[compost_tea] Compost for tea

From: Mike Bosko <mjbosko_at_jmtsystems.com>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 15:07:51 -0700

Ok, here are some of the questions I’ve been brewing in terms of
home-stacked compost for tea. I just spent an hour outside turning my
pile – it seems so rich, crumbly, smells so earthy and chock full of earth
worms, I can’t imagine that its not good for tea. But anyway, here goes the
questions. I’m curious what you think:

Q:
My piles are primarily composed of:

Brown matter: Chaff timothy/alfalfa/grass mix hay (I grow myself – no
pesticides or chem. Fertilizers) + dry plant prunings + fall leaves + pine
needles (regardless what people tell me, they break down quickly, the worms
love them and I really think it helps my highly alkaline soils) + shredded
newspaper (no color ink)

Green matter: Horse manure (low to no chems fed to my horses, worming is
done at a minimum and only as necessary (rare)) + grass clippings + kitchen
scraps + chicken manure (I only have 3 chickens so not much of that).

Piles get roughly 3:1 brown to green materials
I turn my piles about once every 1 to 3 weeks.
Try to keep them moist, but wicking from the hay does tend to dry it out on
occasion.
Also, at times there are mucky wet centers if not turned w/in 2 weeks.

Without testing, are these materials okay for use in teas?


Q:
Worms -- sign of good compost for tea?
My compost is always full of red earthworms, lots of them. After unloading
many of them to my garden, they seem to multiply to their high level in no
time. I just hate the thought of drowning the little buggers if I were to
be making tea out of it.

Q:
Mushrooms -- Sign of good compost for tea?
In the shady recesses of my compost area, that I tend to neglect turning,
mushrooms are showing themselves. Would this imply good fungal growth?
Good compost? The bulk of my compost, that is turned often, doesn’t tend to
get, or stay, wet enough for mushrooms to grow. But they do so in the shady
corners – and I live in an arid region of WA state.

Q:
Moist, Crumbly, Earthy Smell – Sign of good compost for tea?
As mentioned before, my piles when turning, smell earthy and sweet. With
all the horse manure we go through, I must be adding enough brown goods
because the piles always smell earthy and crumble in my hands.

Just some of the questions I’ve been pondering – I’m looking to make some
teas on my own, with my own self made brewer – but also am looking into the
option of purchasing one too. I’d just really like to use my own composts.

Thanks!!

Mike





Received on Wed May 14 2003 - 00:03:44 EDT

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