Marijuana plants will naturally thrive in places where they are expose to organic elements and natural factors in their environment. Since being domesticated, growers should be responsible for the well being of their crops. To provide their weed gardens with the most comfortable and appealing space for plants to thrive and prosper. As such, there are all kinds of different amendments and nutrition available today. It will boost your garden’s performance and give you an overall better functioning weed crop! One of the more popular ways of giving your plants help in growing into healthy crops is by coming up with a compost tea recipe.
Not exactly the most appetizing thought, but trust us! Using a compost tea recipe for your gardens will work wonders for your eventual harvests! Before jumping in, let us first discuss what compost tea is.
What is a Compost Tea Recipe?
When you first run across the term compost tea recipe, you may be thinking about a marijuana-based product that makes use of boiled roots and seeds of the cannabis plant. While there are many different types of teas made of cannabis that can give us loads of different health benefits and medical values, that is not what we are referring to here.
A cannabis compost tea recipe is basically an organic, waste-free solution that is given to your cannabis plants in order to improve their health and keep them fresh during the whole cultivation process. It contains numerous amounts of nutrients and minerals that work hand in hand to bring the whole recipe together. With compost tea, growers are also given the benefit of using amendments that are free of chemical compounds and hazardous wastes.
Like the type of tea we use for drinking, a compost tea recipe for your cannabis plants will also undergo a long process of aging and brewing. As the different ingredients start meshing their valuable properties together, millions and millions of different fungus and bacteria colonies will start to form in the mixture. Don’t worry about this, though!
Unlike the fungal and bacterial infections that we are commonly used to, these communities house some very invigorating qualities that will help keep your soils active and fresh. They are the ones mainly responsible for the strengthening of the rooting systems and improving the overall immune systems of the cannabis gardens.
What Kind of Compost Tea Recipe is the Best?
You will have access to loads and loads of different ingredients for your cannabis compost tea recipe. All of which will play different roles in the brewing process of your amendments. As such, you are going to have access to different kinds of compost tea recipes to make!
This generally led to growers using a compost tea recipe to classify them into two kinds in order to know what benefits they are actually getting from the tea. They are widely considered as valuable microbes that combine well with the other micronutrients and macronutrients that dissolve and blend with the various compost ingredients.
Bacterial Compost Tea
First off, we have bacterial compost tea. From the name itself, we can imply that this type of compost tea recipe will generally house large communities of millions of healthy bacteria. This typically makes use of sugar-based products in order to boost the build-up of this bacteria. Molasses is the main type of compost that is used for this type of compost tea recipe.
Fungal Compost Tea
On the other hand, we have fungal compost tea. As it makes use of compounds that come from humic and hydrolysate products, it will take a little while longer for these ingredients to break down and release their properties into the mixture. Giving a fungal-based compost tea recipe to your marijuana growing medium will help it absorb more nutrients and amino acids, thereby increasing the rate in which it takes in and absorbs different proteins.
OTHER WAYS TO CLASSIFY A COMPOST TEA RECIPE
The breakdown of classes of compost tea can be separated even further basing on the textures and feel of their solutions. Fermented plant tea, compost leachate/solid tea, non-aerated tea, and anaerobic tea are all forms of compost tea that will give you a lesser oxygen flow due to the hearty properties of their ingredients.
On the other hand, manure-based tea and aerated tea are a lot more “loose” and allow significant levels of air and oxygen to work in their solutions. Most growers will usually gravitate towards an aerated tea recipe. It is known as the most standard compost tea recipe and the easiest to make.
Why Should I Use a Healthy Compost Tea Recipe?
Using a compost tea recipe and inputting it into your gardens can, without a doubt, result in more potent and fresh marijuana buds. The high volumes of microbes and nutrients that make up the tea can prove to be very valuable! A compost tea recipe will generally work in a way that you cannot emulate with any other store-bought solution out there.
All-organic ingredients
A compost tea recipe’s most distinguishable feature is that it is an extremely well-rounded solution that makes use of only organic and natural ingredients! This foregoes any dangerous chemicals that, when exposed to your cannabis plants’ roots, will ultimately lead to the wilting of leaves and drying up of the plants’ structures.
The ingredients that go into the mixture are various composts that growers extract from natural sources. This means that there will be no wastage of compounds when making this compost tea recipe! Also, keep in mind that cannabis plants are more inclined to natural environments. Furthermore, giving them an organic solution will mean that they will be very responsive to it.
A compost tea recipe boosts the immunity and strength of your roots.
The giving of compost tea to the roots of your plant will definitely give it a healthier condition. Just like how us humans will feel a lot stronger and active with a balanced diet, the provision of compost tea to the plants will also give them these benefits.
Feeding your plants with the extremely potent concentration of fungal and bacterial microbes is best. It will keep the roots of the cannabis garden active and strong. This also adds a layer of protection to the roots and growing medium. Thus helping to resist the development of diseases and molds.
You will get more potent buds during harvests.
The effects and uses of the compost tea will be evident once you start harvesting your marijuana buds. When the time comes, you will see for yourself! All the blossoming flowers of your marijuana crops will be brim full of sticky, white trichomes. Also, the fat and chunky appearance will make them seem as though they double in size!
Because of the increase in amount of nutrients taken in and absorbed by the plants, your gardens will have a lot more opportunities. They are ready and able to build up energy for the production of buds. This eventually results in a fresher harvest.
Your soil and growing medium will not remain stagnant.
The bacteria and fungal communities found in the compost tea recipe are alive and active. Once these are place into your soils, they will help stimulate the roots. It also keep the soils moving and continuously developing. A passive condition in your soil can definitely lead to the invitation of molds in your gardens.
Also, the flow of air and oxygen to and from your soil will dramatically increase using compost tea. This lightens the soils. It makes it a lot more breathable for the roots, ensuring that they stay fresh and hydrated.
The cannabis plants will grow faster!
This one will surely appeal to a lot of growers out there. Once you start providing ample amounts of compost tea in your gardens, you will undoubtedly notice your plants growing faster. Plus the bigger yields at their disposal. The abundance of healthy nutrients will help the retention and drainage systems of your marijuana crops.
Because they will have no problem absorbing any amounts of minerals that they will need. Your cannabis plants will be able to maximize the utilization of such in a short timeframe. This will ultimately lead to a shorter flowering time and a faster growth for your plants.
How To Make Your Own Compost Tea Recipe
It isn’t understating it to say that making your own compost tea recipe is extremely easy and efficient. The only part where you will have to exercise patience is waiting for the solution to blend together. It will normally take around three (3) days for the whole brew to fully settle, with regular stirring every now and then. A good quality mixture of compost tea can last for up to 1 to 2 months, provided that they are placed and stored under the right conditions.
For an aerated type of compost tea recipe, which is the simplest and most common form to make, you will basically need just five (5) key ingredients: molasses, worm castings, kelp, compost, and fish hydrolysate. These products increase the development of different fungal and bacterial build-up. In addition, it gives off the required macro and micronutrients for proper cannabis bud production.
FIRST STEP: Take a large container, preferably one which has a lid, and fill with rain or purified water. This ensures that the water supply that you use will be properly filtered and cleaned for the best results. The container does not have to be anything top of the line or luxurious. A clean, durable tub or bin will work perfectly.
SECOND STEP: Next up, to have a well-functioning aerated tea setup, you will need to install a proper air pump to the container of your compost tea recipe. This will allow the air to be pump into the solution while the brewing process takes place. It gives the tea a much more oxygenated content that will allow the roots to breathe much easier. Connect this pump to a tube and place the bubbler at the bottom of the container.
THIRD STEP: Time to make your tea bag. Yes, just like how you will need a tea bag to keep the tea leaves from falling into the water. The same concept applies to brewing a compost tea recipe. A simple mesh rag or cloth would work just as well. Stack all the ingredients into this bag and seal it by tying the top. Of course, you can always make the tie stronger by reinforcing it with some wires, nylon, or rope.
FOURTH STEP: Carefully place the tea bag into the water and let it sit there until it is fully submerged into the water. Now, turn the air pump on and you are all set to go! Wait for three days until the compost tea recipe turns into a dark, well-concentrated solution. Also, make sure that you regularly mix the compost tea in order to avoid it from staying stagnant!
Well, that is pretty much all you will need to know about making your own compost tea recipe! It is very simple and can provide some top-notch benefits to your plants. Using a compost tea recipe isn’t all that troublesome to come up with. You will master the whole brewing process as long as you do it for a number of times!
Read through this article and decide for yourself if making a compost tea recipe is something that you can do. It is also a great choice for beginners. Especially those who are looking for easy ways to enhance the performance of their cannabis crops!