compost tea

I was wondering if anyone had any new additives that they thought made their teas better. I've been making tea for 2 years now and have watched my garden come alive. would appreciate all input, I always think that, I can learn to make it better. thanks hostajim1

There is a nursery owner here locally who puts worm castings in her tea, brews it in can with some sort of aquarium pump for aeration for a few hours. It also has compost made with turkey litter. I just found the recipe. It's 1 lb castings/compost, 1 tsp molasses (non-sulfur) and 1 tsp humate. Is that what you do?

hostajim1, are you making "tea", or "leach"?

When I make "worm castings tea" I add molasses and let it work with that. Sometimes I add corn meal, especially if I've let the tea work a few days (that will give me a few more days before I have to do something w/it!).

Care to offer your ingredients? Thanks!

Shoe.

The people at this nursery told us that if you don't aerate your compost tea it begins to produce alcohol and alcohol is toxic to plants. I don't have any experience with this myself because I don't make my own tea. But I do buy it from a very reputable place. It comes in a 1 gal jug. I don't know how long it's been in there before I buy it, but I know it't not being aerated. So how dangerous is compost tea if it's been in a jug for awhile?

Jim, I don't know enough to be of help here, but thanks for doing this thread. I am very interested in improving my tea.

Where can you purchase the non-sulfur molasses and humate?
~Angela

I'm hoping to bypass the aeration, to simplify things. If you use your tea after letting it brew a day or two, wouldn't it be ók?

I don't know. At this nursery they are doing an experiment with "day-old" tea. If they don't sell all that they made they use it the next day on some impatience. The girl who was talking to us said the impatience is beginning to look a little ratty.

It's been a long time since I used any compost tea, because I just haven't had time. I put compost in all the beds twice a year and leave it at that. But I don't remember my plants being stressed out when I did use tea. I have heard from other sources that it is a very good idea to keep it aerated though.

thanks all for your replys, I should have posted my basic recipe, I start with a cheap garbage can. 26 gal, i bought an aquarium heater at wallyworld for less than $10 plus small pump less than $10 it came with airstones & tubing I weighted them to keep em on the bottom. aireation makes all the difference in amount of aerobic bacteria, I add earthworm compost, any aged compost seems to work well, I put it in old pillow case like a tea bag. along with alfalfa meal. the tea bag makes it so I don't have to strain it when it's done. or I should say it's easier to strain. I heard that you don't want to strain too fine because you'll strain out benefical microbes that you want in the soil. I also add mollasis, kelp meal, fish emulsion, I'm still working on formula that's why the tread. I keep the temp around 75% in about 3 days I spread it on everything, Lawn included. I do it about once a month. keep the ideas coming, hostajim1 P.S. silverfluter, I hadn't heard about the alcohol, I wondered why the tea looked so happy.

That's a good idea with the "tea bag", Jim. The straining is a pain. I'm going to have to give this a try.

Well, good luck with your tea makin'. I tried making my own tea and decided that if I just went out and bought it I would be more likely to have time to use it. For about the last year I haven't even had time to use any store bought tea, but I hope to get back to it.

plant_fiend, the only thing about the tea bag is you don't want it too fine, I guess the bacteria need to move freely. I know when I brew there is always a layer of mucus like substance on the surface of the bag, and there is a layer of foam on the surface of the tea.

If any of ya'll ever use Reemay (cover cloth) in your garden that works perfect for the "tea bag". Seems to have the perfect 'flo-thru' to it!

I'll look for the Reemay, Shoe. I'm thinking, depending on your thread count, those pillow cases may not let out enough of the good stuff! I am going to have some HAPPY plants!

Horseshoe, great idea!!!! I'll definetely do that, i'll have to have a lady friend sew it for me.

Well, you could sew it but I don't bother to. I just lay out a piece, usually doubled-over, and put some handfuls of worm compost on it, then put all the loose ends together so that the contents are now in a ball. Bunch the loose ends together and tie a string around them. (Picture a hobo going down the road with his belongings tied in a bandana, hanging from a stick over his shoulder!)

The string is also helpful cus it can be tied to the side of the bucket or barrel so you can pull the teabag out easily. Also, from all I've read, it's best to have the teabag/contents more towards the top of the solution rather than completely submerged and the string can be used to adjust that height.

shoe, I do the tying at the top of the can. with all the folds doesn't it get pretty gunky? I suppose I could spray it off every other day. thanks for input

Howdy Jim...

I don't have too many folds in my "tea bag". I took a couple pics yesterday:

Here you see the Reemay cut and laid out, I only fold it over once (making a double layer):

Then I put in a double-handful of compost. Here I am using vermipost (compost and worm castings.)

Sometimes I like to add corn meal to offer a little treat to the working bacteria! Sometimes I add it directly to the water as opposed to putting it in the tea bag but that is when I seem to have my "lazy days" and don't get around to doing something with the finished tea. If it brews too many days in a row there is very little for the bacteria to feed on; by adding corn meal at that time, or more molasses, it will revive the colony and give me a better product (and more time to deal with it if I'm in a busy tizzy period)!

Then just pull the corners up and keep the sides up as well, tie a string around it (a slip knot is helpful) and voila! Ready to roll. There are not many creases and when the brew is finished it's pretty quick to untie the string, plop the spent compost on some plants or back into the worm bin/compost pile, hose off the Reemay and you're done.

Hope the pictures are helpful.
Shoe.

Shoe, I make a lot of this stuff so I buy non-sulfer mollasis at the feed store 5 gal for $12.00. it'll last a couple years but it was getting expensive at the grocery store $4.00 12oz.

Thanks! I thought I had read that somewhere (buy it at feed stores). Dang, I was just there yesterday too, getting chicken feed!

Next time I go I'll be sure to pick some up. Is it sold as a supplement for cattle or goats?

shoe, yes it's a suppliment, that's why I thought of it, I was raised on a dairy farm, we used to pour it on some of the silage (corn, bean don't remember) if they weren't eating it.

Okay, thanks. (Only time I used to use it was when one of our goats had just freshened and we'd put some in water water for her to drink to replenish her iron and sugar level.)

By the way, when you make your tea in the 26 gal trash can, how much compost/ingredients do you put in your pillow case? (I've only been making five gallons at a time...and even then I often dilute it, depending on what I use it on.)

Shoe, I use about 1/2 gal earthworm compost, 2 cups of alfalfa pellets (non-sulfur). 1 cup of kelp meal. these are aproximations. any suggestions? let me know hostajim1

All great ingredients! Thanks!

I'm more inclined to leave out the kelp cus I'm such a miser. I only get kelp in small 10 oz containers (Maxi-Crop/Garden's Alive) and tend to use it sparingly. I like to mix it in my sprayer when I use fish emulsion and such.

The only other ingredient I've been considering lately, especially for upping the N level, might be to try some cottonseed meal. Am wondering also though that since it is mainly used for acid-lovers how it would affect the brew. Hmmm...maybe make up a special batch specifically for plants that like a lower pH. (Maybe I'll just make some and do a pH check and see how much affect it has.)

shoe, I get the kelp meal at the feed store in 40 or 50 lb bag. maybe you know someone who woould share a bag. JK

Kelp? At the feed store? Wonder why they sell it there...didn't know it was also a feed supplement. Our local store (Southern States) has ordered things for me in the past that they normally don't carry, guess I can always request some kelp, eh?

Thanks for the info. (I'm sure I could go thru 50 pounds of it; would love a bag that size!) :>)

shoe, it's possible that they allready have it, mine did, but I do check if they don't, they look it up and order. I didn't realize how many things they do have. lol Jk