Content

• Ingredients
• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Worm tea may not sound very appetizing, but your plants will love it. You can buy this amazing fertilizer from a number of internet sites, but if you have a worm hopper, you can make your own. Worm tea allows you to fertilize the soil without adding solids and water your garden with a truly "nutritious" mixture for your plants. Your garden will practically jump for joy and scream "Hurray!" As it fertilizes with worm tea, and you will be amazed at the growth and flowering results.

Ingredients

• 2 cups well-rotted worms (small, preferably sifted)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup or unprocessed gray molasses
• Water that has been left overnight or rainwater.

Steps

1. 1 Fill the bucket with water. Either use rainwater or let the water settle to evaporate the chlorine (if the water is drawn from the mains). You do not want the beneficial microorganisms to die under the influence of chlorine. Using a bubbler will accelerate the evaporation of Cl ions from the water, shortening the preparation time.
2. 2 Add corn syrup or molasses to the water. This will serve as food for microorganisms. Dissolve the molasses in a small amount (half a glass) of hot water before adding to the bucket. This prevents potential obstruction to the operation of your air bubblers.
3. 3 Put the excavated soil into the bucket:
   • Place the soil in a fine tea bag net (tights or clean sock) and tie the end. Tie the end of the bag and submerge it in water so that the tea bags are above the bubbles. Some people just drop the bag.
   • put the soil directly into the water (without a tea bag) if you plan to use a watering can, or strain the solution through cheesecloth or mesh to be able to use a spray bag with nozzles that can easily become clogged with debris and rubble.
4. 4 Understand that the grade or particle size of the soil you choose (as determined by the source and packaging process) plays an important role in this. Choose particles larger than marble chips or even mulch bark. Fine soil of a different size is approximately smaller than a ball bearing. The difference in total surface area of ​​interaction with water is much greater for finely ground soil, which has a large area of ​​exposure to aerated water.
5. 5 Place the vermicompost directly into the bucket. Some people say to put the primer in an old sock or stocking that has no holes and tie it up. This will prevent the soil from entering the water freely and slows down the growth of microbes. Both methods give satisfactory results when dissolved directly in water. In addition, large colonies of microorganisms called moldy mucus can form. This shows that you have made a well-saturated tea. You can use a plastic watering can without a strainer at the end and use the tea in general - just water.
6. 6 Use an aquarium pump and pumice stone as a bubbler if you have one. Place it in a bucket and hold the pumice stone at the bottom with a stone. Connect the bubbler so that the water is filled with air.
7. 7 Let the water and solution bubble (or at least soak) for 24 hours. If you don't have a bubbler, stir - don't worry, you can't harm microorganisms (germs) while stirring. The pumice stone at the bottom of the bucket will cause the tea to stir constantly - this is the best way to get high yield tea.
8. 8 To obtain a high yield of tea, conditions must be suitable for the multiplication of microbes, multiplying them exponentially. Microorganisms from the worm's digestive system are extruded into the infusion. These aerobic (oxygen dependent) microbes are "good" microbes for plants (the so-called natural pathway). Bad germs are usually anaerobic (oxygen kills them), and many give off bad odors as they release metabolic byproducts such as hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell). Air inflating the tea improves the conditions (stirring, circulation, aeration) for the good microbes to become stronger (survival, reproduction, growth). Aeration helps to suppress the presence or growth of bad "microbes" that will compete with the good ones. The use of bubblers helps dissolve food molasses; it dissolves and dissipates at a faster rate. Some instructions for the tea making steps without bubblers recommend up to three days of maturation.
9. 9 Use the tea within 48 hours. The population in confined spaces will eventually peak and then begin to die off abruptly. The tea needs to be biologically active, alive, with good microbes such as Hay stick. To avoid losing the beneficial microorganisms you've created, use worm compost tea as soon as possible.
10. 10 Refrigerate (in a closed, labeled container) for up to 3 days. Unpleasant odors from tea after initial maturation or prolonged cooling can signal a poor quality product that should probably be thrown away. It can be added to compost or worm breeding grounds to avoid waste.

Tips

• The old sock may need to be washed. “There may be 'bad', anaerobic microorganisms (for example, those that produce unpleasant foot odor).
• If you're making your tea mid-season, you can add phosphorus sources such as bat guano to boost flowering and fruiting if worm tea is the main source of nutrition for your soil.
• For the same reason, you should always use water that contains chlorine. Rainwater is best, but you can also stand the chlorine water in a bucket overnight.
• Some people recommend adding 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts (magnesium and calcium sulfate). to 1 st. l. per gallon (3.8 L), which can help soften tough soil.
• The tea infusion should be "brewed" (let's say "steep"), as indicated above for the greatest effectiveness. By infusing and aerating the mixture, you stimulate the growth of microorganisms that are beneficial to plants.

Warnings

• Remember, water conducts electricity. Touch electrical appliances with dry hands.
• The juice that drips from the bottom of the container of worms is a "filtrate" and is most likely full of unhealthy anaerobic bacteria (hence the awful smell). This is not worm tea!
• Worm tea is extremely toxic to cats, but apparently attracts them - don't keep it open.
• Worm tea not Suitable for humans or animals - just water your garden with it!

What do you need

• 5 gallon (19 liters) bucket
• Aquarium pump, straw, and bubbler (pumice) (if you like)
• Ground vermicompost
• 2 tablespoons of epsom salt
• 1/4 cup molasses