Organic Tea Question

Alright, so this year I've decided to go full on organic. I've done so in the past but have used premixed organic fertilizers and now I'm trying my hand at tea (first time tea maker here).

So far what I have are:

Worm Castings ($50 for 60lbs locally made)
Horse Manure (free local)
Cow Manure (free local)
Bunny Manure (free from about 5 different rabbit keeping friends, all fed alfalfa)
Mexican Bat Guano 10-2-1 ($6 for 2.2 lbs)
Peruvian Seabird Guano 9-9-2 ($6 for 2.2lbs)
Soaked and dried Kelp ground to a powder (Free, harvested myself)
Unsulphered Molasses

I can also get Goat and Alpaca manure (the Goat for free, Alpaca $10 for 5 gallons)

My soil is prairie so it's very fertile, lots of life below ground and the blackest dirt I've ever seen. Before digging the holes I had to cut down existing grasses, then cut out of the way a brown layer, then a darker decomposed layer, and I turned the composted dark brown layer of into the soil as I dug the deep dark amazing. I also added worm castings when turning. Top dressed just after they established with worm castings and bunny poop. They've also been inoculated with beneficial bacteria and fungi.

What ratios should I use when making my tea? Are there any other things I should include, or maybe exclude? I want to make them a nice and healthy mix that will keep the ecosystem below ground happening and productive.

I already have a bubbler system set up to brew with. I water using 5 gallon jugs so ratios in terms of cup, table spoon and the like would be most helpful.

Thanks a ton for the help in advance, it's greatly appreciated.

-keb

This is my AACT tea for vegetation stage:

1 cup of earthworm castings
1/4 cup kelp meal
1/4 cup fish hydrolysate (aka fish enzyme)
1/2 teaspoon pure humic acid
1 tablespoon soft rock phosophate
2 tablespoons organic alfalfa meal
1 teaspoon molasses


I put all ingredients in a stocking and brew at 70° in a five gallon bucket filled with water to within 6" of the top for ~24hrs. I use well water but if you're using tap water you can run the air pump with the water for an hour to evaporate the chlorine before adding the brew ingredients..



In my instance I dilute the brewed tea with water by a ratio of 10 to 1 for drenching purposes.



With seabird or bat guano you're better off applying them as a side or top dressing as they inevitably end up in the bottom of the brewer as sludge, even with a 400 micron stocking filter.

Look up Bruce Deuley on Youtube. He is a master at teas and has some great vids there. Howard Garrett also has some vids on Youtube.

madodat: Thanks a ton for your recipe for tea, I really appreciate it. I'm new to teas so it definitely helps. Correction on the bird and bat guano, they are 10-10-1 and 10-10-2 (thought I'd correct myself). Both the Seabird and Bat are from Sunleaves and call for one TBS per gallon. At that ratio, would it be enough to turn into to much sludge at the bottom? I plan on cutting the amounts for both the Bat and Bird guano in half as I plan on using the different composted manures in the tea as well. Most of the stuff I have has been given to me for free from sources around my local area. Also to keep costs low, as well I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on nutes in the amounts I need for my outdoor grow. Do you have an suggestions based upon what I have listed at my disposal?

cowboylogic: Thanks for the info, I'm going to go check those cats out now and see what they have to say. Knowledge is power!

P.S. I repped both of you

If your bat guano is 10-10-2 then I bet its Indonesian. Get it right damn it! LOL j/k. Thanks for the rep. One thing I have found with the Seabird guano. 1 Tbsp in a gallon of water. Use a jug with a cap. Shake a couple of time a day for 3 or 4 days. Leave cap off while sitting. Its the bomb during transition. Just it alone. No pump, airstone needed. Just a milk jug, bird turds and some good water. And no need to spend big dollars on additional beneficials. You get all you need from all the shit! Gotta love organic. Edit: Actually the seabird guano when airated foams like a rabid dog! And will make one stinky mess if you dont watch it. And as Madodah mentioned. The rock phosphate mentioned. P city plus lots of minerals. Nice mix by the Mad.

kebnutkush said:

madodat: Thanks a ton for your recipe for tea, I really appreciate it. I'm new to teas so it definitely helps. Correction on the bird and bat guano, they are 10-10-1 and 10-10-2 (thought I'd correct myself). Both the Seabird and Bat are from Sunleaves and call for one TBS per gallon. At that ratio, would it be enough to turn into to much sludge at the bottom? I plan on cutting the amounts for both the Bat and Bird guano in half as I plan on using the different composted manures in the tea as well. Most of the stuff I have has been given to me for free from sources around my local area. Also to keep costs low, as well I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on nutes in the amounts I need for my outdoor grow. Do you have an suggestions based upon what I have listed at my disposal?

cowboylogic: Thanks for the info, I'm going to go check those cats out now and see what they have to say. Knowledge is power!

P.S. I repped both of you

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I like 25% decomposed cow manure in my soil mix to take care of nitrogen all the way through flowering. It looks like you're heavy on products with nitrogen and could use some phosphorous and potassium for flowering.

AACT teas provide more microbe supplement than NPK nutrients, so if you want to supplement NPK, I suggest top or side dressing.

madodah said:

I like 25% decomposed cow manure in my soil mix to take care of nitrogen all the way through flowering. It looks like you're heavy on products with nitrogen and could use some phosphorous and potassium for flowering.

AACT teas provide more microbe supplement than NPK nutrients, so if you want to supplement NPK, I suggest top or side dressing.

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May I suggest some Greensand for the potassium needs. I think its best to have it in your soil mix before the grow. You know, kinda let things cook together. You can top dress with it though. With the micro action you should have going in your soil, should work just fine. Be careful when adding it to teas. If you must go VERY light. It took me a few years to isolate it. When I used it in brewed teas it would often cause strange ph flux. I dont think it was the potassium gained. Just some funky mineral thing or messing with the bugs.

Here's a copy and paste of my mix...work's great! ...happy grow'n!

What you'll need:
Seabird guano, bat guano, earth worm castings, kelp meal (or liquid seaweed), molessas, a bubble stone and bubble pump, a paint strainer. 5 gallon bucket.
What to do:
Get a couple of gallons of water from tap....let set on bubbles over night to dechlorinize it, then pH balance the water to 6.5....take a couple tablespoons of each (worm castings, seabird, bat, kelp, molessas) and put inside paint strainer and tie shut...hang the mix over the bubble stone to make movement/activity in the water....let set for 24-48 hours....put 2 cups of this per gallon to new dechlorinized pH balanced water, then water in once weekly.

...you'll want to back up off of the earthworm castings and the seabird guano in mid flower to eliminate nitrogen avalibility.
...the molessas and liquid seaweed are liquid , however, still use table spoon measurements.
...stop giving tea @ weeks 5 for an 8 week strain, or allow a couple weeks to leach/flush (not so important organically but, I prefer to save the $)

cowboylogic said:

May I suggest some Greensand for the potassium needs. I think its best to have it in your soil mix before the grow. You know, kinda let things cook together. You can top dress with it though. With the micro action you should have going in your soil, should work just fine. Be careful when adding it to teas. If you must go VERY light. It took me a few years to isolate it. When I used it in brewed teas it would often cause strange ph flux. I dont think it was the potassium gained. Just some funky mineral thing or messing with the bugs.

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Agreed, I like everything in the grow medium and use AACT teas to supplement microbe activity for existing nutrient delivery to the plants.

subbed = ) nice thread

For those who use or want to use AACT teas, here's a thread on making your own brewer:

https://www.rollitup.org/organics/326453-aact-brewer-diy.html

madodah said:

Agreed, I like everything in the grow medium and use AACT teas to supplement microbe activity for existing nutrient delivery to the plants.

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Well put...

Organic tea may help to prevent everything from tooth cavities to Parkinson's disease. This tea leaves have contents of flavonoids which are a group of compounds with antioxidant activity. But any one know that in which season this tea is very beneficial for health?

sehnazjoshep said:

Organic tea may help to prevent everything from tooth cavities to Parkinson's disease. This tea leaves have contents of flavonoids which are a group of compounds with antioxidant activity. But any one know that in which season this tea is very beneficial for health?

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You lost me with that one. What tea leaves?

sehnazjoshep said:

Organic tea may help to prevent everything from tooth cavities to Parkinson's disease. This tea leaves have contents of flavonoids which are a group of compounds with antioxidant activity. But any one know that in which season this tea is very beneficial for health?

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I think he is just a bit lost. But organic 'drinking' tea are beneficial year round. Also during the spring and summer months eat as many fresh 'red' fruits and vegatables you can. Very high in antioxidants. Strawberries and watermelons rank very high. Eating a fresh sugarbeet is better than taking a handful of multi-vitamins.