Worm Casting Compost Tea - question

nniemiec · June 12, 2016

I'm researching the best way to make tea for my toms. Some suggest using an air pump & brewing over night - others merely suggest mixing the tea (in a sock) in a bucket briskly with a stirring rod for a few minutes.

What say the experts of Tomatoville??? Any other tips?

Thanks in advance!

Jonnyhat · June 12, 2016

i brew my tea for 72 hours in an aerated bucket. I put one air stone in the burlap bag with the castings, compost, trace minerals, and other ingredients and the larger stone at the bottom of the bucket. the water should be at room temp or slightly warmer as you are trying to get good bacteria and other micro organisms to grow and multiply. Also the water must be filtered or purified, city water is no good because they chlorinate it. (unless you leave it sit out for a few hours)

I also add liquid kelp fertilizer to the mix and about an hour before use I add some molasses brix to really create a feeding frenzy before application.

Tracydr · June 12, 2016

I use an aquarium pump. A few big handfuls in a 5gallon bucket,two air stones, fill with water. I start using it at 24 hours but I've let it continue for two weeks and it still smelled fresh,even found live worms in the bottom when I emptied it!

DjonesNC · June 12, 2016

I also us an aquarium pump and let it brew @ least 24 hrs. Don't forget to add the Molasses (Sulfur Free) which provides food for the bacteria.

Cole_Robbie · June 13, 2016

The quick tea you mention is a humic acid extraction. It has value, but that's not enough time to cultivate bacteria.

There are 101 tea recipes. Molasses is standard. Some people try for a fungal component as well as bacterial. The consensus is that high bacterial populations are indicated by a foaming tea.

Lindalana · June 13, 2016

Those are different types of application. I do compost tea by mixing several varieties of compost, fish, kelp, molasses, EM, humates in the bucket, let it sit for a bit, mix with a stick once in a while, then it goes to feed roots. I love the results and often combine with myco root drenching solutions when applying.
The other one is ACT, aerated compost tea, I brew it with Keep It Simple brewer for 24 hrs and those go as foliar application. Unless you are planning foliar application, there is no need to brew it with air.

June 12, 2016	#1
nniemiec Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: chicago Posts: 48	Worm Casting Compost Tea - question I'm researching the best way to make tea for my toms. Some suggest using an air pump & brewing over night - others merely suggest mixing the tea (in a sock) in a bucket briskly with a stirring rod for a few minutes. What say the experts of Tomatoville??? Any other tips? Thanks in advance!

June 12, 2016	#2
Jonnyhat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Downingtown, PA Posts: 337	i brew my tea for 72 hours in an aerated bucket. I put one air stone in the burlap bag with the castings, compost, trace minerals, and other ingredients and the larger stone at the bottom of the bucket. the water should be at room temp or slightly warmer as you are trying to get good bacteria and other micro organisms to grow and multiply. Also the water must be filtered or purified, city water is no good because they chlorinate it. (unless you leave it sit out for a few hours) I also add liquid kelp fertilizer to the mix and about an hour before use I add some molasses brix to really create a feeding frenzy before application.

June 12, 2016	#3
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I use an aquarium pump. A few big handfuls in a 5gallon bucket,two air stones, fill with water. I start using it at 24 hours but I've let it continue for two weeks and it still smelled fresh,even found live worms in the bottom when I emptied it!

June 12, 2016	#4
DjonesNC Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 31	I also us an aquarium pump and let it brew @ least 24 hrs. Don't forget to add the Molasses (Sulfur Free) which provides food for the bacteria.

June 13, 2016	#5
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	The quick tea you mention is a humic acid extraction. It has value, but that's not enough time to cultivate bacteria. There are 101 tea recipes. Molasses is standard. Some people try for a fungal component as well as bacterial. The consensus is that high bacterial populations are indicated by a foaming tea.

June 13, 2016	#6
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	Those are different types of application. I do compost tea by mixing several varieties of compost, fish, kelp, molasses, EM, humates in the bucket, let it sit for a bit, mix with a stick once in a while, then it goes to feed roots. I love the results and often combine with myco root drenching solutions when applying. The other one is ACT, aerated compost tea, I brew it with Keep It Simple brewer for 24 hrs and those go as foliar application. Unless you are planning foliar application, there is no need to brew it with air.