There is something better than compost, compost tea.
It is a nutrient rich liquid fertilizer made from compost that can be applied either as a foliar spray or soil drench method.
There are several benefits that compost tea have over the traditional method of adding compost to the soil.
When compost tea is sprayed to the foliage of plants it helps to suppress foliage disease and it increases the available nutrients to the plant.
The use of compost tea as a soil drench enhances the existing microbes in the soil.
These microbes are very important in improving the soils structure by enhancing the decomposition of organic matter in the soil.
This is where plants get the nutrients they need to survive.
A basic way to make compost tea is by placing a cloth bag filled with compost into a pail of water and letting it soak for a couple days.
The water solution is then applied to the plants as a foliage spray or used to water there root system.
There is another method of making compost tea by the use of aeration and water.
This process keeps the oxygen levels in the compost tea from depleting which in return enhances the aerobic microorganisms that are the ones that are the most beneficial.
Compost tea can also be made for a specific use.
It can be made to be dominated by either bacteria or fungi.
Which way you want to dominate it depends on the plants you are growing or the soil condition you are improving.
Compost tea can be a highly sophisticated method depending on how much you want to work at it.
The benefits that you can get from the use of compost tea are extremely rewarding.
Any way you choose to apply it you will have a nutrient rich water solution that can be use to feed your plants and help defend insect and disease problems in your garden.