Dry Amendments for Weed Plants & How to use

A good Weed Plant needs to have all the different elements in place, such as soil, water, fertilizer, etc.

While bottled chemical fertilizers can provide nutrients, dry organic amendments are a natural way to feed your plants and improve your soil for better growth. Dry amendments come from minerals, animal byproducts, and plant materials that are dried and ground into a powder or pellet.

Adding amendments when planting, during growth, and as a top dressing provides slow-release feeding for lush, healthy plants.

So, are there any dry improvement measures suitable for weeds? Let’s find out one by one.

Kelp Meal

Kelp meal comes from dried and powdered seaweed that grows in shallow coastal waters.

It contains over 60 minerals and elements, including potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, and micronutrients.

Kelp meal strengthens plants, increases their resistance to diseases and pests, and helps them better handle stresses. It releases nutrients slowly into the soil and improves soil structure.

• Use 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of soil when mixing your potting mix.
• You can also add 1-2 tablespoons per plant as a top dressing.
• Kelp meal works well during the vegetative and flowering growth stages.

Alfalfa Meal

Alfalfa meal is made from dried and ground alfalfa plants. It contains three key macronutrients weed plants need: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

The meal also provides vitamins, proteins, and growth promoters like triacontanol.

Alfalfa meal improves soil texture and biology. It feeds microbes and fungi that form symbiotic relationships with plant roots.

• Add 2-4 tablespoons of meal per gallon of soil when mixing your potting mix.
• You can also sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons around plants every 4–6 weeks.
• Use alfalfa meal during the vegetative stage for lush growth.

Neem Meal

Extracted from neem seeds, neem meal naturally repels and eliminates soil-dwelling pests.

It contains azadirachtin, an organic compound that insects find unappealing. Neem also fertilizes plants with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

It improves soil quality by feeding beneficial microbes.

• Use neem meal when mixing soil at 1-2 cups per cubic foot.
• You can also make tea by steeping meal in water and applying it to the soil.
• Use neem meal 2-4 weeks before flowering and again halfway through flowering.

Insect Frass

Insect frass, also called guano, is the excrement of insects. Frass pellets are rich in chitin, a fibrous substance that retains water and minerals.

The pellets slowly release nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. Chitin also promotes healthy fungal growth. Insect frass provides a balanced organic fertilizer for weed plants.

• Blend insect frass in your potting mix at a ratio of 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil.
• You can also use it as a top dressing by sprinkling it around plants.
• Apply frass during the vegetative stage and the first half of flowering.

Bat Guano

Bat guano comes from bats and is packed with nutrients derived from the insects they consume.

Guano is high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. It contains many micronutrients that weed plants need, along with enzymes and beneficial microbes.

Bat guano promotes bigger buds and more resin production when used as a flowering amendment.

• Use 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of soil in your potting mix.
• You can also make tea by mixing 1 tablespoon with water and applying it to the base of plants.
• Apply guano tea once a week from the transition to flowering through the first three weeks of bloom.

Rock Phosphate

Mined from ancient sea beds, rock phosphate is a rich source of phosphorus, calcium, and micronutrients.

Unlike synthetic phosphorus fertilizers that can burn plants, rock phosphate breaks down slowly to provide steady nourishment. It’s ideal for improving phosphorus uptake during flowering.

• Use rock phosphate when creating your soil mix at 2-3 cups per cubic foot.
• You can also add 1 tablespoon per plant around the root zone every 3–4 weeks.
• Avoid rock phosphate if your soil pH is below 6.

Crushed Eggshells

Eggshells are full of calcium, an essential mineral for plant cell wall development and growth. Calcium improves a plant’s ability to absorb nutrients and strengthens stalks and stems.

Crush the dried eggshells into a powder to release the calcium.

• Use eggshells when mixing up potting soil at a ratio of 1 tablespoon per gallon.
• You can also dissolve shells in water to make a concentrated calcium tea for plants showing deficiencies.
• Focus applications during the vegetative stage when plants are rapidly growing.

Humic Acid

Humic acid comes from the breakdown of organic matter. It contains a mixture of acids that help plants uptake key nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Humic acid also improves soil structure and oxygenation. It’s available as a dry powder or liquid concentrate.

• Use dry powder humic acid at 1-2 tablespoons per cubic foot when preparing soil.
• You can also dissolve 1 tablespoon per gallon of water and drench plants’ root zones every 2-3 weeks.
• Apply humic acid during both the vegetative stage and flowering.

Mycorrhizal Fungi

Mycorrhizae are beneficial symbiotic fungi that colonize plant roots. The fungi extend root systems and help plants absorb more nutrients and water.

Adding mycorrhizal inoculants when planting can boost weed plant growth, flowering, and terpene production.

• Sprinkle inoculant on roots when transplanting at a rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon of soil.
• You can also mix it into your potting mix at 1-2 tablespoons per cubic foot.
• Apply mycorrhizae during the vegetative stage for the best results.

The right organic dry amendments can boost your weed garden’s productivity and potency. Start with a good base soil mix, then add amendments like kelp, alfalfa, guano, rock phosphate, and more based on your plants’ stage of growth. Pay close attention and adjust your nutrient regimen as needed.