Inside Vande Hey’s Secret Sauce: Compost Tea for Thriving Landscapes

Since acquiring Backyard Organics in 2021, we’ve been refining what we like to call our ‘Secret Sauce’—a compost tea blend designed to create thriving soil, and the foundation for healthier trees, shrubs, gardens, and turf.   

Unfortunately, heavy use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical treatments can disrupt the natural biology of soil, making it harder to sustain plant health long term. Compost tea reintroduces beneficial organisms back into the soil, giving it the “jump start” it needs to support a balanced, sustainable ecosystem.

Brewing Compost Tea

Much like brewing a great cup of coffee or craft beer, creating high-quality compost tea requires the right ingredients, equipment, and process. The quality of the compost, the nutrients provided, and the brewing method all directly impact the final product, making it critical to source the highest-quality compost and nutrients as well as utilize the best equipment and processes that won’t harm the biology.  

At our Appleton campus, we’ve made a significant investment in our advanced brewing systems, including multiple 300-gallon brewers that allow us to produce compost tea at scale without compromising quality. While anyone can brew a small batch at home, our process is carefully monitored to ensure the highest level of microbial diversity and consistency.

In addition to the technical design of the equipment and the science behind the formulations, timing of the applications is critical.  Compost tea is a live, active, aerobic blend of microbes, which are rapidly expanding, but can quickly become ineffective if they run out of oxygen. We apply our compost tea within the first 48 hours of a finished brew cycle, when microbial activity is at its peak, to distribute the highest quality product.  

The Science Behind Compost Tea

The strength of compost tea comes from its microbial diversity. The best brewed tea contains a robust community of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa—each playing a role in breaking down organic matter, cycling nutrients, and protecting plants from disease. The greater the diversity, the better the soil’s ability to respond to a wide range of challenges.  Each community, neighborhood, and yard have unique soil needs.  Having a high count and a diverse group of microbes ensures consistent results.  We regularly test our batches under the microscope to measure microbial populations and adjust our recipes. This ongoing testing allows us to continually improve results and provide soils with the healthiest biology possible.

Proven Benefits

Our Secret Sauce delivers powerful results both below and above the soil line:

• Improves soil structure and porosity – creating a better plant root environment
• Increases moisture permeability, reducing the density of heavy soils and preventing erosion and runoff
• Improves the moisture retention of light soils, reducing water loss and nutrient leaching
• Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils, improving nutrient availability and retention and making the soil more fertile
• Supplies organic matter and beneficial organisms to soils and growing media
• Aids the proliferation of soil microbes
• Encourages vigorous root growth
• Allows plants to use nutrients more efficiently and enables soils to retrain nutrients longer
• Contains humus that assists in soil aggregation and makes nutrients more available for plant uptake
• Buffers soil pH

Beyond the biological benefits, compost tea has practical advantages for everyday landscapes. When applied to leaves, trees, shrubs, and turf, it efficiently delivers nutrients, stimulates root systems, and acts as a natural protector against harmful diseases. This season, we’ve seen especially strong results—plants and turf treated with compost tea have shown healthier growth and fewer disease issues.

At Vande Hey Company, we believe deeply in the benefits of organic land care. Through ongoing test plots, continued research, and significant investment, we’re refining our systems to create healthier soils and stronger landscapes. This commitment helps us live out our mission, ‘Be there for our team, clients, and community’, by fostering safe, healthy soils, and thriving plant life.