With hotter days ahead and an uncertain water season, now is the time to focus on plant health—not just in the garden, but across all your lawns and landscaping.

Strong, resilient plants are better able to withstand heat and drought stress. One way to support them is by feeding plants in a form they can absorb quickly.

Granular fertilizers can take up to three months to reach plant roots, depending on soil health and porosity. Liquid fertilizers can reduce that timeline to about three weeks. When applied directly to leaves, nutrients can enter through tiny pores called stomata, which absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

Stomata are open in the early morning and after sunset, making those the best times to feed plants through their leaves. Nutrients can move through the plant and reach the roots in about 45 minutes, giving plants a much faster boost.

Using high-quality compost—or even better, worm compost—adds amino acids, plant growth hormones and beneficial microbes that can help strengthen a plant’s immune system and overall vigor. Together, these benefits create a multi-pronged approach to growing stronger, more stress-resilient plants.

WHY COMPOST HELPS

Compost used as a liquid fertilizer can save money compared with buying traditional fertilizers. Well-made compost contains a variety of plant nutrients and trace minerals, depending on the materials used to create it.

Compost and worm compost also contain beneficial microbes that can grow in the soil. Their byproducts help bind soil particles, improve soil structure and create air pockets that allow water to move more easily into the ground. Worm compost has been shown to help suppress soil pathogens and support bioremediation—the process of helping break down or reduce toxins in the soil. Humic acids in compost also help plants tolerate environmental stress.

On plant leaves, these microbes may help deter pests and protect plants from disease. Adding compost to your fertility routine supports local ecology by building living soil that benefits all the vegetation growing in your area.

RETHINKING COMPOST TEA

Traditional compost tea is made by aerating compost for 24 to 48 hours with a bubbler system in a bucket. The compost is placed in a mesh or cloth bag and agitated in water to create a brown tea.

One quart of compost in a 5-gallon bucket can produce up to 20 gallons of tea after it is diluted at a 25% rate for plant application.

Do not use domestic water treated with chloramine, which is added to kill microbes. Irrigation water, reverse osmosis water or water from an activated carbon filter works well.

Add a catalyst such as cane sugar, molasses, cornmeal, oats or kelp to feed the microbes and encourage growth during the brewing process.

I have used aerated compost tea for years with good results. I have even pushed back the soil disease Fusarium until it is almost gone from my yard.

However, two concerns have changed the way I think about compost tea.

First, our arid native soils tend to be dominated by bacteria, while fungal colonies can be harder to find. Second, the aeration process used to make compost tea can be turbulent enough to destroy fungal threads, leaving the tea rich in bacteria but low in fungi.

Healthy soil needs a balance of both bacteria and fungi to support the full soil community. After recently studying my garden soil under a microscope, I found very few fungal threads. My soil is bacteria-dominant, with a wide variety of bacteria species, but my compost teas were strengthening those populations at the expense of other key players in nutrient cycling and microbial balance.

I intentionally make worm compost, which is not turned like traditional compost. That helps preserve fungal networks. But the compost tea process was short-circuiting the end result.

WHY I SWITCHED TO COMPOST EXTRACT

Compost extract is an easier, faster solution that helps preserve more of that microbial diversity.

To make 1 gallon, place ½ cup to 1 cup of worm compost in a mesh or cloth bag and submerge it in a bucket of water. For a 5-gallon bucket, use 1 quart of worm compost.

Gently knead the bag in the water with your hands to loosen microbes from the surface of the compost and release them into the water. After five to 10 minutes of kneading, the extract is ready. It can steep for a couple of hours or be used immediately.

For 1 gallon of extract, add 1 tablespoon of fish hydrolysate and 1 teaspoon of kelp as a food source for the rapidly growing microbiology, especially fungi. For a 5-gallon bucket, use 4 tablespoons of fish hydrolysate and 1 tablespoon of kelp.

Compost extract can be applied at full strength or diluted, depending on how much nutrition the plants need. Because compost extract is so rich in microbiology, apply it after sunset. That gives plants time to absorb it while stomata are open and allows microbes to settle into the fissures and crevices of the leaves before ultraviolet rays return with the sun. Compost extract can be applied every two weeks, or at least monthly.  

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

How to improve Colorado clay soil: benefits, problems, and proven gardening tips

Learn how to improve Colorado clay soil with organic matter, double digging, and broadforking. Boost drainage, nutrients, and root growth while avoiding common mistakes. Read More » 

5 must-read books for plant lovers and curious gardeners

Discover five captivating books exploring plant intelligence, regenerative gardening, herbal medicine, flavor-first farming, and botanical mixology—perfect for curious growers and nature ... Read More » 

Second-season gardening: what to plant now

Boost your garden’s success with fall planting tips for crops, bulbs and perennials. Read More »