Worm tea consultation-it's not foaming

kamut

Active Member
Okay, to make worm tea I put about 5 gallons of tap water in a bucket, aerated it for 12 hours to try to get rid of chlorine. Then I added about 2 cups of worm castings in a mesh bag and 2 tblspoons of molasses.

It's been bubbling for about 36 hours. There's no real foam, just some bubbles here and there. I thought I had seen people on here talking about getting a big froth going. It doesn't smell bad.


Possible problems I can think of:

1. Use RO water next time
2. My garage where this is bubbling is about 95 degrees F
3. I need to wait a little longer.

This is my maiden voyage with tea and I just want to make sure I'm doing it right and know what to look for.:weed:
 

Nullis

Moderator
The fresher the castings are the better. Also, one would typically use at least a cup of castings per gallon of water, so 5 cups for five gallons. You could use more molasses as well, a tablespoon per gallon. Make sure it is unsulphured molasses and blackstrap is preferable. Keep it out of direct sunlight/HID light. I don't know that 95 degrees is a problem, as bacteria do proliferate faster at higher temperatures (72-80 degrees is what I'd consider ideal).

Municipalities now use chloramines for water treatment, which doesn't readily evaporate from the water. How this would effect the brew depends on just how much chloramine is in the water. Usually water quality reports are sent to your home annually, or can be viewed online.
 

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Good advice. Also consider how much aeration you would need in a 5 gallon batch when you bump up those ingredients to the proper levels and with those high temps. Without it you will likely end up anaerobic.

You can brew a 1 liter tea that will cover 1000 sq ft as a diluted soil drench. A small aquarium pump is enough aeration for 1 liter. Basic recipe:

1 liter water
25ml EWC
4ml BS molasses
2ml kelp meal
1ml fish hydrolysate
 

Buddy Hemphill

Active Member
I use a TBSP of castings per gallon.

I never heard of a cup per gallon. Thats alot.

Foam isn't necessary for a good tea. It depends on what you use.

The only real way to judge your ACT is a scope.
 

scroglodyte

Well-Known Member
i know what the lad said. i was conversing with him about the correct amount to use. but thank you for assuming i have poor reading skills;)
 
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