how do I know/adjust the NPK ratios in compost tea?

You dont........

Originally Posted by MistaRasta

You dont........

Word ^^^^

Make your tea and don't worry about it.

Wet

whats ur ratio of super soil?....u may jus burn ur plants.. you forgot the sulfer free molassis.

"I would prefer it to be rather weak actually. I want to be able to give the plants a microbe boost, with minimal fertilizers, while being in the proper ratio so I don't throw my soils balance off."

then just get a cup of compost or EWC, bubble it in 5 gal of water with a couple TBSP of molasses, throw a few scoops of a soluble fungi/bacteria boost if you want and there ya go!

When you want a little extra, then add on a couple TBSP of kelp or guano or whatever you have that's appropriate for the stage your plants are in

that's it, work your way higher if you can tell your plants want more.

I only use EWC. I rarely add a ton of supplements.

I dont want the tea for nutrition...only for microbial life.

I feed nutes and have found that it works better for me to feed/water/tea...repeat.

If I add a lot of nutes to the tea it screws up my nutrient program. I start burning stuff and getting weird deficiencies.


One less unpredictable variable, IMHO.

Buddy has got the right idea imo... brew your tea for microbial life...

I would read 3lb's guide to guano and feeding with molasses / Earthjuice. Even if you don't use earthjuice the teas they use and theories they explain will help you understand what you are seeking a little more.

Thanks for all the replies, I guess I'm taking something simple and making it difficult. I guess I will just stick with the EWC/compost/oatmeal/molasses unless my plant show a deficiency. Thanks for keeping it simple!

Originally Posted by Bargar

I am looking to learn how to mix additives properly, so I can always get my ratio's right with every tea that I make, for my babies or for my lawn and vegitables..

disregard everything everyone else on this thread has said..... organics have obviously fallen a long ways since a bunch of us left....

When mixing compost teas it is actually very east to judge what is going into the tea, and the final N/P/K output of the tea, this is why experienced growers make teas in the first place..... it breaks the nutrients down and makes them readily available for uptake via the plants roots. feeding the microbial life in the soil will do this over time, but it is much better and easier to create the enviroment inside of a 5 gallon buchet, and ensure there is a MASS amount of nutrients available to the plants upon feeding....

Outdoor Teas and application Methods <- This is a thread that many of the experianced organic growers have been working on for a while. Page 2 and page 3 are LOADED with info on teas, even after the hack attack our thread lives on. Here is an example of the tea's WE create....

hmmmm let's see...:
5 scoops of compost
3 scoops of chicken manure compost (veg-only)
2 scoops of Dr. earths bud and bloom booster 4-7-5
1 scoop Bat Guano 10-3-1 (veg-only)
1 scoop Bat Guano 0-12-1 ( bloom-only)
5 scoops worm castings
5 scoops Denali Gold Humus
4 glubs of Fish Emulsion 2-4-0.5
4 glubs of Kelp
4 glubs of Molasses
2 cups Bio-Link 0-5-5 (bloom-only)
2 cups Bio-Link 3-3-3 ( veg-only)
2 cups Bio-Link Micro Nutrients
2 cups Earth Juice catalyst
I mix this in a 55 gal drum and aerate it for 24 hours before use. I use it 2-3 times per week, and that 55 gal covers my 6 legal plants, but you could feed 5-10 plants with it.
BTW...A scoop is just a 2 cup measuring cup, but full of dry material it holds almost 2 1/2 cups. A glub is the sound a 5 gallon bucket with a spout makes when pouring...haha...it's about 2-3 cups. You can leave the Bio-link stuff out if you want, it depends on what you got in your soil.

P.S: when using organics properly, its almost impossible to "burn" your plants....