As a result of many environmental and man-made factors, on many farms the microorganism levels found in soils has diminished and the result is just mere dirt. Here’s just one solution to quickly turn things around using vermicompost tea. It has been used to replenish and correct the quality of the farming soils naturally and simply. Vermicompost teas are suitable for all types of farming and gardening practices
So, what is vermicompost tea?
Over all the years of studying natural ways of farming and for farmers to make their own fertilizers, vermin compost tea come out on top.
It is:
- Low technology.
- Non toxic
- Safe
- Low capital input
- Less energy is used compared to thermal compost making
You can also tailor make the requirements to match the soil’s needs by adding other products such as calcium, silica in minuscule amounts to the compost with the benefit of the resulting product being bioavailable to plants at application.
Vermicompost tea is made by brewing worm castings. The process begins with harvesting the castings of compost worms. These castings are basically the end product of the food and other waste that is ingested by the worms used in worm composting. Some add clay, calcium, soil and other products to the compost. Others add seaweed, lime to the brew. whilst the castings can be absorbed directly by the plant roots brewing them up is way less expensive and the tea is more easily absorbed. Foliar applications can be made readily. Under conditions that are suitable for the rapid reproduction of microorganisms, the castings are brewed with unchlorinated oxygenated water so as to produce vermicompost tea. The end product is characterized with living microbes which are beneficial for plant and soil balancing the soil and enabling the soil to release nutrients and minerals required by the plants.
With the living microbes found in the tea, it is recommended that one uses it on the same day that it is brewed ensuring that the tea remains oxygenated. Application of the tea is done either directly to the soil or using it as a spray. To avoid damage caused by the sun’s UV rays on microorganisms, spraying of the compost tea should be done either early in the morning or evening.
The question lies in the benefits that the user of the compost tea stands to gain. First, the microbes that are available in the tea eat up the minerals that are in the soil and make them easily accessible to the plants. In addition to the phenomenal benefits, the compost tea improves the water retention in plants and has been identified to control pests.
Healthy soil is needed for growing plants and using vermicompost tea is the right step towards achieving this. A sideways benefit is reducing landfills and under water contamination. and global warming.
