This is the best place I know to go for tea brewer instructions.

I like this article the best since it also relates instructions on the preparation of the compost.

Terran

Here is a link that might be useful: Brewing Compost Tea by Dr. Elaine Ingham

Thanks for the web links. They are very helpful.

My aerator is just a $7.50 bait model that runs off 2 D Batteries, found it at Wal-Mart. Has a stone at the end.

My grown son has a bait bucket with an aerator. Setting up a compost tea brewer did remind me of that set up. I do have to wonder if it would put out enough air to properly multiply the beneficial bacteria.

I think it does. I purchased it for compost tea, not for keeping fish alive.

Thanks for all of your input. It was a great help.

I am on my third batch of brewed compost tea. How can I tell when it is finished?

The batch of brewed compost tea that I just made must not be correct. The bubble stones had slime on them when I took them out of the water. What am I doing wrong?

I would appreciate some advice. Thanks.

Hi Christine! Fancy seeing you over here. Were you able to get quite a bit of aeration from your bubblers? Does the tea smell fresh and not putrid? Did you have some nice, froth on the surface when you stopped? As long as you can answer yes to these, I wouldn't worry about slime.

Did you use a large sock or glove type strainer for the compost or just put the compost at the bottom of the container? Did you use the unsulphured molasses? I find I have much better results when I use it.

Anna

Hi Anna, Nice to see a familiar face!

We had a speaker last month during our Tropical Fruit Club meeting who was teaching us about the relationship between roots and the soil. I asked him about making compost tea and he said that it is very important that it is brewed so as to not breed anerobic bacteria.

I set up a 5 gal bucket based on the info that I got from bpgreen at the beginning of this thread except I bought a pump rated for a 100 gal tank instead of 30 gal tank. I am getting decent aeration but I suspect not enough. The speaker sent me a link to where he buys his stones. He uses stones that give superfine bubbles. He says that the bubbles should rise up the bucket sides 1 1/2 inches and I am not getting that much of a rise.

The tea has no foul odors. There was no slime on the first 2 batches I made. The link that bpgreen provided suggested using a paint strainer bag. I tried it both ways. I did use unsulphured molasses.

Now, as for what I put in the bag. The speaker suggested that I use about a cup of compost from my compost pile, a cup of dirt from where I could find some worms living, and about 1/4 cup of chicken manure. (I have chickens.) I didn't use any worm soil, I used worm castings from the Can-O-Worms container I have going instead.

What do you use in your compost tea bag?

Christine

Hi Christine,

It sounds to me like you've probably made perfectly good tea. Sounds like you've got a lot of aeration going. Mine doesn't get 1 1/2 inches above the surface. I'd never heard that. I'm pretty sure as long as you don't have foul odors, and you're seeing some frothiness on the top, and you're brewing it at least 36-48 hours, you've got good tea. Sounds like you're using great stuff too. Nice and varied for lots of different good bugs.

My tea is different every time I make it. I have a 25 gallon bucket, so I use a large strainer bag and I put in about 4-5 cups of compost from my tumblers, maybe another one or two from one of my outdoor piles, and a couple of cups of purchased earthworm castings. I eyeball the molasses, maybe 4 oz? During hot weather it takes about 36-48 hours for the froth to look good. Then I stop and try to use it right away. That's all I do.

I just made some this past week for my lawn and veggie garden. My lawn has looked awful. We'll see what happens. I already think it looks a little greener and a little better, but it has been cooler too.

Don't worry too much about doing it right. I think it's hard to mess up compost tea!

Anna

You can tell when it is finished by watching the time. NO MORE THAN 24 HOURS and then you stop and use it immediately. A better way to tell when it is finished is to determine when all the food or air is gone from the tea. Once either one is gone, then you are on a downslide. Unless you have the instrumentation to measure sugars and/or oxygen, then STOP AT 24 HOURS.

There has never been any recommendation out of Dr Ingham to go longer than 24 hours. Where those rumors materialized is anyone's guess. I've seen some horrible compost tea advice in magazines and on the net, but if you go to the source (www.soilfoodweb.com) then you'll get the best information.

The information below is taken from the Fine Gardening article by Dr. Ingham linked in the reply of Sep 26, 09 at 14:23. In addition, I believe that I have read that the brewing equipment should be well cleaned between batches with the use of some hydrogen peroxide.

"Also, keep in mind that tea made using this bucket method needs to brew for two or three days and then be used immediately. If you work Monday through Friday, start the tea on Wednesday or Thursday, so it will be ready in time to apply it on the weekend."

"After three days, turn off the pump and remove the equipment. If you leave the tea aerating longer than three days, you must add more molasses or the good organisms will start going to sleep because they don't have enough food to stay active. Let the brew sit until the compost is pretty much settled out, 10 to 20 minutes, then strain it into the other bucket or directly into your sprayer. You'll have about 2 1/2 gallons of tea. If you want, this is the time to add foliar micronutrients, like kelp or rock dust. Use the tea right away, within the hour if possible."

"With any form of compost, solid or tea, bad smells mean bad business. Healthy, adequately oxygenated compost and compost tea should smell sweet and earthy. Never use a smelly compost tea on your plants. The true bugaboo is alcohol, a product of anaerobic decomposition that destroys cell walls. Roots tolerate only 1 part per million alcohol. That's a very small amount, and human noses aren't good at detecting it. Instead, we can detect all the other smelly compounds that go with anaerobic production of alcohol."

Terran

Here is a link that might be useful: Brewing Compost Tea by Dr. Elaine Ingham