Compost Tea Recipe

has55 wrote:How often did you apply the compost tea to your pepper to helped them healed  and increase their fruit production ?

I did two weekly sprays, then 2 bi-weekly sprays, and then changed to monthly.  The big change in the plant health and reduction in pests came when I changed from using soil drench of compost tea to using foliar spray. Soaking the leaves top AND bottom was the key that took me too long to learn.   

One of the most important uses of compost tea foliar sprays I found was the elimination of powdery mildew on the squash & cucumbers. The fungi that causes the mildew really don't like all of those microbes feeding on them.

This year, as part of my continual experimenting, I am trying something new. I am going to continue the monthly application of compost tea as I did last year, but this year I am going to add monthly application of a spray made of EM, fish fertilizer, kelp, and molasses (2 Tbsp of each in 3 gallons of water). The compost tea will be applied the 1st of each month, and the fertilizer spray will done on the 15th of each month. Will be interesting to see the effect of that on the plants and their production.

What is EM?
Do spray in the evening or mornings for best results?

has55 wrote:What is EM?
Do spray in the evening or mornings for best results?

EM is Effective Microorganisms.  I am using a less expensive version of it called SCD Probiotics.  I apply in the evening after the sun has started going down, mostly because I don't want to get up and 5:30am and spray before the sun come up. It is important to not spray any microbes, either compost tea or EM, during the heat of the sun since ultraviolet light kills the microbes.

it sounds like you're doing the same thing, but using EM for the compost and very little of the other products. Is this correct?


I found this on the web for DIY-
How To Make Effective Microorganisms – Step By Step

has55 wrote:it sounds like you're doing the same thing, but using EM for the compost and very little of the other products. Is this correct?

Correct.  I have compost tumblers, and they make compost quickly so I don't think they need EM added to them.  I might try that the next time I spray EM, though, and see what happens.... 

this may help with the identification of the microbes.