Looking for healthier soil for a better garden? These teas will help your flowers and vegetable patches thrive. Carol Annett speaks to Land Gardeners' Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy, who created these soil teas, which are featured in their book, The Land Gardeners: Soil To Table (£45, available to buy here).
Meet the Land Gardeners
“Our children went to the same nursery school,” Henrietta Courtauld says of meeting Bridget Elworthy, “and so instead of discussing play plans we started talking about plants and soil, and that's how it all began.”
Not only did they sell cut flowers (they were famous for their big, fluffy Constance Spry-esque bouquets), but they also spent 15 years working with soil scientists to study soil and create a microbial compost that aims to remove chemicals from farmland. The result, Climate Compost, is like a probiotic for soil. Packed with microbes, this compost has helped their gardens' organic matter soar from 5 percent to 12 percent, and they've been the subject of a global trial to regenerate 2,000 acres of arable farmland in Northamptonshire without chemicals. “There's more life in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on the planet,” Bridget explains. “That's a pretty big thing to wrap your head around. The whole kingdom below is connected to the kingdom above, and the more biodiversity you have, the more you can grow. Good soil means stronger plants, which means better pollen. And then your bees make great honey and also properly pollinate your food.”
Whether you have a windowsill planter, a handkerchief-sized garden or acres of gardens, good soil will not only help the plants you want to grow but also help birds and insects thrive. Climate Compost is available at thelandgardeners.com.
5 Teas for Healthy Garden Soil
Weed tea
To make these teas, it's best to use chlorine-free water, as chlorine harms microorganisms. Collect rainwater, attach a carbon filter to your hose, or leave a bucket of tap water outside overnight. Drink the tea promptly on a cloudy day or in the early morning or evening. Avoid strong sunlight, as ultraviolet rays kill microorganisms. With a watering can, spray the tea on the leaves and around the base of the plant.
1. Compost Tea for Soil
All you need is a handful of Climate Compost inoculant or a similar microbial compost and 5-7 litres of water. Place the compost in a watering can with water and “dynamise” or stir it by swirling it in the middle until the compost is mostly dissolved. The microorganisms are aerobic, so stirring in this way helps introduce air into the process.
2. Weed Tea
What you'll need: An old pillowcase or muslin bag, a large container of water, and a variety of weeds – roots, stems, and leaves. (The more variety, the better, to add a variety of nutrients and minerals.) The leaves and stems of each plant should ideally be harvested just before flowering, when they are most nutritious. Place the leaves in the muslin bag in a bucket of water and leave for three weeks. Water your plants in a watering can with one cup of tea diluted with seven parts water (it should be the color of light tea).
3. Comfrey tea for the garden
What you'll need: Comfrey leaves (Bocking 14 variety). This is great for all garden plants, but especially fruit-bearing crops like cucumbers and tomatoes, as it's rich in trace elements like potassium and boron, which these plants need to flower and set fruit.
4. Nettle tea
You can use store-bought nettle tea or make your own (just boil the nettles in water like you would any other tea). This nutrient-dense tea is rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, making it good for healthy garden soil, plants, and even people. Use it for nutrition, or when your plants are stressed by heat or cold, or to prevent yellowing leaves from chlorosis.
5. Mint tea to get rid of pests
Again, use a store-bought tea. Mint tea repels flying insects such as aphids, whiteflies, and grape worms. You will need 100g of mint leaves for 1 liter of water. Steep the leaves in lukewarm water outdoors for 3-4 days. Dilute with 1 part tea to 4 parts water.
