Comments on: Using Putrid Worm Tea

By: dave

dave — Tue, 12 May 2015 05:59:59 +0000

I have been raising red worms since I was eleven years old, 44 now.
I make Worm Tea in 55 gallon batches.
1 horse aerator and a 1/4 horse water pump ( To Mix while aerating )
using Molasses as the starter I mix for 24 hours…..
I clean old 1 gallon glass wine bottles to fill with worm tea.
The bottles are relatively new as packaging so I’m not sure if a complaint is valid or not.
Someone said they placed the bottle in direct sunlight and forgot about it.
Some time later the bottle exploded with enough force to actually imbed glass into a tree.
Is this actually even possible ?
The only thing I can figure (If it even happened) is simply a build up of steam…. Thanks for any help if anyone has ever seen or even heard of Worm Tea exploding :/

By: Luis

Luis — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:39:19 +0000

So u r saying your edible fruits and veg, peppers cannot have the tea or don’t actually spray it on the plant when u say (parts or the plants). I’ve had two pepper plants and both have died diluted the water and just pour it in at the soil and all I used was the compost soil but now I mixed it was just plan soil from wal mart. I used my first worm tea on my parents place and the have exploded they look awesom but no edible plants and lik I said I’ve have two pepper plants die and also I diluted the water at my parents house. What do y’all think its going on? And if I get it right how much could u sell a gallon of worm tea and how much for the compose soil

By: Cheryl McKenzie

Cheryl McKenzie — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 03:31:08 +0000

I’ve just begun to have the odor problem. I think it’s the heat. Here’s what I found on anothe site.

“Leachate usually smells because it doesn’t contain much oxygen and therefore anaerobic decomposition is going on. One of the by-products of anaerobic decomposition is ammonia, which is one of the things that gives leachate that bad smell. Some people suggest throwing out leachate; I spoke to a retired soil scientist about it (happens to be my father) and he suggested that leachate should contain good nutrients for plants but that it should be mixed at least 50-50 with water to dilute the ammonia which can harm plants if it is too concentrated.

It is also recommended that worm tea or leachate not be used on the parts of any plant that you will be eating in the near future as both worm tea and leachate can harbor harmful bacteria.”

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:39:40 +0000

I heard that if the worm tea stinks then it has parasites in it and you can’t use it. Is this true?

By: Rich

Rich — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:41:14 +0000

Is it best to use Leachate in the soil and at the base of plants, or should you spray it onto the leaves or both?

By: David

David — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:51:13 +0000

Hi there,
I make apox. 46 galons a week yes it does smell.With that being said it does not harm your plant and yes the smell does go away very quickly in less than about 1 min there won’t be a smell after you put iit on your plants. You can keep it cold and the smell will not be bad at all.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:16:33 +0000

I have a flow through bin. The active trays have a wonderful earthy smell. However, the harvested tea is definitely smelly. I understand from this post that I should handle this with care, i.e. dilute and aerate before adding to plants. But, what about using the tea to prepare a bed? We won’t be planting outdoors for another 6 weeks or so. Do you think it would still be a problem for the roots? Also, just because the tea has gone “bad” does that mean it’s no longer nutrient-rich? Or rather that it just has some additional “bad” stuff too (i.e. alcohol)? Thanks.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:14:35 +0000

Hi Kim,
Dilution definitely helps (makes it more aerobic and reduces concentration of any potentially bad stuff).
Stink doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to harm the plants, but there certainly is a greater likelihood than if it doesn’t stink.
🙂

By: Kim from Milwaukee

Kim from Milwaukee — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:42:13 +0000

My sister used some of my first worm tea, which really stunk (I didn’t know that it shouldn’t!). She said the smell goes away pretty quickly, and her plants love it!

I diluted it down alot, though. Maybe that helped.