Compost Tea Setup (Photos)

13 years ago

I thought that I'd share a compost tea setup that I built several years ago. It cost well under $100 for parts and works very well.

As you can see in the Photos it's a 55 gallon pickle barrel and aquarium parts. I first drilled a hole towards the bottom of the barrel and installed a hose bib. I then purchased a small aquarium pump and a couple of air stones, (help me out here people, I'm not in to aquariums and I'm having a brain fart and dont recall what those long things are in the Photos but they pump air). For lack of a better description I'll call them "air stones." I then bought some plastic tubing and that was it.

What I do is to take an old pillow case and put in composted horse manure along with one of the air stones and suspend it down in to the barrel. I also run another air stone in to the barrel and let it rest on the bottom. I then fill it with water and plug it in. It doesn't take but a day and I have some really good tea that I can either put-in my sprayer or use as a soil drench.

You can use whatever ingredients you want in the pillow case, sometime I'll add mollases or alfalpha pellets and other ingredients.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask here or shoot me an email.

Greg

Nevada

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Comments (4)

CaptTurbo
13 years ago
Very slick system! I have three aquariums and do 25% water changes each week. I doubt my "fish water" is as good as your tea but the plants seem to like it.

Thanks for sharing your cool tea machine!
sandhill_farms
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, captturbo. Now given that you're in to aquariums exactly what are those things that I'm calling "air stones?"

Greg
Nevada
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I suppose I should have mentioned something before too.... :P We actually recently moved to a new house, so the entire organic process will need to start over for me again. And I do understand that eventually organically we get to a point where the benefits of compost tea are certainly limited if not non-existant. However, I'm also thinking that it would be an interesting way to apply fertilizer too. Hydroponics apply fertilizer in the same manner, sort of.... where they will take straight granulated fertilizer and mix it proportionately with the irrigation. At least, that is what I've seen in some large scale tomato/cucumber operations where the seeds are planted into volcanic ash blocks..... It just seems to me that the irrigation system could be used so much more efficiently than just to spray with water.... Compost tea, liquid organic fertilizers, etc. Just a thought.... What I'd really like to do is get more background in the ideas that the University of Colorado has in the system they are using. Even though it's a robust operation, I think it can be tweaked for the home lawn enthusist.....
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OK, I had to get in on this one. Years ago I built a pile on some used corrugated roofing and noticed some rich leachate running to the lower end so I dug a small hollow there and placed a bowl in it to catch the stuff. It is strong so a little goes a long way. Then I "scored" some discarded panels of expanded metal from an industrial demolition site and a 30 inch corrugated plastic culvert from another. I set the panels atop some concrete blocks and the culvert on end on top of that and there is just enough room beneath for a black plastic tub (the kind they sell at hardware stores for mixing mortar). This is the best set-up I've had yet. Not only can I avoid wasting a drop of the small amount of grow juice that escapes, but the bin thus formed draws air from underneath the grate as it heats which means a lot less turning, if any. I harvested some of the drippings today...about 2 quarts, black and looking like "Texas Tea", and after diluting in about 40 gallons of water it was still quite strong. By definition this stuff is soluble so plants will tolerate it strong and boy do they grow! I did the aerated tea with it too one year and it worked well too. I just used a 5 gallon bucket and a small aquarium air pump. Not sure if it is any better but I like to experiment (can u tell?).
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Welll, it all depends on the size of the garden you have, the weather, etc. I can tell you how I do it. Not saying its the ideal - I don't do all the fancy aeration/additives stuff - but it works for me. I have a 55 gal plastic barrel with a removable top. It sits in the shade by the garden shed. I fill it with water about the time I do the spring tilling. I fill all the old cotton tube socks that have gone to the darning pile over the winter (I have read that some use pantyhose) with finished or almost finished compost, tie off the tops (usually about 10 of them) and toss them in the barrel. Put the top on and let it sit. As needed I dip out a bucket full, dilute it as needed (usually at least 2:1 or 3:1) and water with it or spray for foliar feeding. About mid-summer I refill the barrel and add some fresh socks. ;) Hope this helps.
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Avajay asked: "If I don't want to get into an aquarium setup right now (money's kinda tight), will my outline above serve any purpose? Would it be better than nothing, or am I just wasting my time? No, you are not wasting your time; your method of making compost tea has been used for many, many years. Contrary to what some call the truth, your technique can make a great compost tea in as little as 2 (two) hours. Of course, brewing for a longer time will allow more microbes to grow in the brew, thus creating a more potent compost tea. If the weather is hot outside I would not brew for longer than 3 (three) days to avoid the tea becoming anaerobic (no oxygen in the bucket), this will avoid the tea becoming smelly and possibly dangerous. Better to make a weaker tea and apply it more often. The link below is just one example of a way to make compost tea. Yes, using a bubbler is faster and makes a more powerful tea, however the soil food web and plants will grow regardless of the microbe count. Make your compost tea and feed your plants. Your garden will be very grateful and reward you in both enjoyment, beauty, and harvest. I trust this helps in some small wayÂ Blutranes Here is a link that might be useful: How To Make Compost Tea
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CaptTurbo
13 years ago
I think you nailed it. They are air stones. I use them by the truck load in my aquariums and even in the bait system on my charter boat.

You might find that over time you are seeing less air coming out of them and think your pump is going bad but in almost all cases you just need to change the stones.

I've saved a few by scraping them but I usually manage to break the area where the plastic tube is glued into the stone just before I'm finished with my "re-furbing". Luckily they don't cost much and I just buy a bunch more.

I really am impressed with what you have come up with and will keep my eyes open for a suitable barrel to start making some tea myself. I'm already thinking about using "fish water" and compost LOL. I'll probably burn my retinas with the great "FLASH" of all that nitrogen burning up my plants as I pour it on them. POOF! LOL.
sandhill_farms
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks again, captturbo for your compliments. Actually it wasn't my design and I don't really remember where I saw it, I think it was here on GW years ago. It's simple, cheap to build, and it works great. Yeah, I can see where the "air stones" could get clogged-up, but as you say, they're cheap. I'm wondering if you could shoot a blast of air from a compressor, (not full blast), in to them to un-clog them. Worth a try I guess.

The possibilities are endless what you can/could use to make your tea. I'm also thinking about using my submersible water pump in the bottom of the barrel so I can do a soil drench. Just attach a garden hose to it and go for it in my garden areas.

Just a suggestion but try and find a plastic barrel that has been used in the food industry as opposed to something that was used for chemicals. Of course I'm sure that you've already thought of that. There's a store in Las Vegas that sells nothing but the reconditioned barrels.

Greg
Nevada

Compost Tea Setup (Photos)

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Compost Tea Setup (Photos)

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