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Soil, Compost & Mulch

compost questions: snails/slugs + compost tea

16 years ago

Hi -

Two questions from a newbie:

1 - I recently bought one of those tumbling compost bins with the compost tea catcher in the bottom. I've been making compost from kitchen scraps, etc for a couple of months now, and have been diluting the "tea" in the base and adding it to my garden. But last night I read that tea should be made from fully composted materials. This tea is from compost that is still very much in the works. Is this okay or am I harming my garden by spreading this stuff around?

2 - This is kind of gross, but can snails and slugs be tossed into the compost bin? What will happen to them? Will they help speed up the process?

Thanks so much!

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Comments (3)

tclynx
16 years ago
1- Technically what you have been using is leachate not really tea. Some plants may be sensative to it but if it isn't hurting anything then it is probably ok.

2- I would drop the snails/slugs into some soapy water before putting them in the compost bin, otherwise they might survive to plague your plants again. (I personally find that most really gross things are great for compost so long as you have some cover material to balance them)
Kimmsr
16 years ago
If your composter is dripping a liquid the material in it is too wet to properly anerobic compost. There should never be any liquid runoff from a properly constructed compost pile, even one in one of those really expensive and unnecessary commercial things.
Slugs and snails are part of Ma Natures recycling machine but they do not distinguish between living plants and dead plant materials and so are considered pests. About all they will do in your composter, besides digesting some of that material, is mate and lay eggs to spread around your garden because as wet as your compost is it is a very good envinment for them.
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goldenpond
16 years ago
I find this is a question that is asked repeatedly and still everyone has differing opinions.Just try looking up sites on leachate and compost tea . I have a COW(can of worms) and get plenty of leachate. I was told it was ok to use as compost tea by the people who sold it to me. I killed many plants with it,(including two 15 ft hollies) the ones that did not die turned white.
I like to do my own experiments since that way I KNOW how it works or doesn't.
I am thinking of a new experiment using the leachate as organic round- up since it has had that effect on my plants! Just my opinion.

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