Tea v organic ferts

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Triggertrevor

Active Member
Hi all just wanted your views on compost tea v shelf bought organic fertilisers.

The main reason why I ask is because I'm finding it slightly difficult to locally source my ingredients for a compost tea.

So even thought shelf fertilisers are more expensive if they work in the same way as compost tea which I'm thinking there not as good but would save me time trying to source my compost tea bits and bobs.

Cheers all.
 
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growone

Well-Known Member
molasses based teas are a pretty simple way to go
i use molasses + mg organic bone meal(6-9-0)
but many other teas, some organic ferts are made from teas
 
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Triggertrevor

Active Member
Hi grow one cheers for that info.

So are you saying that molasses & bonemeal is the only ingredients for your veg tea.

If this is the case what do you mix in your soil at the start.

Thanks again
 
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growone

Well-Known Member
Triggertrevor said:
Hi grow one cheers for that info. So are you saying that molasses & bonemeal is the only ingredients for your veg tea. If this is the case what do you mix in your soil at the start. Thanks again
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actually, that's my flower tea
i add the same bone meal and dolomite to the soil mix, 1 tbsp per gallon of soil, maybe a bit more bone meal
i don't feed as heavy as i could, but i usually get plants big enough for my needs
bone meal tea is unusual, not many use it, takes several weeks of brewing to get it proper
 
Dizzle Frost

Dizzle Frost

Well-Known Member
tea is 100% organic when you use natural gear... nutes on the other hand will always contain stuff that isnt 100% organic .... dont hold me to that tho .. but im pretty sure thats how it is
 
Vindicated

Vindicated

Well-Known Member
I'm lazy. For a tea I just run down to Home Depot, pick up a five pound bag of Kellogg organic all purpose 4-4-4 fertilizer for $7.00. On the side of the bag there are directions to use the stuff as a tea. Its a mix of several different granule meals mixed together, so whatever doesn't dissolve you can lay around the base of the plants like a mulch. One cup per five gallons of water makes a light tea that I can apply every 1-2 months or I can whip up an extra strong batch (1 cup per gallon) and apply even less frequently.

The trick with teas, even ready mixed ones, is to top dress with a mulch right afterwords. A lot of the nitrogen in teas quickly converts to nitrates because of the all the good beneficial organisms doing their job, but nitrates can also turn into gas and evaporate really quickly during hot summer days. A two inch layer of mulch is enough to protect against N evaporation.
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
jamboss said:
Mulch with what?
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Normally mulch is made from bark chips. Any sort of material with a high drainage that stays on top of the soil qualifies though. Gravel works as well. It helps prevent evaporation from the soil too, so it will probably reduce your watering amounts or frequency, keep that in mind.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
the main difference is the price.

i saw a bone meal tea? large qty of bonemeal in a tea is pretty useless, since it breaks down very slow, im sure it fertilizes your plants it just take a while to go into effect.

you dibt have to source everything locally you can buy tea ingredients at the hydro shop.. guano rock phosphate, worm castings, shit ect.

i buy 50% of my ingredients at the hydro shop the other 50% online and at krogers
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
I found that the local garden store carries 15lb bags of organic ferts with bennies in them for $19. I just throw some of it and a few tablespoons of molasses into a tea bucket and it's foaming before dinner.
 
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growone

Well-Known Member
polyarcturus said:
... i saw a bone meal tea? large qty of bonemeal in a tea is pretty useless, since it breaks down very slow, im sure it fertilizes your plants it just take a while to go into effect. ...
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it's a good tea ingredient, but you do have to be patient, a month is good
when i examine my soil at the end of the grow, no trace of visible meal remains, it's amazing what bacteria can do
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
i agree 100% i only use a small amount tho.(tsp or 2 per gal) in addition to my other igredients(guano castings phosphate oats seaweed ect)
i usually add it to my soil at the beginning tho, it will last all the way to the end of the plants life
 
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Triggertrevor

Active Member
polyarcturus said:
i agree 100% i only use a small amount tho.(tsp or 2 per gal) in addition to my other igredients(guano castings phosphate oats seaweed ect)
i usually add it to my soil at the beginning tho, it will last all the way to the end of the plants life
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Polyarcturus cheers for the info given but my main problem is what to put in my veg and flowers teas as there's so many ingredients to pick from and what to add to my base soil.
Chem feeding seems be be easier but the more I read about organics the more I need to know.

Cherrs again.
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
Triggertrevor said:
Polyarcturus cheers for the info given but my main problem is what to put in my veg and flowers teas as there's so many ingredients to pick from and what to add to my base soil.
Chem feeding seems be be easier but the more I read about organics the more I need to know.

Cherrs again.
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You can find bags like I got at the local garden store. They have all the organic matter and bennies, just add molases and water, then bubble overnight. Less than 20 bucks for a 15 lb bag here. Working great for the last week of feeding. This one even has NPK ratios on it. This one I got is a bit low on N, but that's what he kelp is for.
 
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Triggertrevor

Active Member
kpmarine said:
You can find bags like I got at the local garden store. They have all the organic matter and bennies, just add molases and water, then bubble overnight. Less than 20 bucks for a 15 lb bag here. Working great for the last week of feeding. This one even has NPK ratios on it. This one I got is a bit low on N, but that's what he kelp is for.
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Cheers for that kp I need to get my arse over to my local garden centre to see what they've got.

Cheers
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
Triggertrevor said:
Cheers for that kp I need to get my arse over to my local garden centre to see what they've got.

Cheers
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They seem to hide it in a dark corner, mostly due to low profit margins I think. Things are so much cheaper when you're not paying for all those fancy packages.
 
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psari

Well-Known Member
Dont forget to look for farm supply as well. People ignore "feed stores" and most of these tend to stock a very nice selection of organic gardening supplies. Often in bulk only, but it varies. Even lots of the major cities have supply stores within easy reach for the small ranch/hobby farm. Just have to know to look for them.

Also, cheaper to buy a 40 pound bale/bag of molasses treated alfalfa, than the little tubs and bags. Etc. And its not sold as fertilizer, but as supplemental feed stock, but it sure as heck is great for teas and the like. Knowing some of your bases and not looking for X brand, in a small package, will open your eyes up some as well. Especially for soil mixes.

Also check with any nursery/garden center of sorts if you haven't already. People often see "XXX Nursery" and assume they only sell plants. Again, they lend themselves to complete solutions and often carry localized soil sources and amendments. (Just not always "on display" in some cases I meant to say.)

Space providing on buying bulk and all that of course.


(Uhg, spelling from OP indicates UK or "other" ... crap, some of this may not apply then. Ah well, I typed, I post it.)
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
psari said:
Dont forget to look for farm supply as well. People ignore "feed stores" and most of these tend to stock a very nice selection of organic gardening supplies. Often in bulk only, but it varies. Even lots of the major cities have supply stores within easy reach for the small ranch/hobby farm. Just have to know to look for them.

Also, cheaper to buy a 40 pound bale/bag of molasses treated alfalfa, than the little tubs and bags. Etc. And its not sold as fertilizer, but as supplemental feed stock, but it sure as heck is great for teas and the like. Knowing some of your bases and not looking for X brand, in a small package, will open your eyes up some as well. Especially for soil mixes.

Also check with any nursery/garden center of sorts if you haven't already. People often see "XXX Nursery" and assume they only sell plants. Again, they lend themselves to complete solutions and often carry localized soil sources and amendments. (Just not always "on display" in some cases I meant to say.)

Space providing on buying bulk and all that of course.


(Uhg, spelling from OP indicates UK or "other" ... crap, some of this may not apply then. Ah well, I typed, I post it.)
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Oh, apologies. Where I've lived, the garden stores are the feed stores. I just assumed it was like that elsewhere. Those places make me wonder why people even buy things like fox farm soil. They have the same stuff, generically packaged, for 1/2 the price or better. Also, feed stores are a great place to get molasses. Feed molasses is cheaper and just as good as the stuff at your hydro store. Minus the part where you get bent over the counter when you check out....
 
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