop insects and leave for at least 2 - 3 weeks.

After 3 weeks, the chemical reaction should have stopped and you can then filter this through some coffee filter paper and store.

Calcium Source Alternatives ↟↟

Calcium Carbonate is available in many other forms from dietary suppliments to coral calcium and this includes sea shells.

Calcium Carbonate needs to be chelated before your body can absorb it.

Calcium is required for muscle contraction (most importantly) and Potassium is required for muscle expansion.

Calcium is also required in plants for cell integrity.

Calcium acts as a structural "glue" which binds pectin molecules together, forming strong, stable cell walls and membranes and without this (like most hydroponics), you have less healthy plants which you eat.

Garbage IN == Garbage OUT does not only apply to computer programming.

How To Use ↟↟

Let us "assume" that you have 1 liter (2 pints) of this calcium mixture completed.

For every 220 liter (60 gallon) drum, add 100 mls (3 oz) per week.

Making your own vinegar.

I often make my own vinegar and you can use a "Mother" (Scobie) or you can even use "Water Kefir Grains" to start the process.

Using "Water Kefir Grains", you will need some kind of fruit juice or even wine.

Add the "Water Kefir Grains" and 1 TEASPOON of white or brown sugar and leave for 2 or 3 days.

Remove the "Water Kefir Grains" and add 1 tablespoon of sugar daily for 2-3 weeks.

DO NOT CLOSE THE LID tightly - but after 3 - 4 weeks, you can start to use this.

BE AWARE that I have gotten the pH down to just over 2 which is a heck of a lot stronger than commercial ACV (apple cider vinegar).

If you are using your own homemade vinegar and the pH is between 2 - 3, I would suggest that you can use 50% less vinegar for the above Calcium formula.

White Vinegar Trap

White Vinegar is commonly "made from corn" and as we know, corn is one of the most GMO's plants on this planet - so be aware of this.