Using fermented plant juice for your cannabis plants can really boost the microbial life of your growing medium. Fermented plant juice or FPJ is an all natural liquid nutrient and soil enhancer. It is made by fermenting healthy plant material with the help of brown sugar. It is a fermented extract of a plants sap and chlorophyll. It’s rich in enzymes and contains microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria and yeast. You can use cuttings from plants, fruits or vegetables.
Beneficial Microbial Life for Your Plants
The bacteria in the plant material will use the sugar to break down the plant matter into available nutrients. This will enrich your soil with good bacteria that will boost its ability to break down organic nutrients. You want to pick healthy plant cuttings to provide a variety of bacteria. Try to pick the healthiest wild plant outdoors or healthy leaves from your cannabis plants. When using fruit or vegetables, always use organic. I like to use overripe fruits and vegetables that would normally get tossed out or put in the compost. After using the fermented plant juice, I noticed an increase in beneficial mites in my soil. They were EVERYWHERE!
Use Whatever You Have On Hand
When making FPJs, you can use whatever fruit, vegetables, or plants you have available to you. For this recipe, I’ll be using banana, raspberries and some cuttings from my cannabis plants. I’ll be using 1 overripe banana, about 15 overripe raspberries and some cuttings from my cannabis plants.
1. First, you should cut the banana into slices.
2. Then, place the slices in a big bowl with the raspberries and trimmings.
3. You’ll want to mix it with some brown sugar. You’ll need roughly 1 cup for this recipe.
4. Then, use a spoon to mix it all together so the brown sugar gets all over the fruit and plant material.
5. Then, put the mixture into a 1L/32oz mason jar and cover the top with a cloth or paper towel. If you use another size, make sure to only fill the jar about 3/4 of the jar. You can screw the outer part of the lid on to secure it.
6. You’ll want to use something to press the material down a bit (ex. A smaller jar or bottle). This will help to remove some oxygen from the jar and aid in the fermentation process.
7. Then, place it on a cool, dark place to ferment for about a week.
8. After about a week, strain the liquid into a separate container for storage & discard the rest or add it to your compost
9. Dilute the mixture with water. I use a gallon jug. Just add some FPJ and then fill the rest with dechlorinated water.
The Waiting Game
After a day, you will see more liquid forming in the jar. This means the fermentation has started. You may also see some bubbles in the liquid. This is from the fermentation process and is normal. This is what it will look like after 2-3 days.
I like to check on it every couple days to monitor how it’s doing. After it’s been fermenting for about a week, you can strain the solid material out using cheesecloth or an old t-shirt. Make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Store the liquid nutrients in a mason jar or any jar you have available. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months, but I would recommend making small batches and storing it for less time. This will ensure that the amount of good bacteria is higher than any harmful bacteria that may grow over time.
How to Use the Fermented Plant Juice for Cannabis Plants
You’ll want to dilute this mixture with water before giving it to your cannabis plants. I use:
- 14ml per gallon of water to water plants
- 7ml per gallon for a foliar spray
**Remember to always use the foliar spray during lights out**
I would use the FPJ as supplemental nutrients rather than a primary source of nutrients. You can use them once every 3 weeks during the vegetative stage or at the early stages of flower to boost microbial life in the soil. You don’t want to use it past week 5 of flower. This allows the plant to flush any nutrients before harvest.
If you use FPJ alongside with organic style growing, it can be very beneficial to your soils microbial life. In turn, this helps your plants to grow more efficiently because it’s able to break down the nutrients in the soil more easily.
