WHAT IS COMPOST TEA?
Compost tea is a liquid produced by leaching soluble nutrients and extracting bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes from compost. The brewing process is performed at constant temperature, although the growth of the organisms may elevate temperature as a result of their reproductive heat produced. Tea production is a brewing process, and as easy as making beer or wine. But we all know that wine or beer brewing isn’t that easy. Brewing compost tea can be fraught with problems. But if you think about what you are doing, and pick out the right tea-making machine, making compost tea that will help your plants is easy as flipping a light switch. What is your purpose in making tea? If you want to inoculate a highly beneficial group of bacteria and fungi, protozoa and possibly nematodes, buy good compost that has these organisms, and make Actively Aerated Compost Tea. There are a number of excellent tea makers on the market (see How to make AACT). Benefits of using of compost tea containing
C-Gro Compost Tea (CT) is an aerobically-brewed liquid extract made from high quality vermi-compost (worm castings). Properly made Compost Tea (CT) contains ONLY aerobic beneficial organisms especially: bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa that are essential for soil health and plant growth. Properly brewed Compost Tea (CT) has high numbers of these beneficial bacteria. 5,000+ bacteria per micro-gram (pin head size) is the bench mark. The CT brewer, the process of brewing and the formulated ingredients are essential for excellent CT.
Compost tea is a solution made by extracting compost into a liquid form. Solid compost material is steeped or soaked in water resulting in a nutrient rich fertilizer that can be applied directly to plant foliage and soil. It is often used as a natural replacement for chemical fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides. The tea is typically sprayed on to non-edible plant parts to prevent disease or used as a soil-drench to improve root systems. When applied to foliage, the tea may deactivate rapidly in the sunlight. When it is introduced to the soil around a plant, microbes present in the tea will colonize debris and increase the rate of decay. There are numerous types of compost tea, depending upon the ingredients and method of preparation used. Anaerobic compost tea is made by combining finished compost to water and allowing the mixture to steep for up to 14 days. The mixture is stirred regularly to loosen settling microbes and encourage them to transfer to the water itself. Aerobic comp
Compost tea, generally defined as a liquid extract of compost, has gained acceptance by homeowners and commercial growers around the world for its ability to stimulate soil biological activity, improve soil structure, and enhance overall plant health and vigor. Reported benefits of using compost tea include enhanced disease suppression, reduced fungicide and fertilizer requirements and associated cost savings. Research efforts to validate these benefits are expanding. The contemporary compost tea industry by and large uses the term “compost tea” in reference to an aerated extraction process. Historically, the term “compost extract” (among others) was used to describe an extraction process that may or may not include active aeration. Until very recently, almost all published research on the benefits of compost extracts pertained to non-aerated processes. The first known commercially available industrial-grade, aerated compost tea system was introduced in the United States in 1997. There
