HOW TO USE COMPOST TEA

WHAT IS COMPOST TEA? - Compost tea is a liquid solution of beneficial soil microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and other organisms who live in the soil. The organisms are extracted from compost in aerated water and are given foods to encourage them to multiply. In essence compost tea is highly concentrated compost.

HOW MUCH DO I NEED? -  The soil application rate is .5 gal. per 1000 s.f. 4 gallons is enough to cover the whole garden, front and back, of a typical in-town quarter acre lot.The foliar application rate is 1 pint per 1000 s.f. for every 6’ average height of plants. 1 gallon will cover all the plants except large trees on a typical Grant Park quarter acre lot.

You can’t apply too much tea !

HANDLING THE TEA - The tea must be applied within 4 hours of purchase. Don’t leave it in a hot car or the organisms will use up all the oxygen in the space in the top of the jug. If you want to dilute it to get more coverage you must leave your dilution water in an open container for 24 hours before mixing it with tea so that the chlorine can dissipate out of the water. DO NOT ADD WATER STRAIGHT FROM YOUR FAUCET OR YOU WILL KILL ALL THE ORGANISMS. 

APPLYING THE TEA - We use compost tea in 2 ways. As a soil application, we spray it on or sprinkle it on with a watering can.  The second way we use compost tea is by spraying it on the leaves of our plants. It is essential that both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered to protect the leaves effectively. At least 70% of the surface must be covered to get the protection the plants need. The only way to be sure that the coverage is adequate is to have the leaves tested by a qualified lab. For our purposes we need to be sure we are brewing really good tea and that we are spraying carefully to get coverage on all the leaves on the top and bottom.  DO NOT USE A SPRAYER THAT HAS BEEN USED TO SPRAY HERBICIDES OR PESTICIDES. BE SURE TO THOROUGHLY CLEAN YOUR SPRAYER AFTER APPLYING TEA TO ELIMINATE THE BUILD UP OF AN ANAEROBIC BIOFILM.

WHAT WILL IT DO FOR MY PLANTS? - The purpose of applying tea to the soil is to increase the quantity of the correct kind of microorganisms in the soil to cycle  and retain nutrients, to improve soil structure, defend against disease, reduce water use and break down toxins if present.

We spray it on the leaves to protect plants from bacterial and fungal diseases and to feed the plants. Leaves are naturally covered by microorganisms, some good and possibly some bad. By spraying compost tea on the leaves we can insure that the surfaces are covered with good organisms which will not leave any place for the bad organisms floating in the air to land and get established.

FAQs

Will it harm my pet or child? No they and we are covered with the same organisms that are in the tea so it is fine if they come in contact with the tea. ( if you are using tea from another source you need to find out if it has been brewed properly to be sure no harmful organisms are present)

Why is the jug only half full ( or is it half empty)? The tea needs to have some air to stay active while you are taking it home. The shaking it gets on the ride home will mix it with the air in the space above keeping it aerated.

Will any sprayer work? The openings in the sprayers filters and nozzle must be big enough the prevent clogging and to allow the fungi to pass through. We have tested a number of sprayers to determine if they are good for applying tea. No matter what sprayer you use it must not have been used to spray any pesticides or herbicides. The residues will kill the organisms in the tea. Also you must thoroughly clean your sprayer, including any hose and nozzle, to be sure no anaerobic biofilm can form which will harm the organisms. If you are unsure whether your sprayer will work we can test the tea after it passes through the sprayer to see if what went in is the same as what comes out. The cost for testing is $25.00