On 9 Jul 2003 19:48:58 -0700, (Jay Chan) wrote:

I would like to ask a couple questions on making and using compost
tea:

- Does it really work? Do I expect to see larger crop, bigger
flowers, ...etc? Can someone tell me some "before and after" stories?

Yes it works. I give one dose a week to potted dwarf citrus and they
explode in leaves and blooms.

- Can it rejuvenate lawn grass that is kind of thinning out?

A waste of good tea. Better idea would be to dump the solid waste on
the lawn and make a garden.

- Does it smell just like normal compost piles? BTW, I don't think
normal compost piles stinky at all.

Depends on what is composted

garden, and also apply it in some areas of my lawn to rejuvenate the
grass -- and I intend to apply it every two weeks. Will a 5-gal bucket
be big enough? Do I need a 32-gal container?

Yes, no

- I am thinking of using aquarium air pump to aerate the compost tea.
How big should I get? I have found the following aquarium air pumps
from PETCO:

You dont need an expensive pump, as long as it's not left out for
several days. 5 minutes of dunking and stirring up the bag will be
enough. There's a very good chance debris would quickly clog the
filter, anyhow.

- Can I simply use sugar as the food source for making compost tea
instead of using unsulfured molasses as suggested in a couple sources?
What's so significant about unsulfured molasses anyway? The host in
the TV show "Gardening by the Yard" suggested using sugar.

Sugar will attract predators, and especially ants.

Dan