Going to start brewing my first compost tea tomorrow!

16 years ago

I have a few buckets of vermicompst (worm) that I made with my class (I am an elementary school teacher). We are going to start bubbling it tomorrow. The plan is to spray it on the gardens at school, but I would also like to take some home for my own lawn.

Any tips? For those who have used it, do you notice differences in the lawn in the short-term, or is this a long-term "soil health" thing? When should I spray it in relation to my fertilizer applications (before, after, same time)? Can it help break down the organic fertilizer if I spray it later in the season (October, November) since most here say that there aren't many microbes in the soil at that time?

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

skoot_cat
16 years ago
Thats awsome! are the kids into it?

Heres an idea/experiment the kids would probably enjoy. Before brewing the tea take a sample and view it under a microscope. Take another during the brewing process and view. Then one when its finished and view. Hopefully the end results will be higher numbers of microbes after it is finished brewing.

back to your questions:

If your using Organic Ferts, which Im sure your are. Any time is a good time. I prefer the cooler evenings when using compost tea. I feel it gives the microbes a fighting chance before the sun dries them out. Irrigate in after you spray with 1/2" water. Be sure to use un-chlorinated water when spraying and irrigating.

Theres still plenty of microbes in the soil during the winter. Their just not as active.
eastpenna
16 years ago
skoot cat,

I prefer the cooler evenings when using compost tea. I feel it gives the microbes a fighting chance before the sun dries them out. Irrigate in after you spray with 1/2" water.

I have also brewed my first batch of compost tea this week, however I did apply it in the early morning when the lawn was still wet from dew. If we are using city water, how would we use un-chlorinated water when irrigating? I did de-chlorinate the water I used in the brewing process.

Also about the only compost that I could get was soil king leaf soil, unfortunately I do not have a microscope to check for microbes, do you think this is ok to use?
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skoot_cat
16 years ago
Any time is a good time to apply Compost tea. The time of day is not scientific/proven that I know of. I just personally feel evening is better.

Theres really nothing you can do about the Chlorine in your city water/irrigation. Some of he microbes may be killed off, but plenty will still survive. It is good/recommended to de-chlorinate the water before brewing as you did. It gives the microbes a fighting chance.

If your lawn is small and manageable, I recommend spreading compost by hand. But, for a large lawn, this could be back breaking. Thats why alot of people spray compost tea.

Im not sure about the quality of compost you bought. I do know that the best compost needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens." Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps. All of which can be made in your back yard.
eastpenna
16 years ago
Thanks skoot cat, these organics are new to me, much to learn! I'll get there slow but sure, well mainly slow.
rutgers1
Original Author
16 years ago
We have little microscopes that aren't much more powerful than a hand lens, but I will try to see if anything is visible.

The kids are totally into it. We separated the worms from the finished compost by having a competition. Each group got a corner of the worm bin and they created a little meal for the worms. Then a few days later, I dug out each corner and had the kids count the worms that were attracted to it. They lost count, as there were hundreds of worms, but it was a fun time. Today, in computer lab, they made labels for the jars of compost tea that we will create.

The overall goal is to amend the soil near the playground, plant native plants there, and stop the erosion that is taking place every time it rains. The soil is TOTALLY sandy, so our goal is to amend it so much that the worms return. Right now, you would be hard-pressed to find a single worm.
dchall_san_antonio
16 years ago
Have you read the Organic Lawn Care FAQ over on the Organic Gardening forum? That will give you some background. Another source is a page I made on a good compost tea maker. If you want to see the microbes, you need a 40x microscope. If you want to see more microbes, you'll need stains.

Now, on to your real issue. If you have sand and want to stop erosion, you need a mess of roots in there. It will also help to have a dense top growth to stop rain from directly hitting the ground. One good grass you can use for that is creeping red fescue. It will grow to about 10-15 inches long and flop over in very attractive, clumpy waves. If you can get CRF established, your erosion problems should end. Another grass you can use is tall fescue. This is not necessarily the same as "turf-type" tall fescue (TTTF). I don't know the variety but farmers and ranchers use it to stop erosion.