Making Large Quantities of Compost Tea

[dtsager]

I have been following the Natural Way for the last two years, except for the Compost Tea. I believe that I have really been missing out on a key component of the program, as I think the aerated tea gives a microberial boost to the lawn. Two questions:

1) If I want to get into this habbit, it seem like I will need some good sized quantites to do this on a regular basis. I have procured a large plastic container (holds about 70 gallons) that is used in Mexico as a mini-water tower to improve water pressure. The question is, will this stuff get very stinky if I leave it outside unused for more than a few days? Does anyone have any guidance about making large quantities of this stuff?

2) I have thought for sometime that another way to give a "microberial boost" to the lawn would be to broadcast some of the "compost starter" materials that you can purchase. Does anyone know what is in that stuff, and has anyone tried this before?

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

How much you need depends on how much land you want to spray. Betsy Ross, just north of Austin, has 500 acres she sprays using two 100-gallon brewers. She sprays just about every day of the year.

I would suggest you only make enough to spray each day. It takes a day to make a batch so if you want to spray every day, then you need two brewers like Betsy has. The tea won't stink after a couple days but it will after a couple more. Plus every second the tea is not aerated, beneficial microbes die off.

5-gallons is good for an acre. Your 70 gallon sprayer should be good for 14 acres.