You've been reading for awhile and you have finally decided that your garden will have some rich compost this year. But wait, you want a BIG garden and you don't yet have enough compost to mix into the soil, and since we are gardening organically around here, I know you don't want chemical fertilizers on that garden. So, how do you stretch that black gold that comes from the deep parts of the compost pile?
You make tea.
Yes, you read that right, you aren't going to drink it so no worries. However, it will help you spread the nutrients all around your garden with minimal compost. I run out of that black gold every year because I continuously make my garden bigger. Plants really do flourish and are so much larger in size and production when treated with compost, so here is the winning answer.
Here's what you need:
5 Gallon Bucket (Lowes for $3.99)
Some type of Stick to stir
Water
A couple hearty shovel fulls of aged Compost
STEP#1:
Fill your bucket about 1/3 full of aged compost (not fresh stuff, but the beautiful black gold at the bottom of the pile) If you don't have aged compost, ask a friend, or start your own compost pile so you can do this step next year! Here's how I do it.
STEP#2:
Fill your bucket the rest of the way with water. If you want you can also add things like Fish Emulstion or Powdered Seaweed, or even just some unsulphered molasses. This will make your tea a more balanced organic fertilizer.
STEP#3:
Stir every few hours and let sit 24-48 hours or until you get some bubblies and a sort of yeasty kinda smell sets in. If you want, leave your tea for longer and it will be an even more concentrated form for your plants.
STEP#4:
Use an old Tshirt and pour the tea through it into another bucket to strain out your solids, these can be put back into the compost pile. Dilute your remaining tea in a 10:1 ratio for use on new plants.
STEP#5:
Use this as a root drench on your plants, this can also be put into a squirt bottle for use as a foiler spray.
HERE is a great tutorial with pictures.
Have you ever used Compost Tea? What tips would you share?
You make tea.
Yes, you read that right, you aren't going to drink it so no worries. However, it will help you spread the nutrients all around your garden with minimal compost. I run out of that black gold every year because I continuously make my garden bigger. Plants really do flourish and are so much larger in size and production when treated with compost, so here is the winning answer.
Here's what you need:
5 Gallon Bucket (Lowes for $3.99)
Some type of Stick to stir
Water
A couple hearty shovel fulls of aged Compost
STEP#1:
Fill your bucket about 1/3 full of aged compost (not fresh stuff, but the beautiful black gold at the bottom of the pile) If you don't have aged compost, ask a friend, or start your own compost pile so you can do this step next year! Here's how I do it.
STEP#2:
Fill your bucket the rest of the way with water. If you want you can also add things like Fish Emulstion or Powdered Seaweed, or even just some unsulphered molasses. This will make your tea a more balanced organic fertilizer.
STEP#3:
Stir every few hours and let sit 24-48 hours or until you get some bubblies and a sort of yeasty kinda smell sets in. If you want, leave your tea for longer and it will be an even more concentrated form for your plants.
STEP#4:
Use an old Tshirt and pour the tea through it into another bucket to strain out your solids, these can be put back into the compost pile. Dilute your remaining tea in a 10:1 ratio for use on new plants.
STEP#5:
Use this as a root drench on your plants, this can also be put into a squirt bottle for use as a foiler spray.
HERE is a great tutorial with pictures.
Have you ever used Compost Tea? What tips would you share?
photo courtesy of home composting made easy.
