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Homemade Compost Tea Brewer

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(@got-freedom)
Eminent Member
Joined: 13 years ago
Posts: 40
Topic starter  

i prefer 'liquid fertilizer & microherd maker',
because you don't use any compost (or very little, as a type of inoculant),
and the microherd refers to the tiny beneficial organisms multiplying within,
but that title will allow one to research it on the interweb
(and also discover they are rather pricey, $500 for a decent size one, some are over $2000)
so here is my quick & easy (& frugal) design

the name 'liquid fertilizer maker' means, if needed,
you could continue growing/feeding fruits/herbs/vegetables without auxiliary inputs
especially when used as a foliar spray as well as a soil feed (feeding not only the plant but the whole community in the phllyosphere & rhizosphere)
spray early morning when stomata are opened to their max, trying to hit the underside of leaves where they are located
plants absorb a greater percentage of nutrients this way (something like 95% uptake versus 10% via roots)
a decent pressure sprayer should negate the need for adding a little soap for greater dispersion
there is some debate about whether the soap actually kills some of the micro-organisms you just made,
so i don't add any soap, if it is a dead (strictly a nutrient spray) then add a few drop of soap

i have modified the design over the years, but not the components
and have excellent results for a # of years

the only difference between you and i may be that i have cultivated a specific plant for the fertilizer
that being russian comfrey (symphytum officinale), but there are plenty of other ingredients you can effectively use
the nice thing about the comfrey is that it sends down a very long taproot,
and brings up nutrients from the subsoil (untouched by any other plant), to its leaves
if interested i would recommend going with 'bocking 14' variety of comfrey,
because you can order plant starts, as opposed to seeds of the russian variety (they are a little difficult to germinate)
once planted they cannot be moved (or killed), so where you plant needs some forethought

anyway onto the brewer/maker

Liquid Fertilizer Maker

- find a good quality large rubbermaid tote with a good lid (i have 3 - 120 liter totes for 3 crops of comfrey)
- find another tote that will just barely fit inside the first tote
- on the larger tote install a bung fitting as close to the front bottom as possible, and to that add a valve (close the valve)
- on the smaller tote drill 1/4" holes all around the outside starting at about 1/4 of the way up
(many, many holes, but not on the bottom)
- get a good aquarium air pump with 2 outlets

- now you simply fill your holey interior tote with greens
* i use comfrey, but you can use nettles, horsetail, dandelions etc.
( i like to bruise/rip the material, nothing much just quick, but not so fine as to escape the drill holes)
- place your large tote on a good stand, with a little back to front incline (i just use old lumber i have),
remember it will be heavy when full, and the stand should be high enough to accommodate the vessel you plan on filling
- place full smaller tote into the large tote
- for a large tote add about 1 1/2 cups sugar/honey over the top (do not use molasses, as this will bubble terribly and make a mess)
this feeds the microherd, you can also add some fresh grass if using comfrey to bump the nitrogen
( i grow my own sugar beets, then just juice them in fall and can the juice for next years fertilizer batches)
- at this point i forgo the smaller lid and weigh the greens down with flat rocks/bricks, whatever so long as the larger tote lid will fit over
- fill your apparatus with rain water/well water/spring water/lake water to about 2" below top of large tote
- get a piece of decent black poly (it must be opaque) that will fit over the large tote and down the edge about 3"
- put the end of nail into the poly where you want your airlines to go through
- push just enough air-line though so that they rest near the bottom of the large tote on either side of the smaller tote
- on the end of the 2 airlines add 'curtain' attachments (these are the long tubes that disperse a wall of air bubbles, as opposed to a single stone type)
- place your 'curtains' in position and cover the large tote with the poly, then tape the poly onto the large tote (i use tuck tape for a good seal)
- plug in your air pump, listen for the bubbles, and walk away

4-5 weeks later, simply turn on the valve and fill some containers
for a foliar spray dilute 15:1
for a root/soil feed dilute 10:1
(depending on color, you want to dilute to a weak tea color for the root/soil feed, and a little less for the foliar)

for next spring, simply freeze the concentrate
it can be frozen in good plastic containers,
just leave a good airspace for expansion when it freezes

here is a pic of mine
(except i don't use the lids anymore, just black poly, as the water pressure sometimes made it hard to get the lid tight)


And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her;
for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones,...
and slaves, and souls of men.


   
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(@anitapreciouspearl)
Noble Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1153
 

Shall I post a picture of the foot of snow we have right now - sigh - yer making me wish it was spring time!!

I understand the concept of manure tea but I am a little dense when it comes to your instructions. The bubbler thing, airline, curtains ...huh?? I've had a headache for the past few days and now I can't sleep - that may explain my denseness. Why do you need plastic over the top? to make it darker?? I like pictures - being a visual person - got any more??

This sounds like it's right up my alley 🙂


(`'•.¸(`'•.¸ ¸.•'´) ¸.•'´)
*´¨`•.¸¸Anita <>< *.•´¸¸¨`*
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Quack, Cluck, Moo, Hee-Haw, Meow and Baaaaaaa from Shalom Engedi Farm
http://adventures-in-country-living.blogspot.com/


   
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