TO BREW COMPOST TEA

To brew compost tea, you'll need:

nice-smelling compost

unchlorinated water(well water or 1 hour aeration of city water)

a pump

several feet of air tubing

a gang valve(distributes the air)

three bubblers(air stones)

two 5-gallon plastic buckets

stirrer, like a wooden paint stirrer

straining material such as nylon stocking or mesh cloth

liquid organic molasses

hand pump sprayer

Warning
A tea without aerating it first can harm your plants.
If the tea is not aerated constantly, the organisms in it will quickly use up the oxygen, and the tea will start to stink and become anaerobic because the microorganisms are dying.
Use it immediately.

Get your supplies to make COMPOST TEA

Let's get started!

1. Cut a desired length of tubing, attach one end to the pump and the other to the gang valve.

2. Cut three more lengths of tubing that are long enough to reach from the rim to the bottom of the bucket.

3. Connect each one to a outlet on the gang valve and push a bubbler into the other end.

4. Hang the gang valve on the lip of the bucket and bury the bubblers at the bottom of the bucket under the compost.

5. Fill the bucket half full of loose compost.

6. Fill the bucket to within 3 inches of the rim with water, stir, and start the pump.

7. When it's going, add approximately 1 oz. of molasses, then stir vigorously with the stick. The molasses feeds the bacteria and gets them growing well.

8. After stirring, you'll need to make sure the bubblers are on the bottom of the bucket and well spaced.

9. Try to stir the tea at least three times a day. A vigorous mixing with the stick gets more organisms loose and into the tea.

10. Every time you stir, be sure to reposition the bubblers.

THEN

11. After three days, turn off the pump and remove the equipment. Aerating longer than three days, you must add more molasses.

12. Let the brew sit until the compost is pretty much settled out, no more than 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.

13. Use the tea right away, within the hour if possible.
Make it twice a year, once in the spring and early fall. If you have lots of bad varmits then make it twice a month during the growing season until you see the bad guys are gone. Healthy plants ward off harmful bugs.

Here is what is happening or should happen:

You have dechlorinated the water.

Use compost that has good smell and from your local area.(there are regional microbes)

Compost made from wood particles, garden waste, humus, worm castings, cow manure and bat guano to use in the brewing procedure.

The vigorous aeration has loosened all the microbes from the best compost you can possibly find.

Use 1-2 pounds compost per 5 gallon water.

To insure the greatest variety of microbes use molasses, sugar, carbohydrates and proteins to feed the bacteria.

To feed the fungi use oatmeal, kelp, fish hydolysate and bran, place with compost in straining material to be brewed.

If a lot of foam is produced add several drops of vegetable oil.

Remove the compost packet after 6 to 8 hours and continue to brew with the aeration.

The brewing process will be finished after 24 to 36 hours.

Applied within 4 hours or if aerated will last another 2 days.

Temperature is important so brew and keep microbes at level temperature.

If you want to add mycorrhizal fungi, organic liquid fertilizer or Super Thrive to your brew do so after brewing and right before applying the tea.

Finally, always clean your equipment to stop the build-up of bio-films which contains anaerobic organisms and E coli.

Solo Multi-purpose sprayer

Application of Compost Tea

For a foliar spray apply 2 quarts per 1000 square feet, 5 gallons per acre.

For soil drench use at rate of 20 gallons per acre.

Application should not be done between 10AM to 5PM.

Apply to a moistened soil, never dry soil.

To build up microbial activity apply every 1 to 2 weeks, then as little as 2 to 3 times a year.

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