Making Compost Tea

If you are wondering about making compost tea then this page can prove that this is a very easy process by providing the most basic compost tea recipe.

Compost tea maybe a bit of a strange way of naming something to put on your plants, the idea of something drinkable naturally comes to mind but trust me you would not want to drink this! But if you look at it in the way that the plants will take the compost tea in then I guess they are technically drinking it, just minus the mug and richtea biscuits!

If your plants look like they are feeling a bit sorry for themselves taking that inventive step and making compost tea could be just what they need to be rejuvenated. The benefits that compost tea can have is the provision of microbes and organic nutrients to boost plants well being and avoid or reduce diseases. It can also act as a safe guard against troublesome pests.

So if you are interested in making compost team in a few easy steps then please read on.

The following compost tea recipe requires the following in order to be successful:

2 buckets
A sheet of porous fabric
Compost
A plastic spray bottle or two

Fill one of your buckets up one third of the way with compost, this can be your own if you are keen on home composting or ready made compost if you choose to buy instead of create. From here fill the bucket up to the brim with water. For the next 4 days you won't need to do anything other than give the mixture an occasional stir, a few times a day will suffice. If the mixture develops a bad smell then this is a sign that it will need to be stirred a little more frequently. Once the 4 days has passed it is time to get back to work on your compost recipe. Cover the top of the empty bucket with the porous fabric and proceed to pour the contents of the full bucket onto the cloth so that the liquid seeps through into the bucket but the solid compost is left on the top of the cloth. What you collect on the cloth will not be needed and can be thrown away or re-used. The bucket should be approximately a third of the way full with a dark liquid. To finalise making compost tea you will need to add more water until it changes colour to a light brown. And there you have your compost tea.

Let's move onto another method of how to make a compost bin for those that are a little more adventurous.

Applying your compost tea can be done in a number of ways but rather than just splashing it on using the bucket why not think a bit more conservatively by filling empty spray bottles? These spray bottles will need to be clean from any chemical that they may have held before as if this is mixed with the tea and then sprayed on your plants it could have a very negative effect. Buying brand new spray bottles on-line, at the DIY store, supermarket or garden centre is a relatively simple and inexpensive process. Alternatively there is the age old watering can!

Of course you can always cheat and just buy compost tea!

We hope that our simple guide for making compost tea has been some use to you and we hope to add more ideas and compost tea recipes in the near future.