Thinkin about ditching nutes and trying microbes

crazyhazey

Well-Known Member
I'm getting tired of using expensive nutrients that burn my plants. I think I understand how to make microbes, I was told to add a handful of soil(or peat moss, or even rabbit droppings) and a teaspoon of sugar to your water then add a bubbler so the microbes reproduce. I didn't get my degree in botany, but if anyone did please help!

Thanks.
 

thatsam

Member
I bought some cannabis worm tea at hempfest and you're on the right track, it takes a 5-gal bucket, an airstone (or bubbler) and your "tea". You need a teabag though, you just tie up the bag so it doesnt touch the bottom, fill the bucket with a few gal of purified water and just let it steep (soak) for at least 24hrs and viola!
There's a whole thread about tea on here and people have their own recipies, check it out and brew the tea that best suits your needs.
 

SCbudboy

Well-Known Member
Microbes and Nutes are two totally different things. Microbes help the plants motabolism and root growth.

All plants still need their N-P-K.
 

rayishungry

Well-Known Member
SCBudboy is right. Your plants need nutes and micobes. If your in soil, your plant can go a while w/o nutes, but once it uses up all that's in the soil it will start to show signs of stress. If your growing in water then there's no way around nutes. Sorry, I just spent $300 on nutes. Suck it up and deal w/ it. It's still cheaper than buying weed.
 

rayishungry

Well-Known Member
that's true too. you don't need to use that much. If...say...your bloom nutes calls for 2 tsp per gallon, you can use 1 instead...and is actually safer to water it down.
 

ANC

Well-Known Member
Get some mycoroot or similar product for the fungi, its pretty cheap.
Some bonemeal for P, observing leaf branches going purple (when not due to low temps), is normaly a good indication that its time for a bit more... it is good for forming strong roots. Then as the plant starts to flower it will need some more instead of the usual Nitrogen it would need for makeing leaves during veg. This you could get from most of the kelp/seawead mixes out there... also lots of good compost without lots of bark and sticks worked into the soil a bit before you plant so it has time to release some nutrients into the ground.

I realy commend you for thinking of an alternative to ferts.
In my opinion one should grow healthy living soil to grow healthy plants.
Fertilisers pesticides and fungicides, kills the fungi, bacteria and worms that form the basis of the pyramid of life while adding salts until the soil in the long run is unuseable, without major timeconsuming rehabilitation.

You better learn how to work with natural products and sources, because when the oil prices rocket as they will, fertilisers are going to get very expensive.... the only viable commercial source of P is from the oil industry...

P.S. plants just like humans need a lot more than N, P and K to thrive.
 

crazyhazey

Well-Known Member
I could just grow organic if thats what you guys are suggesting. Ill try out the seaweed kelp thing, thanks ANC. But is there a more natural way of getting microbes? I mean they're practically living in the dirt.
 
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