Ladies and gentlemen, the future of compost is here. The Greenspaces team at Buffalo ReUse is currently experimenting with several different methods of brewing compost tea, and will be sharing our results with you as the season goes on. The murky water that is produced from brewing this tea has the power to fertilize and improve the health of your garden’s plants, while actively deterring pests and introducing beneficial microorganisms to your soil. With a little bit of compost and a few things you would find in your shed or your garden, you can easily set up your own tank to brew your own compost tea–and watch the difference it makes for your plants.

There are several approaches that one can take to prepare compost tea:

–The most simple, straightforward form of compost tea preparation is called “Passive Brewing.” This method is somewhat archaic, and dates back centuries, but needs only a few things: A vessel to hold the water (i.e. a rain barrel), water (preferably rainwater as it does not have additives that municipal water treatment plants will add), a “tea bag” to steep the compost in the water, something to suspend it in the water, and some compost.

–Fill your “tea bag” with garden compost, suspend it so it doesn’t sit at the bottom of the barrel, and lift it or stir it once a day for aeration. Do this for 7 – 10 days. When your tea is ready, decant by pouring through cheesecloth or pantyhose (if you prefer), or just pull out your tea bags and dunk your watering can right in. And the compost can go right back in your pile when your tea is all done.

–We used and old burlap sack for one barrel and mesh bags from onion sets for another. The bags hold and steep the compost, making it easier to remove the solid matter after the brewing is complete. We used an old tree stake to suspend the tea bags in the water, and use them to lift the bags out when we aerate the barrels each day.

–If you use tap water or from a garden hose, make sure to let the water sit in your barrel for at least a day, to let the chlorine and other additives evaporate as much they can. As your tea brews, microorganisms and bacteria grow, and will die if chlorine is present

We are also experimenting with a newer, more intensive approach to brewing tea is called “Active Brewing.” This involves the same materials as a passive barrel, but with some added technology: electricity, an air pump, and food for the growing microorganisms. What sets an active compost tea apart from passive is the addition of oxygen and food to the mix, making a more ideal environment for those microbes to thrive. Using an air pump, you can increase oxygen in the water, and by providing a food source like molasses, kelp, or humic acid, you can greatly increase the number of beneficial organisms growing inside your barrel. And an active brew can be done over the course of 2 or 3 days, way quicker than a passive brew.

Try it out, and let us know how it works for you! There is a good amount of reliable information on the web regarding compost tea, and it can’t hurt to experiment! Good luck, and happy gardening!!!