Traditionally, compost tea involved soaking compost in water for several days to several weeks until it smelled rather rancid and then pouring it on your plants. Nowadays, aerated compost teas are all the rage. They take a little bit more work to make, but the bonus is that they smell nice and are full of microorganisms that help make nutrients available for plants and protect them from diseases. In the tea, you are basically supplying your soil and plants with an army of beneficial organisms that will help fight off pests and pathogens and provide nutrients.
Compost teas are made by adding compost and additional nutrients to de-chlorinated water and aerating the mix for 1 to 3 days. Compost tea brewers ranging from 5 to 20 gallons are available on the market. You can also make one at home with a few supplies. Remember, these teas are for your plants and not your own consumption.
Attach the air pump, plastic tubing and air stones as you would when assembling an aquarium. You can either use T-valves to branch your setup into four tubes with air stones places on the ends or you can hang a gang valve on the edge of the container and run the tubes through it for similar results. Place the air stones in the 5 gallon plastic bucket with water and aerate for ½ to 1 hour to de-chlorinate the water.
In the porous bag, add high quality compost* and additional nutrients (described below). Place the smaller air stones in the bag and suspend the sac in the water. The larger air stones remain in the water. You can also just mix the compost together with the water, but you will have to strain it with cheesecloth when you apply it to your plants. The ratio of water to compost will vary depending on the recipe you are following - a good approximation is 5:1.
* High quality compost: Compost that is free from pesticides; has been properly heated and aerated during the decomposing process; and is a good moist balance of green (nitrogen based) and brown (carbon based) material. Greens= vegetable scraps, green plants and weeds. Brown = fall leaves, dead plants, straw, shredded newspaper, old potting soil and stale cereal.
In your tea, you are basically growing microorganisms that will improve your soil biology. You need to aerate the mixture; the water temperature should be average room temperature (around 75°F); and you will need additional nutrients to feed the microorganisms. The goal is to achieve good aeration (a nice vigorous bubbling action). Once brewed, your tea will need to be used within 2 to 8 hours to keep it as an aerobic (oxygenated) process. The tea itself can be left brewing and aerated for several days.
The science of soil biology states that short season crops (annuals) need soil with a high bacterial content. Long term crops (perennials, shrubs and trees) do best in soil with a high fungal content. Grasses fall somewhere in the middle. Teas can be made according to your garden's needs.
For teas that are high in bacterial content add molasses, maple syrup, fruit juice and fish emulsion (about 2 tablespoons for 4 to 5 gallons) to feed bacteria. Bacterial compost teas take less time to make and can be ready in 18 to 36 hours. Adding a cap full of vegetable oil (not olive or canola that have anti-microbial properties) will help reduce the foaming. Remember when making bacterial teas to make sure that you are creating an aerobic process so that you create a healthy brew. Avoid fresh manures in your compost and, since you are working with live microorganisms, avoid spraying on edible crops unless your tea has been tested.
For teas with a high fungal content add kelp (e.g. Eco-Nereo Kelp), oatmeal, humic acid (e.g. Terra Vita),and fish hydrolysate (e.g. Neptune's Harvest TM). Orange, apple or blueberry pulp will also help to grow the fungal content. The fungal components in a tea only start to grow after 12 hours and typically take between 24 to 48 hours.
One way to encourage fungal growth in your tea (if your are making tea for perennials or woody plants) is to create a slurry out of flour and water (approx. ¼ cup flour mixed with water to form a paste) and add it to the tea. Another way is to create a mix of moist compost and oatmeal (ratio 3 to 4 tablespoons oatmeal per cup of compost) in a container and place it in a warm, dark place for three days.
Apply compost tea as a soil drench to your woody plants in the spring and again in the fall. Applications can be done every 2 weeks in the spring and then every month in the summer. Applications for annuals and perennials can range from once a week to once a month.
It is important to spray your plants (foliar application) when they need food at the beginning of a growth cycle - for example at bud break and just before the development of fruits and flowers. You can never use too much compost tea and home brews will be weak.
The best time to spray compost tea is once the weather starts to warm in the spring. If it is too cold the microbes will be inactive. Overcast days are much better for applications than sunny days. When applying teas, avoid the heat of the day and spray either in the morning or the late afternoon.
Applications can be diluted up to 5 times--a little will go a long way. Apply either with a plastic watering can or with some type of sprayer system. Soil drenches and foliar feeds are two types of applications.
It is important to clean out your spraying and brewing equipment immediately after use; otherwise a slime or film will form on the containers. If the bacterial slime has dried on your equipment, use a 5 percent baking soda solution to clean up the dried bacteria.
