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Compost Tea with DEM
One of the very best ways to supplement your soil is a potent compost tea. Below I will share two recipes appropriate for both veg and flower cycles. Every ingredient used is organic and goes a long way to produce the finest smelling and tasting flowers you could possibly hope for.
Required Items:
- Large Flexi Tank or 20L bucket – you’ll need this to bubble your tea. Choose a size appropriate for your use or set-up.
- Air Pump – be sure to not purchase a cheap air pump, they don’t last long and soon prove a waste of money. The Hailea 9810 is a good choice if you’re not sure where to begin.
- Air stones – cheaper gold ball stones may not be so reliable, consider a large flat hailea stone.
- 1 pair of tights – this will function as a perfect tea bag for the ingredients. Can be bought from any local supermarket for under £5.
- Product from the DEM Range – take your pick; lush roots, radiant green, brilliant black, fat flowers, etc.
- Worm castings
- Bloom Seaweed Nutrients - This product is particularly outstanding
- Bloom Seafuel Nutrients
- Bloom Cal Mag Nutrients
- Alaskan fish mix
- Guanokalong Powder
- 1m bamboo cane
- Reverse Osmosis Water – Using standard tap water can eliminate all living organisms. Considering a reverse osmosis unit is advisable, simply bubbling tap water for 24 hours is not going to do the job.
Compost Tea For The Veg Cycle:
Step 1
Fill Flexi tank with 50L of RO water
Step 2
The air stone needs to be connected to the air pump and placed at the bottom of the tank. Then turn on the pump.
Step 3
2 cups of worm casts should be added to the tights. The tights should then be tied to the cane allowing the tea bag to be suspended in the water. The bottom of the bag should be kept some 15cm off the bottom of the tank. All being well, the cane can be laid across the top of the tank to hold the bag in place.
Step 4
Add the DEM product one or two teaspoons per gallon. Radiant green requires 2 teaspoons. The rest typically demand 1.
Step 5
Add both Bloom Seaweed and Cal-Mag, 50ml each to the water.
Step 6
Finally, 4 caps of Alaskan fish and mix it all up.
Step 7
Let the mix brew for some 48 hours. The ideal temperature range for brewing in the grow room is between 23-27 degrees C. You’ll know when it’s done as there will be a foam head on the top of the mix. Brewing in colder places is inadvisable.
Step 8
Give your plants a drenching of the tea once a week. Ideally, they are to be kept on this tea until the 7th day of flower. For added goodness, add fat flowers to the tea a week before, approximately 2 teaspoons per gallon. Then feed the compost tea for 3 back-to-back days.
Compost Tea For The Flower Cycle:
This tea is best started come the 7th day of the flower cycle. The same tank/bucket can be used, but be sure to scrub it clean from the previous brew.
Step 1
2 cups of worm casts should be added to 1 leg of the tights.
Step 2
Half a cup of bat dung can be added to the other leg of the tights.
Step 3
Add the DEM product one or two teaspoons per gallon. Fat flowers require 2 teaspoons. The rest typically demand 1.
Step 4
Add both Bloom Seaweed and Cal-Mag, 50ml each to the water.
Step 5
Bubble for 48 hours uncovered.
Step 6
Once a week, drench your plants with the tea. RO water can only be added in between the tea feeding.
Feed up to 14 days to the harvest. Come 2 weeks to harvest, only feed plants with lush roots with 1 teaspoon per gallon. Reverse osmosis water for only one feed. From then on until harvest, RO water only. The soil should be allowed to dry for 2-3 days before harvest.
Final Thoughts
Remember, compost tea is like a super supplement to your plant’s vitality and growth. The recipes provided above are tried and tested concoctions but feel free to experiment and add ingredients of your own. Extra additions like the Organic Bloom Booster are worth a try, it’s about finding what works for you.
It can seem like a lot of products and a fair bit of alchemy going into the compost tea, but give it a try and if you’re unsure, start modestly. Attempt with just one plant in super soil feed. Maybe after one attempt, you’ll never look back!
Growing with super soils and compost teas is one of the very cleanest forms of organic growing. This is a sure-fire way to produce beautiful smelling and tasting flowers and quality is what we’re aiming for in any and every grow.
