Making Compost Tea and Fertilizer Tea

Fertilizer teas have more nutrients than compost teas

We’re doing something different to make plant fertilizers at Bioponica. It is similar to making compost tea but it’s different.  We’re making liquid fertilizer teas.

Compost teas are good for putting plant friendly microbes into solution and multiplying them through aeration and adding simple sugars. Bacteria comsumes the sugars and quickly multiplies. It provides essential elements to improve plant growth.

Worm teas are similar to compost teas, though there’s a bit of a difference with the microbe characteristics. Fungi are more prevalent in compost teas. Bacteria dominate worm teas as they are colonized in the gut of earthworms.

How to make compost teas and worm teas is pretty basic. In a suitable filtration tea bag add a ratio of worm castings. Close bag and introduce to dechlorinated water, preferably rain water or well water. Add sugar, molasses or another natural sweetener to the water and aerate. Within about 24 hours your compost tea is finished and ready to apply to the soil or to your soilless growing system.

 

Bioponica developed an easy DIY fertilizer process and inexpensive system making fertilizer teas.

Teas that have greater NPK percentages that compost teas can be considered Fertilizer Teas. We make fertilizer teas to support the Biogarden for deep water culture or for flood and drain techniques within the troughs. This doesn’t eliminate the usefulness of aerated and fermented compost teas and brewed worm teas. On the contrary, they are very compatible.

Bioponica lettuce growing fertilizer tea recipe:

• 5 lbs blended green kitchen discards (in blender or food processor)
• or 5 lbs of fresh green yard trimmings (weeds, leaves, grasses).
• 3 x 2′ Bio-Fertilizer Tea Bag™
• 55 gallon barrel of water (half full)

Soak for 24-36 hours without aeration in the drum or in a 5 gallon Extraction Bucket. Put contents into 55 gallon drum and attache Vortex Aerator and Biofilter. The contents of the bag will remain partially anaerobic. The plant derived extract will quickly convert into a Fertilizer Tea. Good for lettuce or green leafy vegetable grow area of 10 sq ft and will last 1-2 weeks depending on system and plant size.

Operating the Vortex Fertilizer Brewer™

The Bucket Vortex Aerator™ sits upon the Bucket Biofilter™. The inline processing removes water from the drum and passes it through the aerating vortex which spills in to the biological filter.

Place the Vortex Fertilizer Kit™ above the barrel. Connect hoses and turn on the pump.

Tip: If you have access to vermiculture earthworm castings or a decomposed compost pile add 3 lbs of the compost to the 55 gallon barrel after the fertilizer extraction, aeration and filtration has been going for 24 hours. No need to add sugars, as there’s lots of carbon and sugars from the biomass that was used to make the tea.

Leave the Vortex Fertilizer Brewer™ running until the desired amount of carbon and ammonia conversion. Usually 3-4 days. You’ll know when it’s complete, when the turbidity and cloudiness disappears and when the water sweet extract aroma has peaked, carbon is removed, ammonia nitrified and the water becomes mostly odorless.

Happy gardening.