How should I apply my worm tea?!

11 years ago

I just started brewing at home in a 5gal bucket and I'm digging it. Question is, how should I apply it? I have approx 15 roses with a fair amount of annuals amongst them, a few year old trees, and a small tomato/pepper garden approx 40sf.

I just did my first application through a rain watering can which i just poured over the top of my roses in the front, 5 of them. Not exactly foliar or soil feeding. So I'm brewing another another tonight which will only handle half my plants in the back yard at today's rate. I also have a 1000sf lawn which I'm going organic on this year.

How do you guys make the most use of your aerated tea? Foliar misting, soil drench, or basically what I'm doing now?

Thx

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Comments (7)

User
11 years ago
Soil application is the best way to use the stuff unless your plants are experiencing immediate-need issues...foliar feeding is good for fixing some immediate-need issues.

Roots do a great job taking up nutrients and soil does a great job holding onto excess nutrients. Plus, the microbes in the soil will enjoy the tea a lot more than the leaves.
Raw_Nature
11 years ago
Many people have different opinions.. I personally just pour it on the soil, without filtering,etc.. CAUTION: I just brewed some compost tea and gave my 2-3 week seedlings/sprouts a good drench and the bacteria/fungus killed them! I think it is because you really don't have to much control of what you are brewing besides aerobic microorganisms, if the organisms in the tea is unbalanced it may be a concern to young plants..that being send, I can only see the tea benefiting older plants... Did you Purchase worm casting or do you have a worm bin?

Joe
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Joe, how do you know that it was the bacteria/fungus that killed your seedlings? I find that a bit hard to believe. Over watering....dense, non-porous container medium...and other factors are more likely to be the cause than a dose of compost tea.

If your brew has tested positive for pathogenic microorganisms, then your process or your recipe might be a problem.
Michael
11 years ago
At the table in a tea cup on a saucer with tea a tea towel on your lap. Sorry, couldn't resist :)
Raw_Nature
11 years ago
Rhizo- it wasn't a coincidence.. I was even aware of the problem before applying it... That's why they tell you to use a sterile growing medium.. I don't believe that to much, because innature there is nothing sterile.. I suspect it was my tea being "unbalenced" with organisms, in nature everything is in harmony, in a 5 gallon bucket, an air pump,and fertilizer you bought a store, not so much.. It wasn't my normal ingredients for tea, I usually hike to the woods and a bucket of topsoil and throw that in, this time i used inoculated out of a bag, which in not balanced in nature... I didn't water it alot at all...the next day, the plants were keeled over with what looked like "mold" around the stem... The soil was even dry! I made sure not to overwater...

Thanks,
Joe
Kimmsr
11 years ago
A hose end sprayer is usually the best method ot applying worm, compost, or manure teas. Just be sure there is adequate amounts of organic matter in the soil to support the life of the bacteria you are spraying.
Michael
11 years ago
Kimm: please be specific about, "adequate" amounts of O.M. in the soil.

How should I apply my worm tea?!

Comments (7)

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Raw_Nature

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