[LotuSeed]

As there is an abundance of weeds like dock, dandelions and pokeweed around my property, I was wondering if I could make tea from them to use as fertilizer. All of the weeds mentioned have fairly long taproots which makes me think they have mined quite a bit of nutrients from the soil. Anyone tried this? I can't make nettle or comfrey tea since I don't have a source for them. Seems like a waste to just chuck them in the trash. Any suggestions or advice?

[Robster]

I've got a bind weed tea Ive had on the go for a couple of months.  I'm going to feed it to my tomatoes.  I'll let you know how I get on.  I just like the thought of my weeding having an additional benefit.  Fist time though

[LotuSeed]

Yeah, it would be nice to put all those vigorously growing weeds to good use!  Are you aerating yours at all?

[Robster]

No its sitting in a totally anaerobic bucket with a lid and very pongy.  I thought the smell a good sign given what happens with comfrey!

[Growster...]

I seem to recall we talked about this some time ago,and decided that drowning weeds did actually make some good liquid fertiliser.

Someone even mentioned couch grass tea, but I don't remember if that was ever an option!

(It might have been back when we dug the plot, we had forty wheelbarrows of the stuff...;0)

[Comfr3y]

My concern is that they seem very good survivors & can take a very long time to decay- ive wondered about heating/boiling them up but not sure what nutrient losses would be.

[cadalot]

I'm trying weed tea for the first time this year I'm using flower buckets one with holes in the bottom that I put on top to make sure the weeds are under water and not floating and surviving in the water. I have also bought a solar powered pump/ oxygenator and stone which is supressing the smell and promoting good bacteria. 

Got the one on the left off ebay, and I'm now thinking of getting another and buying an additional stone and Tee connector from a pet shop for my comfrey and nettle water butts 

[Dave NE]

I made some nettle tea last week with a cheap bubbler off ebay, a neighbour told me to watch out for the blue bubble stones as they don't last, sure enough, two days later and no blue stone, I have a pet shop nearby so will see what they have to offer, Dave

[ptarmigan]

I've made it in the past just by drowning pernicious weeds in a bucket.  And then using it watered down on fairly robust stuff.  And chucked the left overs in the compost. Not very scientific but nothing has come to any harm!

Bocking 14 comfrey roots are fairly freely available on ebay - the one that doesn't self seed.  And once you've got one plant you can root as many as you want.  I also have a lot of borage on the plot (for the bees) that mixed up with the comfrey makes a Gardeners Question Time approved balanced brew.

[LotuSeed]

My concern is that they seem very good survivors & can take a very long time to decay- ive wondered about heating/boiling them up but not sure what nutrient losses would be.

The finished concoction would be strained several times before use, so I don't foresee that being a problem. I'd also probably give the weeds a good bruising before adding the rainwater/de-chlorinated water in which they'd steep.

No its sitting in a totally anaerobic bucket with a lid and very pongy.  I thought the smell a good sign given what happens with comfrey!

I was under the impression that the mixture should either be stirred regularly to keep it oxygenated or to add an air pump for a similar effect.

I often put the more tenacious perennial weed into a trash can to go out with the yard waste and if it rains, after a few days of sitting, the smell is terrible. Kind of funny I'll actually be trying to recreate this pungent concoction on purpose! At least it will get diluted before use! I think I'll try it out on some of my flowers first.
Thanks all for the input☺️