🍃 Compost Tea Masterclass (Dr. Elaine Ingham) — Soil Biology = Real Fertility
🧱 Big idea:
Most soils already contain the minerals plants need. The real problem is we’ve damaged the biology that makes those nutrients available to roots.
🦠 Soil Food Web 101
Bacteria + fungi release enzymes that unlock nutrients from sand/silt/clay/rocks
Protozoa, nematodes, and micro-arthropods “graze” on microbes
That grazing releases nutrients in plant-available form right at the root zone
🍕 Her “pizza delivery” analogy (easy to remember)
🌱 Plant “orders” a nutrient → 🦠 microbes “cook it” → 🐛 predators “deliver it” to the root.
🚫 Why she warns about heavy fertilizer use
High-salt inputs and many synthetic fertilizers can damage the biology you actually need—then you end up doing the soil’s job yourself (expensive + endless).
♻️ Start with compost (the foundation)
Good compost = the fastest way to reintroduce biology if your soil has been depleted.
🪵 Feed the right microbes
🟩 Green materials → more bacterial growth
🟫 Woody/brown materials → more fungal growth
Your mix depends on what your soil is lacking.
🔥 Compost must stay aerobic
Bad smells = bad biology. If it smells sour/rotten/ammonia-like, don’t use it.
🧪 Compost Extract vs Compost Tea
🪣 Extract: pull microbes off compost into water
💨 Tea: extract plus feed them to multiply
(Tea isn’t “one recipe fits all” — you tailor it to your soil + crop needs.)
💧 Water matters (chlorine/chloramine issue)
City water is designed to suppress microbial growth. If you’re brewing compost tea, dechlorinating the water first is a must.
✅ Takeaway
If you rebuild soil biology, the system starts working with you again: better nutrient cycling, healthier plants, and less dependence on constant inputs.