Now that you’ve got a worm bin going, you may want to think about how you are going to use this miraculous substance! Apart from using your home-made vermicompost directly in the soil as an amendment, making and using ‘tea’ brewed from this is an excellent way to super-boost your plant’s vitality and resistance to disease.
The California Department of Recycling has lots of information about compost tea. The site says that “Soil needs the right biology to grow and sustain healthy plants. If your soil, potting mix, hydroponics medium,
or compost lacks healthy organisms or soil Biology, establish the right organisms with compost tea.”
Traditionally compost tea was made using a burlap or rough cloth sack filled with manure or compost that was then ‘steeped’ in buckets of water for seven to ten days, sort of like making a cup of Earl Grey.
Now compost tea is best made at home with a bucket bubbler method. This is called Aerated Compost Tea (AACT or ACT). There is a wealth of information about AACT on ICMag.com with many recipes and more advice.
There is a short tutorial thread on ICMag.com titled
‘10 min $10 DIY aerated compost tea ACT brewer’ that will show you a cheap way to make small batches of tea at home, easily!
You will need an air pump, at least a 5-gallon bucket, some tubing and air bubbler. The more air the better the results, so sometimes growers will use several pumps and multiple air hoses to really get that mix bubbling, especially needed if making a larger bin.
Microbeman from ICMag tells us “place the
[vermi]compost into the water in free suspension and filter afterwards if necessary. Filtering is best done by stretching mesh of about 800 to 1000 microns (window screen size) over a pail and pour the ‘tea’
through, keeping the screen free of debris build up.
Alternatively you can place a sump pump into a similarly sized mesh bag and pump directly from the tea machine. If you wish to use a mesh bag to put your
[vermi]compost into for brewing/extracting then 400 microns is the ideal size. A paint strainer bag from the hardware store will suffice.”
Recipe for five gallon bucket of compost tea:
This recipe was submitted by Microbeman, and according to the many growers who use ACT this creates great tea.
Microbeman's 5 Gallon Compost Tea Recipe Percentages by volume of water,
can be used for up to 300 gallons.
- 2.38% compost and/or vermicompost = 2 cups
- 0.5% black strap molasses = 95 ml = 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
- 0.063% fish hydrolysate = 2.5 teaspoons
HeadyBlunts from ICMag brews ACT with a home-made brewer like the one at right.
An ACT with a full range of microbe groups is
obtainable by using quality compost or vermicompost and black strap molasses alone. Always be sure that the black strap molasses does not have added sulfur.
Humic acid in any amount is not recommended as it appears to inhibit all microbial growth in a liquid. Save it to use separately on your soil.
•Humic Acid: Any of various organic acids obtained from humus.
•Fulvic Acid: A yellow to yellow-brown humic substance that is soluble in water under all pH conditions.
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
- 0.25% maximum kelpmeal = 3.2 or 3 tablespoons (this is using regular livestock grade kelpmeal; be aware that kelpmeal can delay microbial division so it can lengthen the time period for brewing.)
- 0.063% soft rock phosphate = 2.5 teaspoons (this can be turned to a fine powder with a coffee grinder; it is a judgment call whether to use soft rock phosphate, due to the possibility of polonium 210 content; the only reason to use it is that there appears to be a group of bacteria promoted by it.)
- 0.25% maximum alfalfameal = 3 tablespoons – can usually be purchased at the livestock feed store; will promote the growth of protozoa (flagellates) and fungi.
- A few tablespoons of Canadian Sphagnum peatmoss will promote bacteria, protozoa and fungi to varying degrees dependent on where it was harvested. Premier
Brand (promoss) and Alaska Peat harvested in Alberta are both excellent choices.
A good air pump for a 5 gallon compost tea maker is the Eco Commercial Air 1. They are long lasting and inexpensive. It is better to not use the brass nipple provided as this reduces air flow drastically. Cut some grooves with a hack saw into the stubby nipple and clamp a larger size air tubing tightly over this. The grooves give the tubing something to grip to.
For optimum results, you should brew this tea for a minimum of 18 to 24 hours to get the bacteria growing.
Fungal growth comes after a bit more brewing, 30 to 36 hours. Using a microscope will show you active bacteria and colonies of fungus.
Tim Miller of ‘Microbe Organics’ says that when
“brewed for 30 to 36 hours ... there will be flagellates and amoebae (& some ciliates) as well, providing a functioning microbial consortia which is better for nutrient cycling in the soil/root interface.”
For more research you may want to visit the Living organic soil from the start through recycling thread started by Gascanastan.
The bottom line is this “The compost tea brewing technique, an aerobic process, extracts and grows populations of beneficial microorganisms. This is especially important if soil has been subjected to chemical-based pesticides, fumigants, herbicides, and some synthetic fertilizers that kill a wide range of beneficial microorganisms that encourage plant
growth. Compost tea improves life in the soil and on plant surfaces.” (From the California Department of Recycling Website.)