what to do with weeks-old brews

habitat_gardener · June 16, 2009

All spring, it seems, I've been making 5-gallon buckets of fermented compost "tea" with alfalfa, nettles, cornmeal, etc., intending to let it sit for a few days and then dilute and use. But then I have too much to do in the garden and never get around to using all of the brew, and now when I open the lid it smells so strongly that people 20 yards away (not knowing the source of the smell) start making comments about it. (The most entertaining was a group of boy scouts who were doing a project in the community garden and started blaming each other for the smell.) If chicken manure is 10 on the smell-o-meter, I'd rate my long-fermented brews at about 8.

So anyway, now I have 3 buckets of the stuff and I'm wondering what to do with it. I'm reluctant to experiment with my tomato plants or other seedlings. My latest plan is to go to the garden at 6 am, pour one bucket in a compost bin on top of a thick layer of mulch, and add a layer of coffee grounds on top. The alternate plan is to dilute (1 to 3 or 1 to 10) and pour it onto my mulched paths, which are the only unplanted part of the garden, then add some more mulch on top. I do have a few container plants that I could sacrifice (experiment on) as well.

Has anyone else successfully (or not) used this kind of stuff in the garden?

Also, the comfrey is almost done flowering, so it's almost time to start making comfrey tea for the garden! Does anyone else use comfrey tea?

June 16, 2009	#1
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	what to do with weeks-old brews All spring, it seems, I've been making 5-gallon buckets of fermented compost "tea" with alfalfa, nettles, cornmeal, etc., intending to let it sit for a few days and then dilute and use. But then I have too much to do in the garden and never get around to using all of the brew, and now when I open the lid it smells so strongly that people 20 yards away (not knowing the source of the smell) start making comments about it. (The most entertaining was a group of boy scouts who were doing a project in the community garden and started blaming each other for the smell.) If chicken manure is 10 on the smell-o-meter, I'd rate my long-fermented brews at about 8. So anyway, now I have 3 buckets of the stuff and I'm wondering what to do with it. I'm reluctant to experiment with my tomato plants or other seedlings. My latest plan is to go to the garden at 6 am, pour one bucket in a compost bin on top of a thick layer of mulch, and add a layer of coffee grounds on top. The alternate plan is to dilute (1 to 3 or 1 to 10) and pour it onto my mulched paths, which are the only unplanted part of the garden, then add some more mulch on top. I do have a few container plants that I could sacrifice (experiment on) as well. Has anyone else successfully (or not) used this kind of stuff in the garden? Also, the comfrey is almost done flowering, so it's almost time to start making comfrey tea for the garden! Does anyone else use comfrey tea?