Aerated Compost Tea

Hi all I have been doing a lot of reading on Aerated Compost Tea, (not to be mistaken with compost tea) lately and can't make my mind up whether to have a go at making some next season.

I have seen some freakish effects of Compost Tea where everything grows about 3 to 10 times the size. Ideally this is not what I would like to achieve, my goal is to achieve healthy looking fruit, vegetables and vegetation. I do like the idea that aerated compost tea acts as a bio barrier against pests and disease when used as a foliar spray.

I wondered if anyone here has experience with aerated compost tea and what sort of results they have achieved?

I spoke with a landscape architect who swore by aerated compost tea, that it's what he uses for all his clients when plantings go in. He didn't say anything about monster plants though, so it could depend on how much and how often it's added.

I know it's great for perking up sad lawns if you don't want to use chemicals or fertilizers. I have the equipment to 'brew' tea but haven't gotten around to it yet. Will try to find time this summer.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of youtube videos on it.

Aeration of the liquid compost greatly multiplies active ingredients that the crop/plant can quickly absorb and benefit from. I just have a 5 gallon bucket from the shops, a used fish tank dual line pump and 4 largish aeration 'stones' which will do the job perfectly. No way do you need to spend that sort of money. BTW, the aerated tea, once ready, needs to be used within an hour or two, and is diluted with more water because it's now become quite potent. Can't recall the dilution ratio at the moment.

From each dual line off the acquarium pump, I've split off the line into 2 so that I have a total of 4 aerating stones that I spread around the bucket of rainwater. For 'food' I use worm castings, about a pound or less, that I put into a fine reuseable painter's straining bag and tied. No real need for other ingredients. Let it brew for about 36-48 hours, then use as foliar spray within 1 to 2 hours because it loses it's potency very fast. You might need to restrain the liquid before putting into a sprayer. Make only what you can use within that time because the active ingredients die off very quickly which is why you want to spray it asap. When done, wash out all equipment well.

Not unless you've got a power source for about 48 hours. You could make it at home, timing it so you can take it straight to the lotty when done.

You can use this foliar spray anywhere. My big task is to do my ratty front lawn, to bring it back to health without the use of chemical fertilizers. The nice thing about aerated compost sprays is that it goes deep into the roots and the plants are more resiliant to drought and other problems.

If you want more info, here's the first of 4 videos that got me started: LINK

He rattles on a bit but his info is sound.