But there is an other use for compost that is far better and can do wonders for your plants – that is compost tea.
Compost Tea
The usual process of using compost is to immediately use the finished product on the
plants. It would be mixed with the soil directly without any other process involved. With
the compost tea on the other hand, the finished compost would have to undergo another
process that would make it richer and more nutrient-filled and can depending on the application can either be used for drenching the soil or as a foliar spray.
The 5 most obvious reasons for using compost tea are;
Increases nutrients available to plants
Increase quantity of good microbial activity in soil or on plants surfaces.
Less plant disease, helps seedlings fight damping off.
Less plant pests
Stronger healthier plants.
The secondary process that makes compost into compost tea, is growing additional microbes in aerated water which increases microbial life on the plants and within the soil, so the plants thrive.
Compost tea helps breakdown minerals and organic matter otherwise unavailable and increase aerobic microbial life That means additional nutrients that become available for plant use in and on the plants and soil. The benefits of this being that; plants can access and store all of the nutrients that they require. Fruits and vegetables produced with compost tea feeding are more nutrient rich therefor better for you, it has been reported they also taste better.
When compost tea is sprayed on the leaves of the plants, it actually helps to keep foliar diseases, fungus and mold at bay. The good microorganisms in compost tea help the plant fight off the bad microorganisms which cause disease. In the same way compost tea speeds up the break down of toxins by providing organism that can do so on the plants and in the soil.
As a foliar spray compost tea discourages pests from living on your plants in part by camouflaging them to the pests and insects and also by making the environment less habitable.
If you have used the traditional method of applying compost and see the benefits, then you and your garden plants are in for a real treat by applying compost tea.
If you already know how to make compost, then making a compost tea would come fairly
easy. Of course you will get the best compost tea from high quality compost with high
microbial activity.
You will need;
A large bucket or container, a stirring stick, an old pillowcase, and strainer for straining the compost. You will also need some sort of aerator, an old fish tank aerator pump with 2 or 3 hoses will do the job nicely, some ground kelp powder and molasses to feed the organisms.
If you have an electric kitchen composter, then you probably have reasonable quality compost to make the tea with or you may be an old hand at making quality compost, lacking that you could buy some.
Initially, place your compost in a container. You can use drums with a capacity between 5
– 55 gallons. Fill it with water (chlorine free) add kelp/molasses, set up aeration
system – tie or weight hoses down – turn on pump, make sure that you stir it everyday. Remember that aeration is very important
when making compost tea. The good organisms need the oxygen in order to breed rapidly. After 24 to 48 hours, your compost tea should be ready.
Use your compost tea immediately, it has a very short shelf life of only a few hours. The microbes begin to die once they have run out of oxygen and other unwanted anaerobic microbes start growing.
Drain the liquid through a strainer, and then through the pillow case if you are going to use a pump sprayer – dilute with water to the color of weak tea before spraying.
Aside from making a compost tea using compost, you could also make one using worm castings. Which by rights should be called Worm tea. And is more beneficial for removing insect predators, the organisms in worm casting are hungry for cellulose which is what insects and insect eggs shells are made of. It needs to be said that this is indiscriminate and good insects will also be targeted.
Today, there are many commercial compost tea brewers available that will give you great compost
tea. Some even have features that could give you compost and compost tea together. This
takes all the work out of making the compost tea and will give you a perfect batch every time.