Teas and Brews 1 - Aerated Compost Tea

Thanks to Leah Austin for this great post. (Remember, this blog is for all of us, so if you have something to share, let me know!)

Just as we enjoy our tea, so does the garden. We often don’t have enough manure and compost for our entire garden, so compost tea is a great way to spread that composty goodness around. Other benefits? Aerated compost tea:

- feeds the soil beneficial micro-organisms and nutrients
- prevents pests and treats diseases
- improves plant growth

So just what is it? ACT is a “brew” made from non-chlorinated water (rainwater is ideal), high quality compost (and/or well-rotted manure), and microbe food. (Microbes includes bacteria, fungi, protists and nematodes. They enhance the life of the soil and, in turn, your plants.)

Recipe for Aerated Compost Tea

What you need:

5-gallon bucket
4 gallons non-chlorinated water
pump with a minimum of 0.05 cubic feet per minute per gallon capacity*
nylon sock or paint bag
up to 8 cups of compost**
30 mL unsulphured molasses
30 mL liquid kelp
15 mL liquid fish

* Using a ½ - 1 inch diameter hose is best as smaller tubes produce bubbles that break up and kill the beneficial fungi.

** Use great compost — a mix of any/all of worm casings, well-rotted manure, kitchen/garden compost, forest soil and healthy garden soil.

What to do:

1. Add the compost to the sock and immerse into the non-chlorinated water. (If you have to use chlorinated water, aerate it for 20 minutes first, then add the compost sock.)
2. Add the molasses, kelp, fish.
3. Aerate for 12 to 24 hours. This increases the microbes.
4. Strain and foliar feed (spray plant leaves) right away. Spray both the top and the bottom of the leaves. It is best to do this in the early morning or late evening, preferably on a cloudy day or when it is not raining. Strong sun and heat could kill the microbes.

Note: It is important to use the tea right away. It cannot be stored. Once the aeration stops, the microbes start to die off if they aren’t added to the soil.

The tea can be made and fed to the garden every two weeks. It’s a great boost for poor soil and diseased plants.