Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
Kelp does delay microbial development. If I use kelp in an act I brew closer to 42-48 hours. I generally brew around 36-42 hours without kelp.
P-
AACT, Bloom Tea, Veg Tea, Fungal Tea, Myco Tea, recipes from the outdoor guys.
- Thread starter malignant
- Start date
P-
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
EWC would be preferred, but use what you have. A microbial extrapolation (which is what you are getting with the ewc/compost & molasses brew) is fine to add at any point in flowering. I would stay away from the nutrient teas, especially alfalfa.
P-
Dr. Treez84
Well-Known Member
If I'm using an aact tea and it calls for 1 cup casting per 5 gallon. Would I really need to use 50 cups of castings? Or does the proportion vary as I'm using more water?
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Rollitup mobile app
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Rollitup mobile app
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
Dr.T, if you have a microscope and you know how to check plate counts, you can do what ever you want. Otherwise, I would say go by the recipe. Microbes multiply at different rates depending on conditions. Obviously they grow exponentially, so if you start out with more you are going to reach the desired state faster. You could use a little less, brew a little longer, but hard to tell without using a scope.
Can I ask what size brewer are you using? And are you using an airlift?
Peace!
P-
Dr. Treez84
Well-Known Member
I just have my 330 gal res that I fill up to 250(how much I water each time) and 3 200lpm pumps with 6 air stones each.
Put my molasses, great white and compost in and brew for about 12hrs then throw the rest in and let it airate until it's ready.
No microscope yet, that's the next thing I need to buy and learn what to look for. still fairly new at making teas, this is my first year doing them.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Rollitup mobile app
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
Ok, definitely head over to Microbeorganics.org and read up on Tim's site. I don't think a microscope is necessary unless you are going to really get into teas. I do have Tim's scope and DVD's btw.
An airlift style brewer would really change things. However, you can probably make what you have work. The thing I worry about with the way you are doing it is the EWC sits on the bottom of the tubs and stays fairly anaerobic. Problem with using a bag is the air doesn't get through it very well. With an airlift it gets cycled through a system.
Depends how much effort you want to put into it. If it were me, and I was being frugle, I might cut the recipe in half, and try and stir up the stuff on the bottom once in a while. You should brew for 36-42 hours.
Also real quick, you want high quality EWC, not thermal compost if all possible.
Peace!
P-
Growop101
Well-Known Member
Thanks dood. There are earth worm castings in with my compost as i added a shit ton this spring.
And i would think a casting tea would be higher in nitrogen which is not what i want toward the last week or 2 of flower.
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
For sure Grow!
If all possible, you want fresh vermicompost/castings. There is no such thing as pure castings, but what you are looking for is something with the highest, most diverse microbial population possible. The goal here is to multiply micro organisms. Trust me, do not worry about any N your plants receive from the EWC. This is total hydrostore nonsense. The Soil Food Web is what you want to be concerned with. Soil balancing is the tail wagging the dog.
Peace!
P-
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
don't add the great white, you are just feeding it to your tea, it'll never get to your roots. Save it for transplanting.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
you'd be surprised, that's kind of a myth, the plant needs nitrogen throughout all phases of growing, with worm casting you don't have anything to worry about. Now that doesn't mean you should blast her with some 15-1-1- blood meal or anything, but they need nitrogen, all the way to the end.
MammothGrow
Well-Known Member
wow, thank you so much for posting this! Bout to add some of these to my teas for sure!I have posted this before but, it needs to be mentioned in this thread, otherwise Ill feel like I didn't contribute to my favorite subject...
Great list, just a few things I would add...
A couple of major tea herbs have been left out of this list that should definitely be included.
Comfrey - Major source of NPK as well as other micro nutrients and minerals mined from the Earth's subsoil.
Stinging Nettle - Another great balanced source of NPK, large amounts of Calcium and other minerals and vitamin C, used in Bio-Dynamic farming to give intelligence to the soil.
"Stinging nettle stimulates soil health, providing plants with the individual nutrition components needed. It enlivens the earth and helps to release iron into the soil. Helps to improve the potency of plants by increasing their sensitivity and individualizing them to their surroundings. Improves the nutritive qualities of plants. Mars forces are said to manifest in stinging nettle."
Chamomile - Full of minerals and other plant stimulating compounds, chamomile teas can boost the plants own immunity to disease or pests, and help balance and regulate plant growth.
Valerian - Source of minerals and phosphorus.
"Valerian helps to concentrate phosphorous in the plant and this in turn aids with the plants capacity to attract light in the photosynthesis process. It stimulates the phosphate activating bacteria in the soil. Valerian deals with the forces from Saturn."
Dandelion (flowers and leaves) - NPK, minerals, immune boosting properties, used in Bio-Dynamic farming to help plants "tune in" the the environment and draw nutrients or needed minerals where they are needed.
"Dandelion gives the soil a living, ethereal quality with the ability to supply the substances a plant needs. It increases a plants sensitivity and helps it to attract beneficial elements from a wider area. Dandelion works strongly with silica and potassium and, via silica, draws in forces from the outer planets, particularly Jupiter."
Yarrow - Contains potassium, selenium and sulfur, used in Bio-Dynamic farming to "bring light forces into the soil via its connection with sulfur, helping spirit to penetrate matter and enables it to attract trace elements. Important for reproduction and growth. Venus forces are said to manifest in yarrow."
White Oak Bark - Combats disease, used in Bio-Dynamic farming to "work very strongly with calcium and is an excellent remedy for plant diseases including fungus. It helps to restore balance with the ether body of the plant and control rampant growth. Moon forces become active in the plant in a healthy manner with oak bark. Extended use of the oak bark will help to raise the ph of the soil without the need to add lime."
All text in "quotes" was taken from http://cityfoodgrowers.com.au/biody_...eB7RCzlHYx-gCf
All of these herbal teas can be brewed a number of ways, and the Bio-Dynamic people have their own ways of doing each one, however, based on my experience and intuition, whether you simply throw the stuff in a bucket for 2 weeks, use a small air stone and molasses to brew up some microbes, or bio-ferment and bury them in the earth according to the celestial movements... Anyway you use them, they will help.
Personally, I brew the herbs up altogether, individually or in mixes, in cheese cloth, usually with a bit of home made worm castings, in PH neutral filtered water. I add a couple tablespoons of raw honey and bubble them with an air stone for 3 days.
(I have gone up to 5 days, but the thick head of bacterial foam seems to peak around 3 days)
I use it 8:1 10:1 12:1 or 15:1.
Also, if you do not grow your own herbs (very easy and beautiful to do in any yard, most being perennials) make sure you buy organically grown herbs, the microbes your trying to grow do not like chemicals (pesticides, fungicides and tap water) But when I run out of my own, I buy all these herbs for CHEAP in bulk at an organic tea shop.
Thanks for reading!
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
Can I ask you, what does soap do to microbes? Even in small amounts? Will this help the microbial multiplication, or hinder it?
P-