🌱 Compost Tea: Make It Work (Without Killing the Good Stuff)
🧱 1) Start with real compost
You need finished, aerobic compost (smells earthy, not sour or rotten).
If it’s black inside, that’s a red flag — likely went anaerobic and lost nitrogen.
🔬 2) Know what your soil is missing
You can’t pick the “right” compost/tea recipe if you don’t know what you need:
Weedy/early soils = more bacterial
Veg + garden crops = balanced
Perennials/forest systems = more fungal
💨 3) Keep it aerobic (oxygen = everything)
Use an air pump to create a rolling-boil effect on the surface.
Oxygen exchange happens mostly at the surface, not because of “tiny bubbles.”
🌡️ 4) Brew at the temperature you’ll apply|
Match brewing temp to real conditions outdoors
Brewing hot, then spraying cold = shocking microbes.
🧪 5) Extract vs Tea (big difference)
Compost Extract: pull organisms off compost, no foods added, use right away.
Compost Tea: extract + add microbe foods so populations grow (use when compost is limited).
🚫 6) Avoid common mistakes
❌ No air stones (they’re hard to clean and go anaerobic inside).
❌ No filters in sprayers/irrigation lines (they trap your biology).
❌ Don’t “set it and forget it” — if it sits too long, dump it and clean.
🧴 7) Dechlorinate your water
Chlorine/chloramine can harm microbes.
Many people use humic acid (or rainwater) before brewing.
🧺 8) Use the right compost bag
Use a bag with openings larger than ~400 microns so organisms can pass through.
🌤️ 9) Timing when spraying
If droplets are very fine, UV can harm microbes.
Spray early or later in the day if needed (larger droplets are less risky).
✅ Takeaway
Compost tea isn’t magic — it’s biology delivery. Keep it clean, oxygenated, and matched to your soil goal, and it becomes a powerful tool for rebuilding soil life.