I have 2 worm bins and was able to gather 2 big milk jugs with compost tea, I have them stored in my pantry for when I want to use it. I was told by another Daves member that compost tea can go bad if stored for too long, is this true? Or can I keep this for a long time.
How long does worm compost tea last?
I made the mistake of closing mine up for 1 week.... took it outside and watered it down and spread it around. boy did it stink bad after just 1 week.
One question, I just researched compost tea, see I always thought that compost tea was the liquid that always drains to the bottom of my tubs. But this is what came out when I searched vermicompost on wikipedia ( The dark brown waste liquid, or leachate, that drains into the bottom of some vermicomposting systems as water-rich foods break down, is best applied back to the bin when added moisture is needed due to the possibility of phytotoxin content and organic acids that may be toxic to plants). I am kind of confused and would love to know if this liquid that falls to the bottom is harmful and if I am doing things wrong, I definetely don't want to hurt my plants with this staff if it is bad for them. Also, yes when I open my jusgs they do smell but I though this was normal.
O.K I found this document on the internet that kind of answers some of my questions,
There are two types of Castings Teas: extracted and aerobically brewed. In the extraction method, water is run through the earthworm castings to simply extract the microbes from the castings into the water. The resulting liquid solution is then applied in various ways. Many bottled teas you see on the shelf use this method - the largest brand name of which is Terracycle. In the brewing method, compost/castings are placed into a container of circulated and aerated water (via an air bubbler or similar system) typically with other nutrients. The circulated water extracts the microbiology and the microbes are in an abundance of both oxygen and nutrient to feed upon. In this method, colonies of microbes are brewed in exponential numbers, a colony of bacteria for instance can double in population every 20 minutes. Aerobic brewing takes longer than basic extraction with common brewing times of 12 to 24 hours. Brewing time is very dependant on water temperature with warmer water creating faster brews. Aerobically brewed teas have much higher microbe population densities than extracted teas and for this reason are the tea of choice. The sign of a good aerobically brewed tea is a good head of foam and scum on top .
Also I found from reading other articles that the tea is good for about a period of 8 hours, so yes probably the stuff that I have been saving in my pantry is probably spoiled, so I will have to throw it away.
That's a good idea gardenza, I'll just go ahead and pour it in my compost pile. Actually aerobic tea can be easily done, I just found all kinds of good info about it in you tube. What you need is a 5 gallon bucket, a cheese cloth to place your castings about a hand full should do, then get an inexpensive fish tank air pump, an air hose and plug it to the air pump then place an air stone at the other end of the air hose so water does not revert back to the machine. Fill the bucket with water, let the pump run for about 2 hours, this will get rid of all the chlorine the water has. Then place the chessecloth filled with castings in the water, you can tie a little knot on the handle of the bucket so it does not go all over the place. Then put a few tablespoons of organic or unsulfured molases in the bucket itself and stir, this will give food for the microorganisms. You should run the air pump for at least 24 hours but can even let it run for 48 hrs, you should start to see foam forming up on top of the compost tea. Once this is done your compost tea is done and you can use it in a sprayer or a watering can, you can use it on the foliage as well, it will not burn the plants, in fact it acts as a pesticide since there are many beneficial bacteria that can help the plant develop.
I Hope this helps, if you have the time do a search on you tube for better explanation.
I make compost tea all the time and never "store it". The tea is rich with bacteria that need oxygen to continue to live. So after I make the tea I pour it all out on my plants so the oxygen can sustain the tea bacteria. If you leave it in water it turns to anaerobic bacteria and that is not what you want to add to your soil.
Yes, I"ve heard that, in fact my first batch turned bad, it started smelling really bad so I decided to dump it and start all over again, this time I bought a brand new bucket from home depot and decided to use water that I stored from all these rainy days, this time it was great no smell at all, just earthy smell, and plenty of foam on the top. I used all of it yesterday, I even put some in my compost, I've herard that this will help with the break down process. I will probably be making compost tea every 2 weeks to feed my plants, we will see if this system works.
Gardengate Magazine has a dandy set of brewer instructions in this month's issue. Enough brewing information to keep anyone out of trouble.
I had a big container with grass clippings and pine needles. I let it fill up with rain and a couple months back I would take handfuls of the solids and put in the bottom of pots I was planting. They really seemed to take off growing. The container is still there on the driveway getting more rain water but no new clippings or anything but still has quite a bit in it. It does not have a bad odor to it. What would be the best way to use it?
I would probably use it to water my plants.
I have been gathering water for my plants with a bunch of buckets, it has been raining quite a bit this last month but now it seems to have stoped. The only problem is I will probably have to use the water fast before the mosquitoes have a chance to breed in the water.
Rain water is the best water you can give your plants, no chemicals and the best thing it is free.
I am looking to install a rainbarrell in the future so I can just water my plants and veggies.
The mosquito dunks work great. They don't harm tadpoles in the water or plants. And in a small 5 gallon bucket it only takes a few crumbs.
I have a lot of buckets too and I would say I am a bit eccentric as when I drink arizona tea or juice in a gallon I fill it with rain water. I have watered with the hose 2 times in a yr and a half. The rest is rain water. I have at least 100 gallon jugs of water all around in different areas. And they are measured out already for fertilizer. :o)