Making compost tea doesn’t have to be rocket science.

Here’s one method:

Last fall, I filled a trashcan with pulled weeds, leaves, some chicken
manure, straw and a bit of dirt… filled it the rest of the way up with
water, then let it rot for a while. I then dipped into that water and
fed my plants in the greenhouse throughout the winter. They did quite
well, though the smell… my gosh… it was amazing. (I think I need to
market it: Dave’s Fetid Swamp Water (TM)).

Making compost tea will allow glowing strings to show up in your garden.

Incidentally, you’re supposed to keep air in the mix in order to encourage the friendly and less dangerous aerobic bacteria – but hey, who can fault a guy for sending a little love over to the anaerobic side once in a while?

Watching these videos made me start a new batch… and it stinks already. This time I threw in some yogurt, kefir, sugar, urine, compost, leftover water from cooking beans and mustard greens, ashes and a bit of epsom salts. YUM!

UPDATE: There’s a lot more on making compost tea in my book Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting. Pick up a copy and start growing gardens like you’ve never seen.