"The KIS brewers are extremely easy to set up and use, very easy to clean, and make great teas by extracting all the species of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes present in the compost into the tea. Using the right resources, the KIS brewer can get fantastic fungal biomass growing in their tea maker. Using the KIS starter foods and compost, we have never seen the KIS brewer have a problem maintaining aeration. Even if "poor compost" has been used, where E.coli and other pathogens were in high numbers, these problem organisms have been dropped to less than detectable levels by the proper use of this machine."

~Dr. Elaine Ingham, Soil Microbiologist, author the "The Compost Tea Brewing Manual, 5th ed."
Corvallis, Oregon

"From the instant I got my KIS brewer, I knew it was going to be fun. The instructions were so simple that I set it up in about three minutes and turned it on before I went to bed. I used the tea in our greenhouse the very next morning (14 hours later instead of 12, but that was only because I slept in!). It was a fine looking brew with a great smell, good feel, and excellent color. I was quite sure my plants would appreciate it and I couldn't wait until the snow melted and I could get our and use the KIS-made compost tea on our gardens and lawns.

Since that first day, I have made dozens of brews with the very same KIS brewer. And what a joy it is to use. The machine is so easy to assemble that I can decide to make tea one minute and be brewing it the next. And it is just as easy to disassemble for cleaning. The stopper is a real nice touch that allows the cleaning of the inside of the system. Cleaning the system takes me all of 30 seconds and that long only because I do such a good job.

Am I pleased with my KIS? Just try and take it away from me.

Thanks for this important machine. It will change the world. I know it has changed the way we garden here in Alaska."

~Jeff Lowenfels of Garden Writers of America, author of "Teaming with Microbes, A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web." Jeff is a member of the Garden Writers of America Hall of Fame, he is a leading proponent of gardening using the concepts of the soil food web. His life-long love of gardening has led him to writing countless articles, hosting a popular gardening television show, and founding a successful program for soup kitchens called "Plant a Row for the Hungry" that is active in 48 states and has resulted in over 14 million meals fed to those in need.

Hi Tad,

Just wanted to let you know about the success and amazing results seen with using the AACT with your KIS 5 Gal. brewer.

I have been a competitive giant pumpkin grower since 1994, and up till the 2007 growing season, my best effort produced a 1186 pound pumpkin.

I purchased my first KIS brewer for use in 2006, and also started a no-till practice coupled with a complete switch to organic composts and fertilizers only for my pumpkin patches. Up until then I pulverized my soil with a tractor tiller, and used inorganic soluble ferts.

Since I started drenching and foliar spraying the tea brewed with your KIS brewer I have both increased the size of my pumpkins grown and the health of the plants. I grow one pumpkin per each plant of about 800 ft. sq. I used to have a great deal of leaf and stem die-back towards the end of the season and some severe powdery mildew problems. At the end of my first year using the tea, I saw a small amount of mildew on two leaves, and in 1997, my second year, I had no mildew and very little die-back. The plants were healthy right up until the first heavy frost. I also noticed a drastic reduction in insect damage. The difference was like night and day.

My 1997 pumpkins harvested for competition had increased my personal best from 1186 to a 1376, 1402.5, and a 1405.5 pounder, taking two firsts and a second place. (See attached).

I can't say enough about the the increased success I have had. I now realize how important it is to keep a biologically healthy soil and healthy plants. I attribute a great deal of this success to using the AACT brewed with you KIS system. I highly recommend  this system  to other growers and to all that want to brew great tea for great results.

William Bobier

I was not pleased with my dahlias the last few years and even after winning a number of head table awards I was sure the dahlias should have been bigger and more colorful. I was at a loss— I had used just about every combination of chemical fertilizer and jumped at any new chemical that promised to kill all of my pests and take care of all fungus. Still I was bothered with critters and my blooms were bigger in the past. As I was searching a garden magazine, I came across an advertisement for “TEAMING WITH MICROBES” by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis. The ad made sense to me and I purchased the book. BEHOLD! A whole new world opened to me. The book made the subject of Soil Biology understandable. And even more important, it was logical! Jeff and Wayne took a complex subject and made it simple for gardeners like me. I decided to evaluate this ORGANIC growing. I took half of my dahlia garden and grew it the organic way, the other half I grew the old fashion way. The results were more than I had hoped for and proved to me that not only can I grow prize-winning dahlias the organic way, I can bring my soil back to life.

I applied my first treatment of COMPOST TEA. After some expensive mistakes, I purchased a 5 gallon brewer from KEEP IT SIMPLE, INC. It’s simple, fool-proof and quick. I then had the tea tested by SOIL FOOD WEB of NY. Yes, the test is expensive, but not as expensive as some of the stuff on my poison shelf. The test results were outstanding and I was putting great biology back into my soil. Not only great biology but also my dahlias were getting all the nourishment in a slow release manner. I then did a soil drench with hydrolized fish fertilizer, this fed the biology so they increased in numbers.

The KIS 5 gal. brewer is so easy to use that I am now treating my garden 3-4 times a season. When I put the garden to bed with a cover of leaves in the fall I give a final treatment that will help break down the leaf mulch for the worms. With good biology I have lots of happy worms that work for food. I have no reservations when I recommend the KIS 5 gal. compost tea brewer.

Steve Nowotarski
American Dahlia Society
Garden Dahlia Committee, Chairman

Steve Nowotarski
American Dahlia Society
Garden Dahlia Committee, Chairman

Best Basket in Show—American Dahlia Society 2008 National Show at Longwood Gardens. Grown 100% Organic

Dahlia Garden at Planting Fields Arboretum---100% Organic

"This was the best garden I've have had in years! I really noticed a difference with the health and taste of my vegetables and I didn't have any disease problems. I love the smell and my garden loves it too!"

~Carin N. , Home Gardener

Seattle, WA

"Florida is wet and humid, the type of environment gnats love.  We have had some severe problems with them, until we started soil drench applications of actively aerated compost tea (AACT).

We are growing in a 3:2 coco coir/perlite mix in 6 liter containers, each spiked with 5 oz. of worm castings.  The worm castings are included to increase the population of predatory nematodes, which are not amplified in the brewing process of AACT.

Upon transplanting into the 6 liter containers, the first four fertigations include the AACT mixed with water, nutrient (organic), and supplements.  The nutrient and supplements supply humates and kelp extracts, which help the biology grow.  The AACT is diluted 12:1 upon mixing.

At this point, the predatory nematodes from the worm castings and from the tea itself have food to keep them going.  If fungus gnats lay eggs on the surface of the media, they will hatch into larvae and promptly be consumed by the predatory nematodes.  Since only the larvae are destructive, the problem is completely solved.

We chose Keep It Simple brew systems and compost based on the laboratory results from Soil Food Web.  There are a few companies offering systems that generate similar results, but the KIS system is simpler and cheaper, plus the customer service is great.

We no longer have any fungus gnat problems so the workload is definitely reduced.  Many other benefits have been realized through our use of AACT, but I’ll save that for future articles.  Thanks KIS!"

Sesh Raven
Raven Organics
Orange City, FL