Oh, I’d also like to add .. that when I spread the compost itself on my
lawns, the grass turns green and grows faster than the others around it. Seeing this, I’d really like to add it
to my timothy field, but there is no way I can do that by hand and even a
spreader cart seems futile. This
is why I was thinking of brewing up a tea to make spreading easier. It would be great if I could enhance
(grow?) more of the beneficial aerobics at the same time using such methods
mentioned on this list – but I certainly don’t want to kill my self from Ecoli when
the wind changes direction and hits me in the face (grin), nor do I want to kill
my soils. They guy before me did that well enough with his over applications of
fertilizers and other crap folks in this valley find necessary. Thanks! Mike Central Washington State -----Original
Message----- 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
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