Compost tea is a process in which solid compost is steeped in aerated water. The brewing process extracts the nutrients and microorganisms from the compost to the water. The main microbes you will find in a compost tea are bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and micro arthropods. Once a brew of compost tea has been achieved, the tea can be applied to your soil or foliage of any plant material. Compared to chemical based fertilizers, compost tea applications are simple, safe and the best long term health solution for plants.
Why compost tea?
Compost tea is the best long term solution for any plant material. Compared to chemical based fertilizers, compost tea is less expensive, contains a diversity of micronutrients, little to no environmental impacts, and requires less applications. It is common to find a lack of diversity of micronutrients in chemical based fertilizer. While they do primarily contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, they will lack all the other nutrients essential to plant growth such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.
Feeding your soil. Not your plants.
With compost tea, the application does not feed your plants, but primarily the soil your plants are growing in. The application adds beneficial microbes to the soil creating in time, an abundance of plant available foods and nutrients. Soil in urbanized areas usually lacks diversity and good soil structure. Compost tea can increase your microbial and decomposition activity, increasing pore spaces to allow drainage of water, free movement of air, unrestricted growth of roots and nutrients available for plants.
What’s the best time to apply compost tea?
Compost tea can be applied anytime in the growing season. Number of soil and/or foliage applications vary depending on the current health, site and type of plant. Application times are usually in the spring at bud break, and again in the fall when plants are storing nutrients, preparing to go dormant for the winter.
Compost tea is a long term solution
One of the best parts of compost tea is knowing that you are providing long term care for your plants. With the use of chemical based fertilizers, the soil will eventually become depleted of resources like organic matter, fertility, and nutrients. This means applications are required more frequently in order to keep your plants looking green. Usually after chemical based applications, plants will spike with growth, but then deplete shortly after. The plants will become reliant on applications in order to survive. More applications and more money. With compost tea on the other hand, the plants will only take what they need. While the microorganisms do their work and provide a long term supply of food for the plants.
We strongly believe the best thing for your trees is compost tea. Keeping both your plants and the environment green!