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barbararose21101

Ingham

barbararose21101
9 years ago

OOPS

I've been misspelling Elaine Ingham's name.

Using the correct spelling in a search brought up more results.
And she has a Wikipedia biography.

I am imagining how Chalker-Scott might be put off by the venal (profit making) slant of the Ingham information. I'm just guessing, though. My library has her tea book with several "holds" ahead of me.

Comments (3)

  • sbryce_gw
    9 years ago

    She was once a regular poster to several vermicomposting boards. She and a handful of others who no longer post were considered experts in the field.

  • barbararose21101
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Elaine Ingham gave me permission to post this reply to my questions;

    Well, extract is more like putting the compost in a nice stiff bag, and massaging that compost in the bag while you hold it in the water. Brisk massage to get all those good organisms and humics out of the compost and into the water. Don't really have to squeeze and express it.

    foods are the additions you can use to grow specific types of organisms. You don't need more bacteria, I am pretty sure, so no sugars needed.

    But the fungal foods -- most likely those are needed. So, humic acid, fish hydrolysate, kelp.

    Case 1 to make Extract:
    a. So, if you think your compost has really good sets of organisms (smells like deep rich forest soil),
    b. put the 1 pound of compost into the compost bag.
    c. Then make sure the 4 gallons of water in your 5 gallon bucket has been well-aerated to get rid of chlorine,
    d. has 4 drops of humic acid added to it to get rid of chloramine,
    e. put the compost bag containing the compost into the 4 gallons of water and
    f. massage briskly for about 30 sec to a minute.

    Voila! Compost extract.

    Case 2.
    a, If you think your compost is ok, but not great (smells a little like forest soil, but not strongly)
    b. do exactly like Case 1, but repeat the compost extraction with a second 1 pound batch of compost

    Case 3.
    a. If you aren't sure about your compost (doesn't smell like anything really),
    b. Repeat extraction THREE times, for a total amount of compost of 3 pounds.

    Case 4.
    If the compost stinks, it isn't compost, please don't make extract or tea from it.

    -----------------------

    Case 1 to make TEA
    a. If you think your compost has really good sets of organisms (smells like deep rich forest soil),
    b. put the 1 pound of compost into the compost bag.
    c. Then make sure the 4 gallons of water in your 5 gallon bucket has been well-aerated to get rid of chlorine,
    d. has 4 drops of humic acid added to it to get rid of chloramine,
    e. Start the aeration in the water so the bubbles of air come up from the bottom of the bucket and rise to the top of the water
    f. Make sure the surface of the water is bubbling well, like a hard boil
    g. Add foods, such as a tablespoon of humic acids, or a tablespoon of fish hydrolysate, and a tablespoon of kelp
    h. Suspend the compost bag from a metal rod that lies across the top of the bucket so the compost bag hangs down into the water.
    i. Aerate for 24 hours at 65 to 75 F; cooler than 65 F brew for 36 to 48 hours, hotter than 75F, brew for shorter 18 to 20 hours. .
    j. All "food" smells should be gone before ending the aeration.

    To hold the tea for several more days, just keep aerating.

  • barbararose21101
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Expletive Expletive !

    The Compost Tea Brewing manual is an online pdf !

    And above, from MAY is her guidance.

    There sure is a lot of stuff about vermicomposting online.

    If someone else doesn't do so before I get to it, I think I'll post all various strategies I can collect.

    In May I didn't have or know what is humic acid. (still don't quite) . . . nor did I have or know where to get kelp -- I guess she means kelp meal ?) or the difference between fish hydrolsyate and fish emulsion fertilizer.

    Further, all the other opinions muddled the learning, and still do.

    Ingham has many YouTube videos: stultifying. But there's valuable information in there somewhere.

    Have you heard the one about the boy who got a load of horse manure for a birthday present ?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ingham manual

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