How to Use Compost Tea in Gardens

Compost tea is easy to make and use in the garden. It provides beneficial nutrients to plants and can act as an insecticide and fungicide when combined with other ingredients. In "Texas Gardening the Natural Way," Howard Garrett recommends making compost tea by filling any container half full of compost and then filling completely with water. Cover the container and leave it to "cook" for two weeks. Strain off compost solids using cheesecloth or old pantyhose. The remaining liquid is concentrated compost tea.

Things You'll Need

• Compost tea
• Garden sprayer
• Watering can
• Drip-irrigation system
• Molasses
• Orange oil
• Vinegar
• Liquid seaweed
• Liquid kelp

Instructions

As a Fertilizer

1. Dilute concentrated compost tea by using 4 to 10 parts water to 1 part tea. Dilute it until it is the color of iced tea.

2. Soak seeds or propagation materials such as potato pieces or shrub cuttings in compost tea before planting.

3. Moisten soil-less potting material with compost tea before planting.

4. Use a drip-irrigation system to apply compost tea around the bases of plants in larger gardens where hand watering is not feasible.

5. Mix diluted compost tea with liquid seaweed, molasses and apple cider vinegar and use as a foliar spray to nourish plants, trees, lawns and vegetable or fruit crops. Spray during cooler parts of the day or during cloudy periods.

6. Drench the soil with the same mixture of compost tea, seaweed, molasses and apple cider vinegar to provide nutrients and minerals to garden and potted plants.

7. Spray the lawn with diluted compost tea as it begins to green in the spring, and once a month throughout the growing season.

As an Insecticide and Fungicide

1. Spray diluted compost tea on foliage as a fungicide.

2. Add kelp to compost tea and apply as a spray to prevent gray mold and powdery mildew.

3. Add 2 ounces of orange oil and 2 ounces of molasses to a gallon of undiluted compost tea and use it to drench fire ant mounds.

Tips & Warnings

• Apply compost tea around manure handling areas or to the ground around compost bins to reduce odors.

References

• Texas Gardening the Natural Way; Howard Garrett; 2004.
• The National Organic Standards Board's Compost Tea Task Force Report from 2004

Resources

• Advice on Making Compost Tea from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
• Information on Compost Tea from Eco-Cycle