Compost tea

[rick d PADGETT]

Trying for first time this Summer and getting poor results. Recipe; 1/2 g compost, 1 c worm castings [in bag with air stone], 1 c liquid kelp & fish eml., sea minerals 2 oz., humic acid 1/2 cup, . Four air stones and brew 3 days. I get no foam and does not smell good. Any advice will be appreciated or if you would share your recipe. Rate & how do you apply, soil drench or foliar spray.
Thanks
Rick Padgett

 

[Chuck]

Trying for first time this Summer and getting poor results. Recipe; 1/2 g compost, 1 c worm castings [in bag with air stone], 1 c liquid kelp & fish eml., sea minerals 2 oz., humic acid 1/2 cup, . Four air stones and brew 3 days. I get no foam and does not smell good. Any advice will be appreciated or if you would share your recipe. Rate & how do you apply, soil drench or foliar spray.
Thanks
Rick Padgett

You are using too much stuff. Try 1 cup good compost, 1/4 cup worm castings, 2 oz liquid kelp/fish emulsion , 2 oz liquid seaweed, 2 oz liquid humate and 2 oz molasses. If you are going to spray put all this stuff into panty hose or triple layer cheese cloth. If not just dump the whole thing into a 5 gallon bucket of water and weight the airstones down with a rock. 3 days with 90+F temps is way too much. It will go anaerobic and start to smell like sewer gas or ammonia. As to whether to use as a foliar or a drench it all depends on the purpose. Mostly I use it as a drench but about every 2 weeks as a foliar spray to help with fungal infections and insect control.

 

[headfullofbees]

Aerobic bacteria need sugars to feed on.
2oz of unsulphured sugar per gal.

 

[Chuck]

Aerobic bacteria need sugars to feed on.
2oz of unsulphured sugar per gal.

I have never used more than 2 oz per five gallons and I never go anaerobic

 

[headfullofbees]

I made my latest batch (just started yesterday) in a hessian (burlap) potato sack.
I may be thick, but even I should have realised that this was the ideal tea-bag!
It's looking right good.
My batch size is 85l (22 US gal 19 UK gal)

 

[Chuck]

I made my latest batch (just started yesterday) in a hessian (burlap) potato sack.
I may be thick, but even I should have realised that this was the ideal tea-bag!
It's looking right good.
My batch size is 85l (22 US gal 19 UK gal)

How do you make tea in a bag and why?

 

[headfullofbees]

How do you make tea in a bag and why?

I make it in a bin.
I put the dry ingredients in a bag and tie it up to remove the need for straining.

 

[headfullofbees]

I have never used more than 2 oz per five gallons and I never go anaerobic

He's using more ingredients than you and brewing longer than you..

 

[Chuck]

He's using more ingredients than you and brewing longer than you..

And he is having anaerobic problems. He lives in South Carolina and it is almost as hot there as it is here. He is using a 5 gallon bucket

 

[Chuck]

I make it in a bin.
I put the dry ingredients in a bag and tie it up to remove the need for straining.

I see. The largest container I have are 5 gallon buckets. When I want to spray my tea I put the dry ingredients in panty hose and even then it stops up the nozzle on my sprayer once in awhile. We call those burlap bags toe sacks over here and ours are too coarse to act as a filter plus they have little tiny almost microscopic little hairs that are part of the material and they come off and plug up things too Hope yours are different

 

[headfullofbees]

And he is having anaerobic problems. He lives in South Carolina and it is almost as hot there as it is here. He is using a 5 gallon bucket

He's been having anaerobic problems because he's been adding no sugars at all.

 

[Chuck]

He's been having anaerobic problems because he's been adding no sugars at all.

Exactly,