Compost Tea Time!

Compost Tea Services:

You can have us come fertilize your Garden or your Fruit Trees with compost tea!

Compost tea is an amazing elixir composed of various beneficial microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, mycorrhizal fungi, protozoa, and nematodes. When applied to the soil, the root zone of plants, and as a foliar spray to the plant leaves, it boosts the health of the soil and improves the immune system of the plant. The microorganisms that are applied to the soil and plants through compost tea are active, alive, and aerobic, meaning they are living breathing things!

Compost tea is a brewed concoction. Meaning air is pumped into the water to create a habitable environment for all the beneficial microorganisms.

How We Brew Tea:

1.) Dechlorinate

First, we add water to a large tank or drum. Culinary water is chock-full of chlorine which can kill the beneficial microbes that we are trying to grow. To dechlorinate your water, you can either let the water sit for a minimum of 24 hours up to 5 days (depending on how concentrated the chlorine is in your water) or you can make or buy a substance called, humic acid, adding that to your water to dechlorinate it.  

2.) Prepare the Brew

Once the water is ready for all the live microbes, it’s time to prepare your brew. We take about 4-6 cups of our compost and place it into a mesh brewer bag (we like to use apple cider pressing bags). Tie up the back to a piece of twine and suspend it in your water. The compost is the source for all the living microorganisms that we want to multiply and grow through the brewing process.

Next, we like to add fish hydrolysate in liquid or powder form. The fish hydrolysate is different from fish emulsion in the way that it is produced and has essential elements in it that will become food for the beneficial microorganism that we are brewing.

Finally, we add different minerals and plant nutrients to feed to the soil, plants, and beneficial microorganisms. We tend to gather and use different brands and variations, depending on what we find available and our local garden stores. Check out these guys at Compost TeaLab. They have lots of great information and videos. 
Our process is also based off of Dr. Elaine’s Soil Food Web. Another source of great information.

3.) Let it Brew

Our tea needs to brew for at least 24 hours, and it is extremely time-sensitive. Once the tea is no longer aerated, we only have 2 hours to apply it to the plants!

Why?

All of our farming and gardening is done in urban environments where the soil has been abused and neglected for long periods of time. By brewing our own compost tea and adding it to our soil to feed the soil life, we begin to assist in the process of breathing life back into the soil and the earth. Utah soils are inherently devoid of organic matter and organic soil life, so this act also begins to build the soils back up to produce a healthy farm ecosystem.

Our FruitShare program also brews their own concoction specific to fruit trees and we use it to fertilize fruit trees throughout the valley.

Happy brewing!