Hello,
I'm new to the forum and also new to composting. Last week I built a large bin for composting, I have added nothing but grass clippings and leaves to the pile. Late last night I went out to the compost bin with a probe to check the temp. and it was around 146.2 degrees, so I'm getting close to temps I need for it to break down "right". I'm an avid hosta collector with approx. 200 different varieties and my questions are....1. Are there other additives to incorporate into my compost pile while it's hot for making compost tea to put or spray on the hostas? Most of them have been in raised beds growing for about 4 years in humus soil under shade and also have hostas planted around our house....2. Will compost tea help with plant shock once being divided and possibly help hold hosta colors longer and brighter, especially variegated types?.....3. What compost tea mix will work the best for all our perennials?

Hostas love high nitrogen-protein foods. Once you get the soil underneath rich with homemade compost, you need good high protein fertilzers like blood meal or fish products to keep them green and healthy. Normal compost tea recipes are great as an extra "vitamin food" liquid product and organic disease fighter for your plants, but hostas need more nitrogen than that.

Compost and compost teas are designed to really be soil foods for beneficial soil microbes and earthworms. These soil organisms need to be fed regularly good proteins, carbohydrates, etc., in order to metabolize these foods into water soluble available nutrients for your hostas. Also these soil organisms improve the soil's texture, color, and increase the soil's protection mechanisms from diseases.

Captain Compost, thanks for your reply. Through your web site is how I found this forum. There is a lot of information to read, all very helpful. Today while making my rounds at work I stopped and purchased alfalfa pellets and molasses powder. I am planning to add both of these to my compost pile. Would it be beneficial to add more of both to the bucket when brewing compost tea or is there enough in the finished compost? The tea will have a pump to keep it oxygenated. Also, what is the approximate shelf life (if any) of finished bagged compost in burlap bags?

It might be best to use your protein fertilizers directly in the garden soil or in your compost pile. Then just focus your aeration on plain copmpost tea with just a touch of molasses as a biostimulant. Too many extra protein ingredients in the tea without proper aeration, proper timing, and proper climate, can cause a stinky smelly anaerobic tea. Not good at all!

Also any bagged dry mature compost can remain stable for an indefinite number of months.
The problem I have with my compost bags are that since they are biodegradeable, they fall apart with 3 months, if the user doesn't use the compost up in the bag in time! The compost itself will never spoil, and it will remain aerobic and pleasant smelling, as long as the mixture doesn't get wet in the bag.