Lots of references to it, and when to use it, but how to make it? Does it require having finished compost?

Thanks for any info....

Welcome to OG! I'm starting my first year making and using compost tea. I've got some good references I'll post as soon as I look them up.

Dirt

Yes, welcome aboard!

There are lots of ways to make it, from complicated to simple. You might do a search on these boards (scroll down to the little word, "search," click on it and enter the words, "compost tea."

I do it the simple way: toss a bunch of finished compost in the bottom of a five-gallon bucket, stir it daily for a week or so, dilute it to the color of weak tea, and give it to your plants. One thing to keep in mind is that the stuff will be full of anaerobic bacteria, which stink. When you stir, create a bunch of bubbles to get air in, or squirt a hose in to aerate it.

Welcome,

Here is a link that Captain Compost gave me when I asked the same question. http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2002082739009975.html

The stuff really works.

Here's something I found a long time ago, it's going a bit far for my purposes, I'm not going to use an aquarium pump, but you can see where they're going with this, and you can do your own version. The tidbits of info are good in this, though, especially about the chlorinated water:

COMPOST TEA You all surely remember Dr. Elaine Ingham, the dynamic keynote speaker at our annual meeting. She advocates compost tea for several reasons: It suppresses foliar disease; increases the amount of nutrients available; and speeds up the breakdown of
toxin on leaves and in the soil. Her method is a little more complicated than the one Terry used - pouring hot water over compost and letting it sit for 2 or 3 weeks. This anaerobic method could produce alcohol which, when applied to plant leaves, destroys cell walls.

For Dr. Ingham's method you will need a 5 gallon plastic bucket and a few aquarium supplies - a pump large enough to run three bubblers, several feet of air tubing, a gang valve to distribute air to the bubblers, and 3 bubblers. If you have well water, you can use water straight from the spigot.

If you use city water, aerate the water first by running the bubblers in it for a few hours to dissipate the chlorine, which would kill all the beneficial organisms. (Or you could let it sit for a day to let the chlorine escape.)

To make the tea, fill an empty bucket halfway with compost but don't pack it in. The compost must be loose for the bubblers to aerate it properly. Cut one length of tubing and attach one end to the pump and the other to the gang valve. Attach three lengths of tubing (long enough to reach the bottom of the bucket) to the ports on the gang valve, and place a bubbler at the end of each length of tubing. Hang the gang valve on the bucket's lip and bury the bubblers underneath the compost.
Full the bucket to within 3 inches of the rim and start the pump. With the pump going, add 1 ounce of molasses to feed the bacteria, and stir the mixture vigorously.

After 3 days, turn the pump off, let the mixture settle for 10 to 20 minutes, and then strain it into another bucket or directly into your sprayer. For the tea to be effective, it must be used immediately. (Remember: Early morning or evening is the best
spraying time.)You can add the solids you've strained to your compost pile or directly to soil.
Research is still ongoing but compost tea is known to control certain leaf diseases like fusarium wilt, blight, gray mold, downy and powdery mildew, apple scab and add to this list - Red Berry Mite! Dr. Ingham has authored a booklet, The Compost Tea Manual, which gives further information about making compost, brewing compost tea, and determining which recipe is right for your conditions. This is available from:

SoilFoodWeb at (541) 752-5066 or
SoilSoupInc. At (871) 711-7687 or
Growing Solutions at (541) 343-8727 or

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Life goes on within you and without you - George Harrison

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