Now that sounds like an idea worth stealing, heh... great tip!

I too had looked at those with the same thought. I seem to remember the mesh was a bit larger than I wanted, maybe a different make/model? I will be double checking on the baskets.

For my manure/compost tea bag I use an old zippered pillow sham that is quite thread-bare. Works well in a 40 gallon trash can and I just turn it inside-out to empty.

tj

I realize this is an extremely old thread. I'm looking for the easiest possible way to make manure tea without buying a bubbler and a lot of ingredients. (If that's the only way to do it, I won't have the time to do it.)

Can I just put manure into an old pillow sham and drop that into a bucket of water? About how long should the manure sit in the water before using the tea? I know to stir it occasionally - does it need to sit for more than a day?

Also, can Milorganite or GreenEdge (locally-manufactured Milorganite-look-a-like) be used instead of manure?

I'm trying to make a cheaper version of Alaska Fish Fertilizer which has gotten so expensive.

Thanks!

Carol in Jacksonville

You don't need to buy other ingredients. The bubbler is used to grow the bacteria faster. Not sure how the bubbler relates to your time?

But sure do it w/o, remember back in the day farmers would use a shovel and dump manure into a barrel with water. Using the shovel to mix things up.

I thought the whole compost tea thing has turned out to be not as beneficial as stated... and just using straight up compost on plants does more overall good.

http://www.gardenmyths.com/compost-tea/

http://www.finegardening.com/jury-still-out-compost-tea

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/11121288/Compost-tea-does-it-really-work.html

Use it rather soon, I would say. All that organic matter will use up the oxygen in the water pronto, as the microbes continue to work. After more than a day or so it will become anaerobic, stinky and possibly not that healthy for the plants. That's why air bubblers are used. You could get the bubbler (not sure how much they are but it can't be all that much) and skip all the ingredients except for the compost. Run it for a day or two and it won't get stink if you forget about it. Or, use it in a day or less.

This is all very rough guesswork from a non-tea-expert. But I have gone as far as what you're suggesting - compost in a cloth bag in a bucket - so I do know what happens after a couple days. :-]

Gumby, thanks for the reply. The bubbler is a time-factor because it is just another thing I have to buy, set up, manage, etc. I only have a small amount of time to even get the hand-watering done... I don't have time or money to buy lots of ingredients and/or manage a big process. That's why compost tea is out, as much as I would really like to do and have it.

I found this link below, which is very helpful, too. Answers many questions about various teas including "simple tea" (what I plan to make):

What are the Benefits of Aerated Compost Teas vs. Classic Teas?

Although I'm not young, I don't remember the farmers doing that... but it sounds exactly like what I plan to do.

Last two questions: How long should the manure sit and be stirred before I can start using the tea? And can the tea be used straight, or does it need to be diluted?

Thanks, again!

Carol

Re Nevermore44, I agree. Compost tea has always seemed to me to be an odd thing to make. Putting compost on as mulch, followed by rain, will extract pretty much the same thing out of compost as would brewing compost tea (e.g. organized leaching of compost), at a fraction of the effort. I understand there are active aeration strategies that are supposed to make *better* tea, but I'm really not convinced of their value. I'd welcome a pointer to some real research, as in, proof that it makes a difference.

I didn't read the whole link but it looks like is has some useful info.

<Last two questions: How long should the manure sit and be stirred
before I can start using the tea? And can the tea be used straight, or
does it need to be diluted?>

I'm gonna say that just like gardening there are many guidelines so do what fits/works for you & your schedule. Improvise where you need to - it all seems to work IMO.

Start it a day or so before you plant to use it. Just remember to give it a stir when you can. I use rain water but you can dechlorinate tap water by letting it sit out overnite too. Or use one of the tips in your link.

I often prefer not to buy things to put into compost much less compost/manure tea. The whole idea IMO is to feed the soil - let the soil feed your plants. btw- what do you plan to grow?

As for diuting it - I am sure you will find opposing view points but IMO people dilute when they want to stretch what they have. I have used mine straight.

I have done it differently on some years. Beginning just like you are talking about (using a 5 gal bucket). Then moving to a 30 gal trash can. I put a spigot in the bottom of each for ease of filling a watering can.

I added an aerator from a fish tank using some air stones. I didn't find it time consuming for me.

For watering I have also used timers with sprinklers or soaker hoses. I prefer the soaker hoses but setting up timers can be time consuming and I used those only when going away during the summer.

I posted something on this gardenweb some years back on how I do my watering using buckets but that is another story completely.

Found it
Deep watering for heavy feeders growing on upright trellises

There must be another post on here when I started putting compost in the buckets and just letting the rainwater drain thru it each time I filled it.

Have you considered worm composting? Over the winter then using that for either tea or whatever fits your lifestyle?

Re daninthedirt. Agreed. If the tea helped as a foliar spray and testing proved it was worth the outcome of suppressing issues... i would give it a try.... who wouldn't like brewing up some fun garden brew. I just need hard evidence. But it's not like tea can change the npk amount... so it being diluted to go farther just means you are diluting the npk and the bacteria that it grows won't survive in the soil you spray it in any greater amount then the soil can naturally support in the first place.

Ps... I also don't understand how kitchen scraps ... that by them selves aren't that amazing nutrition wise or beneficial in the garden... but if you run them through the gut of a worm ... become the best stuff ever. How the heck does that work

Just like it does in nature... I think it has to do with nature again but this time breaking down the nutrients in scraps to where the plants can use them immediately but hey...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=worm+composting

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=compost+research

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=worm+composting+research

When it rains on compost, you get compost tea. Yes, that's just like nature does it. So why do it yourself? Seems like a lot of work for what nature will gladly do for you.

But yes, tea parties require some real work, and some folks would say you need to use bags to make tea, I guess. You can even compost tea bags!

Do you feel that things others do affect you? Somehow?

Really?

Gumby... interesting reads. Might have to try the worm bins for fun now... though i do get a billion of the red wigglers in my bins now.

"Do you feel that things others do affect you? Somehow?"

An odd remark. Are you a psychiatrist? I feel that advice that people give other people deserves some consideration and discussion. My apologies if that affected you.

Really.

But I welcome your rationale for using compost tea, and perhaps references to real research on it.

Nevermore44, I think that kitchen scraps ARE pretty amazing nutrition wise, but the nitrogen content is so high that it can burn plants that they are lumped against. Digesting them first, whether by composting or by running them through a worm, makes that nutrition better suited to the plants. In the same way, chemical fertilizer is great for plants, but you don't dump a load of it on a plant and expect it to thrive.

Re Deep watering for heavy feeders growing on upright trellises , that's a nice way of making in situ compost tea. Just bury the compost, and pour water onto it. The leachable nutrients leach out directly to the roots of the plants. Not quite sure why you need a buried bottle to do it, though. I often make tea by putting a teabag in my cup, and pouring hot water on it, though I guess if I had a real tea party, a teapot would be more appropriate, though more effort.