My husband has been doing a lot of reading this year on different gardening ideas. He read an article from a university in the States on this compost tea and said he wanted to try it. I don’t have the exact link to it, but will provide a few that I found.
It hasn’t been proven or even tested, that I know of, probably because it doesn’t last. You can’t store it, save it, package it. It has to be used right away.
This is what we used:
Grab a 5 gallon (20 L) pail.
He went to Pet Smart and bought:
10 gallon pump (about $14)
Plastic tubing to fit the pump (about $2)
Aquarium Air Stone (.59 cents)
Container of Fish Emulsion ($9) (Lowes)
Molasses, unsulphured/unsulfured black strap. (you can get this at the Bulk Barn and buy whatever quantity you want.)
Vitamin C tablets (500 mg)
A sock
Compost
Step one:
Fill the pail 3/4 full with water.
Connect tube and stone to pump.
Put the Air Stone in the pail, he tied a small stone from our back lot to the tube to keep it down because it was so light that it floated.
Plug the pump in and let it bubble a few hours. The oxygen it creates gets rid of the chlorine and fluorine in the water. (This is what we read, it hasn’t been tested or proven)
Step 2:
Grab one of those socks that the your dryer ate the other match. Fill it with compost. Tie a string around the top so the compost doesn’t come out and drop it in the pail.
Add 1 ounce of fish emulsion.
Add 1 tablespoon of molasses.
Add 2 crushed 500mg Vitamin C tablets
Let this bubble, uninterrupted for 24 hours.
Step 3
This is concentrated. You can use 4 parts water to one part tea all the way up to 10:1. We even watched a guy on youtube use it full strength.
We are just saying what we did.
We watered all our seedlings with it. It is a soil enhancer and enrichment tea.
We used it on a few things in the flower garden that we have doubles of. That way we can see if it is making a difference. We’ll keep you posted.
If you have any left over, you can’t keep it. Throw it on your compost.
From what he read a five gallon pail can do up to an acre. You can also put it in a spray bottle and spray your plants to resist disease. (Again, not proven)
There are many different methods out there. Just type in compost tea in a search engine or at youtube.
Here are a few links to give you more details.
Compost Tea from Doug Green’s Garden
Brewing Compost Tea from Fine Gardening
What are the Benefits of Aerated Compost Teas vs. Classic Teas? from iVillage Garden Web
We are looking forward to seeing how this works. If you have used it before or are planning to, let us know.
UPDATE: I had a great question about why you can’t keep the compost for any length of time. I think it has to do with the oxygen level in it.
Here is a link that I hope explains the science behind it. I know I can’t. 
Making Compost Tea from The Earth Project.
So why can’t you keep it?
Good question! Thanks for asking. I’m not into the science behind it, it was my husbands thing. He’s not home right now, but I did go look it up.
From what I gather it had to do with the oxygen the bubbles produce. Which is why you should use it right away.
I found this:
“Aeration must be adequate to extract the maximum amount of soluble nutrients, and to maintain oxygen in aerobic concentrations in order to produce a tea high in aerobic bacteria and fungi, and with maximum extraction of protozoa and nstrongatodes. The more diverse the community of microorganisms extracted and grown under aerobic conditions, the greater the disease suppression and the better nutrient retaining the tea will be. The greater the concentration of nutrients extracted, the more food there is to grow beneficial bacteria and fungi in the tea during the brewing cycle and after the tea is sprayed out.”
Found here:
http://theearthproject.org/id53.html
I am going to add that link to my list.
I hope that helps. Thanks again for asking and for dropping by!
Interesting. It’s a bit like cycling a fish aquarium, perhaps? Converting free ammonia into Nitrites, and then converting those into Nitrates. Possibly.
I’m not a stupid person, but to be honest, all that is way out of my league.
I just cross my fingers and hope it works!
I am so glad you asked about it though.
Hello thebeadden,
Thanks for the like on my DIY Outdoor Garden Sink post. So nice of you to stop by! ag
That sink was a really great idea! And thank you for taking the time to come by and comment!