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Author Topic: Actively Aerated Compost Tea  (Read 2412 times)

Offline GDRankin

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Actively Aerated Compost Tea
« on: May 31, 2014, 06:46:22 pm »
As promised in another post, here is a link to some information on the above mentioned - actively aerated compost tea.

Like many gardeners, I've used compost over the years and enjoyed it's benefits, but had never heard of compost tea. Nor did I realize how easy it would be to bring soil "back from the dead".

Some may or may not realize that we've been in a serious drought down here in south Texas, like others, for the last several years. Water restrictions started several years ago and many folks simply lost their good grasses, wild flowers, gardens etc.

After attending a small seminar at a local organic gardening supply / nursery, I learned about and started making this "tea" this spring and I must say, my yard, garden and even the fields surround my house have all undergone a transformation that I would not have believed if I had not witnessed with my own eyes. The squash plants were producing in 6 weeks and look like they are on steroids. The wildflowers in my fields are more than the bees could ever want and the lawn is drastically improved.

The compost tea is one element in a three part organic system of revitalizing the soil and conditions that are responsible for these results. The tea contains tons of microscopic life, (microbes such as fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, and microarthropods) basically the same things found in good organic compost, but multiplied thousands of times over by the brewing process, which add so much life to the soil that everything processes like nature intended.

The other two parts are, 1 - adding a high quality organic fertilizer and 2 - feeding said life a bit of molasses to stimulate the life the tea puts in the soil.

The molasses is basically mixed with water, 1 tablespoon per gallon, and sprayed onto the plants and directly into the soil. This feeds the microbes, which in turn thrive and process the fertilizer into a form the plants can access much better and faster than otherwise.
The results are amazing. This all can take a few weeks to actually be noticeable to any large degree, but you can turn "old dead worn out soil" into super earth in a matter of a very short time.

I made a 5 gal size tea brewer out of a 5 gal bucket, an aquarium pump and a couple of air stones and a paint strainer bag (used as a tea bag) all for about $25.
There's a link on my page to a youtube video that explains and shows all of this in detail.

The compost is the base ingredient that goes into the bag, about 2 cups, along with about 1/3 cup of worm castings.
Using a non-chlorinated water source, preferably from a pond or even rain water is best, you add a few additional things to spur on the "microbe orgy" when the air is turned on.
I'll add the full list on my web page asap.
Meanwhile, it can all be found in the videos that are linked on this Compost Tea page of my site.

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.
http://www.GDRankin.com/Gardening/CompostTea.htm


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