Compost Camellia sinensis , compost excerption . No matter what term you hang on it , it ’s just compost and water . It ’s a perfect lawn and garden feed for those who require a melted postscript for their plant and soil , those who only make small amounts ofcompost , or for those who may not have the forcible strength to go around compost . But how one just makes compost tea leaf is widely debated .
The liquidity that drains out of the bottom of your compost pile is not compost tea leaf . It ’s call compost leachate and should never be applied to your garden plants . Compost leachate usually carries very high concentrations of salts and microbes which may be detrimental to your plant life and ground . One should also observe that compost Camellia sinensis is only constitutive if the source materials used in the compost are organic .
What is compost tea?
Compost tea is a limpid version of compost , made by hock compost in water ( hence , the “ tea ” ) . The estimation is that fecundate with compost tea leaf makes make a panoptic array of food directly uncommitted to plants . Many of these nutrient are n’t available in packagedNPK fertilizers . It ’s also believed that the use of the microbe - rich “ afternoon tea ” suppress plant life disease and builds respectable soil . Regardless of the materials used in the compost , healthful bacteria are available in compost tea , that help plants utilize stain food promptly and efficiently .
Aerobic vs non-aerobic compost tea
There are two type of compost tea : aerobic and non - aerobic . The dispute between the two is atmosphere : one has melodic phrase forced into it via bubbling ( aerobic ) , and one is simply stirred once a day ( non - aerobic ) .
Many clause describe elaborate gizmo for defecate aerobic compost tea . But this simply complicates what should be a very simple process ( some people require to endlessly tinker with things that do n’t involve to be deposit ) . Dozens of research papers have show that aerobic vs non - aerophilic compost afternoon tea provides no additional aegis against flora disease . The additional microbes in the aerophilic brewage , dependent on gamy concentrations of oxygen , are at long last bank into a mostly non - aerophilic sensitive ( your soil ) , and the degree of atomic number 8 in the dirt will not support the aerophilous bacteria . The aerophilous germ population crashes almost immediately .
On the other hand , non - aerophilous compost afternoon tea , adulterate with microbe that expand in grunge , is simple to make , unsubdivided to use and is brilliant at making food usable to plants and inhibit disease . How it suppresses disease is still a bit of a mystery , but in A / type B garden plot inquiry conduct by the Rodale Institute , the benefits were clean-cut .
But compost tea is not a magic bullet for disease suppression or fertilizing . You should also practicecrop rotation in your vegetable garden , judicious pruningwhen necessary , top - fertilization with compost , andmulchingwhere needed .
Compost tea recipe
Tea made with this formula can be stored for up to 6 months and can be used at any stage of your plant ’s development – from ejaculate starting through due date . Use it as a foliar nebulizer or dirt drench 2 - 4 times during the season . practice heavy applications after reap to replenish soil bug and to improve disease suppression . Apply at a rate of 1 congius per square foot .
A note about starters for compost tea
It ’s not necessary and in fact not recommended that you add “ starters ” like molasses or other cabbage to the tea . Sugars are the favored emergence medium for E.coli bacteria , and you’re able to calculate that your compost contains at least a small amount of this most common bacterium , specially if you use creature manures in your compost . E.coli occurs naturally but is kept under control by good bacteria . If you encourage E.coli ’s increment with sugars , you could be asking for real problem , like enteral illness or worse .
record the “ How - To Compost Tea Guide ” from the Rodale Institute .
