rosiegirl
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Location: New York

Is "water" from my compost useable as compost tea?

I have some almost-finished compost that was in a plastic tray outside. I covered it up for a couple of days because I wasn't ready to use it and we had some days of absolutely soaking rain. When I went to use the compost there was a bunch of liquid in it that I poured off before letting the compost dry a bit.

Is this stuff useable? As what? And how? And how do I store it if it's useable?

I poured it into my outdoor measuring cup...there's a picture attached.

Thanks!
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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Yes, I would call that compost tea. You can't really store it because it is full of living organisms and will continue to change as the microbes reproduce and die off. It will stay "fresher" and beneficial longer if you aerate it with aquarium air pump and air stone., even though it will still convert to more bacterial rather than fungal stuff. It will become anaerobic and stinky if not aerated.

What do you want to use it on? You can dilute up to 1:9 water and strain it to use as foliage spray -- good for fungal disease preventive and immune enhancer. You can dilute to any proportion to add beneficial microbes to the soil under each plant. Use non-chlorinated water.

If you add nitrogen source like fish emulsion and a bit of unsulfured molasses, add more non-chlorinated/rainwater (like in a 5 gal bucket) and aerate for 24-36 hours, it will become even more biologically active and concentrated with added nutrients = AACT

rosiegirl
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Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:15 am
Location: New York

I don't really have a place I need it yet since my garden isn't growing yet. I have herbs and fruit trees, though. I have a rain barrel so I can get non-chlorinated water...how much do I dilute for just regular watering? Can I mess up but not diluting enough?

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

50/50 or more water depending on how much you want to stretch it. Can't really mess up with established plants. Seedlings might find too strong if concentrated.



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