Join the conversation
Add malted barley to your next compost tea
Been doing this for about two years now and it's become a staple in my living soil routine. A small handful of freshly ground malted barley grain added to your aerated compost tea gives the microbial population something serious to work with. The enzymes in the malt, especially the amylases, basically supercharge the bacteria count during the brew cycle.
I use about a tablespoon per gallon of tea alongside my normal inputs, which are worm castings, kelp meal, and a little unsulfured molasses. Brew it for 24 to 36 hours with a decent air pump and the liquid goes from clear-ish to visibly cloudy and frothy. That cloudiness is exactly what you want.
The roots seem to respond fast. I usually see noticeable vigor within a few days of application, especially in younger plants that are still establishing in the bed. The malted barley also stimulates the plant's own enzyme activity through a process sometimes called LABS, though it's a bit of a rabbit hole if you haven't gone down it yet.
You can find malted barley at homebrew supply shops, usually pretty cheap. Just grind it fresh before you brew, pre-ground stuff oxidizes quickly and loses a lot of the enzymatic punch. Worth trying even once to see how your soil responds.
2 Comments
Been curious about the LABS rabbit hole you mentioned. That's actually a separate thing from the compost tea itself, more of a lacto-fermentation process using the bacteria naturally present on the barley. Easy to mix them up since the ingredient overlaps. Might be worth a quick clarification for newer folks reading this.
The malted barley in tea tip I'll vouch for though. Been doing something similar with my worm casting brews and the froth you're describing is real. My one thing I'd add is don't go overboard with the molasses if you're also adding the barley, you're already giving the microbes plenty of fuel and I've seen teas crash and go anaerobic when there's too much simple sugar competing in there.
What air pump setup are you running? I had to upgrade mine before my teas started coming out consistently well.
the vigor-in-days thing i'd temper a bit. you're probably seeing the plant respond to the water and aeration more than the microbes themselves. microbial shifts in soil take longer than a few days to show up as visible plant response, at least in my experience.
none of that means the practice is wrong. i do something close to this myself, minus the molasses most of the time. just wouldn't read too much into the speed of the response as proof it's working. the soil biology case for malted barley is solid enough on its own, it doesnt need the fast-results framing to sell it.
More in Cannabis Growing Guide
- Adding malted barley to your top dress changed my soil
- Compost tea changed how my plants look in week 3
- Add kelp meal when you brew your compost tea
- Malted barley does more than you think it does
- Unsulfured molasses changed my teas overnight
- Aloe vera powder changed how I water in veg
- Stop buying bottled nutes, mix your own for pennies
- Add a handful of malted barley to your top dress