Comments on: Compost Tea – What and Why

By: lynn

lynn — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 14:01:31 +0000

In reply to Deborah.

Hi Deborah, We have always used the entire supply and washed the equipment, so I can’t speak from experience. But, if you keep feeding and kept up the oxygen supply going, I don’t see it couldn’t be sustained. At the end of the day, trust your nose. If it smells earthy, it is probably still good. But if it begins to smell rancind or rotten, I would dump it, wash the equipment and start again.

I hope this helps.

Lynn

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 17:15:37 +0000

At any point, should the entire tea bucket be dumped and renewed? or, with regular feedings of molasses, can it keep going indefinitely?

By: lynn

lynn — Sat, 15 Jun 2019 12:49:05 +0000

In reply to Klara.

Hey Klara! I don’t think you’re doomed. Some anaerobic solutions respond quickly when reintroduced to better aerobic conditions – in fact there are many people that swear by the benefits of anaerobic tea…I’m just not one of them. If you do have any concerns, I would contact my local county ag extension office for more information. Happy gardening!

By: Klara

Klara — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 17:43:16 +0000

Ohh I see! Thank you so much, Lynn! That was super helpful! <3
The only problem is, I followed someone else's advice and mixed that horrible smelling tea in my garden. I mixed it in quite a bit and let it sit about 1-2 weeks before planting. Am I doomed?

By: lynn

lynn — Fri, 31 May 2019 12:57:11 +0000

Hi Klara, thanks for visiting us! That is a great question. The foul smell means that your tea has likely gone anaerobic – due to lack of sufficient oxygen. Throw it out as it can introduce harmful pathogens into your plans and soil. Healthy tea will have an earthy, soil like smell. Many people brew tea the way that you learned. That method is called passive tea. The most important element of the passive method is to stir regularly – if the solution becomes oxygen deprived for any stretch of time, it will quickly become anaerobic and unhealthy to our soil and plants.

The method that I prefer is the actively aerated method (AACT) wherein you supply oxygen and nutrients to enable the microorganisms in your tea to multiply and thrive. The continuous supply of oxygen prevents your tea from “drowning” or becoming anaerobic. There has been alot of research that has shown that the AACT method is much more effective in developing the beneficial microorganisms that help our gardens flourish.

Happy gardening!

By: Klara

Klara — Thu, 30 May 2019 20:03:28 +0000

Hi Lynn,
Thank you for this amazing piece on compost tea. I have been trying to make compost tea but I learned a different way. I found the recipe in a homesteading book. It said to collect veggie scraps and garden clippings and add into water. Let sit for 7-10day stirring every day. It ended up smelling so so so bad. and I’ve been hearing different things about the bad smell. Some say it’s still good for plants but not for worms. Others have said bad smell = bad bacteria and it’s unsafe to use in the garden. What are your thoughts on bad smelling tea using my method? And is this method even effective? Regarding your method, which is the actual making of “compost” tea, I was wondering if the bacteria and microorganisms (that are aerobic) in the compost drown/ die when submerged in water where the environment becomes mostly anaerobic? Or does it not become anaerbic because of the air bubbles? Thank you for your help!
Klara

By: lynn

lynn — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 22:39:08 +0000

In reply to Zzin. Bonjour Zzin, my French is spotty, but I think your suggestion is a good one. Thanks for the idea.

By: Zzin

Zzin — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 18:08:30 +0000

La méthode est intéressante ; mais est ce que les déchets de légumes (cuisines) peuvent être utilisés comme compost si
1) couper on petits morceaux
2)sécher ce produit au soleil
3) déposer la couche de ce produit puis une couche de sable
ou il faut le broyer

By: lynn

lynn — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 11:13:49 +0000

In reply to Millie. Oh Millie, that makes me laugh. Compost is definitely bug-friendly and luckily I really don't mind bugs at all. In fact, the more earth worms the better in my book. Hope you get some compost tea for your garden. Hugs, Lynn

By: Millie

Millie — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 01:37:40 +0000

I tried composting, didn’t work for me (I think because I was terrified of finding bugs in it) so it’s awesome that you can buy the compost tea too! Thanks for sharing!