Creating Nutrient-Dense Liquid Fertilizer with Compost Tea
With a little know-how, a bucket, and some water, you can easily create an extremely nutrient-dense and bioavailable liquid fertilizer, often referred to as compost tea.
Making Compost Tea
Making “tea” can be as simple or as complex as you want, depending on what you have available and how much you’re hoping to produce. Nearly any type of green leaf or weed stores useful nutrients, which will break down when soaked in water. Although some plants are better than others, even grass clippings will work!
Understanding Store-Bought Fertilizer
The three main ingredients in store-bought fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). When experimenting with your homemade fertilizer, you won’t know the exact NPK ratio. However, it helps to know which organic materials are highest in nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium so you can create the mix your plants need most.
The Role of NPK
Nitrogen (N) encourages leaf growth, while phosphorus (P) promotes root growth, and potassium (K) is essential for helping your plants blossom and produce fruit. If you’re aiming for specific results with your fertilizer, the list below provides a helpful reference point. It shows the most useful and common plants, weeds, or materials you might use. My top five recommendations on this list are all dynamic accumulators, meaning they draw up high quantities of nutrients and trace minerals into highly bioavailable forms in their leaves and tissues.
