As the weed fibers begin to break down, and the water becomes brown and thickens, algae may grow on the top of your weed-tea container. That's fine. "But mosquitoes can be a problem in the barrels," warns Neil Strickland. He adds minnows to his barrels to feed on mosquito larvae, but suggests that if you don't want to fool with fish, you can cover the containers with screens or lightweight row cover fabric to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water. Use a transparent or translucent cover and don't seal the top, because the process that breaks down the plant matter requires oxygen and sunlight. Don't use both a cover over your weed barrel and minnows inside it—the poor minnows won't have anything to eat!
If cold weather forces you to shut down your weed tea preparations for the winter, make good use of the rich sludge at the bottom of the barrel. Add the sludge to your compost pile to get even more benefit from the microbes and nutrients in it. Start a new barrel with fresh weeds when spring arrives.
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