WHAT IS COMPOST TEA?
Compost tea is an aerobic water solution that has extracted the microbe population from compost along with the nutrients. In simple terms, it is a concentrated liquid created by a process to increase the numbers of beneficial organisms as an organic approach to plant/soil care. The concept behind compost tea is quite simple, though the actual process of making compost tea becomes scientific and very complex. The idea is that compost (full of beneficial microorganisms) is put into water and then nutrients or foods for the microorganisms is added to allow the bacteria and fungi to multiply rapidly. Air is sent through the water to keep the water oxygenated, as this favors the beneficial bacteria and fungi over the pathogens (ex.-e coli). At the end of the brewing cycle, what you have is a concentrated liquid full of billions of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes) that can then be sprayed directly onto the leaf surface. This puts the “good” biology where the plant needs
If you have never heard of compost tea, it is best described as a liquid soil conditioner for your garden and lawn. For the organic gardener, it is just one more way to utilize the compost harvested from your compost bin, compost tumbler or worm compost bin. Q: How do I make compost tea? A: Making compost tea is a snap! The name says it all—simply steep your compost or vermicompost in water to create hearty liquid sustenance for your plants. For compost tea, grab a large 5 gallon bucket or similar container and fill it loosely with only your finest batches compost. If you have a poor compost yield, your tea will be similarly lackluster. Add water to cover your compost, then stir the bucket contents daily for a week. When the tea is ready, simply drain the liquid from the bucket, now awash in the nutrients and minerals it leeched from your compost. Use a strainer or cheesecloth if you plan to spray your tea from bottle to remove clogging residue. Because the tea is so potent, make sure
Compost Tea is an organic, nutritionally rich, highly-concentrated liquid extract made by steeping aged compost in water. When the tea is made with well-balanced, aged, premium-quality compost, it is alive and teaming with healthy microorganisms and nutrients your soil and plants crave. The tea can be used in place of water when watering your plants, either as a root drench or directly on the foliage. The nutrient-rich tea is readily absorbed into the roots and foliage of your plants for almost immediate results! TOP What will Merrill’s Compost Tea do for my plants? • Super-charged soil for healthier, hardier plants • Better-tasting and more nutritious vegetables, fruits, and berries • No more need for harsh, toxic, expensive chemicals • Increases plants’ natural abilities to resist disease and pests • Completely ORGANIC to create a safe, wholesome environment for you, your children, and your pets • Brighter, greener leaves • Bigger, more beautiful blooms • Larger, superior, more profu
Organic gardeners all know compost is fantastic stuff. But now, there’s something even better and that’s compost tea. If you start with a good compost you’ll have a versatile elixir for all your garden needs. Compost tea helps prevent foliage diseases and at the same time increase the nutrients to the plant and shutdown the toxins hurting the plants. It will improve the taste/flavor of your vegetables. So why not give this tea a try either by buying it or brewing it yourself. You won’t believe the results! Four ways that good bacteria work: • Help compete for the nutrients • Dine on the bad varmits • Help produce antibiotics to use against the varmits. • They shove the bad varmits out. Compost tea that is correctly brewed has a wealth of microorganisms that will benefit your plants’ growth and health as well as the soil that they live in. Compost tea can be considered yogurt for the soil. The microorganisms living there are both good and bad. What the tea does is make sure the good guy
Essentially, compost tea is produced through a brewing process that extracts microorganisms from compost, and encourages microbial growth and multiplication. This includes beneficial bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes. When compost teas are sprayed onto a plant, these beneficial organisms occupy spatial niches on the leaf surface and gobble up leaf exudates that pathogenic organisms (bacteria or fungi that can cause disease) would otherwise feed on to prosper; other microbes directly antagonize and interfere with pathogenic organisms. Ideally, compost teas contain both an abundance (immense total number) and a diversity (vast variety) of beneficial microorganisms which perform different functions. Pathogenic organisms that land on the leaf surface simply cannot compete with the beneficial organisms and therefore have a greatly reduced chance to initiate disease.
