Brewed Compost Tea.........have you tried it???

14 years ago

HI there, I just put together my first compost tea contraption today. Of course I have been making my own compost for several years with very good luck, but never compost tea in a bucket with an air pump and all the other stuff that goes in. In a Five-Gallon bucket full of water, I used Molasses, Cornstarch, Worm Castings, homemade Compost, and Fish/seaweed emulsion. I put air to it with a fish tank airpump for circulation and air bubbles, of course, for the bacteria so it doesn't stink. It will sit and perculate for 24 hours and then I will dilute it before putting it on the garden.

I was wondering who has tried this and what kind of results you have gotten in your garden???? Do you think it makes a difference????

Thanks

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Comments (8)

digdirt2
14 years ago
Have used compost tea in the garden for many years with excellent results.

But there is no need to go to all that work and additives for good compost tea. For many decades compost tea was nothing more than some compost in a bucket filled with water and allowed to "brew" in the sun for a couple of days. That method still works fine. ;)

Dave
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bsntech
14 years ago
I started using compost tea this year and I think it has really made things perk up well. I mostly use it to just spray on the leaves - but a few occasions I have watered the soil with it as well.

I have a big 32 gallon trash container that I fill with completed compost tea - then I have a fish aquarium powerhead at the bottom with a air pump attached to it. That way the powerhead keeps the tea moving while pumping oxygen into it.

A 55-gallon container I have is filled with dead leaves and other compost materials. I'll first fill this up and let it sit a few weeks, then drain it and put it into the 32 gallon trash container - that is what I mean by putting completed compost tea in the 32-gallon trash container.

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog
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Probably better to just use the results of your previous composting to amend the soil. Not really all that important to make compost tea except if you have a specific use, like a weak diluted fertilizer for well established seedlings or something else - I've made lots of compost for years and never needed a compost tea. I've used some barrel-type composters, but personally I prefer my method of cutting 10-foot lengths of a cheap 2"X4"X4' welded wire fencing to form free-standing rings. I cut halfway between the vertical wires to leave tabs, bend 3 or 4 into hooks to hold the ring together, A 50' roll makes five bins. I typically have three bins working at different stages, and several more filled with ground up leaves(brown dry materials) that I use as cover when I bring out my compost bucket or have other "greens." I build my current pile in layers whenever I have greens, layering it with browns. Once I get to the top of a bin, I can start another - layer of browns, then greens, etc. The one that filled up, I can remove the fence ring, set it next to the pile, then turn the pile back into the ring, adding water to moisten as necessary. I usually have one pile finished, or about finished, when I need it, one pile turned and working, and another pile being built over several months while using greens from the kitchen. If I get a bounty of grass clippings(I don't pick them up in my yard) or other greens, I may generate a pile a little quicker. The pile that's working can be made to process quicker by turning and moistening a few extra times, but I'm not usually that impatient. Technically, compost happens all on its own given enough time!
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wordwiz
14 years ago
I don't go through that much work either. I have some buckets with holes in the bottom as well as a couple of planters. Add food scraps, dead leaves, corn husks, onion peels - whatever is compostable and then cover with a thin layer of dirt (only for the ones upstairs in my grow room). Once I accumulate a few inches I add a couple of quarts of water each week or so. When the bucket under it gets full, empty the tea into 2-liter pop bottles or 3-gallon kitty litter jugs. A few days before I plan to use it, I aerate it.

Mike
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mauirose
14 years ago
you store and then aerate? Can you explain how that works please?
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wordwiz
14 years ago
I really can't explain! And it probably does not work as good as aerating from start to finish. But I produce tea year-round. I used some last August that was made in December and the Green Beans showed the results in two days.

One thing I do not do is use molasses. I read a couple of studies where it said it MAY cause e. coli in tomatoes. I know - lots of people do and have never got sick. But I don't see a reason to take a chance.

YMMV,

Mike
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mauirose
14 years ago
guess we don't always need to know why it works, just that it does ; ) Certainly decomplicates things.
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cindysunshine
14 years ago
I did the simplified method of just adding a few scoops of compost a large garbage can I kept out by the garden in the back - filled with water and let it set for a couple days and then I just scooped the tea out with a smaller bucket and added to the plants. I had mammoth tomatoes those years - it did seem to make a very happy garden.
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mangledmind
14 years ago
We just poor off the "brown water" from the bottom catch trays of a few of the larger planters. Works great.

Going to pick up a few plastic drums off Craigslist to start a larger tea storage. I think I'll try some of the ideas posted here, should get some good results, thanks for sharing ya'll.
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Brewed Compost Tea.........have you tried it???

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digdirt2

bsntech

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