I apply vermicompost to the surface of the soil, and wait for it to rain.

Sorry to be flippant, but I don't think many of us here are compost "tea" advocates. It's a lot of extra effort and expense for results that aren't demonstrably better than just placing vermicompost on and in the soil.

I've never done it, but here's a recipe:

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/gardening-techniques/aerated-compost-tea-zebz1307zsie

theparsley: Sorry to be flippant, but speak for yourself. I think Chuckiebtoo would have vehemently disagreed with you. Chuckie was a great proponent of AVCT. First of all, it's hardly any bother or expense at all. The basic recipe is worm castings and molasses in a container of water with an air pump. That's it. I remember Chuckie's statement: "Spray it full strength on your lawn. Be prepared to mow, 3 days later". And besides, where I live it doesn't rain for 6 months out of the year. If I used your system, my castings would be rock hard and totally useless by then.

If it doesn't rain, try watering it in.

The science doesn't support any particular benefit for aerated compost tea, either for plant growth, disease suppression, or enhancing soil bacteria. Compost and vermicompost do have these benefits without any "tea" making magic.

Partially dissolving some compost in water in order to get some nutrients to the root zone a little faster can be a sensible practice now and again, but the benefits are still far more limited than many people claim. Compost tea is a very, very dilute source of nutrients. Natural soil processes driven by soil life, fed by regular applications of organic material to the soil, will do far more to supply more and better nutrients to plants at all stages of growth than any "compost tea" can do.

As for soil bacteria, they are already there: they just need the food provided by organic material and by plant roots giving off exudates into the soil. If you want to "optimize" the beneficial effect of soil bacteria, you can do nothing better than engage in soil management practices that protect and feed the *entire* community of soil life - which includes a lot of other living things besides bacteria, from worms and springtails to fungi, all interacting with each other and with plant roots.

It's true that vermicompost seems to have some special benefits over other kinds of compost, apparently because it is rich in particular strains of bacteria that produce plant growth-promoting substances. But watering vermicompost down does not do anything to enhance those benefits, and most likely reduces them.

Aerating compost tea, or using additives, or any of the other "recipes" you will find are just unnecessary complications designed to make you feel like you're doing something sophisticated.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/benton/sites/default/files/garden_myth.pdf

http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/dont-believe-the-hype-unless-its-supported-by-science

http://www.gardenmyths.com/compost-tea/

The quality of the VC could decide how effective your tea might be. I just add molasses and sometimes liquid seaweed.

i found a receipe I had on my computer after all. not quite the one I used back in 2011. IT IS form OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY.......lol

which my front yard garden did spectacular..that year

also truth be told.....but of course only thing really been there for years was a lawn ....

Guys

I already had most of th ingredients on hand.. all but the fish fertilzer. which big box store had. worm casings were from 2011 too... I used all and grabbed a handful of stuff out of my real compost bin too. had bought the real nice a bit expensive pond aerator back in 2011 too.

A guy named Ray who lived in my town did this method too....

I dont know the link for the receipe but I have the pdf file on my computer. id =f anyone is intrested.

now my main garden this year is in large pots....so it needs all the help it can

thanks all yall

Im in the process of setting up a brew, vc, unsuphured molasses, liquid seaweed. I want to run a trial to see if there will be any obvious results. I will take some time. It will be tested on recent cuttings that are rooted.