In my old college party house we had several garbage cans and one that had no wheels. This guy just stayed behind the house with two bags of trash in it for about 2 years. I was cleaning up one day and noticed that it was full of the most nasty looking water I had ever seen. I tried to pull out the rotting garbage bags but they just busted open and all sorts of nasty maggot ridden stuff entered the garbage, from old chicken breast to food stuff. I was so grossed out I left the can out for another week and then decided it may be a health hazard to even walk past and breathe the air. So, one sunny afternoon I kicked the garbage can over and I smelled like a sewer exploded in my gravel driveway. It was the most rancid foul odor I have ever smelled in my life!. Anyways we cleaned out the can and rebagged the trash and disposed properly however in the meantime the liquid that spilled into the gravel driveway had apparently been super fertilizing the grass at the edge of the driveway. The grass had become so dense that you could stand on it and not sink downwards, it was incredible. Thats when I began to wonder about compost tea, as I had been and still am an avid gardener. This brings up some questions I have been meaning to ask as I wish to create compost tea for my new garden.

First and foremost I understand and have read many articles about the process of compost tea. What I really want to know is if there is anything that should not be added to compost tea that could create potentially dangerous bacteria such as ecoli, salmonella, or staff, whatever nasty stuff there is that could grow and make you sick to breathe or handle.

What I would like to do is setup a garbage can with a small hose drain at the base of my porch. I will fill it partially with compost and water and then actively throw organic waste into the mixture, leftover from my kitchen, throughout the summer.

1. Would it be bad to throw in things like old fried chicken, or steak bones?

2. How about the blood that pools up in raw meat containers?

3. Does the compost tea become useless after a period of time if it sits out in the sun, or can it be there all summer?

4. Can the smell from fermenting compost make you sick?

5. Would it be ok to put a lid on the trash can to control the odor?

Anyways I hope to receive some expert advice from other gardeners. Happy growing season!