🌿 The Best Time to Water with Compost Tea: Maximize the Benefits
When you're growing with Nature’s Living Soil, compost tea is one of your most powerful tools. It brings microbial life, nutrients, and beneficial fungi right to your plant’s roots — boosting nutrient uptake and enhancing overall plant health. But timing matters! Here's how to get the most out of every brew.
🕐 When to Apply Compost Tea
The best time to water with compost tea is early in the morning or late in the evening, when the sun (or grow lights) is less intense. Why?
Microbe Protection: Beneficial microbes in the tea can be damaged or killed by direct UV rays or heat. Applying during cooler, low-light hours gives them the best chance to colonize the root zone.
Better Absorption: Plants and soil are more receptive during cooler times of day — less evaporation, more uptake.
Maximized Microbial Activity: As temps rise slightly after morning, microbes become more active. Applying just before this boost lets your soil party start right on time.
🌞 Morning Application (Preferred):
Cooler temps mean less stress on both your plant and the microbes.
Microbes get a full day of activity to populate the root zone.
🌙 Evening Application (Optional):
Still effective, especially if mornings aren’t possible.
Just ensure there’s no standing moisture overnight to avoid mold risk.
📆 When to Use Compost Tea During the Grow Cycle
Compost tea is ideal at key transition phases:
Seedling to Veg Transition: Helps establish strong microbial networks for nutrient uptake. (compost tea from the concentrate)
Mid-Veg Phase: Boosts nitrogen uptake and supports root expansion. (compost tea from the concentrate)
Beginning of Flower: Enhances the soil web before nutrient demands spike. (compost tea from Girl Flower Power)
Every 2-3 Weeks: As a maintenance dose to keep the microherd thriving (compost tea from Girl Flower Power)
💡 Tip: Add Nature’s Living Soil’s Soil Revival to your tea or watering routine to further boost microbial life, amino acids, and vitamins at any stage of growth.
🌱 How to Apply Compost Tea
Prep: Add 2 heaping tablespoons of concentrate and two tablespoon of un-sulfured black-strap molasses per gallon of water and let stand it for 2 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally. Adjust pH to 6.5 if needed.
Delivery: Drench the soil thoroughly — avoid foliar applications unless your tea is filtered and the lights are off.
Avoid Overuse: Once every 2-3 weeks is perfect in a living soil setup — you don’t want to overload or imbalance your ecosystem.
Final Thoughts
In living soil, you're building an underground ecosystem. Compost tea feeds and fuels that system — but timing is key. Stick to early mornings, hit the right grow phases, and let the microbes do the magic.
🌱 Happy Growing!
— Nature’s Living Soil