You've probably read somewhere that compost is the best thing you can add to your garden or lawn for super growth, right? Yes and no...Compost tea is actually the absolute best thing you can feed your plants. So what is compost tea and how does that apply to your wormery compost?
Compost tea takes your basic compost one step further. Essentially, you are changing your compost into a liquid form. Why would you want to do this? Your compost is super nutrient-rich, but there is an inefficiency between the addition of your compost to the soil and the absorption by your plants. Compost tea eliminates this ineffeciency.
The basics of making compost tea is allowing your compost to soak in water for a period of time. This allows the nutrients in your compost to be absorbed into the water. Now when you apply the compost tea to your plants, the nutrients can go straight into the root system for highly effective absorption.
Pouring your compost tea into the root system of your plants is not the only way you can apply it. You can take the compost tea made from your wormery and spray it on the leaves of your plants. Foilar sprays like this have been found to prevent many types of leaf diseases. NOTE: If you choose to apply your compost tea in this manner, be certain that you do not spray your compost tea on any edible plants.
Let's discuss how to make compost tea. The most basic method of making compost tea is to simply allow your compost to soak in water for a period of time. Get a big bucket and fill it with water. Add your compost to the bucket of water and allow it to steep.
Why is this not the best way to make your compost tea? You have to allow the compost from your wormery to soak long enough in order for full absorption of the nutrients, however if the wormery compost soaks for too long, the bacteria within the compost will deplete the oxygen supply in the soil. This stagnation can breed toxins in your compost tea that can be very harmful to your plants and even to you.
What's a better way to make your compost tea? The proper and best way is to allow for constant aeration throughout the process. Here's how I like to do it. Get an air pump similar to what you would put in a fish aquarium. Get an air tube long enough and run it down to the bottom of your bucket of water and keep the pump on for the duration of your steeping process. This constant aeration will prevent the depletion of oxygen and the breeding of harmful bacteria.