Tea to prevent disease?

Q. I have heard that spraying a plant with compost tea can prevent disease in plants. Is this true?

A. Research is mixed on whether compost tea alone can prevent disease.

There were studies from Ohio State University which showed less disease in farm fields where compost was used as a soil additive.

Other studies where compost tea was used to prevent or control disease were inconclusive – some studies have shown compost teas have been somewhat effective against apple scab, powdery mildew on various plants, and bacterial spot on tomatoes. Other studies don’t show any effectiveness at all.

Compost tea is pretty simple to make.

Mark Smallwood, the executive director of the Rodale Institute, uses panty hose and a five-gallon bucket to make a compost tea. He takes a fistful of finished compost and places it in the panty hose, tying off the top tightly. He places the hose “teabag” in a five-gallon bucket of water and “steeps” the tea for 24 to 48 hours. He squeezes the excess tea out of the panty hose before removing it from the water.

One can then place the tea in a backpack sprayer or even a spray bottle to spray on your plants.

Make sure there is no debris in the tea that can clog the sprayer. One could use cheesecloth or a fine sieve to further strain the tea.

The tea is good stuff to use, even if the disease control is less than desired. Compost tea has nutrients and micro-organisms that can benefit plants greatly. This tea won’t burn plants, so it can be used weekly in the vegetable and flower garden.

The idea behind using compost in the garden is that one wants to enrich and rejuvenate the soil by providing nutrients and micro-organisms that plants need for health and vigor.

Healthy plants are just more resistant to insect and disease attack compared with plants that are stressed.

Our own display gardens at the extension office are a good example of this concept. Our soils have been enriched, and the plants that we grow are healthy. We encourage beneficial insects and organisms by not using pesticides unless absolutely necessary, and we have a huge diverse array of plant material at our gardens.

All of this creates a system where insect or disease invaders have a tough time making headway.

So one could be a scientist and try the tea in your garden. Take a small section and use the compost tea, and then compare it with other areas where you might manage things a little differently.

One could also use the tea in addition to any fertilizer and pesticide regimes you already use.

Part of gardening is risk and reward – and a little experimentation. Use compost tea in your garden as a way to be sustainable in today’s world.

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