Create Your Own Compost Tea: A Composting Expert's Recommended Organic Plant Fertilizer Recipe
Hey there, plant lover! Looking to give your garden a natural boost? Compost tea could be just what you need! This liquid hug in a bottle is packed with beneficial microorganisms and nutrients that’ll help your plants thrive.
If you're already making compost at home, great! Brewing up some compost tea is easy peasy. But even if you've got store-bought compost, that works too. According to Lauren Click, the founder of Let's Go Compost, compost tea is a liquid concoction made by steeping compost in water – simple as that!
Now, why should you bother with compost tea? With compost being an organic goldmine of essential plant nutrients, it shouldn't come as a surprise that compost tea encourages strong, healthy plant growth. Plus, it's primarily used to improve soil health, support plant growth, and naturally suppress certain diseases.
Curious about the unusual compost ingredients you can chuck in your pile? Well, think about compostable tea bags, composting weeds, and composting pumpkins. These will deliver macronutrients in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as micronutrients and trace minerals. But, compost is also rich in microorganisms and beneficial bacteria, which, as Lauren notes, helps plants fight disease, improve immunity, and improve soil structure.
Other benefits of compost tea include robust root development and not needing to use the chemicals found in many synthetic fertilizers, making it a greener choice for your yard's ecosystem.
Lauren is the boss at Let's Go Compost, a non-profit on a mission to make composting free and accessible across the US. She gets her hands dirty working with public schools and community gardens, while also ensuring that composting accessibility and affordability remain at the forefront as infrastructure develops.
Ready to start brewing your own compost tea? It's simpler than whipping up a cup of coffee. Here's Lauren's advice: Combine one part compost with five to 10 parts clean, drinkable water in a sanitized container. If you're not using homemade compost, opt for a good quality all-purpose compost. You'll also want a large enough container for the amount of compost tea you want to make – like a one-gallon bucket.
Aerate the mix continuously for 24 to 48 hours using an aquarium pump to prevent it from becoming stagnant and smelling yucky. After this steeping period, Lauren advises straining out solids using a food-safe mesh bag.
Your compost tea is now ready for use. Got a few ways to apply it in your yard? Lauren recommends using it immediately for maximum microbial benefit. Dilute it and pour it around the base of plants as a soil drench, or use a spray bottle to apply it to leaves and experience that rapid uptake of nutrients.
Just a heads up – avoid spraying compost tea on edible leaves you plan to eat raw. But feel free to use it as a fertilizer for your vegetable garden or to nourish flowers in pots. Ideally, use your compost tea in the early morning or evening to give your plants the best chance at thriving.
By now, you should have a good grasp of how to make compost tea and the benefits it brings your garden. Remember, the more you make and use, the better your plants will perform, and the less you'll stress about synthetic fertilizers messing up Mother Earth. Happy composting, plant enthusiast!
If you're interested in improving your home-and-garden lifestyle, consider incorporating compost tea into your gardening practices. Along with supporting plant growth and improving soil health, compost tea also helps plants fight diseases and encourages robust root development, all while eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers. To make compost tea, combine one part compost with five to 10 parts clean, drinkable water in a sanitized container and aerate the mix continuously for 24 to 48 hours using an aquarium pump. After straining out solids, you can immediately use the liquid on your plants or dilute it and apply it as a soil drench.
