Brewing Compost Tea Help Request

I am becoming interested in brewing my own "compost tea". Any advice would be great! Does anyone know anything about certain brewer kits that are better than others, or a great plan for a homemade one? Is it really worth it to "brew" vs. just "steep"? Any info you have would be great!

By the way, I did a lot of internet searching, and here are some sites I came accross:
Instructions for making your own:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tea/tea1.htm
http://www.deuleysown.com/how%20to%20make%20compost%20teamaker/how%20to%20make%20your%20own%20teamaker.htm
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00030.asp

Commercial products to purchase:
http://growingsolutions.com/home/gs1/products_main.html
http://alaskabountea.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/45
http://www.earthfort.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=3&cat=Tea+Brewers

This message was edited Jun 11, 2006 12:20 PM

Interesting.

I've read lately that some gardeners are backing out of the practice after jumping on the bandwagon for several years. Primarily because they say that the research is not proven; especially with foliar spray.

For me, I left my compost tea article on my website, because the research available exceeds the doubts for now.

And, it's fun !!

The best tea I ever made was from a few clumps of dirt and weeds forgotten in the wheelbarrel, left out in the rain. It was found a few days later by following my nose. It was a nice frothy microherd.

The only thing I truly notice is that aerating the tea really did give it more of a "punch". Since killing 1/2 of my blue spruce with a (miracle grow type formula) foliar spray I have been more prone using compost tea STRICTLY as a fetilizer and NOT as a foliar.

One of the reasons I bit the bullet and bought a rolling barrel type compost maker is the base collects the tea. I've only had it a couple of weeks, but I'm looking forward to using it. Anyone know if I should dilute it?

The composter seems to be working well, though it got a bit stinky when I let it get too green. Threw in some shredded newspaper and turned it a bunch and it's fine now.