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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Using unfinished compost in compost tea

12 years ago

I made compost tea using unfinished compost. Now that I have used it on the base of my vegetable plants, I am worried because I read that e coli bacteria and other harmful bacteria are present in unfinished compost. Should I be worried and what steps can I take now to minimize the risks?

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Comments (3)

Kimmsr
12 years ago
What was you compost made of? Compost consisting of animal manures might have the disease pathogens that cause E-Coli, Listeria, Salmonella, and several others and if that undigested compost is used to make compost tea those disease pathogens can be present.
All of the produce from your garden will need to be washed very well before using, especially if they are to be eaten raw.
PhilipMSr
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you for your quick response. My compost is made from vegetable waste, leaves, coffee grounds,and garden plants, but no weeds or animal products. Do you think this mixture could harbor disease pathogens in an unfinished state?
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I believe that finished compost would be much better for tea brewing. Hot compost would have some thermophelic and mezzophelic bacteria in it, but would it survive the cold brewing process ? Is that what you want in your soil ? Finished compost would have the whole compliment of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and the rest of the micro-herd capable of surviving and multiplying when you brew and apply your tea. Below is a link to the FAQ in this forum for compost tea. Good luck with your tea brewing endeavor. Bill Hill Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ Compost Tea Basics
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All compost piles go cool, and more quickly than you might think, esp in the small home pile. With the correct amount of ingredients, moisture and air, the temperature goes up sharply, and then drops down more gradually. If you introduce more air into the pile by turning it again after it cools down, it will heat up again. When you turn it and it doesn't heat up again, it's 'finished'. There is a graph in the link below that shows how transient that heat-up is. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Compost heat graph
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My garden is going really slow this year due to NO SPRING in California and a cool summer! Compost can't help that problem.
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The amount of organic matter that you're shooting for will vary depending on the situation, the plant type, and who you ask but a pretty good rule of thumb is 5 to 6% by dry weight. If you put out steamed bone meal at a relatively aggressive rate of 15 lbs. per 1000 sq. feet, that would only boost the organic content by about 0.003%, or three one thousandths of one percent. That is, of course, before it even breaks down and some is lost to leaching, volitalization, plant uptake, etc. So the answer is yes but not much. Like Kimmsr, I too would top dress with compost.
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toxcrusadr
12 years ago
No, it most likely is just fine. Just wash your vegetables well and don't worry about it. Soil itself has about 10 billion microbes per gram, and they're pretty much the same microbes that are in your compost pile. Avoid eating compost just like you avoid eating dirt and you'll be fine.

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