Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tea for Poo...and Poo for Tea!

I finally got around to brewing my own worm compost tea! I just started yesterday; the process takes three days, so this blog will be a two-parter(a poo-parter!..eeewww!)

I have accumulated a large amount of worm poo compost over the last year; I've applied it directly or diluted it to feed my houseplants and outdoor garden but brewing the compost actually cultivates beneficial microbes and organisms on which plants thrive. It can help with not only the plant's growth, but can boost the plant's immune system as well as kill and deter many harmful insects and bacteria.
Supplies Needed:
To brew compost tea, you'll need a pump, some air tubing, a gang valve, and three bubblers.
• An aquarium pump large enough to run three bubblers or air stones
• Several feet of tubing
• A gang valve
• Three bubblers
• A stick to stir the mixture
• Unsulfured molasses (preferrably organic)
• Something to strain the tea, like an old pillowcase, tea towel, or a nylon stocking(I simply add the worm poop directly into the water; it dissolves just fine whereas regular compost has insoluble solids)
• A 5 gallon bucket
*** And about 1 pound of Worm Poop!
If you are using city water as opposed to well water, you will need to take an extra step to get out the chlorine in the water. This MUST be done, as the brewing will be done in vain for chlorine will kill all the beneficial organisms we're trying to cultivate! SO, I've read that an hour or two of aerating the water will take the chlorine out; other sources say leaving the water out for 24 hours OR 12 hours if you're aerating it will take care of it. I put in the aerators before bed and turned them off in the morning to be safe.
Above is my under-harvested worm poop bin. I took what I think is about a pound, maybe a little extra.
I stirred in the worm poo and added about an ounce of the organic blackstrap molasses, unsulphured! This gives the microbes a source of food so they can thrive and reproduce.

I will wait for 2 1/2 to 3 days to harvest. I will do a 2nd part to this entry showing the frothy top of the "brewing" tea. Stay tuned for more Poo-tales!

2 comments:

  1. Tomatoes love compost tea, thanks for the great post!

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  2. Huh. Usually we just dilute the worm tea in with some water and water the plants directly. I like the idea of helping the beneficial bacteria grow though. Thanks for the directions.

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