In essence, compost tea is not a fertilizer though there are nutrients available in a finished brew. Tea contains beneficial organisms needed to revitalize soil and reestablish a microcosm of bacterial and fungal groups. These groups make available nutrients needed by plants to maintain healthy growth and suppress disease. You may choose to customize your tea to be more bacterial or fungal-based, or have both microbial populations well represented in your finished tea. Using a well-balanced combination allows you to adopt a plant care regimen of enhancing plant growth and, at the same time, suppressing disease pathogens.

The recipes given are for 25 gallons of tea, with an alternate amount in red for 5 gallon brews.

Bacterial Tea

Fungal Tea

Bacterial/Fungal Tea

There are numerous recipes for tea you can custom blend one for specific or general needs. It is recommended to have a sample of your recipe analyzed and alter it accordingly. It is best to add all liquids to the water and combine dry ingredients in the filter bag. This will limit the need for any straining.

A "liquid nutrient solution" (marketed by the Soil Soup Co.) is available as a substitute for the molasses. Fish hydrolyzates or fish oils feed fungal groups, where as fish emulsions feed primarily bacterial groups. Chopped hay provides a food source for protozoa and certain plant extracts (yucca, comfrey and nettle) are also needed for fungal teas. When using plant extracts do not use any with a preservative (i.e. alcohol), as it will kill any beneficial organisms present in the tea.

If you decide to use compost tea in your garden and landscape, it is recommended that you not use commercial fertilizers for plant performance.

"Mycorrhizal Tea" is obtained by adding mycorrhizal fungi spores to the working brew. The spores will germinate within a few hours after being introduced into the tea solution.