Apartment living, like it or not, puts some limits on growing our own food. Many of us are making our way with a container garden (we harvested our very first salad last night!), but there's often one important thing missing: hearty compost to enrich the soil.

So until the BF can be talked into vermicomposting, there is one great alternative to turn to: compost tea.

Compost tea is just that: compost that has been brewed in water. It's like a superfood smoothie for plants, and can be used to either treat the soil (replacing lost nutrients, enhancing the good bacteria), or as a fungicide/natural pesticide when sprayed on the leaves.

We picked some up at a local nursery, and their tea includes compost from a few different sources (worm castings, etc.). But if you do have your own compost heap, brewing your own tea is recommended as a super-powered supplement to using compost with your soil. Check out this great How-To from Fine Gardening to learn more about making your own compost home brew.