ORGANICS TODAY - TEA TIME

Since the earliest days of agriculture, compost—an aerobic mix of decaying vegetation and decomposing animal wastes—has been collected, managed and later spread to crops by farmers as a free organic fertilizer. Using locally occurring substances to augment the process by which nature already feeds plants, successful composters increase the vigor and yield of their produce without negatively affecting the surrounding ecosystem.

Today, more than 60 years after the so-called “green revolution” transformed most of the world’s agriculture from a natural, community-based process to a chemical, corporate-based industry, an increasing number of small gardeners—whether growing gardenias or ganja—have been opting to take a healthy step back to organics. Mixing and applying effective compost is one of the first steps in this latest transformation, as well as one of the most important and rewarding.

And now, in addition to heading back into the bold old world of organics, you can also embrace the future by brewing your own compost tea. Scientists first began experimenting with compost teas in the 1970s—essentially using water to extract the beneficial elements of traditional compost for easier and more efficient distribution. Organic gardeners have been making amazing claims about the power of compost teas ever since, as the process slowly moves from theory to practice.

UNFOLD THE MYSTERY

This past harvest season, HIGH TIMES witnessed the power of compost teas firsthand on a return visit to the subject of Weeditoptia (HT Feb. ’08), our in-depth look at life on an eco-minded medical-marijuana farm in Northern California. Carefully following the advice of compost-tea guru Elaine Ingham (soilfoodweb.com), the green-thumbed gardeners of Weeditopia brewed and applied compost teas scientifically designed to maximize the amount of nutrients available to their plants, speed the soil’s breakdown of toxins, and help the leaves, stems and roots fight disease.

“We worked the same land in the same way last season, with regular compost instead of the tea,” one initially skeptical local ganja farmer told HIGH TIMES. “I can tell you for sure that the difference is real.”