How to Brew an Easy Compost Tea

Every gardener knows that using compost is one of the best things you can do for your plants. It provides a multitude of nutrients that encourage growth and promote plant health. Compost also helps make plants more disease-resistant. You can use this same nutrient-rich compost to make a natural liquid fertilizer for all of your plants, including your houseplants, by brewing up your own compost tea.

Things You'll Need

• Cloth or perforated vegetable bag
• Bucket
• 1 gallon of water
• Funnel
• Jug with lid

Instructions

1. Put about 1 cup of compost in a cloth bag and securely close it. You can also use a perforated plastic bag like the ones potatoes, grapes and other produce are sold in.

2. Fill a bucket with a gallon of water. Place your bag of compost in the water and let it steep for at least three days. Steep it longer for a stronger tea.

3. Remove the bag of compost from the bucket.

4. Pour the compost tea through a funnel and into a jug. A container with a lid, like a milk jug, allows you to seal the tea for future use.

5. Apply the compost tea to your plants at full strength for occasional fertilizing. Dilute the tea with water if you want to fertilize your plants more frequently.

Tips & Warnings

• Container plants need to be fertilized more often than plants growing in the ground.

• Use compost tea on dry patches of your lawn, especially during periods of drought.

• Do not use compost tea on foliage; leaves can be burned if the tea is too strong.

References

• Susan A. Roth; New Complete Guide to Gardening; 1997.
• Anna Carr and the Staff of Organic Gardening Magazine, eds.; The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening; 1978.