I used to remove half the soil every spring and replace it with good nutrient rich soil.
Now what I do (as I approach old age) is pour manure tea through the old soil.
It works to renew the nutrients and it is easier on the back than dumping and shovelling soil amendments.

I will look up a recipe online for that and see if I can use it.
Thanks Caroline.

In a large garbage container:
Dump half a bag of manure (well rotted)----about 10 pounds
1 cup soluble fertilizer
1 cup Epsom salt
Fill the garbage container up with water
Stir with wooden rod
Let stand over night
Stir again, and then dip jugs full for the soil rejuvenation

That would be soooooo much more than I would need for the next 10 years. I found some online that I think I will just order a jug. But thanks I am sure others can use that formula.

Thank you Caroline I am going to make up your recipe for the garden. For my out door garden I do keep a stocking stuffed with manure in a bucket of rainwater and I water my outdoor post from that bucket of manure tea. I never thought to add fert and epsom salt to the water.

Great idea and recipe Caroline. You should put it into the Ideas and Articles so everyone can benefit from it.
I will definitely be doing this. Thank you so much.

I really love the idea of rejuvenating potting mix by adding lots of beneficial microbes! Bravo! Do you ever water potted plants with that tea?

I think I'll add that step to my process for createing new soil from dead clay, for raised beds. Besides adding store-bought manure compost to my home-made soil, drench it with compost tea made as you describe (plus some screened fines from an active compost heap).

If you can borrow or scrounge an aquarium air pump and air stone to aerate it, it's good for the tea. Not vital, since you already have good results with a big garbage can, but it might keep the tea sweet longer than overnight.

If not, and if you live where it's hot, you might try to locate the barrel or bucket in shade where it will be cooler. Oxygen is more soluble in cool water than warm water, and keeping the deep layers aerated is beneficial.

I wonder if some "continuous" process would provide air as well as keep the exponentially growing aerobic microbes always in active growth? Say, use a 5-gallon bucket and every day or two take out two gallons of tea and add two gallons of water plus a small amount of manure?
At that rate, you could afford to use it for most of your watering or slosh it on leaves frequently as some recommend.

Good ideas! Rick.

Caroline,

Do you think that "compost tea drench" would be enough to cure soil diseases that killed the prior crop? I'm guessing not.

I would think it would help to reduce the number of some microbes from "hundreds or thousands" down to "few or none".

But it would, at best, reduce "billions" down to "thousands or millions".

That's my guess, anyway.

Most soil diseases are killed by our winters.
My containers are out in the weather all year.
The frost kills the plants.

I work in compost from our bin and add watercrystals when I plant. The crystals have saved a lot of watering from daily to every three days.

Plus: the annual roots dont seem to need a deep a soil system so the compost worked in is about 4 to 6 inches down.

I don't use the crystals because I use some of the containers for tomatoes.
Adding the compost to the top layer is a good idea too.
Then when it is watered there would be manure tea running into the soil.

This is nothing but 'liquid manure'!

I think liquid manure would be more concentrated.
Manure tea is less concentrated.

So liquid manure is diluted before application I guess.

Yes that would be necessary----otherwise you would burn some plants.

Ok ok, got it. I also read yesterday Dave's vermicomposting article.