How to Make Compost Tea: From Scrap to Spray in 5 Days

Compost tea delivers soil biology in liquid form — faster absorption than solid compost, plus foliar disease suppression. Brew your own in a bucket.

Step 1: Make or Source Quality Compost

• 2 parts brown (dry leaves, straw, wood chips, ash) + 1 part green (fresh veg, grass, fruit scraps)
• Chop small, add garden soil, moisten
• Turn occasionally, add waste, monitor smell (bad = add browns)
• Ready in 3 months–1 year. Or buy certified compost/worm castings.

Step 2: Brew the Tea

1. Bucket (5 gal for small gardens). Fill ½ compost, ½ water (rainwater > tap).
2. Leave headspace. Add unsulfured molasses (microbe food).
3. Warm spot, no direct sun. Stir several times daily.
4. Day 4–5: strain through cheesecloth. Return solids to pile.
5. Dilute 1:5–1:10. Use as soil drench or foliar spray.

Quality Check

Earthy smell = good. Sour/rotten = anaerobic = discard. Apply biweekly.

Why Tea Over Solid Compost?

• Faster root uptake
• Foliar application suppresses leaf diseases
• Extends limited compost volume
• Inoculates soil with active microbes

Simple, cheap, powerful. The microbial boost your garden craves.