Compost Tea
Lets be fair to plants. After creating healthy environment for them to grow with fluffed soil, compost, mulch, food and water, we can always expect better things to come. Pest even though is problematic, is always dependent on the health level of the plants. healthier plants seem to gather enough strength to ward them off. On the other hand caterpillars, grasshoppers hunt only the best leaves. Aphids suck nutrient from weaker plants until they succumb to death.. As plants get weaker, pests come like an army to share the bounty... I think we are concerned with the younger plants, to ensure they survive to maturity, and having seeds to continue its legacy. So compost tea is an attempt to safeguard them.
Now, lets see how my first attempt at compost tea comes out.[old post under label compost] . Seven 1000ml bottles altogether. Each bottle has its own composting material which includes banana peels, papaya peels, roselles residue, banana leaves and stems, tapioca leaves, dragon fruit peels, and spinach old leaves. Each bottle received brown sugar as brewing media. Yesterday was the due date, 16th Mac 2009 after 3 months fermentation.
I plan to do a controlled fertilizing. Each bottle is meant for a specific plant and I probably hold on using the usual fertilizer for a month just to see the difference... huh!
Lets do composting
~bangchik and kakdah
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA
Now, lets see how my first attempt at compost tea comes out.[old post under label compost] . Seven 1000ml bottles altogether. Each bottle has its own composting material which includes banana peels, papaya peels, roselles residue, banana leaves and stems, tapioca leaves, dragon fruit peels, and spinach old leaves. Each bottle received brown sugar as brewing media. Yesterday was the due date, 16th Mac 2009 after 3 months fermentation.
I plan to do a controlled fertilizing. Each bottle is meant for a specific plant and I probably hold on using the usual fertilizer for a month just to see the difference... huh!
3 months +
7 bottles of compost tea.
Lets do composting
~bangchik and kakdah
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA
fabulous!! Look forward to the results. We have started using our nettle tea - woh! it smells bad. xx
ReplyDeleteLooks delectable, to a plant of course.
ReplyDeleteHope the results are fabulous!
Rosey
Look forward to hearing which compost teal produces best results. I put my banana peels directly into the soil under any flowering tree or shrub. I also do it with my blooming containers!
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to find out the results of your trial. Keep us informed.
ReplyDeletewow! you are so cool. making your own fertilizer. let us know how it goes..
ReplyDeleteif it goes well as you expected, it could be a big business enterprise..
Interesting!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone has thought about selling this stuff at farmer's markets??
I've seen compost teabags in catalogs that look pretty neat...
This is very interesting. I like this idea of compost tea veyr much.
ReplyDeleteThis post is really informative. Makes me want to start my organic garden...but it'll have to wait since autumn is just around the corner... Keep us posted of the results :)
ReplyDeleteControlled fertilizing - very interest! Do you have specific recipes for certain plants?
ReplyDeleteWah you're very organised! It's a good idea, but is compost tea better than standard compost? I read somewhere that fermenting with sugar also adds various microorganisms which are beneficial.
ReplyDeleteYes, good idea for holding your normal fertilisers. I will do the same too. Let's see if this tea works for your plants. Happy discovering!
ReplyDeleteGreat information, and I will attempt to make compost tea next year for all of the vegetables. It should be an interesting experience!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit CARRIE, and yes, they don't smell nice in the beginning, but 3 months later, the smell is tolerable.
ReplyDeleteI guess it looks delectable to plants, ROSEY. Some of us react badly to pollens and certain smell, but how come plants don't seem to react negatively to awful smell and yet they are more than happy to produce sweet smelling blooms.
Good tips from you JANET about banana peel put directly into soil.
I will keep everyone informed JO, about the outcome.
No SALITYPE, this is nothing new, organic fertiliser available in the market, would probably use the same technique, but in larger tank, rather than bottles..
WENDY, Compost tea in small bottles could be marketable... so handy and ready to use. Nice looking plastic bottles, with catchy labels could just do it... may add coloring a bit to make the tea more pleasant!!
You may want to give a try, BELLE. No harm trying...., like little experiments we were so used to in school!
TES.., lets try it out, the next growing season and we can compare notes.
VUEJARDIN... I would not put too many variables. Simple recipe; dilute the liquid, some sprayed on leaves and some pour onto soil. Simple and basic.
JULIAN.., I am not in a position to conclude anything yet. As long as we add decomposed organic matter to the soil, the plants would love it.
STEPH... I hope my enthusiasm will last to the end to see the result. Jangan hangat hangat tahi ayam. (ingat peribahasa ini?)
ROWENA... lets give it a try, it doesn't require much effort and space to begin with. Simple and clean!
Cheers everyone
~bangchik
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA
I use compost tea made from actual compost. This will be interesting so please keep updating your readers.
ReplyDeleteI re-use my canning water and soak-water after boiling down tomato sauce and pastes -- the water is used for plants near the house. The water would be slightly acidic with the tomato bits. The end result a week after watering is that the flowers I water bloom more profusely. Maybe your tea will have the same result.
LYNN. Anything that has organic matter is good for plants.Thanks for sharing experience with tomato bits.... I hope our tea will result in something good. ~bangchik
ReplyDeleteLike Lynn, I'm familiar with compost tea made from finished compost, but not with your method. (I'm actually working on a compost tea article, so I'm eager to hear your results.)
ReplyDelete--Kate