Why is compost tea good for your plants?

Plants take all kinds of substances from the soil with their roots. The most important thing the plant extracts from the soil is water. With roots, the plants also extract all kinds of substances from the soil, such as minerals.

Plants themselves are not quite good at absorbing these minerals from the soil. That's why it's best to give the plants a hand. There are lots of good substances in compost that help the plants to grow. In compost tea, we are going to let these substances, also known as microorganisms, multiply explosively. Then you give this tea to the plant. This greatly increases the number and diversity of microorganisms around the roots and also on the leaves of the plants. As a result, there is also more cooperation between micro-organisms and plants. As a result, the plants are better able to absorb the useful substances, making them grow faster and healthier.

It works for all plants. Tomatoes, for example, taste even better and the leaves of the plants become shinier green. Flowers will smell stronger and sweeter, attracting more bees and butterflies!

The right compost for your compost tea

You can take compost from your own compost heap, but beware, the quality of the compost determines the quality of the compost tea. For example, you can use worm compost. This is the best compost.

Do you want to use regular compost? Then first ask yourself whether you have composed the right compost.

On the compost heap: vegetable waste, potato peelings, citrus peelings, fruit residue, nut shells, kitchen paper, coffee grounds and filter bags, tea bags, wilted cut flowers, grass, weeds, autumn leaves, grass, flowers and plants.

Compost tea recipe

Making compost tea is not difficult. You just have to make sure you have the right supplies. We have a recipe for you to make 15 liters of compost tea.

Supplies

• Oxygen pump (aquarium pump)
• 50 millilitres molasses
• 200 grams of good compost
• 20 litre bucket
• Heating element (aquarium heater)
• 15 litres of rainwater
• Cotton tights / sock / washcloth / jute bag

Preparation

1. Fill the bucket with 15 litres of rainwater
2. Hang the air pebbles in the water and set the oxygen pump to maximum. (If you use tap water, first aerate the water for 24 hours and then continue making the compost tea).
3. Hang the heating element in the water and set it to 30 degrees.
4. Pour 50 ml of molasses into the water. Molasses is rather syrupy, so I first dissolve it in warm water.
5. Spoon 200 grams of worm compost into the cotton bag and hang it in the water. Make sure the cotton bag hangs well under water, but free from the bottom, so that the water can pass through from all sides.

Now let it bubble for 3 days and the compost tea is ready! The compost tea should be sweet and smell a bit like forest soil. In contrast to other compost, compost tea should not stink at all.

You can dilute the compost tea with water in a ratio of 1 litre of compost tea to 10 litres of water. Pour this preferably weekly or at least once a month over the plants. Pouring it over the leaves will make them shine again!