About Aerated Compost Tea

Healthy soil is the foundation of a sustainable garden! Without healthy soil, pest and disease problems run rampant. Plants, vegetables, trees, lawns and ornamentals are unable to root properly and there is no occurrence of natural nutrient cycling or soil aggregation. Chemical fertilizers, compaction, over-tilling and erosion are the primary culprits that have degraded soil quality and destroyed a substantial portion of the biological life that creates healthy soil. Compost tea is a proven method of re-introducing beneficial microbes to restore soil vitality and reestablish the nutrient cycling that feed plants.

What is Compost Tea?

Compost tea is a natural liquid produced by leaching soluble nutrients from good compost while at the same time extracting billions of beneficial soil microbes – primarily bacteria, protozoa, fungi and nematodes. Some people refer to it as "liquid compost. " The finished product can be applied as a root soak, soil drench or foliar spray to house plants, vegetables, lawns, ornamentals, trees shrubs and flower gardens.

How Is it Made?

Marin Soil Solutions makes an aerated compost tea (ACT) – we start with a highly nutrient-rich vermicompost** and add a constant source of diffused oxygen bubbles to maintain microbial life in the tea. The production process takes 24 hours, is done at a constant temperature and uses specially formulated food to stimulate optimal growth and diversity of the beneficial microorganisms in the tea.

Aerated compost tea is natural, odorless, and completely safe around children and pets, and its use helps to offset the overuse of harmful chemicals from leaching into groundwater runoff.

Why Use Compost tea? What Is It Used For? What Does It Do?

The magic of compost tea is preventative. It strengthens plants and creates healthy soil so that diseases and pests don't colonize the landscape in the first place.

Compost tea feeds the soil and does so at an accelerated pace compared to the top-dress application of compost/mulch. Compost tea is used to inoculate microbial life into the soil or onto the foliage of plants, as well as add soluble nutrients to feed soil organisms. [Many people are finding that their soil is lifeless and depleted of necessary nutrients, humus and water holding capacity. Synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, over-tilling and compaction from heavy construction all play a role in destroying soil health.]

Aerated Compost Tea is used for lawns, vegetables, ornamental plants, flower beds as well as trees and shrubs. When made and applied properly, it restores soil biology and creates healthy plants. Healthy soil is THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN A HEALTHY GARDEN. If you are buying expensive plants and putting them in bad soil, you are just wasting your money.

What makes a Good Aerated Compost Tea?

Garbage in, garbage out! Aerated compost tea is only as good as the compost you use. If you use fantastic compost, you will get a fantastic tea. If you use sub-par compost, you will get sub-par tea. In addition to using quality compost, the equipment should always be clean and well maintained. The product should be tested periodically and the ACT should be made with complex-sugar food source. ACT is a perishable product and we recommend that it be applied within 6-8 hours once removed from oxygen. After the 24 hour brew cycle, we like to use the ACT as soon as possible and do not sell anything older than 2 days.

Who Uses Compost Tea?

In the late 1980's, science took an interest in the anecdotal success of compost teas and made inroads to quantify the many benefits. These benefits include nitrogen fixation, soil aggregation, increased water holding capacity for soils, disease suppression and healthy groundwater runoff. With consistent use, many people are finding that they do not need to use as much fertilizer. Homeowners, vineyards, schools, municipalities, golf courses, resorts etc. are quickly adopting this healthy approach to gardening.

In the SF Bay Area

Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Sharp Park Golf Course, San Francisco, CA
The Edible Schoolyard, Berkeley, CA
The Presidio Trust National Park, San Francisco
Lincoln Park Golf Course, San Francisco, CA
Harding Park Golf Course, San Francisco, CA
Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Elsewhere in the USA

Martha Stewart, Katonah, NY
Austin Independent School District, Austin, TX
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
The Mirage Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Central Park, New York City, NY
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Kona, HI
Lotusland, Santa Barbara, CA
National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hana, HI
New York Restoration Project, New York

What is healthy soil?

Books have been written about this subject but healthy soil can best be described as soil that provides soluble nutrients, adequate oxygen and water, and porosity that give roots the ability to grow. Healthy soil is also teeming with a diverse and large population of beneficial soil microorganisms. It is these microbes that establish a balanced nutrient cycle that foster the development of healthy plants through soluble nutrient breakdown, outcompeting harmful bacteria and maintaining a balanced nutrient cycle. Scientists estimate that there may be up to 90,000 different species of soil microbes most heavily represented by bacteria with as much as 40,000 species. There is an amazing symbiotic relationship between plants and soil microbes.