Aerated compost tea...

[cass2828]

Hi, I have been brewing aerated compost tea for the past week... I brew it for about hours and I have amazing results with it I don't spray it as a foliar spray I just use it as an root drench, I had an hibiscus which was on the verge of dying and after the use of aerated compost tea I am seeing some drastic changes, I am seeing many new leaves and many branches, my jasmine plants really picked up the goodness, there was some big improvements in them I am seeing many new branches and many flowers, before the tea I didn't get any flowers at all from them for a while but now I get a bowl full of flowers daily...did any of you had any experiences with this magical compost tea??

How I made my compost Tea.

I took a bucket..I think about 20 litres and filled it with water...(dechlorinated ) and filled an old sock full of compost...( I had better results with vermicompost) and added an aquarium air pump..after 48 hours the tea is ready...




any better suggestions are welcome... share your experiences with compost tea..

[AnnaIkona]

Never heard about compost tea...but will try! Sounds like an awesome idea!

[cass2828]

Hi,yeah its an quick and easy way to make an awesome liquid fertilizer..(hope I would make an youtube video on how to make it) Hey and one more thing be sure too add some flour and brown sugar to it ( only an pinch nothing more)

[cass2828]

It has lot of beneficial microbes which are good for your plants the flour and sugar are food for them!!

[cass2828]

Anybody who had tried compost tea?? any suggestions for my recipient...?

[JC's Garden]

I tried it and it worked. The thing is, any reasonable humus delivery method that I've used has also worked. My garden isn't huge but I'll use 1 1/2 to 2 cubic yards of compost a year. I don't have time for tea. Most of the time I just side dress with compost and water it in. When I have individual plants lagging behind in development, I fill a 2 gallon pot 1/2 full with compost and set the pots beside those plants. I add about a quart of water to the pot each time I water. If that doesn't turn the plant around, it's not a nutrient problem.

[rainbowgardener]

There's a gigantic (34 page) thread on aerated compost tea here: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17097

No one is probably going to read all of it, but read the first few pages and then browse a little. Everything you ever wanted to know about AACT and then some!

I am brewing up a batch as we speak and I do think it really makes a difference. My take on that (not entirely scientifically founded) is that by adding such a rich microbial colony to the soil, you help speed up the breakdown of nutrients that are already present in the soil to forms that are available for the plants to use.

[PingoBags]

I used compost tea on my tomato plants once a week, last summer. I had explosive growth and huge yields. I have no idea if it was because of the tea or not, I gave them all the same tea, I didn't have a test plant. All I used was compost and molasses. Brewed it for 2 days in a 5 gallon bucket and fish tank air pump.

This year I'm experimenting and using an API water test kit.
I've been brewing it for two months, yes months, not days.
The mix- .5 cup of seafood com, .5 cup of sheep poo com. .5 tsp of Blood & Bone Meal (7.7.0), NO molasses or sugars. All put in three old socks.

One 5 gallon bucket contains a bubbler ,small water pump at the bottom and 30lb of lava rocks for the good bacteria to live.
A second 5 gallon has my compost mix. A passive U syphon connecting both buckets so the water level stays the same.

The first 3 weeks, not much happened, API test said the ammonia was through the roof.
After that, nitrites spiked and 2-3 days later, nitrates spiked.

After seeing nitrates, I decided to use it on my plants as it was being made. Between the two buckets I added a planter filled with only perlite. The first bucket pumps water in one end of the planter and trickles across and drains into bucket two. Then I transplanted some seedling I have growing.
The plants are growing alot faster than the ones I still have in soil.

So far, that's all I feed them, just compost tea. I did have a small issue with over watering the cucumbers but fixed it by moving it to a dryer spot and adding a timer to the pump. Everything is brewing inside without any smell.
That's one long ass post, sorry haha

[rainbowgardener]

I did water my veggie gardens with the compost tea. Just diluted it with water and poured on the soil. In just a few days, everything looked perked up. I've done two batches so far, one for the veggie gardens and one for the fruit trees. Soon will start over!