Here at Bath Garden Center, we brew compost tea every weekend. Pick up a half gallon for $4.99, or get it for FREE if you bring your own container!
What is Compost Tea?
Compost tea is a popular product used by gardeners, landscapers, and farmers practicing the organic or biological approach to growing. The tea is made from quality compost, carbohydrates (sugar), humic acid, and water, which is then aerated for 12-24 hours. The ingredients and aeration cause the biology in the compost to multiply rapidly. The resulting tea is rich with beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae, containing many multiples of the original biology in the compost.
The most important aspect of compost tea is the compost used to make it. As the wise have said; garbage in, garbage out. If low-quality compost is used, you may actually be cultivating and spreading pathogens. Our compost tea is made from high-quality vegan compost and we also include blackstrap molasses, corn gluten meal, and a mineral complex to feed both plants and biology.
What is the Benefit of Compost Tea?
Compost tea is utilized for disease resistance and suppression, aeration of the rhizosphere, and increased nutrient availability and uptake. Compost tea will revitalize gardens, turf, and landscapes that have deteriorated due to persistent use of toxic chemical salt fertilizers and petroleum distillate pesticides or herbicides. Compost tea will also reduce watering requirements, increase drought and environmental stress tolerance, and protects plants by covering the foliage and root systems with a beneficial microbiological barrier. Compost tea is very economical to make and can be applied frequently as there is no chance of burning plants (though it is best applied in the morning or evening).
How to Apply Compost Tea
The tea should be applied to your garden as soon as possible, as the microbes will continue to eat the food source in the tea. Dilute the tea 1:1 with water and apply it as a foliar spray or soil drench. Compost tea is best applied in the morning or evening when your plants are not under the stress of the heat of the day.
Have Gardening Questions?
If you have questions about compost, fertilizer, or anything having to do with plants and gardening, come on into Bath Garden Center or give us a call. We are here ready to help you become the best gardener you can be!