| 2/4/2014 1:31:03 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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walt_oftheearth
Avondale, AZ
62, joined Feb. 2008
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I have a growing interest in making aerated compost "tea," for it's beneficial bacterial and fungal microbes that it "feeds" the soil.
I am reading everywhere that "living" compost is vital to successful compost tea. This is usually not the compost we find in plastic bags at Home Depot, or even a nursery, for that kind has not been processed to grow these living microbes.
Anyone here been using Compost Tea and if so, what has been your experience?
How do you brew it?
What kind of compost do you use?
What "food" for the microbes do you put in the tea?
Do you aerate the compost tea while it is "brewing," and if so with how much air, and for how long?
Some say that if there are fungal microbes in the compost, that at the end of the brewing cycle, they are gone. Have you found this to be true
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| 2/5/2014 10:16:58 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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cupocheer
Assumption, IL
68, joined May. 2010
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 about your "tea", Walt ... but I have 'composted'.
You can compost several ways ...
make a 5' X 5' bin -- wire walls -- earth floor
thrown in some stray (this crates food)
throw in some cow manure (this creates heat)
throw in food scraps (this creates bacteria)
layer after layer
the wire mesh sides allow air circulation
use a pitch fork to turn and mix the compost
add dried grass clippings, leaves, more stray, more manure, more food scraps
keep turning and mixing over the weeks while the compost is cooking
to keep the compost from 'cooling' during rainy weather -- cover the bin with a tarp or attach a wood lid over the structure
as the compost cooks down -- keep adding layers of food, heat & bacteria sources
when the compost is being used (in the garden, flower beds etc) do not put it directly against any plantings as it will be "hot" and burn the plantings causing them to wither --- place the compost near the plantings to allow the compost to cool -- after a few days the compost can then be moved in around the plantings
Hope this helps --- my great-grandmother taught me.
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| 4/4/2014 7:21:34 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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lakeforme
Hewitt, NJ
51, joined Mar. 2014
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been using horse manure tea for years, simply put a few week old manure in a 5 gl bucket (50% full) add water let steep with a plastic bag cover for one week. Use cheese cloth to strain liquid, I add approx 1 cup of tea to 3 gls of water and hit the perennials just after they pop and after any potential frost threat. Good luck if you try it.
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| 4/6/2014 9:18:50 AM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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mysticalsag9
Clarksburg, WV
60, joined Jan. 2013
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http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Coffee-Grounds-in-Your-Garden I have heard just reg tea is good as the liquid and mantur always is good to use even plan ...
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| 4/10/2014 4:46:11 AM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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cheridth2
Kermit, TX
40, joined Apr. 2013
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i compost in a 30gal trash can. i turn it with a shovel. i let it gather rain water. then i use an old bowl to dip out the water and use it on my pecan trees.
what i put in barrel-grass cuttings from lawnmower-leaves-clippings from my hedges. never weeds or tumbleweeds or sticker weeds because it tends to grow more in the barrel. it takes three yrs to compost properly-my barrel is on its second yr.
after the first yr it had composted from full to half but i messed up and added more. once a month i turn it and if we ve had no rain i add a few bowls of water plus a shovel full of dirt.
lol by the smell its working. i dont put in food scraps-draws critters. food scraps i put in a sealed container with clippings n dirt.
living manure
is the green stuff from your yard. grass clipping, still green leaves, hedge clippings, the plants no longer producing in garden that arent permanent. bark doesnt work so well.
there are many ways to do it, alot of info out there and tons of books. just find what works for you.
oh if your interested, theres books on amazon for free on gardening stuff and tons not so expensive. I was browesing but didnt get a chance to get any of em and im sorry Walt, i dont remember the names.
glad i stopped by, i didnt know you have to water it down. I just use it as is.
green manure or living manure is also the grass n certain weeds you pull from the garden that you toss around the plant, i tried that last summer and what i saw was it acted like mulch-holding moisture around the plants.
hope this helps.
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| 5/11/2014 6:24:41 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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tileman1814
Kalispell, MT
66, joined Nov. 2007
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Instructions for making and using compost tea.
Compost tea is an effective, low-strength, natural fertilizer for seedlings and garden plants, and it can suppress fungal plant diseases. The tea-brewing process extracts, and in some cases grows and multiplies, nutrients and beneficial bacteria and fungi from compost and suspends them in water in a form that makes them quickly available to plants.
Making compost tea doesn't require any special equipment. Here's how to do it:
1. Place compost and water (10 pounds mature compost for each 10 gallons of water) in a 40-gallon barrel. Protect the barrel from cold and heat.
2. Stir with a stick daily for a minimum of 5 days.
3. Strain the liquid from the compost after 5 days, using cheesecloth or burlap. There should be no bubbling or off odors. Use the compost tea immediately, without further dilution.
When you brew compost tea, be sure to use mature, sweet, earthy-smelling compost. If your compost smells unpleasant, it could be anaerobic, and few beneficial microbes survive in this environment. One way to achieve tea-worthy compost is to sustain pile temperatures at 135° to 155°F for a week or more by turning the pile often. Or, a well-built pile that has composted for at least a year will produce tea-ready compost even if it did not heat up to the ideal temperature range.
Semper Fi !!!
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| 6/22/2014 2:28:49 AM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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lee3377
Madison, VA
43, joined Jan. 2012
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Someone could probably use compost tea to make nitrates, as they did years ago to make gun powder.
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| 6/24/2014 10:05:52 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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albyak
Parrott, GA
67, joined Apr. 2011
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Started out using cow manure in Japanese raised garden but had to many neighbors jumping my fence for the mushrooms it produced so put the poop in a 55 gal drum with water and the tea worked good-no special recipe just cow and water and drained the water on the garden through a hose. But my neighbors were not near as  .
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| 8/19/2014 8:07:10 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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5_minutehugger
Muncy, PA
71, joined Jan. 2014
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I don't use my compost for making tea.
I have a 12-foot diameter compost bin.
But for Tea, I put a burlap bag in a BLACK 5-gallon Bucket.
Put 2 or 3 gallons of Rabbit Pellets in the bag,
and fill the bucket with HOT water.
Put a loose lid on the bucket.
Put the bucket in Sunshine
where there is minimal wind.
Inside a Hot Bed is good,
if it is high enough for the bucket.
The temperature should reach 110 F.
In two weeks the water should be brown,
and ready to water plants.
Rabbit Pellets are my favorite plant dressing.
Keep them damp to release nutrients during rain or watering.
nhawlman
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| 8/23/2014 1:45:21 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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cupocheer
Assumption, IL
68, joined May. 2010
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I don't like tea, period.
Not in the market to even try a compost tea.
Chit is a cheap fertilizer and easy to get but can be too hot to work with until it ages.
[Edited 8/23/2014 1:46:48 PM ]
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| 11/17/2014 5:23:19 PM |
Compost "Tea" Questions. Anyone Here Brewing & Using It? |
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gamangodawgs
Ringgold, GA
63, joined Aug. 2014
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compost bins made easy with 4 pallets and can make it let 1 side down to stir and airate slats let plenty of air
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