Teas for nutrients, weeds, pests and diseases. Learn from our tried and tested brews and make your own plant and soil remedies.
Teas are a quick and relatively easy way to start making meaningful improvements to your soil quality. For those just starting out however, take a quick look at our top tips before moving on to the recipies.
1) Use unchlorinated water as chlorine harms the microbes we're trying to protect. You can gather this either by collecting rainwater, attaching a carbon filter to your hose or by leaving a bucket of tap water outside overnight.
2) Use your teas straight away on a dull day or in the early morning or the evening to avoid bright sunshine as the UV light also kills microbes.
3) When applying your teas, we recommend spraying them on to the leaves and around the base of the plant with a watering can.
Now you're ready to start brewing!
COMPOST TEAS
WITHOUT A COMPOST TEA MAKER
A handful of Climate Compost inoculum or similar microbial compost
5 to 7 litres water
Watering can
Place compost into a watering can of water and ‘dynamise’ or stir so you create a vortex in the middle until the compost is mostly dissolved. The microbes are aerobic so by stirring this way you incorporate air into the process.
WITH A COMPOST TEA MAKER
1.5 litres Climate Compost inoculum or similar microbial compost
Muslin bag
Compost tea maker (we use a 40L Growing Solutions compost tea maker- see Resources)
40 litres water
Catalyst (food for microbes) we use Growing Solutions catalyst or a cup of seaweed
Fill the tea maker with water and catalyst. Place the muslin bag of compost into the basket. Brew for 24 hours.
Dilute 1:1 with water in a watering can.
NUTRIENT BOOSTING TEAS
We regularly use comfrey, nettle, and weeds for nutrient boosting teas. Follow the same recipe for each tea below.
WEED TEA
An old pillowcase or muslin bag
A large container of water
Diverse selection of weeds including roots, stems, and leaves. (Gather weeds after clearing beds, the more varieties the better, to add diverse nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, boron, manganese, and zinc.)
Leaves and stems of each plant – ideally when just about to flower as this is when they are most nutrient dense.
Place muslin bag of leaves into a bucket of water and leave for 3 weeks. Dilute approximately 1 part tea to 7 parts water in a watering can (it should be the colour of a weak cup of tea) and water onto your plants.
COMFREY TEA
Comfrey leaves (Bocking 14 variety). This is wonderful for all garden plants, especially for fruiting crops like cucumbers and tomatoes as it is rich in potash and trace elements, such as boron, which these plants need to flower and set fruit.
NETTLE TEA
This nutrient dense tea is good for plants and people – full of iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Use for a nutrient boost or when plants are stressed from hot or cold weather or to stop leaves yellowing with chlorosis.
TEAS FOR HEALING FUNGAL ATTACK AND POWDERY MILDEW
GARLIC TEA
3 to 4 garlic cloves
1 to 2 litres water
Sieve or muslin
Soak chopped garlic in cold water for 2 days. Strain in a sieve or muslin and spray onto grey mould on plants (Botrytis) without diluting.
YARROW TEA TO DISCOURAGE MILDEW
50g yarrow flowers
5 litres water
Sieve or muslin
These sulphur-rich flowers discourage fungal infections and powdery mildew in ornamentals like roses and peonies. Add flowers to water and bring to the boil. Strain and dilute 1 cup in a watering can of water and apply. You can add nettle tea to this if you want to control insects.
MINT TEA TO DISCOURAGE PESTS
100g Mint leaves
1 litre water
Mint tea is useful for repelling pests and will deter flying insects such as aphids, whitefly and grape worm.
Soak leaves in tepid water outside for 3 to 4 days. Dilute 1 part tea to 4 parts water and apply with a watering can.