Organic Garden Tea Presented by: Chester Mandrik

Founder of Yard Spice Organics LLC New Eng and!s Largest Organic Land Care Co"pany

#ntroduction Organic $ea $ypes Methods of Organic $ea Production Organic $eas %s& Organic E'tracts Caution (uthor!s Su""ary )eference

Materials developed under a grant from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute, UMASS Lowell

Organic Garden Tea

Introduction:
For those gardeners who use it* Organic $ea is i+uid go d and a safe and ine'pensi%e way to ferti i,e your f owers* herbs* and %egetab e gardens* if "ade correct y and used proper y& Yes* organic tea is easy to "ake& ( you ha%e to do is soak natura sedi"ents into water for a few hours or days& $he natura "ateria s wi gi%e off nutrients and "inera s to the water* which is then drained off for use in feeding a of your p ants& -hen is the best tea ti"e for your p ants. &&&&&&&&&&(nyti"e/ $here isn0t a p ant in the wor d that wi not respond to organic tea& #n i+uid for"* nutrients and "inera s are readi y absorbed by your p ants& #t reaps fast rewards with greener ea%es* bigger* brighter b oo"s* and arge* "ore pro ific fruit and %egetab es& Fro" the "inute your seed ings e"erge* to the fina days of fa * your p ants wi benefit fro" the nutrient rich ingredients of an organic tea&

Organic Tea Types

1& 3& 5& 7& Co"post $ea 2 Fro" your co"post pi e Manure $ea 4 (ni"a "anure fro" horse* cows* chickens* etc 6erba $ea 4 Made fro" p ants or "inera s Leachab e $ea 4 E'tract fro" co"post of a types

Methods of Organic Tea Production

Loose- Fermentation Method
(ny arge container wi do* fro" a 8 ga on bucket to a 88 ga on dru"& Fi the container oose y with a pure organic "ateria & Fi the container with water& Stir "i'ture e%ery day& (fter a week* your tea is ready to use& 9rain off the i+uid tea& :se a strainer if possib e to keep so id partic es out of the tea& #f you are going to use the tea in a sprayer you need to strain the tea through a cheese c oth&

Bucket-Fermentation Method
Passi%e organic tea is prepared by i""ersing a bur ap sack fi ed with co"post into a bucket or tank* stirring occasiona y& :sua y the brew ti"e is onger* fro" ; to 1< days& $his is the "ethod that dates back hundreds of years in Europe* and is "ore akin to a watery e'tract than a brewed and aerated tea& #f used as a spray* screen i+uid and re"o%e s"a partic es that can c og the sprayer&

Bucket-Bubb er Method
$he e+uip"ent setup and sca e of production are si"i ar to the bucket "ethod* e'cept that an a+uariu"2si,e pu"p and air bubb er are used in association with "icrobia food and cata yst sources added to the so ution as an a"end"ent& Since aeration is critica * as "any as three su"p pu"ps "ay be used in a bucket si"u taneous y& -ith ho"e"ade co"post tea brewing* a co"post sock is co""on y used as a fi ter2strainer& #dea y* the "esh si,e wi strain co"post particu ate "atter but sti a ow beneficia "icrobes* inc uding funga hyphae and ne"atodes to "igrate into so ution& Sing e2strand "esh "ateria s such as ny on stockings* aundry bags* and paint bags are so"e of the "ateria s being used= funga hyphae tend to get caught in po y2wo%en fabrics& #f bur ap is used* it shou d be aged bur ap& Pure tea is too strong for your p ants& $he nitrogen content can be so high* that it burns the p ants& >efore app ying the tea to your p ants* "i' 1< parts water with one part co"post tea& $his 1<:1 ratio di utes the nutrient e%e s* so the tea can be safe y app ied& Left o%er so id "ateria can be spread on your garden* put back into a co"poster* or onto the co"post pi e for ater use& Tip: $ry fo iar feeding by sprink ing the di uted co"post tea on the shrub* tree* or indoor p ant ea%es& 9o not use as a fo iar spray for %egetab e gardens where crops are four weeks away fro" being picked&

Organic Teas !s" Organic #$tracts

First* it "ay be he pfu to share so"e co""on ter"ino ogy and practices associated with organic teas& 6ow do organic teas differ fro" co"post e'tracts* co"post eachab e or herba teas.

%ompost Leachab e
$he dark co ored so ution that eaches out of the botto" of the co"post pi e& $his "ost ike y wi be rich in so ub e nutrients= but& in the ear y stage of co"posting it "ay a so contain pathogens& #t wou d be %iewed as a po ution source if a owed to run off2site& Co"post eachab e needs further biore"ediation and is not suitab e or reco""ended as a fo iar spray&

%ompost #$tract
Co"post watery e'tract "ade fro" co"post suspended in a barre of water for ; to 17 days* usua y soaking in a bur ap sack* a centuries2o d techni+ue& $he pri"ary benefit of the extract wi be a supp y of so ub e nutrients* which can be used as a i+uid ferti i,er&

%ompost Tea
Co"post tea* in "odern ter"ino ogy* is a co"post e'tract brewed with a "icrobia food source& ?"o asses* ke p* rock dust* hu"ic2fu %ic acids&@ $he co"post2tea brewing techni+ue* an aerobic process* extracts and grows popu ations of beneficia "icroorganis"s&

Manure Tea
Manure2based e'tracts 2 a so ub e nutrient source "ade fro" raw ani"a "anure soaked in water& For a practica purposes* "anure tea is prepared in the sa"e way as the co"post e'tracts described in the preceding section& $he "anure is p aced in a bur ap sack and suspended in a barre of water for ; to 17 days& $he pri"ary benefit of the tea wi be a supp y of so ub e nutrients* which can be used as a i+uid ferti i,er&

'erba Tea
P ant2based e'tracts 2 stinging nett e* horse tai * co"frey* c o%er* gar ic* cayenne pepper& ( co""on "ethod is to stuff a barre about three2+uarters fu of fresh

green p ant "ateria * then top off the barre with tepid water& $he tea is a owed to fer"ent at a"bient te"peratures for 5 to 1< days& $he finished product is strained* then di uted in portions of 1:1< or 1:8 with water and used as a fo iar spray or soi drench& 6erba teas pro%ide a supp y of so ub e nutrients as we as bioacti%e p ant co"pounds&

Li(uid Manures
Mi'tures of p ant and ani"a byproducts seeped as an e'tract 2 stinging nett e* co"frey* seaweed* fish wastes* fish "ea & Li+uid "anures are a b end of "arine products ? oca fish wastes* seaweed e'tract* ke p "ea @ and oca y har%ested herbs* soaked and fer"ented at a"bient te"peratures for 5 to 1< days& Li+uid "anures are prepared si"i ar y to herba tea& $he "ateria is fu y i""ersed in the barre during the fer"enting period* then strained and di uted and used as a fo iar spray or soi drench& Li+uid "anures supp y so ub e nutrients and bioacti%e co"pounds& (eration sti"u ated "ore growth of E& co i O18;:6; and feca co i for"s than non2aerated conditions when nutrient supp e"ents were added& )esu ts c ear y sho* that addition of nutrient and other supp ements supports gro*th of human pathogens in both aerated and non-aerated compost tea and shou d be a!oided *hen compost tea is used on fresh produce"

Tea Type +ummary:

Co"post teas and herba teas are too s that can be "ade in the backyard or far" to enhance crop ferti ity and to inocu ate the phy osphere and rhi,osphere with so ub e nutrients* beneficia "icrobes* and the beneficia "etabo ites of "icrobes& Co"post teas are distinguished fro" co"post e'tracts both in "ethod of production and in the way they are used& $eas are acti%e y brewed with "icrobia food and cata yst sources added to the so ution* and a su"p pu"p bubb es and aerates the so ution* supp ying p enty of "uch2needed o'ygen& $he ai" of the brewing process is to extract beneficia "icrobes fro" the co"post itse f* fo owed by growing these popu ations of "icrobes during the 372 to 5A2hour brew period& $he co"post pro%ides the source of "icrobes* and the "icrobia food and cata yst a"end"ents pro"ote the growth and "u tip ication of "icrobes in the tea& So"e e'a"p es of "icrobia food sources: "o asses* ke p powder* and fish powder& So"e e'a"p es of "icrobia cata ysts: hu"ic acid* yucca e'tract* and rock dust&

%aution:
-here as raw ani"a "anures are used as a co"post windrow feedstock* the co"posting process ther"ophy ic heating to 15821A<B F for 1<218 days shou d be used to he p assures pathogen reduction& $he raw organic "atter initia y present in the co"post windrow undergoes a co"p ete transfor"ation* with hu"us as an end product& ,ny pathogens associated *ith ra* manures may not be gone" +o caution is e$tended: I therefore recommend that the backyard gardener reframe from using any type of manure products for organic teas" Manure teas are -OT the same thing as compost teas" I further recommend that compost e$tracts not be used" >ecause of concerns o%er new pathogenic strains of E. coli* it is ad%ised to a growers to reconsider "anure teas andCor to work with a "icrobia ab to test a so utions before using in %egetab e gardens& $he :S9( has deter"ined the aeration sti"u ated "ore growth of E& co i O18;:6; and feca co i for"s than non2 aerated conditions when nutrient supp e"ents were added& )esu ts c ear y sho* that addition of nutrient and other supp ements supports gro*th of human pathogens in both aerated and non-aerated Teas and shou d be a!oided *hen teas are used on fresh produce"

,uthors +ummary
Organic $eas are %ery usefu * and wi pro%ide the necessary nutrients to a types of p ants& #f brewed correct y* and the correct se ection of tea type is used* there appears to be no concern of its safety and %a ue& Organic teas shou d a ways be used as a supp e"ent* and not as a pri"ary source to correct soi conditions* or as pri"ary ferti i,ation& )esearch has deter"ined that organic tea use as a fo iar has a positi%e effect to the pre%ention of disease on andscape shrubs* turf* and so"e trees& 6owe%er* organic tea of co"post* "anure* eachab e or "i'ed ingredients shou d ne%er be used as a fo iar spray in the %egetab e garden or on fruits& #t appears that this century o d "ethod does ha%e a p ace within the organic and care society as a safe soi a"end"ent&

This informationa brochure *as updated May .//0& *ith a information that that has been made a!ai ab e by 1"+" Go!ernment )eports and 1ni!ersity research pro2ects reports"

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)ose Gardening Tips

Erowing gar ic in your rose garden wi he p keep away unwanted pests& Prune to open up the center of the p ant& $his wi i"pro%e air f ow inside the bush* reducing insect and disease prob e"s&

Garden Insect %ontro Tips

So"e p ants* such as cha"o"i e* nasturtiu"s and "arigo ds* natura y repe so"e types of pests& :nderground insects shy away fro" "arigo ds because of their roots0 s ow y re eased natura che"ica s& -orrying about the birds that wi eat your crops. $hese feathered friends can keep caterpi ars* s ugs* aphids and other garden nasties under contro & #f you pro%ide birdhouses and baths* you "ay notice a decrease in the pest popu ation& Fenne is an e'ce ent p ant for attracting adybugs& $he statues+ue p ants are usua y co%ered in adybug eggs and ar%ae& Set aside a space in your garden for this beneficia herb& 9on0t et powdery "i dew ruin your garden& Contro it easi y using "i k/ Mi' 1 part "i k to G parts water and spray affected p ants once a week or 1 teaspoon baking soda* 1 +uart water and few drops of i+uid soap P ant is ooking a itt e fe%erish or f ushed. Consider reaching for so"e aspirin 1&8 JuncoatedK aspirins to 3 ga ons of water& Substitute for bean po es: P ant a sunf ower seed by each hi of beans* the stock answering the ca of a po e& Fer"ico"post he ps suppress pest popu ations* add a itt e to your seed ings* or buy red wigg er wor"s and put the" in your garden&