If you are looking to add compost tea to your grow, you have come to the right place. Here at Hydrobuilder, we carry a wide range of pre-brewed compost tea and compost tea brewers to improve the conditions in your soil.
You'll find the best brands at the lowest prices, including your favorites like Botanicare, Emerald Triangle, Nectar for the Gods, and General Hydroponics.
What is compost tea?
Compost tea is exactly what it sounds like - liquid compost. You brew it in your backyard or garage, very similar to how you would brew a drinking tea. But, instead of a quick 3-5 minutes of brewing, compost tea needs to steep for a long time to be really effective. Let's cover some of the benefits of compost tea for plants.
One of the most important components of a soil-based grow is the soil itself. Healthy, biologically active soil is essential to a successful grow. Other than a garden soil amendment, compost tea is the best way to improve the makeup of your soil. It is organic, and using one of our compost tea brewers makes this process incredibly simple.
What does compost tea do for plants?
Compost, in its simplest form, is decomposed organic material. It contains nutrients, microorganisms, and humates. When growers introduce this decomposed organic material into their soil as a tea, they enjoy benefits such as:
- Suppression and prevention of soil-borne pathogens.
- Excellent source of nourishment for plants.
- Acts as a soil conditioner, improving growing conditions.
Is compost tea a fertilizer?
Technically, compost tea is considered an organic fertilizer. It contains nutrients that your plant can feed from, and can lead to really healthy, natural plants. But, many growers simply use it as a way to start their plants organically. You will likely need to continue top dressing your plants with organic amendments throughout your grow.
This is especially true during flower, as your plants nutritional needs change. Some growers swear they can feed their plants from seed to harvest with super soil or an organic compost tea, but we still recommend grabbing some dry amendments to top dress, just in case you start to notice any deficiencies.
Should I dilute compost tea before feeding my plants?
Depending on how you are giving your plants the compost tea, you may want to consider diluting it a bit. But, it depends on your recipe. The recipes we'll share with you in our blog are made ready to go, meaning you don't have to cut it any further. But, if your plants are super young, you may want to dilute the tea a bit before feeding.
These organic nutrients can be a bit much for seedlings, clones, and small plants, as they are super hot. You don't want to risk any nutrient burn or toxicity.
How do you make compost tea?
Once you have found a good compost tea recipe, it's just a matter of grabbing one of our brewers and getting to work. The cool thing about our tea brewers is they are completely stand-alone, plug and play units. You don't need to add in any pumps or anything (unless specified otherwise).
Most compost teas should consist of ingredients like molasses, sugar, humic acid, seaweed, and rock dust. Simply steep the compost in a container filled 1/3 of the way, with the remainder being filled with water. Allow it to aerate with an air pump and air stone for a day, stirring a few times if possible. Then, either spray directly onto the foliar, or allow it to seep directly into the soil around the plant.
If you are interested in learning more about how to make compost tea, we have an entire article with recipes in our learning center!
If you are not interested in brewing your own compost tea, and simply want to reap the benefits this organic compound provides to your soil and plants, we offer pre-brewed compost tea.
Still have questions? Feel free to reach out to our experienced growers at 888-815-9763.