why strain the compost tea?

[Julie]

I have a large bucket with about 1/2 compost and then filled rest with water. It's sat for a week and I've stirred it often. Lazy me wants to know why can't I just scoop the water from the top after the rest has settled, and pour that in the flower beds and garden.
thanks much,
Julie

[khwoz]

The only time you need to strain it is when you spray to keep from clogging sprayer. If you're pouring it, you can let it settle or stir it up and pour away.

[Julie]

Thank you. Makes sense of course!
Julie

[CaptainCompostAL]

I use totally unstrained, unfiltered, aerobic tea recipes in my 20 gallon plastic tubs. I just use a cup and a 5 gallon bucket to apply it diluted as a foliar or soil drench in my garden. That way I get all the good microbes and some small organic matter out on my plants.

Filtering removes too much fungi and other large microbes away from the bacteria, which always goes through all filters. The best teas are more than just good bacterial teas. You need all the beneficial microbial varieties you can get from compost and other bacterial/fungal foods into your gardening system.