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 Post subject: Compost Tea Question.
PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2004 2:01 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2003 9:21 am
Posts: 157
Location: Waxahachie,TX
I have a couple of questions about Compost Tea. I have tried making my own a couple of times without much success. I followed the recipe that HG has under Compost Tea. I would stir it everyday and kept it in a shady spot outside. After about 5 days it started to smell horrible so I was pretty sure it went anaerobic on me. After reading of people using the tank aerators to maintain the air content in the water I figured that might resolve the smell problem. I haven't tried again since. My questions are:

  1. How long can a home brewed Compost Tea be stored?
  2. If it doesn't have a shelf-life are there any recommendations for a smaller amount than 5 gallons of a concentrate that the receipe produces?
  3. Can someone give me one of their personal receipes? I would be using bagged compost since I do not have any fresh stuff.
  4. How often should I use Compost Tea on my veggies and beds?
  5. How much should be used per gallon of water? I read somewhere 1 cup per gallon.


Since most of these receipes create about 5gals of Concentrate I cannot possibly use all of it, when only using 1 cup per gallon of water, before it goes bad. Especially if there is no shelf life. BTW, outside, like in my shed, is the only place I have to brew it.

Chad


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PostPosted: Sat May 15, 2004 9:30 am 
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Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2003 8:39 pm
Posts: 532
Location: Lavon,Texas
Chad,
here is my receipe from a previous post:

My compost is the same as yours. It was hot compost earlier but cooled off. Will turn it soon. I took a pair of panty hose and cut off one leg. Stuffed it with compost, seaweed and some mollasses. Just like stuffing a sausage. Tied the top and put into a 5 gallon bucket 3/4 full of water. Let it set for 3 days and removed the sock. About 30 - 45 minutes before using, I will aeriate it with my aeriator I use to keep minnows alive. The compost tea seems to work better and faster this way. Next I fill half full a 1 gallon pump up sprayer with the compost tea and fill the remainder with water. Then spray the garden and trees. The plants turn dark green with in 30 minutes.
Hope this helps. Everyone does their compost tea different. I found there is not a 'real' receipe to follow. What ever work best for you.

Note: An addition to my tea receipe from when I first posted it: I put in some rocks in the panty hose leg first, to hold it down in the water. From past experience, It would always float. This works good to hold the sock under the water.

As for shelf life. My 5 gallon bucket of tea will last about one week. Some times I will spray 2 - 3 times a week. But then I will not spray again for two weeks.

Since I do not use manure, no current supplier, in my tea, I mix it 50/50. 50% compost tea and 50% water. Thats 1/2 gallon tea to 1/2 gallon water.

I hope this helps.
I just checked my garden and it looks much better then last year and saw many many lady bugs. More then I have ever seen before.

_________________
Greg...
Converting one person at a time to Organics, the only way to go!! [ ME ]


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