Compost Tea

Who here makes & uses compost tea?

I am making my first batch right now and plan to use it Saturday.

I filled a 5 gal bucket with tap water and let it sit about 24 hours to allow the chlorine to off-gas. Then I bought a small aquarium air pump, some tubing and a 4-pack of airstones and got that all working and in the bucket. Then I filled a large paint strainer bag with a couple shovelfulls of compost and put it in the bucket with the elastic securing it to the top of the bucket. To this, on a hunch, I added a couple tablespoons of dark molasses to give the bacteria a 'kick-start'.

That was two days ago and the tea is a very rich brown color this evening.

I have four questions:

1) What spraying schedule do you use? 2) What do you do with 'spent' compost and the leftover tea? Back in the compost pile? Mulch / watering can? 3) what results do you get / what changes do you notice? 4) what lessons have you learned about the mechanics of making good compost tea?

My beans and cucurbits got wiped out last year by powdery mildew. I am hoping to avoid that this year by spraying with compost tea. What say you?

Bill

How long does the spray need to be on the plant prior to a rain and does it need to be re-applied immediately following a rain?

I am hoping to be able to hit a twice-weekly schedule of drenching with a pressure sprayer. Is this overkill?

I just learned an important lesson: there is no such thing as 'leftover tea' ... just keep spraying until it's all gone. What runs off the plant, helps the ground.

I use the legs from my wife's old pantyhose to tie up my tomatoes. Yesterday I found that the panty part makes a good filter for the compost tea. I went through 5 gallons and never had a clog. I just laid it over the opening of the sprayer tank and poured the tea through it. It caught a lot of small particles.

Is it really necessary to let the chlorine off-gas from city tap water?

Did adding the molasses help or hinder the process?

I know that copper compounds are permitted in an organic garden for control of mildews but I'd rather not use them if I can avoid doing so. It bothers me that Bordeaux mixture would be an approved organic control. IIRC it forms copper arsenate and thus I don't think it qualifies.

I am surprised that the original posting sat unresponded to for 38 hours. I know there are other organic gardeners on this list.