Chicken manure tea

Jim Miller · Joined: 26 May 2003 Posts: 19 Location: Salisbury,MARYLAND

Chicken manure tea
I have a 30 gal. drum of chicken manure tea
And don't know what to do with it.
About 1 yr. ago I put about 5-10 gal. of chicken manure
In the drum and filled it with water.
It has been sitting there ever since.
Some advice would be appreciated
Jim

Tricky Grama · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:16 pm Post subject: Tea

Cap't Compost will chime in when he sees this & tell you. I would say to dilute it, water plants w/it, pour it on your compost pile when it dries out, just foilar feed w/it. But...I'm just a novice so it might not be the right time to do some of this.
ps-I'll refrain from advising not to drink it.
Patty

CaptainCompostAL · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 875 Location: Irondale,Alabama

Wow! Anything that old and anaerobic is scary and dangerous! If you do use it, use it very carefully and only use it very diluted (at least 1:20 or more ratio), so not to risk nitrogen buring or spreading diseases. Use it only as a dilute soil drench if you must.

It's probably best used full strength as an activator for your compost piles. Now that's a great idea! The aerobic compost microbes will digest any bad pathogenic or toxic anaerobic microbes from the pile.

I personally don't like using any anaerobic teas that are over 1-2 weeks old as foliar/soil drenches in my garden beds. Any non-aerated, or non-stirred tea that is over 10 days old, will become totally anaerobic. All aerobic microbes are helpful and good for plants and soils and fight diseases. Some anaerobes are good and some anaerobes are bad.

I use my most stinkest teas only in my compost piles. I use my 1-3 day old aerated tea recipes as foliar/soil drenches on everything in my garden or lawn.

Jim Miller · Joined: 26 May 2003 Posts: 19 Location: Salisbury,MARYLAND

Capt.AL
Thank you for your help.
I was afraid I wouldn't see your wise and helpfull
Advice any more.
God be with you in your trial.
Thank you again.
Jim Miller

CaptainCompostAL · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 875 Location: Irondale,Alabama

Thank you!

I'm here!

No trial can keep me again from my organic gardening friends!

Happy Gardening!

Gar · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Posts: 533 Location: Lavon,Texas

Capt'n, We sure are glad and happy you are not leaving us. Like Jim says. we were afraid, with what is going on in your life, you might not have enough time to devote to the forum. BTW, how are things going?

CaptainCompostAL · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 875 Location: Irondale,Alabama

Pretty good so far. Due the big Ivan hurricane scare we had here in Alabama, I had plenty of time to share with my son in the dark for several days! (LOL)

I've starting to get my finances in order, plus my new ministry goals together too. I'm hoping very soon to get back on writing my organic gardening books and building up my composting business for next year.

Thanks everybody!
Happy Gardening!

Gar · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Posts: 533 Location: Lavon,Texas

Capt'n, Glad to hear you are doing ok and things are starting to go your way again. Hang in there. Life will get be back to normal again.

Tricky Grama · Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 8:00 am Post subject: teas

Cap't-
Since we're still in the 'thread' about the chicken manure tea, can I ask a stupid question? When I first read about compost tea, I ran out to the c. pile & filled a piece of panyhose & dunked it in a 5 gal pail of H2O. Stirred & dunked for 10 days then BOTTLED IT UP INTO GAL MILK JUGS. Used it over a period of a mo or so, as a drench, diluting it to look like iced tea. Nothing is dead that I know of...so should old stuff like this not be used?
Patty
God be w/you, Cap't

CaptainCompostAL · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 875 Location: Irondale,Alabama

Sure, that's not a stupid question! Keep in mind that old farmers for many centuries had made and used old non-aerated manure and/or compost teas on their soils with no problems to their crops. Heck, even the old Rodale books recommended the old classic manure and compost teas.

However, due to more recent times and intensive research, we have found out that these old teas work ok, and they do the job ok for plants and soil conditioning, but they can be made much better and faster. Plus due to all the scare tactics about pollutants, toxins, pathogens, and other issues with today's sources of all organic materials, we need to be more careful how we make compost and our compost or manure teas.

Just like hot aerobic compost piles are "safer" to use in all garden styles than the old classic, passive compost piles, due to constant fear of sprouting weed seeds and transferring pathogens to our soils and plants, various aerated compost teas are superior to old classic non-aerated manure teas, in how they breed far more beneficial aerobic bacteria and fungi than their old non-aerated classic tea versions.

That is not to say that all passive compost piles are bad, and all non-aerated teas are bad. Heck, a passive leaf mold pile, can have more beneficial fungi and earthworms in it than say a fast-made hot aerobic compost pile. Also as far as I know, all rhizobacteria used in growing legumes are anaerobic, however they are beneficial. But I don't think you can grow rhizobacteria in any regularly made homemade, aerobic or anaerobic compost tea.

I personally love using only hot, fast, aerobic compost, made from rich, high protein horse manure/sawdust and fish scraps, on all my no-till garden beds. I also love to use lots of foliar/soil drenches made from various aerated compost tea recipes. I use lots of cheap non-aerated teas only as activators on my hot compost piles.

The bottom line is use what you think is environmentally safe on your crops and soil, and what makes sense for your personal gardening style.