This leachate is not necessarily anaerobic, but if enough soluble sugars leach out, then bacteria and fungi can grow and use up oxygen. This then can result in phytotoxic compounds in the leachate. In compost tea, manure tea, compost extract and compost leachate, soluble nutrients removed from the compost will benefit plant growth. But only compost tea contains a complex set of organisms extracted from the compost. Typically compost is the main ingredient in compost tea, but teas may also contain extracts of plant material, molasses or other sugars, proteins, carbohydrates, kelp, rock powders, rock dust, humic and fulvic acids, sources of N, etc. as additional food for microbes and nutrients for crops.
Many growers have special ingredients they like to add to tea.
New recipes are always being tested in many different areas with the goal of achieving better plant production and less disease. When and Why to Use Compost Tea Chemical-based pesticides, fumigants, herbicides and some fertilizers kill a range of the beneficial microorganisms that encourage plant growth, while compost teas improve the life in the soil and on plant surfaces. With time and continued use, compost and compost tea of defined quality will build plant surface and soil- beneficial microorganisms, instead of degrading them. Not all of these benefits will be observed in every case of tea application, perhaps because toxic materials were leached from poor compost, or the compost was anaerobic, or some other factor was not optimal. Compost tea can be applied as a soil drench , to develop the biological barrier around roots.