Does anyone use compost tea on their figs? I have a bunch in 1 gallon pots and wanted to lightly feed them and not burn their roots. When watering I water until some water comes out of the bottom of the pots but feel I may be washing nutrients away too. About a 60/40 potting mix perlite blend. I have used a half strength miracle grow solution once bwan feel like that may not be correct. Just trying to get as many to the next pots size nice and healthy.What do you feed your small fig trees with?

Hi Vince,

1/4 to 1/2 strength MG every time you water (fertigation) should be just fine.  The commercially available fertilizers are readily available to the plants once applied.  Compost tea and other organic fertilizers require organisms to break down the nutrients (especially the Phosphorous compounds) into a form which the tree can use.  Since most potting mixes are sterile and have to be inoculated with the mycorrhizae, either through time or application of a product) a lot of organic fertilizers goes to waste and/or is over applied.  The inoculation of mycorrhizae will need to be done every time the tree is bare-rooted.

~james

I put a layer of compost on top of the potting mix.
Every time I water the plants get some "compost tea"

Grant

I don't have the time really to make the tea, although I should however it should be fine as long as you used composted manure, I have fed small vegetable plants like this with composted swine manure (also had composted swine blood in it) and it had no ill effects.

Every Tuesday, my HiTech Garden Supply store gives away 1 gallon free of their Compost tea if you bring in your own container.  I've never used it but might give it a try on my heirloom tomatoes.  I may try 1/2 strength on 1 small figs trees and see how they grow.

I use a compost tea made from worm castings and it works great.  2 cups castings to 4 gal of rainwater, mix for 2 to 3 days and apply immediately for best results.  Does not burn and a great growth stimulant.   Packaged worm castings work fine.  You can also top dress each plant with a handful of worm castings. 

It is recommended that you use only well aged compost to make tea - the objective is to make a brew of the compost with a high level of beneficial bacteria, etc.  Composts of other origins are also used:  cow, horse, rabbit, etc. 

John
Zone 9b

I never have enough compost around. Put it all on my veggie garden in spring. Only room for one compost bid, but I could buy composted manure and try this.

I use either compost tea, or comfrey tea when I have it.  I water with tea at least once a week, and straight water the other times.  I also use blood meal for nitrogen, about once a month during growing season.  Be careful with using blood meal, as too much will burn roots.  You can use MG, as others said, but I stick to organic fertilizers instead of salts.

You can find more info on Youtube by doing a search for the teas.

I potted up in 100% compost.  I wonder if anyone else does that.  

@Figfinatic - How do the roots do in 100% compost? I thought roots need to breath a bit and that compost would become too compact. How do they look when you pot them up after being in compost?

Perhaps this can help you.

http://www.wormfarmingsecrets.com/worm-composting-tea/quick-worm-tea-technique/

Thanks Ricci, this looks like a great way to make tea, but the last thing I need to tell my wife is that I'm gonna have pet worms, she might try to serve that tea to me

Barry you should try black soldier fly larvae composting first, they make worms look like fuzzy kittens. Nearly all progress made in this world is through compromise... Sweety, I wanted to try worm farming, but I found out that these little fly maggots do a much faster job, what do you think?

I am actually familiar with them. My son has 4 Bearded Dragons and I received a few of those as samples in a pckage of assorted bugs I purchased to feed the dragons. My wife never knew about it, I quickly fed them to the dragons. I do ask a lot of her already, bugs to feed dragons, turltes, tortoises, a cat, about a thousand assorted succulent plants and 60 fig trees.  No thanks Brent, I'll draw the line at reptiles for pets and feed the bugs to them. 

I raised some by accident in a some wheat seed that got wet in the rain and forgotten for a while, boy was I surprised, and a little concerned because i had no idea what they were. I sure did not pick any up like you brave fellas though.