Compost Tea for Your Hydroponic System

Simply put, a hydroponic garden consist of growing plants in water. While water offers some of the minerals and vitamins needed for plant growth, adding more will contribute to healthy plant development and fruit production.

Hydroponic fertilizers such as FloraMicro, FloraGrow, and FloraBloom offer a complete and balanced “diet” for growing plants in a soil-less environment. However, just like in traditional gardening, adding organic compost to the mix can yield healthier, stronger, and more fruitful plants more naturally.

What is compost?

Composting is the recycling of organic matter such as kitchen scraps and yard trimmings. The result of composting is a nutrient rich, dense soil consisting of broken down organic “waste” called compost. No matter if you live in a high rise apartment or a 30 acre homestead, you can partake in composting. You can start with a small composting container on your counter top to collect kitchen scraps or a larger tumbling compost bin set in your yard to make larger batches of compost. Check out this article on how to make compost, https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/.

Compost can not be added directly to a hydroponic system, as the soil consistency will clog the water pump. It must first be made into a compost “tea” that can be safely added to the reservoir of your hydroponic setup.

How to make compost “tea” in two easy steps.

There are two ways to make compost safe (non-clogging) for you hydroponic setup. First, get your self a large and very fine stainless steel mesh tea strainer. Add your compost mixture to the tea strainer, packing it full but not compressing the compost mixture. If you don’t make your own compost at home, you can also purchase compost. Now, depending on the type of hydroponic setup you have will determine your next step. If you are utilizing any type of spray or drip nozzles in an aeroponic system or drip system, place the tea strainer filled with compost in a large watering container or bucket filled with warm water (you can also place the water and “tea” in a sunny location). Let it sit for at least 2-3 hours, again, try to keep it warm to speed up the tea making process. Once the water has been tainted with the minerals and nutrients of your compost, making the water appear darker, you can strain the prepared water (if needed) and add it to your hydroponic reservoir. Straining the mixture and not placing the tea strainer full of compost directly into your setup will help keep any debris from the compost being able to clog your pump or delicate drip or spray nozzles.

If you are utilizing a hydroponic setup in which spray or drip nozzles are not involved, like in the Solaris Garden, you can go ahead and place the tea strainer filled with compost directly into you hydroponic reservoir. Any tiny particles that escape the strainer will most likely not clog your plumbing. Leave the tea strainer in your reservoir for a maximum of two days, as you do not want to encourage any bacteria or fungus growth. The two days of the compost immersed in your water reservoir will allow it the time to seep out the much appreciated vitamins and minerals that your plants crave.

If you want to skip all of those steps, you can purchase compost already made into a tea and can even purchase worm castings in tea form as well.

Thank you for your continued green interest.

Sincerely,

The Solaris Team