Compost tea makes my garden grow like fucking crazy.

[phantom power]

I just wanted to mention that.

Seems to keep the plants healthy even in 100F and 15% humidity. So far, anyway.

[Catshrink]

1. How do you make your compost tea?

I have a compost pile that I've been neglecting for a couple of years and need to restart.

[phantom power]

3. I do it like this...

Firstly, I have one of these:



I pour water into it once or twice a week to keep it moist. There is a drain on the bottom, and I just collect the brown goo that comes out. I put the goo in a watering can, add water, and sprinkle it on my plants, in the soil, etc.

If you have a compost pile, I'm not sure how you make tea from that. If you google "compost tumbler" there are several commercial models, and also directions for making them.

[Catshrink]

4. Those are sweet!

I've seen them but wasn't sure they were worth it. Sounds like they are.

[phantom power]

5. It's been working well for us.

I think they're a bit overpriced, but they are definitely made of high quality materials. Heavy UV-stabilized plastic and good stainless hardware.

The envirocycle brand also looks good, but I don't have any experience with it.

[Dead_Parrot]

7. A cheaper alternative...

...an old bathtub. Collect the 'tea' from the plug-hole, plus it looks pretty funky. Especially if you leave the taps on. :)

[XemaSab]

9. I don't know how things are in kiwiland

but old tubs are pretty expensive here. :(

[Dead_Parrot]

25. Your probably aiming too high...

...think "Dumpster", not "Ebay". A degree of patience may be required...

[IrateCitizen]

27. Four reclaimed metal fencing posts and some wooden pallets...

... can make a great bin. I just pounded some old, reclaimed fencing stakes in at the corners, stood the pallets on end and used some baling wire to lash them to the corner posts, and voila -- a 3-sided composting bin. You could use a 4th panel for a door and rig it permanently to one corner post and temporarily to another, or, if you're feeling ambitious, construct one out of some furring strips and chicken wire.

I also have a 3-bin system I built out of some treated lumber, chicken wire and poultry staples.

Mother Earth News has some great ideas for stuff like this. But if all you have is a small patio or the like, then I'd go with a system like the one pictured in the previous message.

I personally just let my compost age really well and put it in the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket and add water. I'll use it to fill up my 2-gal spray can and apply directly to the base of the plant. It's like super-vitamins for the plants. I use the same sprayer to apply fish emulsion as well.

[HamdenRice]

12. Slight warning

I noticed you wrote you sprinkle it on your plants and soil. I wouldn't recommend sprinkling it on the plants themselves. Compost contains countless billions of bacteria, fungus spores, and so on, and by putting the tea on the leaves, you may eventually spread otherwise innocuous bacteria or mold spores to the leaves and stems of your plant.

It's safer to pour it into the soil around the roots.

There is such a thing as "foliar feeding," which means applying fertilizer directly to the foilage (leaves), but that is usually inorganic or a less active organic fertilizer.

I would worry that the risks with highly active organic fertilizer like compost tea outweigh the benefits.

[WhiteTara]

13. You can also get organic fertilizer

and put some in a bucket, add water and after a few days, you also have tea. You can add the stuff in the bottom of the bucket to the compost pile.

Edited for OBTW! Where are those pics? I'd love to see your garden!

[stuntcat]

2. rec!

:D I've finally started just a few months ago composting. I have a lot to learn I think, nothing I can use on the plants, not just yet.

We have free mulch in my county so my garden's healthy enough for the time being.. it'll be even better when I get some compost made up though.

[GliderGuider]

6. We just put a vermicomposting bin on our apartment balcony.

It sits inside an outer base that lets you collect the tea. It's cool to watch the Red Wigglers sliding around in there enjoying life.

[wuvuj]

8. I can find composted cow manure....

...for a little over $1 for 40lbs. Would make some real nice tea?

Invite some friends over for a cup of tea and a salad...diced earthworms are just about like baco-bits! :thumbsup:

I use an old plastic trash can with the bottom cut out to compost kitchen scraps...just set it on the ground...the earthworms come up into it in the spring and go down in the fall. Don't use a cover though.

[IrateCitizen]

30. I have a nearby horse farm that bags their manure...

... and sets it out for free to any comers. I always get a good 25+ bags each season -- throw the seats down in my Fit, cover the back with a tarp and I can easily get 5-6 bags at a time. What's great is that I let one of my raised beds go fallow every year, and use it as my horse manure pile. The following season, it's the richest bed in the garden!

I also sheet compost my beds with horse manure in the fall. When I turned by beds over this spring, every fork of soil had about a dozen of worms wriggling out of the sides!

I want to take some of the manure and make tea later in the summer, but I've also read from several sources that you don't want to use compost tea too close to harvesting vegetables (especially tomatoes).

[Alameda]

10. I found this cedar worm bin for $40 on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270381027752&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123

Yes, I know you can make your own, but I don't have the time or expertise, and this one looks pretty. They have their own shop in Washington State.

[IDemo]

11. I finally gave up on composting

We have one of these, and I have never been able to get the mix to "brew" (heat up), regardless of varying the green/brown ratio & water content and using
the corkscrew tool to aerate it. What is left in the bin at the end of summer looks pretty much like what went in at the beginning.

[WhiteTara]

14. sounds like it's too dry

water it down from time to time and at the end of summer turn it over.

[IDemo]

16. As I mentioned, I have varied the water content

All the way from mildly damp to soaking wet, being sure to turn the mix to get a uniformly moist mix.

I'm wondering if our dry as dust high desert air here is part of the problem.

[WhiteTara]

19. it could be

one way I make compost is to save my kitchen scraps in 5 gallon buckets (no meat, bones and or anything that won't break down quickly such as citrus rinds). I dig a hole/trench in the back of the garden area. Fill the trench with the scraps (if you leave them in the bucket too long, it is quite stinky, so be aware) add a layer of leaves or grass clipping (as thick as the scraps) and cover the mound over with dirt. Be sure and cover with enough dry matter and dirt so that your dog and the wild creatures won't dig it up! After several months it will be nice crumbly dirt.

[IDemo]

20. I'd have to bury it deep and place a fence around it

Or my dog would have it for breakfast. She seems to think she's a vegetarian during garden season, and has eaten tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos (stem and all) and grapes from the garden. :)

[WhiteTara]

24. lol. sounds like your garden

is doing just fine!

[Kolesar]

31. Don't let her eat grapes or raisins

I read that years ago when I was studying about our dog's kidney disease. If she steals a few grapes she will be fine, but if she ate dozens she might have renal failure. There are articles on this on the internet.

[HamdenRice]

15. Heating isn't a necessity

although avid composters fetishize it. Heat can kill seeds and weeds, but so can decomposition and sprouting in the bin.

I have a bin somewhat like yours and it works fine.

Two things you might try (if you haven't already): Soil is an important component of slow composting; if the stuff looks the same after a long time, you may not be putting enough soil in. The second thing is turning the pile. This bin style composters don't get stirred like the "spin" type, so it helps a lot to break down the pile halfway through the season, mix it, and put it back in.

[IDemo]

18. I have put some soil in, not a large amount though

About what ratio would you consider correct? Also, the quality of our dirt is about as bad as it gets (hence the desire for good compost) - chalky and very alkaline.

We have used a garden fork as well as a large corkscrew to turn and aerate the mix. Can this be done too frequently?

[HamdenRice]

23. I think it's about 1/3 soil -- but probably more by weight

It's basically a layer cake method I'm using. The bottom is usually pretty sturdy brush, like the branches of the X-mas tree, or sunflower stalks. This keeps a space at the bottom so that air can circulate up and water can drain down. Layers of whatever is available (box wood hedge trimmings, leaves, grass clippings, garden waste, kitchen scraps) are alternated with layers of soil -- just thick enough to completely cover each veg layer. I have been replacing grass so I often have sod, which is some of the best stuff you can put in.

The veg matter compresses A LOT in a week or so. As this process is repeated, the compost really gets to look more like enriched soil than decaying veg matter.

I think it is possible to stir it too much. The compost makes a complex eco-system with worms, centipedes, moldy fibers, pill bugs, etc. In this thread, I described what I found when I last broke down the pile:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x11156

If you are using a power auger, you might be killing these critters or disturbing their tunnels, pathways and eating habits. The bin layer type compost is slower and more eco-system like than the spin/tumbler type.

[annm4peace]

17. I'm poor and made a chicken wire round bin

what can I do. I was told to make it 3 ft by 3ft.. but I only had enough brown and green to fill it 1/2 way.. is that ok. I'm going to turn it today buy taking off the chicken wire, and setting that jus to the side and then toss the compost back into to it so it has a good stir.

How can I make the compost tea.. try to scoop up the sludge at the bottom ?

[Alameda]

21. My grandmother just had a large pile. You really don't

need a container, but it makes things more manageable. With smaller spaces, having a compost pile is not as easy. I've just buried easily compo-stable things in the ground. You know, things like old veggies that were rotting already. There are a lot of resources on the Internet. Why don't you Google it?

One problem with the chicken wire is that it doesn't keep things as hot as if it's a more closed system.

[annm4peace]

22. x

good to know about the hot thing

[IrateCitizen]

26. The heat thing is more about the size of the pile...

As long as you pile it up until you have 2-3 feet in diameter (and at least half as high), it will maintain a pretty good cook. The big thing is just keeping the moisture and stirring it up regularly to kick-start the bacteria again.

[TexMexDem]

28. Hmmmmm

Sounds like a compost tea party going on here......





Where's Beck? Don't you need some sort of bacteria or earthworm to start the composting????

[IrateCitizen]

29. Avoid dog or human waste in compost!!!

Don't you know that placing dog or human waste into compost can contaminate it with pathogens?!?!

:evilgrin: