compost tea

Have any of you used compost tea for fertilizing your lawn? I have a large lawn (1+ acres), and want to fertilize my lawn organically. I have a compost tea brewer (soil soup) and plan to spray it on with a sprayer I can pull behind my lawnmower. My question is how this works. I brew 25 gals. at a time, and could dilute it up to 10 to 1, so think I could do a good bit if not all the lawn with a spray. It should be quite good for the lawn, actually increasing the nitrogen by eating any thatch. Any experience of thoughts here?

Sounds like a great idea Bill. I use CT on my flower and veggie beds, but rarely do anything to the lawn. I may try it this year myself.

The *only* thing I put on my lawn to feed it is sifted, dry, finished compost in the Fall. We have the greenest and longest greening lawn in our neighborhood! I save my Manure/Compost Tea for specific plants in my garden. Putting the tea on your lawn certainly isn't going to hurt it!

Just by the way: you can get a great deal on brewer's this time of year from Soil Soup. The cost of the brewer is greatly overshadowed by the amount of product that comes with it, and once you start brewing up your own, it is quite reasonable. This last summer we put it on straight, totally concentrated, on all our plants and trees (huge flower beds in about a 2.5 acre area) and they started yelling, "Where have you been all my life?"! I know Anne Lovejoy writes of the value of it, and we concur. So I am thinking that it would be a great way to go on the lawn. Do you folks bag your grass or mulch mow? I would rather do the latter but it seems to spread pasture grass unbelievably fast when I do. Yet the amount of material I take off a 1+ acre lawn each week is formidable. Thoughts?

Do you have the URL for the Soil Soup website? I'd like to look into that. Currently, I maintain 55 gallon barrels of homemade compost/manure tea in all 4 of my gardens.
I mulch mow our lawn exclusively. But then, most people, including all of our neighbors, mow their lawn far too short - the grass never gets a chance to really sink roots down. Yes, I have to mow it more often, but our lawn is always green and lush when everyone around us has brown & stunted growth for turf. We don't have to use nearly as much water as they do either!
I note that you live on the other side of the Cascades in our state...water shouldn't be a problem for you anyway!
If you have to take a lot of material off your 1+ acre lawn, I would suggest composting it. Grass clippings also make excellent mulch when mixed with shredded leaves or straw.

Lettuceman, try www.soilsoup.com. They usually have a great sale this time of year. It's a great product. In fact Anne Lovejoy compared this brewer with one costing probably 5x as much, and found it to be just as effective. We love it.
Concerning grass clippings, I wouldn't have nearly enough leaves to mitigate against all those grass clippings! Additionally I've heard that grass clippings don't make very good compost. I don't know personally because I've never tried, but I know that when you begin to stack it up, all you get is a sort of black tar. If I can figure out a way to mulch mow without spreading pasture grass and poanna (or however it's spelled) throughout my lawn, I'll just do that. It's faster and a whole lot easier!

Thanks for the soil soup link. I will definetly check them out.
Yes, grass clippings by themselves tend to compact into an ugly clump and take forever to break down. However, they're loaded with nitrogren, especially early in the Spring, and they will break down splendidly when mixed in thorougly with other ingredients of your compost pile.

Again, might consider mowing your lawn a bit higher than you normally do and see if that doesn't solve the pasture grass syndrome for you.

I'd like a little more detail on SoilSoup production. I looked at the website. I am not sure I have an appropriate site with a nearby GFI that is protected and out of the weather. It also sounds like you would be hooked into buying their Worm Compost and/or Nutrient Solution forever. Are these necessary ingredients or can you produce your own equivalent?

I think you need to raise that question with them. Frankly, I can get the worm compost in bulk from them cheaper than from local sources. For me (understand, we've only had the brewer since mid-summer), this stuff has been unbelievable. It does everything for the plants I had read about - and perhaps more. I have only used it pure, unconcentrated, so all my flowers, trees, shrubs, etc. got full value. It will be interesting this spring to see what it does on the lawn when diluted. Also, with just a 25 gal brewer (we have 3 acres landscaped and another 2 in process), I think I'm going to start diluting anyway. I'd sure like others to weigh in on this. It is clean, easy, and a great way to nourish organically.

Just at a glance, and no offense meant, save your money.

You can easily make a compost tea brewer for less than $20 bucks. At the link given above, their 6 gallon brewer at $150 (did I read that correctly?) can be made from scratch much cheaper and will work just as affectively.

Go to Walmart/HomeDepot/Lowes/etc, buy an aquarium pump and some tubing, an "air rock", and you're all set. Only other thing you need is an five gallon plastic bucket or, if lacking that, anything that will hold the amount of water you want to work with.

Hook up your pump, the tubing, the air rock and place in the bottom of your bucket. Fill with water. Put compost, if available, in a pantyhose/cheesecloth/whatever you have along those lines and suspend just beneath the surface of the water OR you can even place it on the level of the water. (For extra bonus, add a few tablespoons of unsulfured molasses to the water.)

Allow to "bubble" a day or so. (I prefer to let it bubble 5 days at room temp.) A nice froth will appear on top!. This tea is now ready to dilute 10 to 1 or more, your choice.

For those of you who want more tea in less time, use a 55 gal barrel, use the same ingredients (compost/ worm castings, if available; molassess) and hook a soaker hose up to an air compressor (soaker hose goes in the bottom of the barrel, looping it around the bottom) and allow to bubble.

As an aside, instead of buying worm castings, it's very easy and very cheap to make your own. A worm bin can be made from a plastic bin to a homemade wooden bin to a salvaged chest freezer (my preference). Add your kitchen scraps, leaves, spent potting soil, etc. You'll have very happy worms! They love eating and pooping! It's their thing! Help them enjoy their life! You'll love it!

Thanks, Horseshoe. I thought there must be a cheaper way. This would be a good suggestion on the Dirt Cheap forum where (I think that's where) someone offered up links to make your own EB (earthbox) at a much cheaper price (but you do the labor). I need to generate more compost tea and I didn't realized infusing extra air/oxygen would do so much!

Horseshoe, I'm curious why it takes 5 days. I have a 25 gal brewer, and it is frothing like rootbeer within 18 hrs. It all depends on the ambient temperature in my understanding. One of the things I like about my SoilSoup brewer is the fact that I can break it down and clean it in less than 10 minutes. As you know, you need to do that regularly or the resulting buildup will be a bear to clean up. So have you ever used it on your lawn? Apparently it turns the thatch build up into nitrogen and fertilizes the lawn while breaking down the thatch! Sounds great to me!

billr...you're correct, it doesn't take "5 days"...I have had a nice froth from just over nite aeration. My first batch I let go as long as five days because for some reason I wasn't getting the froth; no doubt in my mind it was the temperature. Since then I make it in my shoffice and have much quicker results.

What I've also done is once it shows froth I've poured half of it out, dilute it and used it on my plants, etc. The other half, still in the bucket, has more water added to it, and is allowed to continue 'making'. Guess I'm working it like it's a "starter" solution. (Not necessary but I just love to experiment!)

As for the lawn, nope...wouldn't think of using it on my lawn, just not into it. I have a 2 acre veggie garden, numerous flowers beds, and a 1500 sq ft greenhouse. Those areas are first choice for me. I sure am glad to hear you are taking care of your lawn using an organic method, Bill...so many folks are really laying down the chemicals on theres, eh?

Soozer...there was a couple threads on here last yr and/or year before. I finally got around to building the smaller one (5-6 gal size) last year. The bigger one (55 gal) was created by Bob Cantisano in Calif several years ago.

Edited to say, "A-hah! Found the threads I mentioned above already! DG! What a great system!"

Here is to the big one:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/410938/

And here is one that got my interest up and got me started. Lots of other good info, tips pertaining to compost tea in this thread also!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/388148/

This message was edited Jan 12, 2005 1:42 PM

This is a great site, just found it couple of weeks ago. I have been making compost tea for years, using a 55 gallon barrel method as Horseshoe does and as other folks have done. I have two ComposTumbler's that I have been using for about 6 years now. The drippings I catch in buckets and dilute 10 to 1. I use the brewed compost tea and drippings (diluted) on my lawn and flower/vegetable gardens. The results are great.
A couple of months ago I bought the 25 gallon compost tea maker from soilsoup.com which was on sale for 249.00. I will start using that in about two weeks and I am going to see if there is a difference in results this year from what I make.
I look forward to alot of reading on this site and there is a lot of great folks here to learn more. Thanks.



This message was edited Mar 19, 2005 1:01 PM

TQS...Howdy! And a hearty WELCOME TO DG!

Sounds like you are a "tea lover" like the rest of us! Thanks for your input.

I bet your next purchase, or home-made project, should be worm bin so you have an on-going supply of worm compost/castings. At that point you'd pretty much be in the 'self-sufficient' department when it comes to providing food and medicine for your plant life, eh? (Course now, I imagine those compost tumblers keep you pleasantly supplied with goodies, too!)

Hope to see you around the site!

Shoe.

Shoe, thanks for the welcome. Worm bin project, well now you got me going, I never looked into that before. What are all the items that are needed to get started besides kitchen scraps and the like? I have read a lot of your posts and it seems you have been doing the compost tea for quite sometime also. Your right on the compost tumblers, they provide alot (drippings) and it all gets use up along with the 55 gallons batches that are made.
With all the reading's that I have done here, went out and I started a batch of tea, should be ready in 2-3 days or longer with the lower temp's we have.

Hi TQS--I have a suggestion for your worm bin. I am taking a master gardener class at my local agricultural extension office. They are a wonderful resource, about which most people have no idea. I got my starter worms there. You might be able to do the same. You should make sure you don't just capture your worms from your compost heap or your garden. They aren't the same type that survive well in a worm bin. I didn't know that and never knew why the worm bin I tried to start in my classroom alway ended up with molded dead worms. I used two 25 gallon, lidded plastic bins. I cut holes in the bottom of one, some holes in the side as well, fairly small on those and placed this bin down inside the other one. One lid can just be...thrown away or whatever. Anyway, shred some newspapers and layer it with your kitchen scraps. Throw some starter compost in if you want, but my little cup of worms with their accompanying compost was all I started with. Beware of putting too many "wet" materials in without lots of extra newspapers or it gets too wet and the little guys will drown in a mass of slimy muck. It's probably no different from what you put in your tumbler. I keep mine in the basement. Some people make a small one to go under the sink! Good luck.

earthwormlover, thanks for the tips. I have been looking at books on worm farming and WOW, there are a lot of books out there. I have no idea which book to get. I know I will use the search here on DG and learn from all you worm growing Pro's. Look forward to getting a education on worms.

TQS...mine worm bin is an old chest freezer, divided in half with a mesh divider. You can use many things from making your own wooden bin to plastic bins as earthwormlover suggested. There are many others on the mkt as well. (A DG member, HandHelpers, is presently trialing one of the store-bought units.)
With an operation your size (55 gallon tea brewers, two compost tumblers, etc) you may want to salvage a fridge or freeze and convert it into a large bin.

I recently linked this book in another thread regarding earthworm bins. You may want to check it out. http://davesgarden.com/gbw/c/230/

Shoe, thanks for the link on the book. I will be going to Barnes & Nobles and see if they have that book. I never thought of a old fridge or freezer, that's interesting. earthwormer does have a interesting setup as well.

TQS...You may find the book cheaper at Amazon.com I bought mine "used" there and it was very inexpensive and in good condition.

Shoe, your correct, Barnes & Nobles did not have it or any kind of good books on worm farming. Amazon.com here I come.
I went to Acme Worm Farm's web site and that was interesting. They have worm bins and the works to start a worm farm (small size). Would that be good to do, that is, start out small and grow? I do not have the room for a fridge right now. My tea brewers take up a lot room. Maybe I need to built another shed.

Yep...I'd start out small. "Small" is perfectly fine and you'll do well. Why not try something like earthwormlover is doing? Inexpensive to make and works great! Then all you'd need are the worms to get you going. (They'll reproduce so if/when you want to move up to a second bin, or a bigger one, you'll have your own "worm stock"!)

I have my freezer bin outside, under a shelter. On cold nites, in order to keep the worms actively working, I have a drop cord in there with a lite to keep the heat up. (Be sure to turn it off on hot days though...I accidentally fried some of my worms when the temp was high!)

Yes, earthwormlover worm bins is what I will do. I was at the store looking a plastic bins, the 25 gallon ones, could not find that size, but I have two 30 gallon ones now. Going tomorrow looking for red worms.

That light that you use for your worms, is that a heat type or just regular light bulb? I use heat lamps for starting out plants from seeds, would that work or would that be to much heat?

Most likely too much heat. Case in point...once when my light bulb burnt out (40 watt) all I had at the time to replace it with was a 100 wt bulb. I figured it would do fine for over nite (temps were going down in the 20's). Next day was very warm temp (outside) and I forgot to open the lid and/or turn off the light. When I remember I had some fried wormies laying on the floor of the empty side of the bin, they wanted to escape the heat but had no where to go. Poor things.

Most recenlty I've had a refridgerator light in there and it has done perfectly fine. Of course, as I said, my bin is an old chest freezer and I can shut the lid on it, keeping the heat in. Maybe if your heat lamps (or other type of light) was underneath your bins the heat would rise up and keep them warm that way? As far as temperatures go, if it gets no lower than 50 in your shed you should be fine without any heat source.

Very interesting thread! I'm going to try this. I have all the stuff at my house except the compost. LOL... have a 30 gallon fish tank that was disassembled, so have the air pump, air wand, tubing..
TEA TIME!

Shoe and earthwormlover, thank you for the information and sharing your systems on worm farming. You got me rolling and I cannot stop. I am going to start out small at first, then expand. I got two pounds of worms ordered (red worms), they will be here by April 1st. I am going to have a 5 tray system done before they get here and have the bed's ready also. Is there any little things that need done that I should know about or do? Thanks

TQS...If you make your own system, care to post pics of the process? I bet lots of folks would love to see it in the making!

As for things to do...I'd just go with a way for the worms to move upwards from bin to bin, have a bottom tray to collect moisture/tea, etc. You could actually start saving up your food scraps, too! (Someone I know froze hers while she was waiting for her rooms to arrive so she could offer them a "welcome home" gift!)

Guess you could also start saving your coffee grounds, too! And egg shells!

As for me, Sparks (DG member), who got me back into wormin', kept a blender near his worm bin. He'd put his scraps in there w/a little water and chop it up. I've been doing that too and it sure speeds things along. Got money in the budget for a worm food blender? ($14 at Walmart) ;>)

Shoe, thanks again for the helpful advise. My wife is interested in this worm farming also, and instead of building bins right now, we ordered a 5 tray system to start out with. However, for expanding, I am going to build a much bigger design using plastic and wood. As far as pictures, I need to learn all the in and outs on posting pictures. Once I overcome that, I will be more than happy to share.
I have a blender/chopper, kitchen scraps get beat up before going into kitchen scrap bucket with lid. Been doing this for years before putting the kitchen scraps into the compostumbler's.