Compost Tea now available

We are about to make Aerated Compost Tea liquid plant feed available to plot-holders at Stokes Wood Allotment. The tea will normally be put out for plot-holders to take from the Composting Demonstration Plot on Wednesday mornings . As the feed contains living organisms it should be used immediately although it can be kept for a short time if necessary.

Aerated Compost Tea is a compost extract brewed with an added  microbial food source such molasses. Good mature aerobic compost, preferably the result of hot composting,  full of beneficial microorganisms is used as an inoculant together with a means of  constant aeration during the brewing process to  create  an aerobic environment throughout the brewing process.  Aerated Compost tea (ACT) offers advantages over that made without aeration in that it contains more  micro-organisms, as the aerobic brewing process aids the extraction of microbes from the compost and provides favourable conditions for them to multiply during the 24- to 36-hour brew period. It can be used as:

1) Foliar spray adding beneficial organisms to plant so disease-causing organisms cannot find infection sites or food resources and to provide nutrients as a foliar feed.

2) Soil application to help develop the biological barrier around roots, to provide nutrients for roots to improve plant growth, to improve life in the soil in general, with effects on soil structure, water holding, root depth and improve nutrient cycling, nutrient retention and disease suppression. (The Compost Tea Brewing Manual Elaine R. Ingham, PhD.  Soil  Foodweb Incorporated)