The tea is brewing

Equipment for compost tea

One of the best things I do with compost is to brew up some compost tea to feed my plants.    By making tea, I'm able to exponentially increase the numbers of microbes in the compost, providing a mega-dose of nutrients to the plants during summer's heavy growth season.

To brew a batch of compost tea, you need some inexpensive equipment:  a 5-gallon bucket and a small aquarium motor with tubing and bubbling stone.

Here is the recipe:

Fill bucket 1/3 full of compost

1/3 bucket of mature compost
2-3 Tablespoons of sweetener (I like molasses)
2/3 bucket of rain water (or let hose water sit for a couple days to evaporate off the city chemicals)

Brewing compost tea

Assemble the aquarium motor, lay the bubbling stone in the bottom of  your 5 gallon bucket.   Fill the bucket 1/3 full of compost.  Add the sweetner.  Fill the bucket with water until the bucket is 2/3 full.  Plug in the aquarium motor.    Let this run for 2-3 days, stirring daily, until the tea has a strong yeasty smell.  

I put the aquarium motor in the bucket with a lid to protect it from the weather since I brew my tea outdoors.   

When the compost tea is ready,  I use it in a couple of different ways--I'll share that when my tea is brewed.