Cuppa compost tea?

Having spoken to my mate Mick Poultney (another NVS chap) about compost tea I decided to give it a go. So it was just for me to go and gather the necessary equipment. Luckily I had a 5 gallon bucket going spare so all I had to buy was a cheap and cheerful fish pump, an airstone and natural molasses (must be unsulphured! Get em from Holland and Barrett for about £1.99 a big jar). I know Mick uses his homemade compost from his bins down the allotment to make his 'brew', I make mine from my own vermicompost from my wormeries at home. Both brews are rich in bacterial and fungal activity and benefit the microorganisms in the soil. The finished brew can be applied neat as a root drench and as a foliar feed. Here's how to do it:-

5 gallon bucket with airstone connected to the fish pump,,, filled with water and let it bubble away for a couple of hours to remove all the chlorine from the water,,,

The cheapest fish pump Wilkos sell- about £8 I think.

To the water I then add a couple of handfuls of my vermicompost in an old pair of tights, several tablespoons of unsulphured molasses, a drop of maxicrop and liquid fish emulsion. Then let the water bubble away,,,

After a few hours you'll see plenty of bubbles start to congregate around the edge of the bucket (A sign of life!)

Depending on temperature, your brew should be ready in 24hrs. Youll know when its ready because it will have a frothy head on it like a good beer! Make sure as soon as you remove the air source the microbes will start to die within 6 hours so use it as soon as its ready.

 

You can use your brew on anything whether it be flowers, fruit, herbs or vegetables. I'm using it this year on my show celery and hative di niort shallots along with mycorrhizal fungi. The microbes in the tea will colonise the plant and help to prevent pest/disease attack and other fungal problems. Used as a root drench it will give the microbial activity in the soil a big boost, therefore improving root growth and yield- Everyone's a winner!
I've been doing a little trial in the greenhouse on my exhibition celery, treating half with compost tea and mycorrhizal fungi and half without. Already I can see a difference- the treated plants have a stronger root system and look greener too.
I would seriously recommend you have a go with both compost tea and mycorrhizal fungi and you will notice a difference. Although Mick uses modern manufactured brewers I have had unlimited success with the methods here at a fraction of the cost...you could too...Go on give it a go...