Come hang out with us as Wil and I make compost tea! As Wil says, it’s basically a probiotic for your soil and your plants. And when we have healthy soil, we get healthy plants!
For the written directions, visit the blog post here: https://rootsandrefuge.com/how-to-make-compost-tea
LINKS MENTIONED:
– Check out Wil’s Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HoneybeeHollowGardens
– Nature’s Always Right’s video on compost tea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKzYBbl4Shc
– Natalie from Hey It’s a Good Life’s Worm Farming Course: https://heyitsagoodlife.com/pages/worm-farming-course-launch
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Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
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WHERE TO FIND US (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission but the price remains the same – OR BETTER – for you! Be sure to check for any mentioned discount codes.)
– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
– Abundance+ (Grab a FREE 7-day trial): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-wilder-still
– Shop our Stickers & Shirts: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-shop
– Order my book First Time Gardener: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ftgbook
– Pre-order my newest book First Time Homesteader: https://rootsandrefuge.com/first-time-homesteader-yt
– Growing Gardeners Course: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ggcourse
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/roots_and_refuge
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsandrefugefarm
– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
– To have a gift sent to our house from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
– To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jessicasowards
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PRODUCTS WE LOVE – You’ve probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here’s where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
– Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code “ROOTS10” for $10 off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-greenstalk
– Squizito Tasting Room (Use code “ROOTS” for 10% off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-squizito
– ButcherBox: https://rootsandrefuge.com/butcherbox
– Growers Solution: https://rootsandrefuge.com/growers-solution
#rootsandrefuge #homesteading #gardening
39 Comments
TEAcher, teaching about tea. 🤗 Thanks for the video. The place we used to get our compost tea from, unfortunately, closed its doors. So this will be a good resource for when we make our own ❤🤙
Thank you Will. This was excellent information. I just received my worm bin and I am setting it up next week in my basement. I am looking forward to having the compost to make the tea next spring. I learned about BioChar from a Hollar’s Homestead video so this will be a great combination to fill my soil with life.
Since you are also a mushroom guy, would you please do a video about which eatable mushroom spores/Mycelium that you would recommend for mixing into the backfill of fruit trees, shrubs and vines? I used to grow gourmet mushrooms for high end restaurants but I live in a blue city and the forced lockdowns for almost 2 years, so our restaurants and all of the businesses that supplied them went out of business. To be honest most of our business people are now very gun shy about reopening any businesses until until the “control freak “ politicians are purged from the area. It’s just too big of a risk. We might recover after 2024 but until then nobody’s willing to put their money back into the city. And but we do have fast food restaurants still. They were the only ones allowed to stay in business. So for me the lesson I’ve learned is just because it’s a red state doesn’t mean it’s going to behave that way. Research the local politics before you put your money into a new place.
I use natural Vitamin C crystals to kill the chlorine in my urban water.
So I’m killing good bacteria in my soil every time I water my garden because I’m on city water?
Thanks for the great directions…I bet it smells great…lol 🤗❤️
I always save the worms too!
And the spiders, crickets, ants, horned beetles etc…😁
JESS LOVE YOU! XX
I always test the ph of the soil because if it is too acid, it will kill the microbes you are putting into it. If it is too acid then I add some sourdough starter to the tea with some brown sugar for it to feed on, Yeast is a fungi that loves poor soil and it is bred to be acid resistant. Another important thing about SD is that it has 10 times more lactobacillus (Labs) in it than yeast which is even better for the soil. Fungal teas are best for bloom, flower and fruit stages but I do a combination of bacteria and fungi teas to kill all birds with one stone. It is amazing how fast soil remediation can be when done right.
QUE CANECA BONITA SÓ NÃO É MAIS BONITA DO QUE A DONA☕️👏🏻
In our province fish emulsion is over 100 dollars for half a gallon. It seems like people don't use it here. Makes me sad as it seems to work well.
Just a note…where I live the city uses chloramine (a chlorine ammonia compound). This does not evaporate out. Vitamin C will neutralize it (vit C powder works best).
Blessings
How long do the tea bags stay in the water? Can you reuse them with a new batch or do you get fresh ones?
I’m up North in New Hampshire. Should I do this now or wait until the Spring? Thanks for your content. Love hanging out with you!
Ugha, Jess Myah just cleaned the green house.
thanks guys! very helpful!
💚 I'm making homegrown Fermented Zucchini Relish as I watch you and Will on this Vlog! Thanks so much for this detailed information, my soil needs this compost tea! 💚
THAAAT MUGGGGGGGG!!! ITS PERFECT ❤
He referenced a book about this and said something about it being in the show notes. Were y'all able to find it?
This is Absolutely Amazing Jess, thank You for sharing it🙏 Kendra
Great simple explanation. I remember going through all of those videos you mentioned and more trying to figure out what the heck I needed to do. It was overwhelming. I just decided to pull the trigger and learn by doing, and it was great. I liked it so much that I more than tripled my worm farming.
Always watch your shows and love them… but I've got a question… If I make the compost tea and water my garden isn't it harmful to then water with city water? Won't that kill all of the organisms that I just put into the ground? Visiting you from Southern Oregon Coast…
Jess, do you spray this on your Green Stalks? Most of my garden is in Green Stalk planters.
Worms dont like he light. If you pile the casting up they will go to the bottom. That way you can save them.
Cool
I love that you're giving him the ability to push this scale for your garden, but I also truly love his channel also. Thank you for introducing us to him. I have found joy in both of your channels videos. 🥰💞
Weren't you supposed to be on a flight today? LOL.
This seems really complicated….we soaked rotted manure in water and called that "tea", sprayed it on the plants and around on the dirt. We put the worm castings directly on the soil and skritched it in. I'll have to do some research on this…..
Vitamin C dechlorinates water instantly. Aquarists' trick. Powdered C is fairly cheap and it doesn't take much to do the job.
A rolling boil is the look you want to have for your water when it is bubbling.
I loved Natalie’s (Hey It’s A Good Life) class! We’re starting our backyard worm farm to help feed our garden as well as our neighbors’ gardens. ❤
How do fertilizers differ? When and why would you use worm casting vs. chicken or steer manure or fish emulsion or comfrey tea? Do you use all? Are they for different purposes? Is one better? Why?
Thank you Will for caring about the earthworms. It always bothers me when people don't care and put the worms in the bags as well.
I heard something about natural charcoal too, do you know anything on that?
It isn't crucial that you use the tea while it is still aerobic. For gosh sakes! Pond water is anaerobic. Nature isn't that fussy.
Other things you can use as a "tea bag" are old knee socks or old nylons, a shirt sleeve from an old shirt etc. To keep the bag suspended at a certain depth in the water you could put a rock inside the sock along with the worm castings and other ingredients. You could use a clothes pin to hang the sock to the side of a 5 gallon bucket. I keep a batch going sometimes for weeks and when it rains it gets mixed with rainwater. Then when I use the tea, I dilute it with water in a watering can with 8-10 parts water to one part tea.
I loooooovvveeee your coffee cup!!!
My Dad has a building that bats have taken over the eves of the front sidewalk area. He sweeps up the bat guano to sell for making compost tea. He gave me a couple pounds. 🙂
Jess! Check out the weedy garden channel. He’s fr Australia and I think you’d love him. Has a lot about soil health and microbes. Love you!!!❤
Very interesting ❤😊