yep! I hardly ever toss any liquid down the drain any more; leave spaghetti water to cool overnight & pour it onto the compost, drain canned peaches, mandarin oranges, & pineapple so that the liquid goes into the compost bucket (unless I have the kind that's packed in pineapple juice, in which case I drink it), pour cold coffee into the compost or onto a plant. etc. Almost anything you can eat or drink, the garden can eat or drink.

thanks very much for all the replies everyone :) blutranes "Do you guys leave the bag in for the whole brew?" It all depends on what my goal is in regard to what I want to do with the tea. Is the compost tea going to be a soil drench or foliar spray? Am I looking to increase microorganism counts within the soil or on the plants? Am I looking to feed the plants/soil nutrients or humic acids? The answer to those questions will determine what kind of compost I will use, how long I will brew the tea, how I will apply the tea, or how long between applications of the compost tea will be decided. Compost tea, like any other organic gardening tool can be used (or misused) effectively by the owner of just about any garden. With good information on hand and a goal in mind, excellent results can be achieved right now, my main project is a new Tall Fescue lawn I seeded about 6 1/2 weeks ago (on April 15th). One application of tea I used liquid seaweed extract. I heard seaweed is good for seedlings? I also heard alfalfa is good for seedlings? The soil is white/light gray clay. There was an old Tall Fescue lawn there before. This past March/April I killed the old lawn with roundup. I lightly core aerated (maybe 6 - 8 holes/sq ft). I tilled in some topsoil and compost (about 1/4 inch) to the top 2 inches or so with a rake (I didn't rototill it). I topdressed the seeds with a 1/4 inch layer of compost. I used Scotts synthetic Starter Fertilizer with Siduron crabgrass preventer. I've mowed a few times. I'm keeping it between 3 - 4 inches tall. What would be some good compost tea recipes for my newly seeded Tall Fescue lawn? I live in San Diego, CA

I have never brewed the tea but from what I have read... be sure the water is not chlorinated city water. what lucky peppers, zucchini, okra, and bananas you have. you say water but perhaps you mean spray the foliage of. If you do not have a sprayer then at least splash it onto the leaves while watering. Do this at a time when perhaps it has just finished sprinkling and the sun will not come out for a few hours. This gives a nice environment to get the good guys going for a bit before the hot sun. I would not reuse them. LIke mendopete I would either dump them on a lucky plant or back on top of the bin. The reason for the panty hose is so they will not clog your sprayer. If you are just watering then panty hose not needed unless to hold material suspended if the bubbler will not. The cheepest if ones with runs in are not donated to you would be "peds" or knee-hi's. These cover the foot or just up to the knee and should be very cheep unlike top of the line $$$ nylons.

Don't forget the Dahlias. They make a great addition to your already beautiful bouquets. Also I know you mentioned snap dragons and Larkspur, those are great additions as they add height to your bouquets. I also use large spikes off of my 3 Butterfly Bushes that I have growing in the yard. They don't always last long but they work. A good cut flower that few people know of are petunias. They last forever and sometimes I cut long trailing branches and let them hang down the vase for a beautiful effect. The double petunias are also wonderful as they look like carnations (another good choice). Dianthus are also great.