symbio Soil Life 620 User manual

Soil Life 620
Compost Tea Brewer
OPERATING MANUAL
Unit 8 Coopers Place
Combe lane
Wormley
Surrey GU8 5SZ
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Congratulations on buying a Symbio Soil Life 620 litre Bio Brewer, you now have the basic
equipment needed to reintroduce the life to your soil, rootzone or growing media to
improve the health of your plants and reduce inputs of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides.

Symbio
Symbio Soil Life 620 Bio Brewer User Manual
Phone Symbio 01428 685762 for advice on use and application
2
COMPOST AND COMPOST TEA
The reduction in pesticides available to growers since the 1980’s coupled with increasing
cost of inorganic fertiliser has encouraged a movement to growing healthy plants in healthy
soil to increase yields and reduce reliance on inorganic fertilisers and pesticides. The
intervening years have seen rapid developments in the use of compost teas in all areas of
commercial and amenity plant production. These developments have been driven by
substantial research, aided by improved microscopy and other investigative techniques plus
the urgent need for solutions to the increasing problems of soil depletion and pest and
disease pressure caused by continued chemical inputs to the soil.
The philosophy is simple; you either get the soil to work for you and reap the benefits of
plant and soil evolution or use it as a receptacle for chemicals.
The use of compost and compost teas is the simplest way to develop healthy soil, maximise
yields and minimise chemical inputs.
What is Compost Tea?
Compost Tea is a microbial solution that adds beneficial organisms to the soil to improve
soil structure, sustain plants, build humus in the soil, and enhance nutrient uptake.
Aerated compost contains millions of beneficial organisms, but it is not always possible or
practical to obtain or apply it, while Compost Tea contains billions of beneficial organisms
and can be easily made and applied over large areas.
Compost Tea is not a quick fix, and not a stand-alone product. It builds soil health over time
- adding beneficial organisms that aid in plant health and growth. It is not an NPK fertiliser
or a pesticide
Compost tea is an extract of the microbial life in your compost. It can be either bacterial or
fungal dominated but in all cases a good compost tea will contain:
Enzymes and amino-acids
Bacteria, fungi, protozoa and beneficial nematodes
Water soluble nutrients and organically bound nutrients
Small quantities of NPK.
The quantity, diversity and quality of these micro-organisms depends on the quality of the
compost used for the extraction, the brewer used and micronutrients and starters added
for optimum organism growth.

Symbio
Symbio Soil Life 620 Bio Brewer User Manual
Phone Symbio 01428 685762 for advice on use and application
3
Compost Tea is not a product but the watery means of transport for micro-organisms.
Compost tea is a temporary survival unit that allows living micro-organisms to be taken
from the compost, multiplied rapidly and introduced to the soil and leaf.
The extracted compost-tea is a mixture of organically produced enzymes, fungi, bacteria,
protozoa and beneficial nematodes with natural humic acids capable of enhancing your soil
structure and the uptake of nutrients by your crops or grass.
Compost-tea from the Symbio 620 brewer maximises the microbial activity in your soil.
These microbes will behave as catalysts in humus production in your soil and will make
minerals in the soil available to your grass or crops.
In addition to providing the bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa your soil needs the
compost-tea from the Symbio 620 brewer also contains the necessary nutrients for these
organisms to flourish.
Why is compost-tea used?
Inorganic fertilisers are mineral salts which together with pesticides, compaction and water
logging deplete the soil and substantially reduce the activity of soil micro organisms.
Compost-tea can rebuild your natural soil fertility and disease resistance by bringing these
organisms back into your soil together with their supporting nutrients. Compost-tea is an
important management tool for building a healthy soil food web. Compost and good quality
aerobic compost-tea can restore a healthy soil food web in a relatively short period of time;
results will usually be seen in weeks.
Advantages of using compost-tea:
It adds and stimulates the organisms in your soil and on your plants, grass or crops to
provide a continuous flow of available nutrients matched to the plant’s needs.
It increases the speed of decomposition of dead plant material e.g. thatch and stubble
converting it to soil building humus.
The nutrition value of your crop will increase dramatically.
Your staff will be exposed to fewer toxic chemicals.
Your soil food web will be enhanced instead of being killed.
Seed germination and ripening of fruits is stimulated.
Growth processes and defence mechanisms against drought and disease in your plants
are stimulated.
As the soil biology develops natural disease suppression will return to your rootzone as
the compost-tea stimulates the soil organisms responsible for disease suppression.

Symbio
Symbio Soil Life 620 Bio Brewer User Manual
Phone Symbio 01428 685762 for advice on use and application
4
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There are two drain holes in the Symbio 620. To
decant the finished compost tea connect the green
drainage hose to the top outlet. To remove the
residue before cleaning connect the drainage hose to
the bottom outlet.
Assembly Instructions for Soil Life 620 Brewer
Push the connector over the coupling on the 620
brewer and fix by pulling both levers parallel with the
hose.
The air pump must be kept above the level of the
water in the 620 brewer at all times. It should be
mounted on a stable platform away from water.
Electricity and water do not mix, you are advised to
install a contact breaker unit between the plug and
electricity supply.

Symbio
Symbio Soil Life 620 Bio Brewer User Manual
Phone Symbio 01428 685762 for advice on use and application
5
Connect the open end of the air hose to the valve and
the valve to the black rubber connecting tube, which
in turn is connected to the outlet of the air pump.
Connect the air hose to the 620 Brewer by
pushing the connection together and pulling the
coupling towards the air hose to complete an
airtight seal
There is a gate valve on each water outlet,
reached through hole in the outer wall of the
base of the 620 Brewer. Ensure both gate valves
are closed before filling with water
To empty the compost tea into your sprayer
attach the green hose to the upper drain. Open
the gate valve to the drain to be used by pulling
the handle towards you.
To clean the unit and remove debris close the
upper drain attach the green hose to the lower
drain and open the gate valve to the lower drain
and drain and flush the Bio Brewer with clean
water until all debris has been removed.