Compost teas and other ways to feed your soil

Compost Teas and Other Ways to Feed Your Soil

Another excellent way to get essential nutrients and microbes into your soil is to feed them with natural teas. These teas, often made from plants that some people might consider 'weeds', feed your plants throughout the growing year and are a great source of potash, which is excellent for fruiting and flowering plants.

Remember, your garden already contains everything that it needs to heal itself. Not only will natural remedies save you money, but they will also save you from turning to toxic alternatives such as Round Up, which is poisonous to humans and the planet.

Bocking 14

Bocking 14 is a type of comfrey that's been specially bred to make it sterile. This means that you can safely plant it in your garden without the risk of it spreading, as it would in a natural environment.

You can order root cuttings of Bocking 14 from online retailers. Once plants have established, you can create new plants by lifting and dividing them at the roots.

Comfrey is a great plant for bees and pollinators too, as it flowers prolifically throughout the summer.

Green Tea Recipes

1. Comfrey Tea

Ideally, pick the leaves of your Bocking 14 plant just before it flowers. The leaves will be at their most nutrient dense at this time and are fantastic for feeding fruiting and flowering crops. Rich in potash, it's great to use in other areas of the garden too.

• Pick leaves from the plant and place in a large bucket or container.
• Cover your leaves with unchlorinated water.
• Leave to sit for three weeks.
• When ready, the mixture will be quite smelly - dilute to a ratio of 1 part tea to 7 parts unchlorinated water - it should be the colour of weak tea.
• Use a watering can with a rose to water the foliage of your plants and around the base.

2. Nettle Tea

Ideally, pick the leaves and stems from nettle plants just before they flower. Do not use nettles once they have set seed, otherwise you will spread their seed all around the garden.

Nettles are very nutrient dense, with lots of iron, magnesium and potassium. Nettle tea is great for stressed plants.

• Pick leaves and stems and place in a large bucket or container.
• Cover your leaves with unchlorinated water.
• Leave to sit for three weeks.
• When the tea is ready, it will be quite smelly - dilute to a ratio of 1 part tea to 7 parts unchlorinated water - it should be the colour of weak tea.
• Use a watering can with a rose to water the foliage of your plants and around the base.

3. Mixed Annual Weed Tea

• Follow the steps above to create a mixed annual weed tea too. Different plants will be able to offer different micronutrients, and you can include leaves, roots and stems.
• Take care not to add any seeding weeds to your mixture, otherwise you risk spreading them across your garden.

Different Recipes for Different Uses

While the teas above are great all-rounders, you can also prepare teas for specific issues, such as healing yellowing leaves or to eliminate powdery mildew.

Yarrow Tea for Powdery Mildew

Yarrow flowers are rich in sulphur and are great for discouraging powdery mildew and other fungal infections in flowering plants like peonies and roses.

You will need:

• 50g of yarrow flowers
• 5 litres of water
• saucepan
• sieve or muslin.

Add the flowers and water to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Leave to cool, strain, and add one cup of the yarrow liquid to a watering can full of water and apply to affected plants.

Mint Tea for Discouraging Pests

Mint can be used to discourage flying insects, including aphids, grape worm and whitefly.

You will need:

• 100g mint leaves
• 1 litre of water

Soak the mint leaves in unchlorinated, tepid water for 3 to 4 days. Dilute to a ratio of 1 part tea to 4 parts water and apply using a watering can with a rose to affected plants.

Epsom Salt Water

Epsom salt water is great for reviving plants that have turned yellow and limp.

• After having an epsom salt bath, leave the bathwater to cool.
• Fill your watering can and pour on affected plants.

How to Make and Use Compost Teas

We use our climate compost much like you would use a sourdough starter. Packed full of microbial life, you only need a small amount to give plants the start they need to grow healthy and strong.

We spray our plants with compost teas on a weekly basis. We make sure to cover the foliage of our plants as well as watering the soil, as this helps to prevent aphids and whitefly.

Why Not Try?

Compost tea

• Add a handful of climate compost to a bucket of water.
• Mix vigorously to create a vortex.
• Once the compost has mostly dissolved, transfer the liquid to a watering can with a rose and use immediately.
• Do this regularly throughout the summer months - this tea is also very good for feeding pot plants.