You can brew worm tea but I have found a better method. It takes months to make worm castings. I have 5 worm bins made from Kitty litter buckets and 2 inside bins (rubbermaid containers). I have a lot of potted plants and hated tossing the spent potting soil (expensive) into the garden. I have 2 compost tumblers and when the exothermic reaction is done I add worms to speed up the process. All bins are raised and have collecting trays. The drippage is the best worm tea. I collect it daily using a turkey baster,bulb syringe, or toomey syringe if you have one. You can collect the tea long before the castings and pour it on your potted plants. I have a 5 foot cilantro that really loved it and have brought back many nutrient deficient plants. Recycling potting soil in worm bins really works too and the worms love them.

I believe I am the one who stated "compost tea." ... but I do not have a "WF." Rather, I have several barrels that are watered by gutter rain and fed with kitchen and garden scraps, as well as chicken poo. At the bottom of the barrel there are several spouts that feed into holding containers. The water that drains through to the holding tank is what I refer to as "compost tea." I use this directly on plants without diluting, and have had only marvelous results. As for the smaller tubs of concentrated redwigglers -- I use the large Wal-Mart totes that held items sent to the thrift store. Stacking two, three, four, or more depending on the amount of worms and accumulated castings. On the very bottom is a solid tote with holes in the lid which holds anything that drains through the top bins. I equipped the bottom bin with old spouts from large detergent containers to dispense the liquid as needed. This liquid...I have no name for it. It is sometimes there, sometimes not, and sometimes I drain water all of the way through to have a bit of concentrated liquid. The concentrated liquid I use on my open-air compost piles or throw in the Compost Tumbler to heat up the compost. But if you have an indoor worm bin, which I believe a "WF" is...I wouldn't want water on the bottom. When my indoor worms (meals and supers) get too wet I think I am seeing spots...then I realize fruit flies are multiplying like crazy. Then it's off to the big-box for some apple cider vinegar and some Damp-Rid. :)

Hey, guys, I really don't know why anybody would buy (or sell) worm tea at all. Just tell folks the simplest, no-mistake way to make it while recycling your household organic waste at the same time...here's how: OK, this post is a bit long, but you will be glad you took the time to read it. About 99% of advice and videos I�ve seen on how to make Worm Tea involve soaking the castings for 24-48 hours in a 5 gal or larger container with air bubblers going for aeration. I really don�t see the need to harvest worm castings or "brew" worm tea from castings at all. To me it seems like unnecessary waiting, unnecessary energy spent and actually less efficient use of the worm "offal". In the following, I detail a much simpler method which I think is more efficient in every aspect, and I would like to know what you and your audience think. Using this method, my garden has grown quickly without the use of any other fertilizer and severe infestations with aphids and white flies have disappeared. I also would like to know what you recommend as a mineral, etc. supplement to worm tea, or is it a complete fertilizer in itself. I built a worm bin in a 25 gal Rubbermaid Tote, I originally drilled 5/16″ holes only in the sides and ends for aeration, but NOT the top and bottom. However, I developed a problem with gnats or fruit flies coming in through the holes. So I redesigned it and I installed 4 x 4″ plastic dryer vent covers, 2 in the ends near the top and 2 in the sides near the bottom, covering them with a piece of nylon from old ladies hosiery. This solved the problem I had with gnats Then I installed a PVC drain valve in one end near the base of the unit. Next I put a bag of gravel over the drain valve intake, filled with bedding, kitchen waste and worms and wait 2 or 3 days for the worms to do their thing. I pour a 2 gallon watering can of water over the worm bin contents 2 or 3 times daily and put the can under the spigot and turn on to allow it to drain into the can. PRESTO, worm tea and it works very well. This Worm Tea (or Leachate, call it what you will) is simply the dilute and FRESH version of Worm Castings and can be poured directly over the leaves of your plants and/or onto the soil of your garden. This method avoids the 3 to 6 month waiting period during which time your worm bin matures after which the castings can be harvested. This way your worm tea can be harvested almost immediately and several times per day providing up to 6 gallons per day of effective, perfectly diluted worm tea for your garden. Using this large volume of water and not allowing it to sit in the worm bin avoids the problems I have seen others have of making the worms uncomfortable, etc. My worms have yet to "run" and are never to be found crawling on the sides or lid of the worm bin, and just appear to be very content to take their daily "worm shower". It appears that what is happening is that the water is partially dissolving the worm castings and cleaning out what other worm wastes are present (pee, poo, sweat, slime, etc.) and keeping your worm bin clean and attractive to the worms. In other words, they don�t have to crawl around in their own waste products for several weeks or months. Since their home stays nice and clean with plent of aeration and food, they have no reason to leave. It just works, plain and simple, with the absolute simplest and cheapest design, least amount of labor and attentiveness and greatest productivity of any system I have heard of. Try it, you�ll see. Michael

1) I brew mine from 24-48 hours depending on temp. A good "head" on the brew is a good indication it's ready (i read this on the internet.. it MUST be true) In winter when temps are low it takes longer to brew. 2) I use 1 Tbs per gallon of water. 3) Some strain it after, some put it in cheese cloth, some use panty hose. I use a pool screen bucket with a painters net bag used for airless sprayers. To each his own. If i'm not spraying it... sometimes i just dump the VC right into the brew and stir it up every few hours. --chris