compost tea

The compost tea

The key to successful gardening and more nutrient dense fruit and vegetables is to feed the soil first. People think first of compost and manure but there are easier and more affordable ways of quickly improving soil health.

Compost tea is the easiest and fastest. It may seem a little bit complicated at first but compared to building compost bins, turning over the compost and then dragging pails to the furthest corners of the garden... compost tea is a breeze. After a few hours preparing the compost tea (spread out over 2 weeks), we are able to nourish 2 acres in less than an hour.

Our compost tea recipe combines aerobic with anaerobic reproduction of local and effective micro-organisms as well as integrating biodynamic preparations to create a multipurpose all-in-one garden amendment.

We use watering cans to apply it to the soil and a sprayer when applying it as a foliar spray for fruit trees.

Interested in compost tea?

Find our recipe here !

Fertile Garden soil

effective or benEficial microorganisms

Microorganisms identified as being particularly beneficial to plant growth are reproduced commercially. Earth Alive Soil Activator™ is a product that is readily available in Quebec and contains these microorganisms. These beneficial microorganisms, when they come alive, multiply and colonize the rhizosphere, the region surrounding the roots of plants.

There can be 10,000 to 50,000 species in less than a teaspoon of soil including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, mites, and microarthropods. A nearby fertile garden is an an excellent source of microorganisms for your garden.

Molasses is a biostimulant, which is a fancy way of saying it is food for microorganisms, particularly, aerobic microorganisms which multiply quickly. It also contains important nutrients.

molasses

aerobic microorganism reproduction

These are basically the ingredients in classic aerobic compost tea that aerates for 48 hours and then is applied to the soil. In this process, we aerate for one hour twice a day.

Soil activator

Molasses

Fertile garden soil

forest soils

As with other fermentation processes, the salt discourages unwanted anaerobic organisms.

oats or rice

Oats, rice or bran can be used interchangeably as food for microorganisms that develop more slowly. It is the food used in indigenous microorganism reproduction.

Forest soils contain more mycorrhizal fungi than soil which is regularly disturbed. Forest soils support an immense amount of vegetation because of the diversity and effectiveness of the microorganisms. The soil should come from a forest in the vicinity of the garden where the compost tea will be applied.

salt

anaerobic reproduction

These are the ingredients typically found in Indigenous microorganism (IMO) reproduction.

Salt

Oats

Forest soils

kelp

more food for the microorganisms

Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate crystals. Magnesium helps seeds germinate, increases chlorophyll production and improves phosphorus and nitrogen uptake.

fish hydrolysate

Fish hydrolysate is prepared by treating fish by-products with proteolytic enzymes at optimal temperature and pH. This process breaks down proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids. It serves as food for the microorganisms in compost tea and in the garden.

epsom salts

There are at least 18 elements considered critical for optimum plant growth. Kelp has a generous amounts of at least 8. Kelp contains iodine, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium as well as trace elements chromium, manganese and zinc and ultra-trace minerals such as germanium, iridium and rubidium.

Fish hydrolosate provides food for the microorganisms. It is made from fish by-products. The process of making it involves an enyzymatic hydroysis of fish at low temperature retains the proteins, amino acids and naturally occurring vitamins.

Kelp

biodynamic ingredients

Stinging Nettle (Ortie) can be found growing wild and used fresh. It is particularly important in spring compost tea brews as it helps with rooting.

Stinging nettle

stinging nettle

Horsetail is able to use silica in sand and rock which is inaccessible to other plants. In compost tea, as it breaks down, it becomes a source of available silica which is used by plants to strengthens cell walls and increase resistance to pathogens.

horsetail

Horsetail

Comfrey is rich in potassium which helps plant resist drought and the compound allantoin which contributes to the fungal capability to provide Nitrogen and other nutrients to the host plant. In biodynamics, comfrey is recommended for fruit and fruiting crops.

comfrey

Comfrey

Oak bark tea

Oak bark tea is said to regulate growth minimizing vulnerability when plants grow too fast. Birch bark contains Betulin. In biodynamics, birch bark tea is applied to apples affected by scab and grapes suffering from rot and mildew.

BIRCH AND oak bark tea

Adding a cup of lime to each barrel raises the Ph and making the water favourable for reproduction.

DOLOMITIC LIME

If you use biodynamic methods, add horn manure. Horn manure is a biodynamic preparation made by burying a horn filled with manure in the garden over winter. It is normally applied as an inoculant to the compost pile. This appears to be the same principle as in other natural farming practises that collect microorganisms from the forest. It is not required for the compost tea, but if you are following biodynamic methods, add some horn manure to the tea.

Horn manure

horn manure

Adding one cup of dolomitic lime increases the Ph and provides a more favourable environment for the micro-organisms.

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Saint Bernard de Michaudville, Québec, Canada
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