Compost tea is an organic way of enriching any garden. It is nothing but soaked or steeped compost in water. Compost tea can be added to the soil or can also be sprayed directly on the plants.


Types and methods of compost tea

There are two main types of compost tea, anaerobic or passively brewed tea where no extra addition of food is given to the microbes. Aerobic or actively brewed tea where microbes are stimulated with different food additions. Basically, compost tea is prepared by using any available compost. The resulting compost tea is nothing but the liquidized form of this compost. It can be prepared by using either homemade equipment or can be purchased ready-made from the market. For effective compost tea, the original compost should be of a good quality. High salt concentration in the original compost for instance will lead to ill formed and ineffective compost tea. There are many different ways of making compost tea, however the basic procedure involves placing the compost in a burlap bag and placing it in a barrel. This is left to steep for a couple of weeks. The bag is then squeezed of all moisture and the remaining is used as compost tea or added back to the compost. The best form of compost tea consist 25% percent nitrogen wastes, 30%wood stuff and 45% green material. Extreme care should be taken at all stages of brewing tea. Also, this type of compost does not last long. It should be preferably stored in shaded area with good ventilation. The material required for making compost tea is easily available. It usually includes buckets, mature compost, aquarium pump, water and gang valve etc.

Advantages of compost tea.

If brewed properly, compost tea provides essential microorganisms that help the plant in disease suppressions. It releases soil minerals and can even build soil structure. This is in addition to having better quality plants in an environment friendly way.

Disadvantages of compost tea

There are certain disadvantages like for instance aerobic tea brewing requires expensive equipment which is also prone to breakage. On the other hand, anaerobic tea tends to smell bad and cannot be used in larger operations.

Regardless of this compost tea is considered as a healthy way of nurturing any garden

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