Applying compost tea before planting?

[deltzy]

Hey there guys,

I'm soon to plant my little tomato seeds, and I want to prepare my soil for planting later on. I did put multipurpose compost into my little patch but I think all the nutrients and such may have been drained out.

Is it beneficial to drench my soil now in compost tea to build up the bacteria before planting?

Thanks!

[DoubleDogFarm]

deltzy,

What is your weather like? If you believe your compost nutrients have leached out, so may the tea. Weather, soil temperature, may make a big difference.

I like to use compost tea as a foliar spray and or soil drench after the plants are in. I usually apply once a week, through out the summer.

Eric

[deltzy]

Hey thanks for the reply, its about 41F here slightly less during the night and light rain here and there. I thought because I had so much growing last year I would need to revitalise the soil in preparation for summer by increasing the microbes in the soil.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Sounds like we have about the same climate.

I'm still an apprentice when it comes to soil biology. I'm thinking soil temperature is more important. Is there much activity while the soil is cool? Hopeful some other members will chime in.

Eric

[deltzy]

Thanks for your help, I'm hoping someone else could help me out here

[applestar]

Peruse through this forum when you have a chance.
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=43

I believe application of compost tea prior to -- or more specifically -- at the time of planting is extremely beneficial.

Are you planting your tomato seeds in the ground? There are lots of threads going on about starting seeds indoors in containers in the Seed Starting Forum.

For sowing seeds in the ground, I would water in the planted beds with compost tea. I sometimes soak seeds in compost tea first. When planting out seedlings/started plants, I put a handful of compost in the bottom of the planting hole and then pour water in or fill the bottom of the hole with compost tea to soak in so the roots will have a lovely moist root zone, especially if the ground is dry. When planting bareroot perennials and woody plants, I soak in compost tea first.

[toxcrusadr]

41F and only slightly cooler at night? It's 14F today and 0 tonight, 10" of new snow, wind chills down to -20F. No tomato planting going on here. I hate you.

I've always read that seeds don't need much in the way of fertilizer to sprout, but the young plants do. So I'd save some tea for after they sprout too.

[wordwiz]

deltzy,

I like Tomato-tone fertilizer. It's a bit pricey (~$6 for 4 pounds) but besides being organic, it does not have a lot of nitrogen but it does have microbes:

ALSO CONTAINS NON PLANT FOOD INGREDIENTS:
Contains 895 colony forming units (CFU’s) per gram of the
following species:
Acidovorax facilis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 CFU’s per gram
Bacillus licheniformis . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 CFU’s per gram
Bacillus megaterium . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 CFU’s per gram
Bacillus pumilus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 CFU’s per gram
Bacillus subtilis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 CFU’s per gram
Cellulomonas flavigena . . . . . . . . . . . 21 CFU’s per gram
Paenibacillus polymyxa. . . . . . . . . . . 21 CFU’s per gram

I even dissolve the TT in water (aerate it for a day or two) and use it in a hydro system.

Mike

[DoubleDogFarm]

I put a handful of compost in the bottom of the planting hole and then pour water in or fill the bottom of the hole with compost tea to soak in so the roots will have a lovely moist root zone, especially if the ground is dry. When planting bare root perennials and woody plants, I soak in compost tea first.

Applestar,

I'm a little concern about the flower pot effect. Will the roots grow out of the wet nutrient zone into the dry low nutrient zone. Root bound.

Eric

[applestar]

Hmm... Interesting point. But since my favorite planting tool is a handheld fork -- short handled version of a garden fork, and I stab the bottom of the hole a couple of times after tossing in the compost, I think there are sufficient integration of the zones going on. Besides, the earthworms either move in from the surrounding soil or are introduced with the compost in their various life stages and soon go to work.

I've noticed that when I fail to moisten the bottom of the holes first, often the surface-applied moiture does not penetrate all the way to the base of the root zone (ergo neither does the compost tea... At least until the motile microbes make their way in micrometer units). Maybe this sort of thing isn't an issue for you in the wet PNW and on an island...(?)

[DoubleDogFarm]

Maybe this sort of thing isn't an issue for you in the wet PNW and on an island...(?)

I cringe every time I hear this. We get 25 inches of rain annually. Seattle 35. We basically get no rain July through early September. How much rain does NJ get annually? During the summer?

I've noticed that when I fail to moisten the bottom of the holes first, often the surface-applied moisture does not penetrate all the way to the base of the root zone

We follow this practice also. We not only wet the hole, but soak the 4" potted plants.

My main concern is the overly rich nutrients burning roots, gassing off and maybe root bound. If you are mixing the compost in, maybe no concern at all.

I like the practice of nothing added to the planting hole and a nice nutrient mulch on the surface.

Eric

[applestar]

Huh. This IS interesting! So is it kind of a myth?
According to [url=https://climate.rutgers.edu/stateclim_v1/data/njhistprecip.html]this[/url], we get way mre rain than you do, though I could swear we were really hurting in the summer while you and folks from Oregon blythely prattled on (:>) about rain. Is it that we ge more dumped on us when it DOES rain, while all you're getting are measley mists?

What about Twilight and the Cullens living in Fork, Washington because of all the rain???

[DoubleDogFarm]

The Islands are in the Olympic Rain Shadow. NOT banana belt like some say! Not warmer, just dryer.

No myth on measly mist. I believe we have more overcast days, but you definitely get more rain.

Parts of Washington get over 100 inches annually.

Eric