Contents
The importance of the presence in the soil of minerals and nutrients required for the development of plants and obtaining a good harvest is known to every gardener and gardener. For this purpose, many of them use special preparations containing various microorganisms. However, aerated compost tea (ACC) is more effective and widely used for this purpose abroad. In our country, it is actively promoted by Gennady Raspopov, who tested the effectiveness of the application on his own experience.
What is it needed for
Having received basic knowledge of biology as part of the school curriculum, the vast majority perceives vegetation as a passive consumer of nutrients, which directs the active growth of its roots in the direction where the required elements are located. However, according to research scientists, the roots are involved in the nutrition of plants much more actively. They secrete certain liquid substances that serve as bait for various microorganisms. So, if nitrogen is required, then compounds appear that attract nitrogen-fixing bacteria or obtain it as a result of algae photosynthesis. To obtain phosphorus, roots are lured by bacteria or symbiotic fungi that extract it from minerals. Also, the roots actively utilize trace elements of earthworm excrement located in easily digestible chelate complexes.
A similar property of the roots determines the effectiveness of the use of ACh, with the help of which a certain community of useful soil organisms is formed. Compost tea is saturated with beneficial microorganisms that stimulate active growth and serve as plant protection against pathogens. Moreover, the plant itself chooses the components it requires, that is, this drug is applicable to any soil.
In foreign countries, the method of applying ACH has been mastered quite well and has been actively used for more than a decade. The vast majority of owners of country plots in our country were introduced to it by G. Raspopov, who began to actively promote compost tea in 2013. Prior to this, a few gardeners knew about this drug, having gleaned information from English-language sources.
The bioactive and mineral substances included in the ACC are vigorously absorbed by both the root system and the leaves. The stomata of the latter remain open for a longer time, which contributes to more active photosynthesis. This leads to an increase in the size of the fruit and an increase in yield, and also contributes to a much more saturated color of the leaves and flowers of ornamental plantings.
When aerated compost tea is used to spray vegetation, it is covered with beneficial aerobic microorganisms that increase disease resistance by killing pathogens and reducing infection. All dead organic matter is processed in a short time and is part of the soil. In addition, the application of ACS makes the near-surface soil cloddy and porous, which increases its ability to retain moisture.
The useful microfauna included in compost tea helps to cleanse the soil of harmful chemicals and heavy metals accumulated in it, and reduces the level of toxicity of herbicides and pesticides. In addition, the need for the use of chemicals harmful to all living things is significantly reduced, since ACh is able to replace not only chemical fertilizers and top dressings, but a wide range of fungicides and herbicides. Why, with such undoubted advantages, aerated compost tea still remains the lot of enthusiasts like Raspopov and has not become widely used.
This is explained by rather tough market competition, when a lot of money has already been spent on advertising such EM drugs as Baikal and Shining. They are known to the general public, their use gives a noticeable effect. They are also readily available and easy to use. But the ACC, the method of application of which Raspopov proposes, should be made independently and it is suitable for use for a limited time. Therefore, even despite the fact that its composition is much richer than EM preparations containing only anaerobic bacteria and fungi, there are still no people interested in its wide advertising and active promotion in our country.
Video “Description of making aerated compost tea”
Step-by-step instructions from a specialist in making high-quality aerated compost tea with your own hands
How and where is it used
Concentrated compost tea is used for root dressing. At the same time, it is poured into the soil directly near the plants. Penetrating deep into, the solution nourishes the roots with the substances necessary for optimal development. Rains have practically no effect on such top dressing.
Experience also shows that the fertility of depleted soils is well restored with such a concentrate. To do this, the site should be dug up, covered with a layer of plant residues about 10 centimeters thick and watered abundantly with AKCh several times during the summer. In two years, on such soil, it will be possible to get a good harvest of even very capricious vegetable crops.
For foliar feeding of plants, Raspopov recommends the use of a pre-filtered preparation. To this end, it is filtered through a fabric filter (for example, burlap) and diluted with clean water that does not contain chlorine that is harmful to microorganisms in a ratio of 1 to 10. The color of the resulting liquid should resemble weakly brewed tea. Then add vegetable oil at the rate of 1/8 teaspoon for every 4 liters of the drug. This is done so that after spraying the liquid stays longer on the leaves of plants. After rain, the mixture must be sprayed again. You also need to remember that the microorganisms of the creature are quite fragile, so the drug should not be applied under pressure.
Making compost tea
Nutrient-rich compost tea is easy to make by soaking mature compost in water. The result is a liquid fertilizer of mild action, saturated with useful microelements and organisms. It can be used at any stage of plant development. There are also many useful nutrients in the compost itself, however, the introduction of a dry substrate into the soil is a rather laborious process, which is carried out in the spring or autumn period during digging or plowing, intended for planting vegetable crops in the territories. In addition, feeding already planted plants with compost is quite problematic.
In addition, the use of aeration during compost infusion increases the number of beneficial biota present in the solution hundreds of times. This happens due to the active reproduction of various aerobic microorganisms: bacteria, protozoa, fungi, nematodes, etc. The preparation process usually takes about a day and special equipment is sold abroad to obtain it. But at home, improvised means are quite applicable for this.
To get high-quality aerated compost tea, only ready-made compost should be used. Too old compost, as well as unseasoned, contain an insufficient amount of useful substances. Liquid fertilizer can also be obtained from manure in a similar way, however, the composition of such a preparation will not be sufficiently balanced and it is not recommended to use it other than for root dressing.
Many years of foreign experience in the preparation of ACC shows that it can be prepared from high-quality compost within an hour, and when insisted for a week, a superconcentrate is obtained. The golden mean is the preparation of a drug that is universal in use within 24 – 48 hours. Such a solution is optimally saturated with nutrients, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms useful for plants.
AKCh do it yourself
To prepare ACC at home according to the method proposed by Raspopov, you will need a three-liter container into which two liters of pure, in no case chlorinated water are poured. It is not worth pouring more water, because the foam formed during the preparation of the drug will begin to expire outside the container. Next, a glass (about 70 grams) of mature compost and 10 – 20 ml of beet molasses or molasses are added (available in stores that sell products for anglers). Experience shows that it is also possible to use fructose in the form of jam that has begun to ferment.
Having received additional nutrition with a source of sugars, microorganisms in conditions of active access to oxygen begin to multiply rapidly. For aeration, a compressor designed for aquariums with two nozzles is used. After a day, the finished compost tea should smell like fresh spring forest soil. If it has an unpleasant putrefactive odor, then it should not be used to fertilize plants. The preparation prepared in this way is suitable for use within four hours.
Video “Cooking aerated compost tea”
How to make aerated anti-weed compost tea at home
