DblBrryInvestments
Well-Known Member
Was doing some casual googling on compost teas and stumbled upon this post on thcfarmer, which was written quite well and had some great info that may be useful to others like it was for a newbie like myself.
This is not my post and I would like to give credit to OpTikFiber from Thcfarmer.com.
"Hey guys!
Brand of Guano's are Sunleaves.
Well I been using a lot of info found here in this organic soil forum and a few other posts here @ The Farm, in Skunk Magazine and at their Indoor Forums; stuff written by the Rev. I think some of the info I have been using was also written by him here, but under another handle long ago...the stuff seems to have the same writing style. Recently I purchased the book Teaming With Microbes, which everyone seems to recommend on this subject, haven't finished the book yet though but worth the $24 so far.
I'm in organic soil. Mostly Fox Farm Ocean Forest and Light Warrior. Recently I have been reusing soil by adding Worm Castings, Mushroom Compost, Greensand, Azomite, Rock Phosphate, Bone Meal, 10-2-1 Mexican Bat Guano, Fox Farm 5-5-5 dry fertilizer w/ myco's, Epsom salt, and Dolomite Lime.
I mostly don't start feeding anything except Great White's myco fungi (every 14days) for about 30 days in these rich soils. I use RO water. And use water-only about every other watering. For teas, I been doing about every 8-12 days apart. Most of the tea recipes are really the same or at least same ingredients with different Guanos depending on Veg or Flower Cycles and nute needs.
Basic Tea
Brew for about 22 hours with airstone and dilute the tea down to about 3-5 gallons --A lot of folks only add 1 extra gallon of water, but I like to go light on any kind of nutes. More than 22-23 hours and the foam starts to go away and the tea's BACTERIA MICROBES are starting to not be as happy, time to use it or add a little more molasses and worm casting to prolong brewing.
The above recipe is just full of micro-life and little over-powering nutrients. From what I understand (have not tested) it can be feed literally every watering.
Now let's start adding in some goodies for plants that are needing nutrients.
For Veg Cycle
Brew for about 22 hours and dilute to 3-5 gallons of RO water. I don't need a lot of Veg-Teas personally with my setup, but have used this tea when seeing the need of food after about 30 days in "fresh" soil.
For Bud (Early to Mid Cycle)
For Bud (Past Halfway and Late Cycle)
Brew for about 3 days to promote the FUNGAL MICROBES and dilute to 3-5 gallons of RO water. I use this tea about every other watering.
Additional Thoughts and Findings.
Seriously guys, these teas have made my plants SO much more healthy. Still some strains needs more or less of some things here and there, but overall plants love the live mico's. You know when your plants are just so happy that all of the leaves are pointed upward? Well with these teas the plants will look like that pretty much everyday (like their suppose to) including even late in bloom. There are so many more white pistols growing out of maturing buds. And like I said before, the smell, taste, and looks of the bud all increase. We just grew buds that had major purpling that I almost had never seen in the strain where it was only a hint before if grown good.
Anyway if you made it through all of the info thanks for reading my recent findings. I tried to add in as many "eureka's and ahhh-ha's" that I learned on my newb way over from so-called organic-bottle grows. I'm no expert yet and like I mentioned earlier all of this info and much more is on the net for research, just search with these 3 keywords; Organic, Compost, Tea. Heck there are even some good videos on Youtube on the subject!
And if anyone wants to chime in anythingplease feel free to, really.:talking
OK I'm spent, time to go look at the garden and make clones!
imp:"
This is not my post and I would like to give credit to OpTikFiber from Thcfarmer.com.
"Hey guys!
Brand of Guano's are Sunleaves.
Well I been using a lot of info found here in this organic soil forum and a few other posts here @ The Farm, in Skunk Magazine and at their Indoor Forums; stuff written by the Rev. I think some of the info I have been using was also written by him here, but under another handle long ago...the stuff seems to have the same writing style. Recently I purchased the book Teaming With Microbes, which everyone seems to recommend on this subject, haven't finished the book yet though but worth the $24 so far.
I'm in organic soil. Mostly Fox Farm Ocean Forest and Light Warrior. Recently I have been reusing soil by adding Worm Castings, Mushroom Compost, Greensand, Azomite, Rock Phosphate, Bone Meal, 10-2-1 Mexican Bat Guano, Fox Farm 5-5-5 dry fertilizer w/ myco's, Epsom salt, and Dolomite Lime.
I mostly don't start feeding anything except Great White's myco fungi (every 14days) for about 30 days in these rich soils. I use RO water. And use water-only about every other watering. For teas, I been doing about every 8-12 days apart. Most of the tea recipes are really the same or at least same ingredients with different Guanos depending on Veg or Flower Cycles and nute needs.
Basic Tea
- 1gallon RO water
- 1/4c Worm Castings
- 1/4c Mushroom Compost
- 3ml Maxi Crop
- 1tbl Molasses
- Optional, Great White about 2 hours before end of brew.
Brew for about 22 hours with airstone and dilute the tea down to about 3-5 gallons --A lot of folks only add 1 extra gallon of water, but I like to go light on any kind of nutes. More than 22-23 hours and the foam starts to go away and the tea's BACTERIA MICROBES are starting to not be as happy, time to use it or add a little more molasses and worm casting to prolong brewing.
The above recipe is just full of micro-life and little over-powering nutrients. From what I understand (have not tested) it can be feed literally every watering.
Now let's start adding in some goodies for plants that are needing nutrients.
For Veg Cycle
- 1gallon RO water
- 1/4c Worm Castings
- 1/4c Mushroom Compost
- 3ml Maxi Crop
- 1tbl Molasses
- 1tsp-Heaping 5-5-5 Fox Farm Peace of Mind (w/ Mycos)
- 1-2tbl Peruvian Seabird Guano 10-10-2 (5.5% of that N is water Insoluble.)
- 1-2tbl Mexican Bat Guano 10-2-1 (9% of that N is water Insoluble.)
Brew for about 22 hours and dilute to 3-5 gallons of RO water. I don't need a lot of Veg-Teas personally with my setup, but have used this tea when seeing the need of food after about 30 days in "fresh" soil.
For Bud (Early to Mid Cycle)
- 1gallon RO water
- 1/4c Worm Castings
- 1/4c Mushroom Compost
- 3ml Maxi Crop
- 1tbl Molasses
- 1tsp-Heaping 5-5-5 Fox Farm Peace of Mind (w/ Mycos)
- 1-2tbl Indonesian Bat Guano .5-12-.2
- 1-2tbl Peruvian Seabird Guano 10-10-2
For Bud (Past Halfway and Late Cycle)
- 1gallon RO water
- 1/2c Worm Castings
- 3/4c Mushroom Compost
- 5ml Maxi Crop
- 2tbl Molasses
- 1tsp-Heaping 5-5-5 Fox Farm Peace of Mind (w/ Mycos)
- .5-1tbl Indonesian Bat Guano .5-12-.2
- .5-1tbl Peruvian Seabird Guano 10-10-2
- 1/4tsp Soft Rock Phosphate
Brew for about 3 days to promote the FUNGAL MICROBES and dilute to 3-5 gallons of RO water. I use this tea about every other watering.
Additional Thoughts and Findings.
- If I don't have a tea brewed and feel the plants need some food I have been using Fox Farm Big Bloom at 7ml per gallon and/or 2-3ml of General Hydro's CaMg+.
- Bacteria microbes are more preferred for Vegging plants and first half of flowering.
- Fungus microbes are more preferred for Flowering plants.
- It is hard do a tea wrong. Keep it bubbling, don't brew too long when looking for Bacteria Microbes, use immediately, don't save the extras. And these recipes can be used loosely it seems; you can even add all kinds of dry amendments like the ones listed at the top of this post that I mentioned adding to reused soil. Examples: Add Extra Azomite, a little Green Sand late in flowering, or some Dolomite Lime for Cal Mag, and so on...
- FYI - There are fungal recipes for late flowering where you actually grow and put a little fungus (mold) into the tea. Read up on it.
- When mixing the tea with water; Strain off most of the nute-additives from the tea for smaller plants or just mix it all in for more mature bigger plants, no need to strain. I have done this multiple ways now and for different gardens but dipping with a pitcher into the tea via a 5-gallon bucket is pretty good because the tea can be mixed-up each time you get some. Or fill water jugs partially up and top with the tea. I like the 5-gallon dipping the best, I don't strain anything out, but don't always use the super thick stuff at the bottom, But have though
Just depends. - I try to flush for 3+ waterings before harvest by making the plain RO water run out the bottom of the pot.
- Whether you agree or don't agree I have not been PH'ing my teas or water for a while. Couple reasons why. RO water's PH doesn't read right and will mess up your PH meter. RO Water is ph7 basically (after it sits for a little while) and has no ions (or something like that) for the meter to read. You can test the PH of the tea to find out if it is higher in fungas/bacteria. PH up and down solutions will kill the micro's you just gave life to. There is an excellent thread in this forum about PHing teas/organics, just read the whole thing to get the "eureka's" at the end of the thread.
- The expensive EC Stick I bought not too long ago is now worthless with teas. Serious LOL. You can brew up a tea that is black as night full of goodies and the EC meter says 0.
- I have been using Great White brand of Myco-Fungi recently and LOVE it. There is a huge difference in root balls when I transplant and cut down. I do the Great White at about 1/2-3/4 recommenced strength because someone here at The Farm mentioned he didn't see any noticeable difference using full strength and he actually tested the stuff for the Urban Gardener article a few months ago...plus the stuff is expensive lol. Been using it about ever 14 days until about 3-4 weeks before cut-down. I have been adding the Great White to the tea at the tale end, about 2 hours before use of the tea. I have had very good luck adding Great White to the Basic Tea Recipe up above for small plants.
- *THIS* is the most important thing right here that I personally had to learn and just didn't "get it"; True Living Organics *is different* than using all organic based bottle nutrients. BIG DIFFERENCE! Example: If you get these much-wanted microbes to grow in your soil and then use organic nutes via premixed store bought bottles, you will kill the live microbes! I just didn't get this like I said. I would use Fox Farm soil's having beautiful picture perfect plants and then pour on a bottled nutes and instantly my plants looked stressed, not happy and I couldn't figure out why my "organic" grows didn't work out right. I was confusing two totally different types of organic growing.
Seriously guys, these teas have made my plants SO much more healthy. Still some strains needs more or less of some things here and there, but overall plants love the live mico's. You know when your plants are just so happy that all of the leaves are pointed upward? Well with these teas the plants will look like that pretty much everyday (like their suppose to) including even late in bloom. There are so many more white pistols growing out of maturing buds. And like I said before, the smell, taste, and looks of the bud all increase. We just grew buds that had major purpling that I almost had never seen in the strain where it was only a hint before if grown good.
Anyway if you made it through all of the info thanks for reading my recent findings. I tried to add in as many "eureka's and ahhh-ha's" that I learned on my newb way over from so-called organic-bottle grows. I'm no expert yet and like I mentioned earlier all of this info and much more is on the net for research, just search with these 3 keywords; Organic, Compost, Tea. Heck there are even some good videos on Youtube on the subject!
And if anyone wants to chime in anythingplease feel free to, really.:talking
OK I'm spent, time to go look at the garden and make clones!
imp:"
