Archive for April 20, 2011
Grow Your Own – Tea Time!
by John Weckerle
Here in the New Mexico Central region, our soils tend to need a little help when we call on them to help us produce food, whether for us or the wildlife. The soils at NM-Central.com headquarters tend to be relatively low in organic matter, as do the soils where many of our readers live. This means adding various materials – peat moss, compost, manure, etc., depending on the use – to the soil for some of our plantings. Now and again, especially for growing trees and veggies, we occasionally throw in another amendment – compost tea.
Compost tea is almost exactly what it sounds like – a brew of compost and water. Unlike the tea we drink, though, it’s not boiled or heated; air is pumped through the mix to support rapid growth of microorganisms present in the compost. Compost tea helps us add organic material to the soil and jump-start the microbial ecosystem in the soil, making it more fertile and helping to protect plants from disease. Many compost tea enthusiasts tout its advantages, including healthier, faster-growing, more productive plants. While many people make compost tea in large quantities, good results can be realized in smaller scales, right down to the five-gallon bucket range. Making compost tea is fairly easy, with the bulk of the preparation taking about 10-15 minutes and the equipment costing very little.
Equipment - Air pump, tubing, valve controller, diffusers, and weights