Compost Tea for Cannabis: Organic Nutrients for Your Garden
Are you looking for genius ways to boost your yields without using harmful chemicals? Compost tea for cannabis might be the answer you’re seeking.
This organic mix contains nutrients that help your marijuana plants grow faster and healthier. Where can you get this brew? You don’t have to buy it, since it’s easy and affordable to prepare at home.
Are you ready to grow healthy and resinous buds organically? Keep reading to discover how to make and apply compost tea for the best results.
Let’s dive in.
What is compost tea for marijuana?
Compost tea for weed is an organic mixture of beneficial microorganisms and nutrients soaked in water. This brew supplies crops grown from both outdoor and indoor seeds with the right minerals, turning them into healthy plants with high yields.
When you soak compost in water, you extract the nutrients and microbes to form a liquid organic fertilizer. Add this mixture to the growing medium or directly to the plants to supply them with the essential minerals.
Though compost tea benefits marijuana crops, don’t use it exclusively for their entire growth cycle. Your plants may need additional nutrients that this brew might lack, so add this mixture as an additional supplement.
Use mineral-rich rock dust along with organic material, like compost, for your solution. Add an air stone for enhanced aeration. This combination, paired with beneficial bacteria, breaks down the necessary compounds, making them more bioavailable to the plants.
Types of compost tea
Different compost teas for cannabis depend on the brewing method used to prepare them. These types include:
- Aerated compost tea
- Anaerobic tea
- Non-aerated tea
- Manure tea
- Fermented plant tea
- Compost leachate
The most popular and common type is aerated compost tea (ACT) which requires oxygen to prepare.
Benefits of compost tea for cannabis plants
Whether using compost tea during the flowering or vegetative stage, the mixture has numerous benefits for your cannabis plants and soil. Some advantages include:
1. Promotes growth
Feeding cannabis plants with compost tea boosts their growth by supplying them with essential nutrients that promote robust development. It also contains beneficial microbes that help crops absorb minerals from the soil much easier.
2. Saves you money
Another benefit of organic compost tea for cannabis is its affordability and effectiveness. Making the mixture at home isn’t expensive, since most materials are readily available. Save money on costly fertilizers and pesticides by feeding your plants with this brew.
3. Protects plants against diseases
Compost tea supplies your growing medium with beneficial microbes that protect your plant from potential pathogens. Spraying compost tea with organic nutrients on marijuana leaves could boost the crop’s immune system, making it more resistant to disease.
4. Reduces the number of products needed
Using compost teas for cannabis makes growing cannabis organically easier by replacing non-organic additives. Due to improved immunity and a rich supply of nutrients, you don’t need to buy as many products for your cultivation efforts.
5. Improves the growing medium
Adding compost tea to your growing medium improves aeration and water retention, preventing resource wastage. The microbes also make the soil healthy for optimum root development and plant growth.
Bacterial vs. fungal compost teas
Compost tea falls into two categories: fungal and bacterial. The former is ideal for perennial crops like trees, while the latter is perfect for annual plants such as cannabis.
These two types also vary depending on the ingredients you use during preparation. Fungal compost tea for marijuana requires humic acid and fish hydrolysate. It’s more challenging to brew and takes longer to prepare (about one week) since the fungus colony grows slowly.
Bacterial compost tea requires sugar like molasses to brew and takes approximately 24 hours to be ready. The final product releases a sweet smell with notes of an earthy aroma.
Making compost tea for cannabis: A recipe for compost tea for weed
Brewing compost tea is a quick process that takes about 24–36 hours. Giving it more time increases the number of microorganisms in the final product. Avoid leaving it for more than three days to prevent the beneficial microbes from dying from a lack of food.
How do you prepare this organic mixture? Below are the ingredients and steps to follow when making compost tea.
Compost tea ingredients
You need the following ingredients to prepare the best compost tea for your weed crops:
- Molasses: This sugary solution feeds the microorganisms and encourages their proliferation. Use the extra-potent blackstrap molasses for the best results.
- Compost: The essential ingredient in brewing the mixture is high-quality compost with nutrients and microbes.
- Meals or bat guano: If you’re making compost tea for flowering plants, add bat guano or other meals. These substances are high in potassium and phosphorus, nutrients that blooming crops require.
- Worm castings: This organic fertilizer from worms contains essential nutrients and millions of beneficial fungi and bacteria.
- Kelp: A seaweed that feeds the microorganisms, boosts their development, and makes the organic tea more potent.
- Fish hydrolysate: Works like kelp but also contains nutrients like nitrogen which enriches your compost tea.
Besides these ingredients, you need other extra supplies to prepare the compost tea for cannabis. These include:
- A five-gallon bucket or larger container, depending on the garden size
- Clean dechlorinated water
- Watering cans
When making aerated compost tea, which is the best type for cannabis plants, you need the following items:
- Aquarium bubbler
- Air stone
- 400-micron mesh bag
Compost tea recipe
Have you gathered all the requirements for the brewing process? Follow this compost tea recipe for cannabis:
- If you’re using tap water that contains chlorine, leave it under sunlight for about 24 hours to aerate and remove the chemical.
- Ensure the water pH is about 6.0–7.0, then calculate the amount of tea you require and choose the appropriate bucket size. Prepare the set-up by connecting the air stone to the pump to give the microorganisms oxygen.
- Fill the compost tea ingredients in a 400-micron mesh bag. If you lack one, substitute it with a breathable fabric like a porous cloth or clean pantyhose.
- Add the dechlorinated water to the bucket, then mix it with molasses. Place the air stones and the mesh bag into the container and begin brewing.
Leave the setup for about 24–36 hours to make the organic tea for cannabis ready to apply to the garden. You may add other materials, like biochar, to increase the potency of your brew, depending on your plant’s needs.
How to apply compost tea to your cannabis plants
Some weed growers suggest that compost tea can stay effective and fresh for approximately one month in the fridge. Though it might be true, using the mixture immediately after brewing is advisable.
Sprinkle it in the morning when the marijuana plants’ stomata are open to encourage quick absorption. Applying it at dusk is also effective.
Dilute the tea with water and foliar spray on the crops to prevent cannabis leaf problems. Add the mixture directly into the soil to enrich the medium and allow the plants to absorb it.
FAQs
Do you have more questions about the best compost tea for weed? Here are answers to common queries that growers ask.
Can I burn my cannabis plants with compost tea?
You might hurt your marijuana crops with tea, depending on their nutrient profile. If the compost contains an excess of minerals, whether nitrogen, potassium or phosphorus, it could burn your plants. Dilute with water or use sparingly to avoid any damage.
Is compost tea suitable for autoflowers?
Compost tea for cannabis plants is suitable for growing regular, feminized, and autoflower cultivars. This mixture supplies your crops with nutrients that boost flower production, promote growth, increase yields, and protect against diseases.
Does compost tea raise pH?
Compost tea can increase or decrease the pH, depending on the water you use. It’s best to use neutral aqua to avoid disrupting the acidity or alkalinity of the growing medium.