AVCT - I did it all wrong...

[mikej]

but somehow it came out OK.

I read about how to brew the tea using aquarium bubblers and molasses, paint strainers, etc., and to NEVER use city tap water. I was curious to try some tea but that all sounded like too much work. So I just put a shovel of vermicompost into a 5-gallon bucket, filled it with water straight from the tap, and added honey ( I had honey but I didn't have molasses ). I let it sit for three days. Once a day I poured part of it into another bucket then poured it back again to stir in air. By the third day it had a nice foamy head on it and had an earthy smell. I strained it through an old towel then sprayed it on some plants that weren't doing well.

The main plants I was interested in was a potted Ficus tree and some rose bushes. The leaves were brown/yellow and withered. I wish I took some before pictures. Two weeks later both the tree and the rose bushes were looking noticeably better. And I mean really better. I was shocked because I hadn't expected them to respond so well to the tea.

I have read a lot of debate about whether AVCT is effective or not but this convinced me to keep using it.

Mike

[Jay Blair]

I dont even worry about honey in the tea percolator. I just fill an old aquarium charcoal filter unit with worm castings in it rather than charcoal and filter batting.

If you have sickly house plants, a weak mix of sugar water works just as well as honey.

My neighbor has told me a brew of weak sugar water mixed with her coffeepot dregs is a good plant stabilizer also.

Maybe we should try some comparison studies on various groups of test plants. Then we can see results comparing worm castings to other brews.

[mikej]

This would be an interesting study. I sprayed some of my tea on my grapes and they seemed to decline a bit. The leaves sort of curled in at the edges.

As for the honey or molasses, I don't think I will bother with adding that anymore. I just read a study by the Woods End Research Laboratory. It indicates that when tea is made from compost that contains E. coli, adding molasses can encourage the growth of the E. Coli. I don't know if that is a concern with vermicompost. But whether it is or not, the molasses ( or other added inoculant ) doesn't seem to be necessary.