The brew I originally wrote about was made from worm castings alone (that was my M.O. last year), so I didn’t even give a thought to soil-borne disease agents. This year what I have most readily available is a big comfrey plant, so I’m currently brewing a batch with fresh-picked leaves to use, ultimately, on container tomatoes and such once they begin to flower/set fruit. Although it might reek in the making stages, I’m not very concerned about spreading disease or other nasties, since the leaves were healthy, from a plant that leads a relatively undisturbed life near a rural meadow (pastoral scenery means it must be wholesome, right?!), and weren’t in direct contact with the soil.

In general I would say: use organic compost that has been produced by high temperatures that kill plant disease agents, or, if you’re into experimenting like me, parts of plants without any visible problems. The end result, when generously diluted, will be less likely to contain any undesirable gunk. Diluting will also lower or completely eradicate the stink factor.

Perhaps I’m less squeamish than most, but I generally think if it smells a little gnarly, it’ll make good dirt. After all, my plants seem to think fish emulsion is the food of the gods. Pee-YEW.

I have a couple questions…

Judging by the odor, the brew you are making is an anaerobic one, am I correct? If so, have you tried brewing it, then opening the lid to allow oxygen in for a few days prior to applying it to your plants? I’ll have to give this a go and see if there are more benefits with one method over the other. Are you concerned about the breeding of pathogens in the anaerobic brew?

Also, do you recommend adding any additional food ingredients to the container prior to sealing it? For instance, have you tried adding a little molasses or liquid kelp to help boost the activity within the container?

Looking forward to your replies.