Beginner Tea Recipe

im looking for a simple recipe that i would be able to use with premixed soil (ffof/ffhf). something i won't be able to screw up. i have a sub pump in a 50g barrel to mix in. just need some help with what would work as a good "all-purpose" tea. thanks!

microbially active ewc, molasses, water. I don't know about the pump though. If it works by a 'propeller' type action, I would not recommend it as it will kill microbes. Are you going to be making 50 gallons of tea at a time?

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i was planning on filling half way. using it over a 2 week period. maybe airstones would be a better direction to go?

daedalux said:

i was planning on filling half way. using it over a 2 week period. maybe airstones would be a better direction to go?

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I had better back up. Imo there are two kinds of teas - compost teas and nutrient teas. I will be of little help on nutrient teas. Compost teas, which is what I use, can not sit two weeks. They are generally brewed from 24-48 hours and must be used fairly quickly.

This is a nutrient tea I have used and would recommend. I have also used the hydrated kelp and thrown it in some water with airstones for a few hours, strain and use.

How to use kelp meal

Take 1/4 cup of kelp meal and cover that with about 1/2 cup of water and let it completely re-hydrate. Once that is done then pour off any excess water and use that for a kelp meal tea.

Take the hydrated kelp meal and puree it as much as possible to make a kelp meal paste. You’ll want to do this in small batches and store in the refrigerator in the coldest place which is usually in a corner.

When you need to apply a kelp meal tea than add about 2 tsp. to 1 gallon of water, shake until it’s completely dispersed and this is a safe concentration for spraying the leaves and you would probably want to double that amount to apply to the soil.

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Another way to make a kelp meal tea:

1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water……bubble for about 1 day. Strain, drain and apply.
That’s kelp meal – not black, powdered seaweed extract

Seaweed contains over 70 microelements, PGR's, chealating agents, etc.

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wow that sounds like a great place to start. thanks so much.

You hit the nail on the head, 'start' is the keyword there. Lots of philosophies on teas, lots of variables to consider like cultivar, plant age, soil, etc.

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i definitely have a lot of reading to do. some great info here. just so much of it. its a little intimidating.

You might find good information at

http://www.microbeorganics.com/

oldandhazy said:

You might find good information at

http://www.microbeorganics.com/

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ill def take a look. thanks!

not sure if a propeller will kill microbes as they are so small, i mean maybe in theory but doubt it would make much of a difference.

my tea's i use just EWC a small amount of molasses and an airstone..

the pump would work grat for pumping the tea to desired location but wouldnt do much as far as airation which is why you need the airstones, they give the microbes O2 to reproduce...

carefull with molasses as it can really throw off the soil PH if used too heavily...