What is organic compost tea, what do you use it for and how do you make it?

Compost tea is simply water with organic compost infused in it – just like a real cup of tea. It can be used as a spray on plant’s leaves or simply poured on the soil to deliver nutrients to the soil. It’s main benefit is to increase the amount of beneficial micro-nutrients available to the plant. If sprayed on the leaves, the tea will help suppress pest infestations and leaf diseases. It also increases the breakdown of toxins. Basically, it’s a real tonic for soil that grows plants.

Couple of points: Firstly, use molasses that is unsulfured and organic. Secondly, if you dilute the tea, make sure you don’t use water straight from the tap – this will contain chlorine and fluoride which will kill the beneficial bacteria. Either use water that has been sitting uncovered in your garden for 24 hours or so, rainwater, well water or another batch of aerated water that has been bubbling away for an hour or so.

One of the most important points in this video is why compost is so much better than fertilizer for your garden. As the man says, shop bought fertilizers will feed the plant to a certain extent. Compost actually feeds the soil which is far more beneficial to the plant as the range of nutrients in the soil is so much broader than the few chemical compounds found in made-up fertilisers. In turn, the plant absorbs this broad range of nutrients, and passes them on to us, the consumers. If fed with synthetic fertiliser compound, the plant may look good, but will only possess limited nutrients that the fertiliser gave. It won’t contain the full range of vitamins and minerals that we as humans need for good health.

Feeding the soil is one of the key premises of organic gardening. It is the earth in which we grow our foods that needs care and attention. If you starve the soil of what it needs or spray it with toxic compounds, the food it produces will be nutrient deficient with toxic residues. The focus of organic living is quite simple really – use natural methods to support the earth’s immense capacity to grow life, and lose the manmade synthetic chemicals that harm us, our food and our planet.

For more information on how to make compost tea, check out FineGardening.com or GardenWeb FAQ

Filed under: Organic Farming

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