Compost Tea for Lawns: How to Apply + Benefits
The thinning and yellowing of grass in your lawn can be a result of poor soil health or a lack of organic matter and nutrients in the soil. Applying compost tea on your lawn is a great way of suppressing grass diseases and weeds. From my experience, compost tea contains organic nutrients and bacteria that help revive a lawn that’s weak and thin. But how do you use it on a lawn?
Brew the tea for about 24 to 36 hours to promote bacterial and fungal biomass. Using a spray tank, apply five gallons of the compost tea for every 1000 square feet of lawn. The compost tea will provide the nutrients to strengthen the roots and promote the healthy growth of grass in your lawn.
For the best results, you should apply compost tea during spring or fall. During these seasons, humidity is low and favorable for planting lawn grasses. The tea also achieves better soil coverage and penetration during spring and fall.
Is compost tea good for lawns?
Spraying compost tea regularly is essential for delivering organic fertilizer and beneficial organisms into the soil. It is effective when made correctly and applied to the soil before it gets bad. The tea also helps the roots to penetrate deeper into the soil.
It revives dead soil by initiating microbial activities that help to stabilize the lawn. Therefore, it gives the grass a green and healthy look. Compost tea penetrates easily through aerated soil, thus providing essential nutrients to the grass that will boost their growth.
The tea is one of the best replacements to avoid soil toxicity caused by chemical fertilizers and other harmful practices to your lawn. It is easy to brew and apply to the soil
How to apply compost tea to a lawn
Compost tea is not so challenging to apply to the lawn. Use a spray bottle to sprinkle the compost tea over the grass. Ensure you apply about five or ten gallons of tea per 10000 square feet of lawn.
The water for brewing compost tea should be highly oxygenated without any soluble salts. That is recommended because the salts in tap water, for example, may encourage the growth of weeds.
Applying quality compost tea can revive dead soil by adding nutrients into the soil and boosting soil microbial activity. Follow these steps to correctly apply compost tea on your lawn;
1. Determine the cubic amount of compost tea needed
Measure the length and width of your lawn and determine the area. The compost tea should soak the soil to a depth of ¼ inch. Get the volume of compost tea required by multiplying the area of the lawn by ¼.
For example, if the area is 1000m2, multiply it by ¼ inch which is the same as 0.00635m. The volume will be 1000m2 x 0.00635m = 6.35m3. Therefore, a lawn of 1000m2 will require about 6350 liters of compost tea.
2. Water your lawn
Sprinkle your lawn with one inch of water the day before spraying the compost tea.
To determine the amount of water required, calculate the square footage of your yard by multiplying the width by the length. You can as well irrigate the lawn using around 0.6 gallons of water per square foot.
3. Lay the lawn aerator in rows.
If your lawn is large, you will need a power aerator, but you can lay the aerators manually if your lawn is small. You can either purchase a rolling aerator machine or rent it.
Roll the aerators only once and do not repeat the process. Remove all the soil plugs left on the lawn or leave them to disintegrate on their own.
4. Sprinkle the compost tea
Sprinkle compost tea over the lawn using a spraying can to a uniform depth of ¼ inch throughout your lawn. Work with a manageable area, for example, a 5 square foot. That will enable you to work faster and efficiently.
5. Water the lawn
Water your lawn with compost tea every two to four weeks. However, do not stop watering your lawn. Occasionally sprinkling some water will encourage microbial activity and aeration of your lawn thus promoting leafy and greeny plants.
Benefits of compost tea for grass
Compost tea has several benefits. The liquid is rich in organic nutrients. Therefore, it promotes healthy grass and soil stability and improves water retention.
Promotes healthy grass
Microbial action in compost tea promotes healthy soil thus healthy grass on the lawn. It increases the number of nutrients on your lawn and helps grass overcome foliar diseases and pesticides.
You can make compost tea at home by following simple steps and using the right products and tools. It’s also easy to apply on the grass.
Improves soil water retention
Good tea improves water retention in soil. There will be no need to water the grass frequently. It also helps to loosen clay soil and encourage air and water circulation in the soil, thus promoting grass growth.
Promotes soil stability
Hybrid tea helps stabilize soil on lawns, and if your lawn has a low amount of organic matter, the tea will help boost it because it is rich in nutrients. Sprinkle composite tea after twice every month for effective results.
Rich in organic nutrients
When sprayed on the grass, compost tea adds microorganisms to foliage. These organisms include helpful bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes.
They cover a large surface area of the grass and help to break down organic matter into useful forms for plants. Compost tea cuts the cost of buying fertilizers and other plant growth requirements.
Best compost tea recipe for lawns
Compost tea contains nutrients from liquid compost, and it’s easy to prepare and apply with a modest number of components. The ideal temperature for brewing compost tea is between 60° and 80°F. Extremely high or low temperatures can kill or inhibit microbial activity and diversity.
It takes 2-3 days for compost tea to brew. This depends on the size of your lawn. As discussed above, mix the component ingredients well.
Here is the step-by-step recipe for making compost tea for lawns:
1. Drill air inlet and outlet
Take a storage container, drill a 3/8-inch inlet at the top, and an outlet at the bottom. Join the two ends using at filling. Drill the holes on the top cover of the container about 1 inch apart. These holes will allow air bubbles up and encourage the growth of bacteria.
2. Dechlorinate the water
Fill the container with water and let it sit outside for a night. These will let chlorine in the water out. Rainwater is a fit because tapped water contains treated chemicals that would promote weed growth in your lawn.
3. Tie compost in a porous bag and soak in the water
Add 333 g of compost and garden soil inside a compost bag or socks when your water is ready. Afterward, soak the bag in 5 gallons of water.
4. Pump air through the container
Attach your pump through the drilled holes in the container and start circulating air. Add molasses, shrubs, or leaves into the water and begin the brew. Add microbial foods in quantities to promote the growth of the microorganisms.
5. Brew the mixture
Store the mixture somewhere outside at a constant temperature, probably at a cool or temperate area. Let the compost tea brew for 24-48 hours at the recommended temperature. At this point, it should be dark in color with an earthy smell.
If it smells rotten, it is spoiled. Do not use it. Start the process and regulate the temperature between 60° and 80°F.
6. Filter and apply compost tea on the lawn
Filter the compost using a paint strainer and pour the solution into a sprayer. Ten gallons should cover half an acre of the lawn.
The living organisms in the compost tea are sensitive to sunlight. Therefore, the best time to apply the compost tea is early morning or late evening. For accurate results, make sure to apply days before it rains.
Clean up the equipment used during brewing and sprinkler. Dirty containers encourage the breeding of harmful bacteria.
The microbial component not only improves the food web but also allows for soil aeration. Thus, compost tea improves soil fertility and acts as a pest control mechanism on the lawn.
A good and attractive lawn is green and healthy. Therefore, compost tea is an excellent foundation for a healthy lawn. Make compost tea frequently and sprinkle your lawn as the grass grows at least twice every month.
