What is organic gardening?

In simple terms, organic gardening is using all natural ingredients when fertilizing your plants, foregoing the use of any chemicals as either a primary means of plant nutrition or as a supplement.

However, organic gardening is much more complex than that.  A primary principle of organic gardening is the idea that when one feeds their plants, one is actually feeding their soil and land, not the plants themselves.  Rather than giving sustenance directly to plants, you feed your soil, providing the various forms of beneficial microbes present in your soil with food which is broken down further into nutrients that your plants can use.  Plants have evolved to take up their nutrition in this way, and keeping the beneficial bacteria in your soil well fed continuously rejuvenates your land keeping it both healthy and fertile.

What are the benefits of organic gardening versus traditional chemical gardening?

Traditional gardening involves using fertilizers which have already been broken down by various chemical processes so that the nutrients are immediately available to your plants.  However, it is this process which makes your plants easier to “burn.”  Chemical fertilizers also have other negative effects which may not be immediately visible.  It has been shown that using traditional chemical fertilizers can kill the microbes in your soil, making you rely even further on those chemicals in order to produce your crops because the natural processes of decomposition and renewal have been stunted .  In short, the more you use chemical fertilizers, the more you will need to use them.  Traditional fertilizers also leave chemical residues on your crops and in your soil for long periods of time, covering your food and land, adding to the already copious amounts of man-made chemicals in the Earth.

Organic gardening feeds plants by first feeding the soil those plants are in.  The organic components in your fertilizers are broken down slowly, and your plants take what nutrients they need when they need them.  This natural process makes it very difficult to burn your plants, and continuously feeds your soil keeping it lively and fertile.

Can I still burn my plants using organic nutrients?

Unfortunately yes, but if you use the ingredients properly there is very little chance of it happening.  I have never seen a properly used organic nutrient burn.  No pure growth organics product should burn your plants if used according to the instructions.

What is the difference between a steep and an aerobic brew?

The difference is just what it sounds like.  A steep is very similar to steeping a regular tea in your kitchen.  You throw a tea bag in water and allow it to sit until the bag’s contents have leached into the water.  You can shake or stir your container, but this still qualifies as a steep because your tea does not have constant oxygenation.

An aerobic brew uses oxygen bubbles to activate the beneficial microbes in the ingredients, allowing them to begin feeding and breeding, forming various microherds of organisms which serve to both break down your ingredients a bit faster, and further populate your soil with a fresh stock of organisms to keep your land healthy and your plants thriving.

Though both methods will bring great results, aerating your tea has been shown to be better and faster acting.  According to research done at Oregon State University,

Aerated Compost Tea is a more recent concept [than traditional steeped compost teas] that incorporates aeration technology to improve extraction and to accelerate the process by creating optimum levels of oxygen for growth and reproduction of beneficial aerobic microorganisms. Compost teas are now being produced and used in large-scale agriculture, viticulture, horticulture, nurseries, lawn care, and residential gardens.

Click here to view our aerated fertilizer tea brewer.

Does steeping or brewing compost stink?

Though one might think that a compost tea might have a foul odor, it actually smells like fresh earth.  It’s sweet, and if a sugar is used, it gets even sweeter.

How long will my organic tea last?

Because of their organic nature, teas generally do not last much longer than their brew times.  For a steep, the tea will likely start to sour after 72 hours unless given air to rejuvenate it.  An aerated brew will likely not last more than 24 hours after the oxygen has been stopped.  Once bad a tea cannot be saved and should be discarded.  Though you will not want to use an old tea on your plants, it is completely harmless because it is 100% natural and organic and can safely be discarded on your compost pile (leftover or “expired” compost tea makes wonderful things happen in the compost pile!) or soil away from your garden.

Is there anything else I can do help maximize my tea’s potential?

Add 1 Tbs of organic molasses or honey per gallon of water to quickly stimulate the beneficial microbes present in your tea bag by providing them the sugars necessary to convert your organic matter in to a form usable by your plants.  Though all of our tea bags contain one form of sugar or another, using molasses, brown sugar, honey or any other natural sugar will put those beneficial microherds in to overdrive.

If possible, allow your water to sit exposed to the air for 1-24 hours before brewing to allow any chlorine used by municipal water companies to evaporate away and not be present in your tea.  This is known as using “aged water.”

If you have any further questions about organic gardening and using our products, please feel free to contact us.