Allan wrote : "Just my two cents: all though Elaine has blessed Jose's vortex nozzle and we know from Jose that he does produce good results with his tea, in other conversations with Elaine she's been pretty firm that you want to avoid running the tea through pumps and nozzles if possible. Microbes are life, of course, and can easily be bumped, bruise, broken, and squashed. I'd recommend setting up a system that maximized aeration by pumping air, not tea. You will definitely want a 'professionally made' bag for your compost and consider designing a diffuser that goes into the bag in the middle of the compost. I'm hearing lots of stories about compost caking and becoming inpenetrable during the brewing process.
-Allan" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- Dr Elaine has been pretty firm in the fact that a Compost Tea Brewer should show a consistent pattern of making efficient Compost Teas as measured by a lab ( any lab) analysis showing an upward curve of microorganism multiplication. It is impossible for me to send her a sample, even if I use Fedex, so I have done a contract with the main Microbiological Ag lab ( state owned) in Brazil to study my Compost Brewer and show some written results. I would love to send a fresh sample to Dr Elaine´s and to spend USD 200.00 to learn something that I have already know but the distance makes it impossible. Now if I can get similar results than any other Brewer type that Dr Elaine says that are OK what it should matter if I " bump, broke, squash or bruise" microorganisms and still get the same end results. Microorganisms grows because they find the place hospitable and the medium that I provide is a good one not because Dr Elaine tells them to grow or not to grow. The final numbers should be the ultimate proof. Till I get the numbers I should say nothing more but I do not agree to some oppinions that have the tendency to present Dr Elaine as the only person in the world capable of telling you the right way of doing things. Jose
