Comments on: Mythology in Gardening: Compost Tea

By: Rian

Rian — Sun, 29 May 2011 18:15:34 +0000

Just to be clear, I’m a BIG fan of compost for several reasons, including the notable benefits to the tilth of the soil and the retention of all kinds of mass from the waste stream. I grant you that composting in Wisconsin (I’m from Minnesota, originally, by the by) presents some challenges, but in general, I just put the stuff out there, and if it freezes, so be it. In the spring, it fires right back up. The real trick to keeping a useful pile going, I think, is getting that carbon/nitrogen balance halfway right. A “big fail” in composting is when the thing goes anaerobic and starts to get stinky and gooey. Too much green waste, and it lives up to all the fears that people have. On the other hand, too much brown (and/or not enough water) and it just sits there, doing nothing.

I really only do the official “hot compost” a couple of times a year, when I have a lot of material available at once (spring and fall). Otherwise, I just keep a running pile that’s as often filled with soldier fly larvae or red wiggler worms as it is “hot”. Still, guess what, it all breaks down into a lovely, crumbly, black material (dotted with avocado pits) that pretty much obviates the need for buying soil amendments.

I’ll still fertilize with seed meal, bone meal, lime, etc. when I think the plants need a little extra love (particularly spring), but if I didn’t, I’d still have big, bushy veggies, I bet. I think the compost has a lot to do with the soil not getting tapped out.

It’s the whole “tea” thing that just gets thrown around like it’s a given. Yet, yeah, the more one researches the topic, the more obvious it seems that it’s more of a religious fixation than a scientific one. Worse than that, it’s actually potentially dangerous, especially to kids out there picking stuff off the vines and eating it.

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:12:56 +0000

Yeah, I’m with you on this opinion of compost tea and using seaweed. I am a long-time gardener (we won’t talk about how long, but…), recently turning more to edibles. Edibles are a whole different story. Some holistic moms wanted me to discuss composting with them. Here in the upper Midwest, it could be a struggle for a gardener to get their pile to heat properly. How to set this whole thing up for them as a no-fail? Well, the worst fail would be to have human-suseptible pathogens in the pile. This, coupled with evidentiary fact that foliar sprays and compost teas do not provide the benies garden mythology spouts, a big fail.

I am so glad you are putting this data out there. So few of us know the facts and are telling them! Compost tea sounds so-o-o organic doesn’t it!

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:31:54 +0000

So, this is an off-topic question, but: do you think it’s worth it to try to grow potatoes in my tiny urban garden? How much sun do they need? I’m intrigued by those “potato bags” that Gardener’s Supply sells, where you mound up dirt over the season, which don’t need much space.

By: Rian

Rian — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:29:02 +0000

That is not compost tea. That is… filth water. Compost tea is made in a bucket!

You people disgust me.

By: coriander

coriander — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:48:42 +0000

I make compost tea all the time. What I do is fill up my wheelbarrow with sticks and weeds and then leave it out in the rain for a few months. When I finally dump it out into a nasty ass pile of stink, I congratulate myself on being such a good steward of the soil.

By: Rian

Rian — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:47:20 +0000

Yeah, me too… it’s just that it doesn’t require any gear or special buckets or anything. I wanted to make a special magical potion. Turns out that the most likely scenario is that the magical potion wouldn’t have done a damn thing except give someone a case of the runs.

By: Farmer Jen

Farmer Jen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:44:57 +0000

I like mixing my homemade compost from my low tech, low maintenance compost piles directly into the garden soil at the beginning of the season. Works great and is very easy. I like easy gardening methods. Never had any bacteria problems or worries. Eat directly from the garden all the time.