genuinegirly

Thanks, snowy. Great resources.

jewels- you gave me a good laugh.

Nimetic - from what I've read, it looks like it's best to use compost tea in the springtime, with fresh new growth. Around here we get our new growth in December.

August - December: That gives me a few months to figure it out. Apparently it's incredibly difficult to strike a balance with compost tea. Proper aeration seems to be key, as most efforts seem to go atrophic. Also requiring time - one must have an adequate population of microbes in their compost before one can breed them through compost tea.

As it sits, we have a rather lousy excuse for compost - mainly grass clippings and some fruit that didn't make it from tree to table. So, not the ideal mix. Our compost turner is me and a pitchfork - not sure if it's getting proper air and moisture. Sure, we get plenty of soil from it, so we must be doing something right - but when I spread the compost, our plants don't respond with a perk. This leads me to believe that it is low on several vital nutrients. When I lay fresh compost, the soil isn't any less drought-resistant compared to where I have not laid it out. Healthy, microbe-rich soil should retain water better (from what I've read so far).

I'm no soil scientist. I'll gladly bow to anyone with some gardening experience.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy