Hi - pulled the below off the HG library on this site and have 2 questions:

should I put lids on each 5 gallon container for the 10-14 days?
is this temperature affected (below 50 degrees)? - McKinney Tx here -


Manure compost tea is effective on many pests because of certain microorganisms that exist in it naturally. Here's how to make compost tea at home.

Use any container but a plastic bucket is easy for the homeowner.

Fill the 5-15 gallon bucket half full of compost and finish filling with water.

Let the mix sit for 10-14 days and then dilute and spray on the foliage of any and all plants including fruit trees, perennials, annuals, vegetables and roses, and other plants, especially those that are regularly attacked by insects or fungal pests.

It's very effective for black spot on roses and early blight on tomatoes. How to dilute the dark compost tea before using depends on the compost used. A rule of thumb is to dilute the leachate down to one part compost liquid to four to ten parts water. It should look like iced tea. Be sure to strain the solids out with old pantyhose, cheese cloth, or row cover material. Fill the container full of compost: slowly add water and use anytime after 36 hours.
Add 1 ounce of molassess per 5 gallons of concentrate.

For more power use an aquarium pump to force pump the air through it and spray on the foliage of any and all plants including roses. Plants regularly attacked by fungal pests like roses and tomatoes will benefit greatly. Commercial products are now available and compost tea is the primary ingredient in Garrett Juice.

Oh my!

All I can think is that a lot has been learned since that article was posted. I just checked and the real article, the up to date one, is posted above the text you quoted. The text you quoted should be deleted for many reasons. It is wrong in many statements, misleading in others, and even dangerous by introducing the idea that raw manure can be used in a tea. DO NOT TRY THAT METHOD AT HOME.

If you are looking for something easy to do, try this. It makes pretty good leaf spray or soil drench. Buy some excellent, finished compost. You only need about a quart of compost for a 5-gallon bucket. Fill the bucket with only 4 gallons of water and let it sit for a couple days inside your house. The purpose of this is to warm the water and to allow the chlorine gas to escape. Then take the water back outside to put the compost in. Dump the compost in and stir the water as vigorously as you can with a broom stick or something similar. Then use the water IMMEDIATELY.

Notes:

1. You can pour the water through a filter to capture the compost or just pour it on the garden. A good filter can be made from any mesh material. I use pantyhose.
2. You can dilute the water or not. Full strength will not hurt anything.
3. Don't use the bucket for anything like bobbing for apples later. It will develop a bacterial slime inside that is not good for you.
4. You can add molasses to the water but do it after you have filtered out the compost. It's just easier to clean up.
5. Excellent finished compost smells incredibly fresh, is cool or room temperature, and has no recognizable pieces of the raw materials that went into it. If the compost you are considering buying is smelly (bad) or smells yeasty, moldy, rank, sour, dank, acrid, or otherwise not fresh, look for a different pile. If that is all you can get, bring it home and let it sit out on the ground for a week or so until it smells fresh.

The "compost tea" in Garrett Juice is nothing like the article says. Similarly it is nothing like what I suggested. In fact it is like nothing I've ever seen (I visited the place where they make it). What I suggested is actually much better for immediate use than the Garrett Juice in the jug. If you want to make your own Garrett Juice out of my mix above, go for it . It is not officially "compost tea," but it is very easy to do, inexpensive, fast, and should not be dangerous if your compost was excellent to begin with. Plus that "compost leachate" will be better than anything you can buy prebottled. I believe Howard has the recipe for it elsewhere in his library.

not on here very often but agree with David Hall. the fill and let sit bucket method of making a brew (definitely not a compost tea ) is probably a great way to make some anaerobic liquid, some thing not usually good.
stick with a home made leachate used immediately or better still make a little texas tea brewer for a few bucks. Used properly it will make a very usable, effective compost tea.