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Using compost tea to fertilize
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Author:  rosebooboo [ Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Using compost tea to fertilize
Since I don't yet have compost to make my own compost tea, I bought a gallon of concentrate. I've used it twice, a week apart, on my vegetable garden and it's thriving! What I wondered is how often should I apply the tea? And, when is it considered too much since it adds so much nitrogen to the soil? My veggie plants and seedlings are loving it right now!
Author:  CaptainCompostAL [ Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
Check out my response to your question under the "Gardening and Landscaping" forum.
Author:  rosebooboo [ Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
Thanks so much for your comment. Since I purchased the compost tea concentrate at a major garden center, I assume it was prepared correctly. I dilute and apply it to my veggies twice a week and they definitely like it and are strong and healthy. Time to go back this weekend and get more!
Author:  user_48634 [ Fri May 01, 2009 11:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
Okay I have to bite. What is compost tea concentrate? The reason I ask is last thing I read on storing microbes in a jar was that it could not be done. Maybe there has been a breakthrough.
Author:  Dirt Doctor [ Sat May 02, 2009 9:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
There has been a breakthrough - I've been talking about it for about a year. Dr. Michael Amaranthus has mycorrhizal fungi available in liquid form and Alpha Bio Sytems has the bacteria in liquid form - and they are now together in the Thrive roducts. There are several compost leachate products and liquid humate products to use for the compost fraction of Garrett Juice.
Author:  Dirt Doctor [ Sat May 02, 2009 9:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
There has been a breakthrough - I've been talking about it for about a year. Dr. Michael Amaranthus has mycorrhizal fungi available in liquid form and Alpha Bio Sytems has the bacteria in liquid form - and they are now together in the Thrive roducts. There are several compost leachate products and liquid humate products to use for the compost fraction of Garrett Juice.
Author:  user_48634 [ Sat May 02, 2009 10:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
rosebooboo, was Thrive the product you bought? I didn't see anything on their website that convinced me they have found a way to keep aerobic microbes alive in a closed bottle.

Back to your original question, you can apply as much compost tea as you can afford because it has no appreciable amount of nitrogen in it. What it does is add microbes. If you want to add nitrogen, you need real fertilizer.
Author:  Dirt Doctor [ Sun May 03, 2009 8:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
compost tea is a REAL fertilizer - one of the best infact. What's even better is the entire Garrett Juice Plus mixture. Both have NPK and lots of trace mineral. To see the live microbes, all it takes is a simple microscope.
Author:  rosebooboo [ Sun May 03, 2009 4:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
The brand I purchased is "Nature's Guide", and I got it at Calloway's. The next time I intend to get the Garrett Juice Plus.

There are lots of samples of people making their own compost tea on the Internet, and one fellow who makes his own talks about how it's a great fertilizer and adds lots of nitrogen. He uses it in his organic garden, and after seeing how healthy and fruitful his plants are, I decided to try it myself. He also advises that after the plants start producing fruit to cut back to one-half or two-thirds use. That's because the nitrogen signals the plant to grow strong, green and full, but by cutting back some on the nitrogen, the plant puts more effort into bearing fruit. The evidence is clear in his UTube videos.
Author:  user_48634 [ Fri May 15, 2009 10:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
Begging to differ with Howard, but compost tea is not a fertilizer. It is a way to wash microbes out of compost, keep them alive and maybe breed some more, and spray them onto plants and into the soil. On the other hand, real organic fertilizer provides protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Inasmuch as the bodies of the microbes in tea contain food value, they can only bring an infinitesimal amount of fertilizer to the garden.

Real organic fertilizers are made from pure corn, soybeans, alfalfa, cottonseed, fish meal, seaweed, feather meal, and sometimes slaughterhouse byproducts. 50 pounds of soybeans, for example, at 48% protein, brings 24 pounds of protein. 50 pounds of compost tea is mostly water and has almost no protein.

The big advantage of tea is that you can spray it on plant leaves and stems. There is no other way to deliver microbes directly onto plant surfaces.
Author:  wormrancher [ Sat May 16, 2009 2:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Using compost tea to fertilize
maybe it is all in how you make it? I use vermicompost--that started with my half finished compost+our veggie and fruit peelings and the worm bedding of fallen leaves. I add rainbarrel water and dry molasses (which is attached to a grain base) before I brew. I use this at peak time for the micro-organisms, always keeping oxygenated. To me, this seems to serve the function of fertilizer, as well as boosting microbial action. My tomato plants at home look great.
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