Can compost tea help vegetable gardens thrive?
Before we talk about it, I guess you need to know what the heck compost tea is. This is definitely not your afternoon cup of Earl Grey, I can tell you that. I don't care how much honey you stir in, you don't want to drink this.
However, it's a different story for your garden. We already know how much compost can contribute to the health of your soil. The idea behind compost tea is that a more concentrated formula (aka compost tea) is easier and faster for your plants to absorb. When you're trying to get rid of that headache fast, Advil Liqui-gels vs. Think coated caplets. (No, I don't mean those door-to-door solicitors. You're on your own.)
Incidentally, there is a bit of controversy over how well it actually works. I'll touch on that below, but let's start with the problem.
How to Make and Use Compost Tea
Compost tea is what you get when you soak finished compost in water. The tea you drink can help boost plant growth, suppress disease, and add beneficial organisms to your garden.
There are tons of recipes in the cyber universe, but they all have one important thing in common: they start with finished compost. Beyond that, take your pick. You can go with aerated or non-aerated compost tea. Some recipes are just compost and water. Others include anything from molasses or syrup (the sugar helps kickstart the bacteria), air pump, fish hydrolyzate, seaweed extract, or hay.
A basic recipe is this:
Place your aerator (the kind you find in a fish tank works well) in a 5-gallon bucket. Fill the bucket one-eighth full with finished compost, then fill it with clean, non-chlorinated water. Add about 2 tablespoons of molasses. Wait 24 to 48 hours and strain the tea through an old shirt, burlap sack, or mesh strainer. Dilute your tea (about a 1:4 ratio) and consume it within a few hours.
How do you use it? Ideally, you can "water" your vegetables with the tea near the roots. Some also sprinkle plant leaves with the tea, under the assumption that the good bacteria in the tea will inhibit the growth of bad bacteria.
Controversy over compost tea
While there are many proponents of this so-called "liquid gold," there are some who are firm believers in compost, but not so much in compost tea. A state university horticulturist does not recommend compost tea because there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness. In fact, there is some evidence that this tea may contain E. coli and salmonella.
Similarly, Christopher Enroth, a horticulturist who teaches at the University of Illinois Extension College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, points out that "scientific studies show that compost teas often have no effect on disease control." Even worse, "the opposite effect occurs with most diseases!"
What does all this mean for your garden vegetables? We already know compost works. And clearly, making compost tea takes some effort. I'm not here to tell anyone what to do, but personally, I'm happy to stick with plain old manure. Although tea may seem like a good addition to soil, why make things more complicated than they need to be?
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