Compost tea is obtained when you soak compost in water. The nutrients in the compost end up in the water, resulting in something like an organic liquid fertilizer. However, this fertilizer includes microorganisms and nutrients that are beneficial for cannabis.
Compost teas have become an effective way to feed cannabis plants without buying or using fertilizers. The teas are made from good compost, containing nutrients and beneficial microorganisms that boost plant growth and protect the plants against diseases.
Organic tea contains nutrients and microorganisms, including nematodes, protozoa, certain bacteria, and fungi. This combination helps to defend your plant against pathogens and enhances the overall growth and health of cannabis.
Why is compost tea important for your cannabis plants?
It reduces the presence of weeds and pests. This helps the cannabis plants ward off diseases like blight. The tea can also protect marijuana from harmful or deadly pathogens.
Adding compost tea to your cannabis plants injects nutrients into them. Thus, increased plant size is due to a strengthened immune system obtained from numerous trace elements.
The best organic tea for cannabis makes you less reliant on chemical fertilizers that cause harm to your plants. When you use the best compost tea for marijuana, you create something 100% organic, leading to a thriving and self-sustaining ecosystem.
It helps maximize water retention in the soil.
Improves the overall health of the plants by injecting them with beneficial fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes of multiple species.
How to make compost tea and use it
Although it might seem complicated and annoying, preparing your compost tea is quite easy. Follow these steps to get started.
1. Build the brewer for your compost tea
The first step is to build a brewer for your compost tea. You can decide to buy pre-built ones to save yourself the trouble. To build a tea brewer, you will need a bucket and lid (size depends on how big your cannabis garden is), air pump, aerator, 12 x 12-inch nut milk bag, and a small screw end metal hook.
Attach the air pump to the aerator and place it outside the bucket. The air pump and aerator will supply oxygen to the water, allowing microorganisms to breathe. Place the tea ingredients inside the milk bag.
2. Proceed to make the tea
After connecting the aerator and air pump to the bucket, continue to create the compost. Fill half the bucket with mature compost. It is recommended to stay within this limit and don’t fill it up. This allows the compost to be loose and the aerator to work.
Fill the rest of your bucket with water and ensure it is enough so the mixture can fill it. Leave roughly 3 inches of headroom at the top of the bucket to allow you to stir the tea without messing up the process. Stir the mixture gently.
Ideally, the tea can take roughly 30 hours to brew. Thus, it is advisable to prepare the tea when you have enough time on your hands, especially on the weekend. If you use water treated with chlorine, the process will take longer as the chlorine needs time to dissolve.
Your brewing tea shouldn’t be near heat or sunshine. Also, check on the air pump regularly to see if it is running properly and if there is enough oxygen in the water.
3. Nourish your cannabis plants with tea
There are two ways to apply compost tea to cannabis plants. You can add the compost tea for weed directly to the plant's roots or use it as a foliar spray to drizzle on your plants’ leaves.
To get good results, apply the compost tea to the soil two weeks before your cannabis begins to bud. However, if you use the tea as a foliar spray, you should apply the tea in the evening or early morning when the plants have little to no sunlight. Another method is to dilute the compost tea with water: use a 1:2 ratio for foliar spray or 1:20 if you apply directly to the roots.
You can increase the dosages of the compost tea. Organic tea compost doesn’t cause any damage to your plants. However, observe how your cannabis plants react when you apply them.
When to use the compost tea
The good part is that there is no compost tea feeding schedule, and organic teas won’t overfeed your cannabis plants. Hence, you can use composed tea for weeds when you think they are hungry or increase microbial life in the soil.
Final thoughts on compost tea
Compost tea for weed is easy and inexpensive to make. It offers numerous advantages to your cannabis plants, ensuring they get the nutrients required to grow healthy and ward off diseases that could stunt or kill them.
However, compost tea has a very short shelf-life. You will need to apply the tea immediately to the soil to enrich the health of your cannabis plants. The compost tea for weed is important, and you should start preparing one right away before your cannabis seeds bud.
