What Is Vermicompost Tea?
Compost teas are extracted from compost using water. The terms compost and compost tea are both broad categories. Compost teas are generally made by mixing compost in water, often with some inputs to improve some of the benefits of the original compost. Compost teas are often made by brewing for some time, usually less than 24 hours. Some preparations of compost teas are aerated, while others are not.
Vermicompost tea is compost tea made with worm castings or vermicompost. Vermicompost is full of nutrients and a thriving healthy microbial community, making it a great soil amendment. One beneficial way to use worm castings, or vermicompost, are to extract the nutrients and beneficial microbes and fungi from vermicompost to create vermicompost tea a liquid that may be applied to soil and plants.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Vermicompost Or Worm Casting Tea?
Compost teas contain a range of beneficial microbial life that will benefit both soil and plants. Vermicompost tea can be used as a fertilizer, microbial inoculant and pest control measure. When applied to plants, it can help with nutrient uptake and growth. Vermicompost tea can also be used as a biocontrol agent against fungal diseases like powdery mildew and root rot. It can also help control pests like aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. These microbes help with nutrient uptake, disease suppression, and plant growth. This is the best way to get the beneficial biology that is in your worm castings into the soil and root system of growing plants.
How To Use Vermicompost Tea?
The two main ways to apply vermicompost tea is as a foliar spray and as a soil drench. Foliar spraying vermicompost tea is a great way to deliver nutrients and beneficial microbes directly to the leaves of plants. This helps plants fend off diseases and pests, and can help with nutrient uptake. Soil drenching vermicompost tea is a great way to deliver nutrients and beneficial microbes directly to the roots of plants. This helps plants absorb more nutrients from the soil and can encourage growth.
For best results, apply the vermicompost tea in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler and the sun is less strong. For soil drenches, water thoroughly to get your biological buddies into the soil.
Most importantly: vermicompost tea is alive! It has little to no shelf life. Apply it as soon as it’s brewed.
How Much Vermicompost Tea To Apply?
Healthy vermciompost tea goes a long way. For foliar spary, generally, five gallons of compost tea per acre. This is about 1:4 in a watering can with thorough coverage of plant surfaces.
For soil drench, dilute about 1:4 in a watering can a water soil generously to get you biological buddies into the soil, rather than leaving them on the soil surface to dry out.
When To Choose Vermicompost Tea Over Vermicompost?
Vermicompost tea is a great way to extend the benefits inherent in vermicompost. The brewing process promotes a bloom of the microbial community. This vermicompost tea can provide an immediate population of microbes to the roots of your plants. Using vermicompost tea is the most economical way to get the benefits to go the farthest in your garden or houseplants. Looking for the cheapest way to get the benefits of vermicompost? Get your hands on some vermicompost tea.
The time to choose vermicompost over vermicompost tea is when the soil you’re working with is lacking organic matter. As a general rule, mix some vermicompost into soil before transplanting or seeding and use vermicompost tea on growing plants.
The other challenge with vermicompost tea is the lack of shelf life. Vermciompost should be stored thoughtfully with access to air, avoiding temperature extremes. Vermicompost tea should be used as soon as possible after brewing and not stored for more than about 12 hours without active aerations. Of course, the solution to this is to store vermciompost and brew it as needed if you’re going to use it frequently.
Does Compost Tea Replace Fertilizer?
Vermicompost is a complete fertilizer and soil conditioner. Vermciompost tea is environment where the microfloura are able to thrive and reprodcue. When vermicompost tea is applied to the soil, it helps make the vermicompost more available for plant uptake.
Compost tea does not replace fertilizer, but it can reduce or eliminate the need for some chemical fertilizers, depending on the quality of your vermicompost and the needs of your plants.
The nutrient content remains the same and is diluted from the concentrations present in vermciompost. For this reason, either frequent application of vermicompost tea, or supplementing with another organic soil amendment may help plants with high nutrient needs to thrive.
Compost teas are an excellent way to improve plant health, suppress diseases, and improve nutrient uptake. Vermicompost tea is a type of compost tea made with vermicompost or worm castings. It is rich in beneficial microbes that can help your plants grow and thrive. You can use vermicompost tea as a foliar spray, soil drench, or biocontrol agent against pests and diseases. Vermicompost tea is the most economical way to add the benefits of vermciompost often and with great coverage. Give vermicompost tea a try in your garden today!
Alexandra’s Farm –
Amanda’s vermicompost tea has got my market garden farm off to SUCH a good start. The plants are thriving, and the soil looks, feels and smells like the healthy soil of a forest floor. I know that when I’m applying the biologically active compost tea, I’m doing the best possible thing for my soil – getting soil life active so that the soil can feed the plants! This is my first year starting the market garden and the vermicompost tea has already taken my soil to a level of health I could not have hoped to achieve for years without it. I am growing nicer food with fewer diseases and pests than I have ever grown before! I will definitely be using vermicompost tea regularly in my commercial market garden! Thanks Amanda!