composting

[lplott]

Well, I finally did it....I made compost tea. My husband and I have 2-- 55 gallon barrels, a big air blower, 2 air stones, and 2 pillowcases full of compost. We finished one batch and have another almost ready to brew. I watered my garden and the next morning it was all looking beautiful. My compost was all my kitchen scraps, shredded papers, leaves, grasses, some added sugar, and molasses (dry kind). I used one barrel to water my new plants and the other barrel went to water all our little young trees and shrubs. I have had so much fun doing this. We now have the tumbler full again and every day we run out to add more stuff to the compost tumbler, we tumble it and then open it to see if it is cooking good. Its always hot and steamy. We just fill up a pillowcase and let the stuff brew for about 3-4 days. It gets frothy and foamy and smelly. I was wondering, for this size container, do you think a pillowcase is enough? It is a very good looking tea, not too clear and not too dark.

I need some advise about different kind of sprays. I want to be able to use a natural bug spray and not hurt my good bugs. What exactly is pepper spray for and garlic spray good for? Something is eating on the leaves of my plants. I suspect it may be a rabbit, because I have one entire tomato missing and some leaves on my eggplants also.

If you think I am doing anything wrong, please tell me. I am so excited about this and I want to do it properly. Is there anything I should add to the tea while its brewing?

I put it on the garden full strength and my plants look just beautiful.

[CaptainCompostAL]

Congratulations!

Keep feeding those microbes and earthworms all the organic matter you can from compost, mulches, and tea brews. You can't go wrong.

Happy Gardening!