Compost Tea vs Molasses Applied Directly to Lawn

12 years ago

Not only am I new to organic lawn care, I am also new to caring for my lawn at all. So I've been doing lots and lots of reading and I came upon the idea of making compost tea. But I've been wondering...why go through the trouble of making compost tea when you could just apply molasses directly to the lawn? Perhaps I'm missing something, so here is a quick summary of how I understand the two processes:

1. Compost Tea

Basically, you're creating a perfect environment where microbes can thrive and multiply. You then apply the microbe-rich water to the lawn and they do their thing.

Sounds easy enough, but the down side is that it takes planning. (i.e., it takes time to brew it, then you have a certain amount of time to apply it, you have to make sure you'll have the time to apply it when it's ready, will it be raining?, etc.)

2. Molasses applied directly to the lawn

Instead of creating a microbe-rich water, you give extra food to the microbes that are already in your lawn. They will multiply and do their thing. Assuming you have the molasses on hand, you can do this at any time.

So it seems that applying molasses is easier. And then there is the question of the amount of microbes and how much your lawn can support. Sure the compost tea has a high concentration of microbes, but won't most of them die pretty soon, to a level that is in line with what the lawn can support?

To summarize in one sentence, isn't it better (and easier) to feed the microbes that are already in my lawn than to introduce more than the lawn can support?

Thanks in advance for the help on this.

Comments (6)

Kimmsr
12 years ago
Either one of those might be of benefit if your soil lacks an active Soil food Web. However, for either one to be of much use the soil your lawn is growing in needs to have an active Soil Food Web to convert those materials into something the plants growing in that soil can utilize, ie. nutrients.
Does your soil have an adequate level of organic matter?
canselmi
Original Author
12 years ago
"Does your soil have an adequate level of organic matter?"

Probably not. The house was built less than 2 years ago in a new subdivision. Since I've become more interested in my lawn, I've been paying attention to other lots as they have homes built on them. Basically after all the large trucks tear up the yard (cement trucks, brick layers, etc.) the contractor levels out the yard with a lot of sand.

Depending on where you dig in my yard, it's either mostly sand or a layer of clay then sand. I'm in the process of topdressing the lawn with compost, but I have only been able to do half of the back yard so far.
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That is fun to read the old ways of doing things. If you did nothing else, moving from the overly mechanized new ways to the more natural ways of doing things will help tremendously, IMHO. Compost is expensive. In my neighborhood it costs me $34 per cubic yard plus $40 for delivery. One cubic yard covers 1,000 square feet so the cost is $74 per 1,000 square feet. Compost tea can be made from very little compost. Less than $1.00 worth of compost will make tea to cover 5,000 square feet. The magic comes in when you add molasses or other food to the tea and aerate it. Then the microbes in the tea can multiply by a factor of 1,000 and your little handful of compost can cover a lot more area. Thus compost tea can cost well under $1.00 per 1,000 square feet. Then the issue is do you need compost or tea at all? I maintain that unless you have had a chemical spill or flood that killed the aerobic microbes in your soil, you probably do not need compost. If you have an area that historically will NOT grow anything, then you probably need compost. Or worse yet, you probably need to replace the soil. The best reason to use compost is to replace microbes. Microbes eat food. They eat the same food we eat. When you see food "spoiling," there are microbes causing it to spoil. Those are the same microbes that live in your soil. Try this: slice into an apple and see how long it takes to turn brown. Did you have to add microbes to kick off that spoilage process? No. All you did was expose the apple to the air. Normally apple skin protects it from rapid decomposition. Leave some cheese out on the counter and see how long it takes to turn fuzzy with green mold. The green mold came from the air. All you have to do is provide food for the microbes and they will take off. If you want to feed the microbes in your soil, all you have to do is feed them. I like to use ordinary corn meal. If you apply at 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet, the cost for that is about $2/1,000. I have never seen compost give results anywhere similar to feeding with corn meal.
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Gjcore asks: " Any ideas on how to achieve the right balance in our brews for the 3 stages of plant life?" The key to getting the right nutrients to the plants at the right time relates to what is being fed to the microbes when making Bug Juice. By having the right nutrients being fed at the right time the plant can respond the way the gardener desires. As an example: Early growth Adding fish emulsion or a seed meal (alfalfa, soybean, or other high protein (nitrogen) source will result in good fast growth for the plant. Mid growth Adding bone meal, seaweed, or other high phosphorus nutrient will ensure good root growth as well as stem development. Flowering/fruiting growth Adding seaweed, potash, greensand, or other high potassium source will insure good fruiting and weight to harvests. And too, adding calcium at any given stage will insure plants will have the right ratio to adsorb all the nutrients being fed to plants. While using any given tea will always aid in plant growth IMO, having the nutrients in the soil to feed microbes is always important. While some will advocate having a soil test to know what is needed within soil, the ability to measure organic nutrients in said soil is extremely expensive and unrealistic throughout the growing season. Plants are smart enough to know what they need and when they need it; we are responsible to make sure all the nutrients are in the soil at the right time. Talk of pollution from overfeeding plants is all well and good, however, soil endowed with ample organic matter and compost/humus will store nutrients until needed by plants. To my knowledge, no soil test has been developed to measure what is stored with soil compost/humus levels yet, thus to mime about testing something that is "untestable" leaves much to be desired. Better to maintain high levels of compost and humus in the soil, make sure all the nutrients are in the soil for plants to be able to absorb said nutrients, and the gardener at the ready to harvest and consume said harvest are the best way to get healthy food to the table. Full spectrum amendments (loaded with all the nutrients we need for our body) added to the soil in the form of fertilizer or compost tea remove all doubt of weather the nutrients are there; we know they are there because we put them there. This includes all the nutrients a so-called "soil test" never tested for in the first place. I am not saying to never get a soil test; what I am saying is I never waste my money on a soil test; we test our soil at the dinner table. Blutranes
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The amount of organic matter that you're shooting for will vary depending on the situation, the plant type, and who you ask but a pretty good rule of thumb is 5 to 6% by dry weight. If you put out steamed bone meal at a relatively aggressive rate of 15 lbs. per 1000 sq. feet, that would only boost the organic content by about 0.003%, or three one thousandths of one percent. That is, of course, before it even breaks down and some is lost to leaching, volitalization, plant uptake, etc. So the answer is yes but not much. Like Kimmsr, I too would top dress with compost.
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I believe I am the one who stated "compost tea." ... but I do not have a "WF." Rather, I have several barrels that are watered by gutter rain and fed with kitchen and garden scraps, as well as chicken poo. At the bottom of the barrel there are several spouts that feed into holding containers. The water that drains through to the holding tank is what I refer to as "compost tea." I use this directly on plants without diluting, and have had only marvelous results. As for the smaller tubs of concentrated redwigglers -- I use the large Wal-Mart totes that held items sent to the thrift store. Stacking two, three, four, or more depending on the amount of worms and accumulated castings. On the very bottom is a solid tote with holes in the lid which holds anything that drains through the top bins. I equipped the bottom bin with old spouts from large detergent containers to dispense the liquid as needed. This liquid...I have no name for it. It is sometimes there, sometimes not, and sometimes I drain water all of the way through to have a bit of concentrated liquid. The concentrated liquid I use on my open-air compost piles or throw in the Compost Tumbler to heat up the compost. But if you have an indoor worm bin, which I believe a "WF" is...I wouldn't want water on the bottom. When my indoor worms (meals and supers) get too wet I think I am seeing spots...then I realize fruit flies are multiplying like crazy. Then it's off to the big-box for some apple cider vinegar and some Damp-Rid. :)
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Kimmsr
12 years ago
What I have seen happen, around here, with new developments is someone comes in and strips the "topsoil" to go to some other development and then after the houses are built they haul in more "topsoil" and spread a thin layer and either lay sod or seed that. Then people try to keep that lawn growing by pouring a lot of "fertilizer" on it which can make for a lush green, but sick lawn with numerous problems that then need pesticides to control.
Short of tilling in what yuu have and starting over spreading compost is a good idea, mulch mow the grass to recycle in place those grass clippings which will help add more organic matter to the soil. If you have deciduous trees those leaves that fall from them every year can be mulch mowed in to provide evenmore organic matter.
What organic matter will do in sandy soils is help keep moisture and nutrients in the root zone so the grass plants can be fed by the soil bacteia that digest that organic matter. In clay soils the OM seperates the soil particles so the plants roots can move about more freely and makes moisture and nutrients more readily available.
Compost tea can provide some bacteria, and nutrients, tht would then feed on the organic matter in the soil. However, soils lacking sufficient levels of OM won't have much of anything for those bacteria to feed on so spraying the compost tea would be, largely, a waste of time, energy, and maybe money. Molasses can provide a food source for soil bacteria, if they are present because of adequate levels of organic matter. Spraying molasses onto soils lacking sufficient amounts of organic matter will not do much except waste your time, energy, and money.
dchall_san_antonio
12 years ago
canselmi, I agree with you. Molasses is more effective and easier.

You might want to read the Organic Lawn Care FAQ at the Organic Gardening forum. Then come back with more questions.
freshair2townsquare
11 years ago
I think you can buy compost tea - that would remove the time/effort element of that option.

Where in Texas are you? In the DFW Mid-Cities, I prefer to shop at Strong's Nursery on I35 in Carrollton or Marshall Grain on 121 in Grapevine. Both have knowledgeable employees and a decent selection of organic products.

I've bought Ladybug brand bagged products at both locations.

~ freshair
canselmi
Original Author
11 years ago
I'm just south of Houston.
I am having trouble finding a feedstore. There is a Tractor Supply Company out in Katy, which is the closest I've found so far.

Compost Tea vs Molasses Applied Directly to Lawn

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