Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

I can get some real good soil from a part of town called Potato Flats.
It grows everything big and healthy, I can get all I want it's full of worms and alot of
soil comes from flood silt and composted plant matter.
How about that?

That sounds awesome! If they can tell you what's in it, post it so we can give opinions.

Oh no this is an old farm called that but that was in the 50s. Now it's just farm ranch land'
I'LL be getting it from the tree line I'm sure it's a good building block to start??

That would have some great stuff, no doubt. Also look in a grassy field if you can. The microlife is different for the forest (fungal dominant) compared to grass (bacterially dominant). Both are valuable, but the grass soil moreso. Cannabis is close to a grass, or is a grass, I dunno. But grassy soil will have the microbes you want. I'd take a piece of sod with soil. The sod will keep living and keep certain bacteria and fungi (endomycorrhizal) from going dormant. I like a companion plant in the soil before I transplant a seed. That way the endomyco is already active when the seed first cracks. Again, if there is living root in the soil, all the microbes are fully functional and in full swing. Because the microbes are not dormant, they will swarm that tiny new sprout, plug in, and protect and feed.

Fucking beautiful thing.

Rrog said:

The molasses acidity would not affect anything at all. It's a simple carb. Honey has antibacterial properties. Everyone uses molasses.

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Last time I used it, my pH came out very acidic, but I might have accidentally put too much fish emulsion in. I used honey in this tea I started brewing last night and a tsp of molasses. It doesn't seem to be affecting it negatively, I already have an inch of foam in under 12 hours. Smells very sweet, and its a lovely brown color. Thoughts?!

If it's living soil, you are not measuring or adjusting pH. The microbes control the pH and the plant controls the microbes

Read thru this entire thread(for the most part) and would like to give a BIG +rep for the OP, and the vigilante few who've managed to keep it on topic I have a question for you guys tho:

I'm growing 3 plants right now and they're all really green and doing well @ Day 30.
I'm using an amended mix of FFOF and I'm watering with teas as well.

I've been using 2 teas which I brew by the half gallon and share between 3 plants, in 3gal grow bags, every watering.
After I've split 1/2g of tea between the 3 plants, I then water them with a 1/2 gal of water each.
No RO or anything, just that I've let sit out a couple days.

My two veg. recipes are as follows
*Tea#1
-1/4cup Wiggle Worms Earthworm castings 1-0-0
-1tsp Algamin Kelp Meal 1-0-2
per 1/2 gallon.
*Tea#2
-1/4cup Wiggle Worms Earthworm castings 1-0-0
-1tsp Algamin Kelp Meal 1-0-2
-1tsp Neptune Harvest Liquid Fish 2-4-1

To brew aerate the teas I've been using a 10gal fish tank pump, and bubbling for up to 24hours.
I've found that more than a day and the liquid fish and kelp start to smell extra fishy, so I keep the hours down.

My results have been outstanding as I'll get around to a journal here soon! But my setup goes again what I've read over and over again in different forums and books because I'm brewing such a small quanity.
My logic...I've amended my soil well enough with different amendments and I don't wanna over do it...So better to be safe than sorry..I can always add more(even tho it's said theres no overdoing the teas)

EVERYTHING is green, so I feel like I'm on the right path. But I've read NOTHING at all about brewing by the gallon or smaller...
Which brings me to ask, anyone else in this boat?
I don't think i'm wasting my time based on my results...But I just wanted so opinions on what I've got goin'

Thanks in advance ladies and gents

You've got a compost tea action goin on! Very cool! I'd mix it up a bit, though. The ACT is great, but 3-5 times during the plant's life. Great to start things up.

Good basic recipe:

3TBS compost (EWC, preferred)
1/2 gallon water

3tsp molasses
1/4tsp fish Hydrolysate
1tsp kelp meal

NEXT:

I would look at the Barley Sprout Tea, with Coconut and Aloe. Watch what it does to the leaves. Use this as a foliar also, at night, and not to far into flower. This tea you can use weekly or bi-weekly. This will have hormones and plant enzymes your ACT won't have.

Barley Tea:
2 tablespoons of Barley seeds (1 oz.) Soak for 12 hours.
Drain that water and throw away. It’s full of growth inhibitors.
Add 1/2 gallon of water to the sprouts for the 48 hour soak.
Strain and use 1 cup of this to 1 gallon of water.

Thx for the response Rrog. It's refreshing to hear.
I'll be able to get my hands on some molasses the day or so after Xmas, and add it to the mix for sure.

I've been using a tsp kelp meal per...But I've read that it needs to go for 48hrs lots of places, and I've only been letting it aerate for a maximum of 24hrs so far. I went a little longer than that once(maybe 36hrs) with the Neptune Harvest Liquid Fish added, and it started smelling as if things went anerobic.
I figure since I brew by the 1/2gal with a 10gal fish tank pump, it shouldn't need a full 24hrs. Am I mistaken?

And now that I'm thinking about it...Do you think it would be a better idea to brew the teas stronger per 1/2gal and dilute them?
That way I get more for less in a way. Or would too much going into too little of water throw it all out of wack?

I'll also do so looking into that Barley seed immediately. I haven't heard of it out of all the things I have. I plan to pick up some Alfafa as well and try it out as a foliar. Read a lot of good things about it.
In the grow space I've got the following on hand for tea use:
-Sun leaves Indonesian Bat-Guano(Hi-P sort)
-Wiggle Worms EWC
-Neptunes Harvest Liquid fish
-Algamin Kelp Meal
The only other thing I've got that might do me some good is some left over amended soil mix.
I could prob. use that as an additional compost boost huh? JUST NOW thought about that...
Thx for the spark of thought and the tips again. I'll be putting it to work here soon and posting a journal.

Seeds are embryos. Full of the necessary hormones and enzymes to kick a plant into gear. So by simply soaking the sprouts you extract huge goodness. Barley is easy. Get the seeds from a brewmaker place.

The best info on ACT: MicrobeOrganics.com Simple recipe is there. I would urge anyone to stick to the simple and not turbocharge the ACT. And use sparingly. It's a microbial shock to the system.

Sincerely420 said:

... would like to give a BIG +rep for the OP...

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That would be the Trichome Fiend himself. Who I hollered at a year ago for posting the link to the free PDF of the book. A year later you'll notice the link to the book in my signature. Ultimately he was right and I was wrong. If you have a great message to help people, it shouldn't be kept in a paid-for book.

Wow this thread is awesome...covers a lot of great topics. Props to trichome fiend, Rrog, BlueJ, and all those who are sharing this great info - keep spreading the knowledge!

So since it's wintertime and my teas are getting cold I decided to get an aquarium heater for my 5gal bucket. Problem is that the heater is preset and only heats to 78 degrees. Is this too hot? Ideally I think I would run it around 70 or 72...is 78 going to result in problems? Also, is watering my ladies with 78 degree water going to do anything? I feel like mary might enjoy a tropical tepid rain...

I would not think it would be a problem. Either the 78F Tea or the 78F water. My opinion.

I trust your opinion

Not to get off topic, but how about this Soil Mix:

10 bags Roots soil (15 cu. ft)

40lbs high quality EWC (roughly 1 cu. ft)

5lbs blood meal 12-0-0
3.5lbs guano 0-9-0
5lbs fish bone meal 3-18-0
1.5lbs alfalfa meal 2-1-2
2.5lbs kelp meal 0-001.5
4 cups neem seed meal 4-.5-.5
3/4 cup langbeinite 0-0-22 (also has epsomite - MgSO4·7H2O which provides 22% S and 10% Mg)
4 cups glacial rock dust 0-0-0 but contains 1.4% Ca, .5% Mg, 4% Fe, .09% Mn, and 1.2% Na (sodium??? isnt this bad? but I've read recipes with 4 cups of rock dust for each cuft of soil...)
1/2 cup azomite 0-0-.2 with 1.8% Ca, .1% Cl, .1% Na
1/2 cup Roots Elemental .25-.01-1 with 20% Ca, 2% Mg, 1% S, and .2% Fe
1 cup dolomite lime 0-0-0 22% Ca, 11% Mg
1/2 cup gypsum 0-0-0 20% Ca, 16% S (can you have too much S? getting a bit worried about that one as well...)
3/4 cup epsom salt 0-0-0 composed 100% of MgSO4·7H20, so 22% S, 11% Mg (wish I could've left this out altogether but its one of the first things I added before I knew about langbeinite etc.
4 cups diatomaceous earth 0-0-0 but has good long term silica, keeps bugs away, etc.
4 cups organic basmati rice (fungi food)
3 tbs humic acid powder

i have crab shell meal and oyster shells...should I throw these in the mix as well. I would like to have some chitin...and oyster shells are good to build my soil for long term use/recycling...

what do you think? this if for the bottom 1/3 of the pots (it started out as subs recipe but i kept adding and changing amounts...)

also what is your current favorite mix?

thanks

Cann said:

I trust your opinion

Not to get off topic, but how about this Soil Mix:

10 bags Roots soil (15 cu. ft)

40lbs high quality EWC (roughly 1 cu. ft)

5lbs blood meal 12-0-0
3.5lbs guano 0-9-0
5lbs fish bone meal 3-18-0
1.5lbs alfalfa meal 2-1-2
2.5lbs kelp meal 0-001.5
4 cups neem seed meal 4-.5-.5
3/4 cup langbeinite 0-0-22 (also has epsomite - MgSO4·7H2O which provides 22% S and 10% Mg)
4 cups glacial rock dust 0-0-0 but contains 1.4% Ca, .5% Mg, 4% Fe, .09% Mn, and 1.2% Na (sodium??? isnt this bad? but I've read recipes with 4 cups of rock dust for each cuft of soil...)
1/2 cup azomite 0-0-.2 with 1.8% Ca, .1% Cl, .1% Na
1/2 cup Roots Elemental .25-.01-1 with 20% Ca, 2% Mg, 1% S, and .2% Fe
1 cup dolomite lime 0-0-0 22% Ca, 11% Mg
1/2 cup gypsum 0-0-0 20% Ca, 16% S (can you have too much S? getting a bit worried about that one as well...)
3/4 cup epsom salt 0-0-0 composed 100% of MgSO4·7H20, so 22% S, 11% Mg (wish I could've left this out altogether but its one of the first things I added before I knew about langbeinite etc.
4 cups diatomaceous earth 0-0-0 but has good long term silica, keeps bugs away, etc.
4 cups organic basmati rice (fungi food)
3 tbs humic acid powder

i have crab shell meal and oyster shells...should I throw these in the mix as well. I would like to have some chitin...and oyster shells are good to build my soil for long term use/recycling...

what do you think? this if for the bottom 1/3 of the pots (it started out as subs recipe but i kept adding and changing amounts...)

also what is your current favorite mix?

thanks

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It all sounds great bro, don't overthink yourself though.. Im sure you'll be fine organics isn't rocket science, you got the idea now learn through hands on experience; its different for everyone.

I'd bag the bagged soil and look at something like this:

Base Soil

1/3 Sphagnum Peat from Premier Peat or Alaska Peat
1/3 Aeration material (1 part Pumice, 1 part chunky coco)
1/3 Humus (1 part EWC, 1 part local / used topsoil, 1 part leaf litter, 1 part compost)

Per Cubic Foot of the Base Soil:

½ Cup DE
½ Cup Espoma Starter Plus
1 cup Charcoal
½ Cup Epsom Salt
4 cups Rock Powders (4X Glacial, 1X Bentonite, 1X Oyster Shell, 1X Basalt)

½ Cup Neem Meal (2 g / L)
1 Cup Crab Shell Meal
2 Cups Kelp Meal (Espoma makes it)
2 Cups Fish Meal
2 Cups Fish Bone Meal
1 Cup Sul-Po-Mag
½ Cup Alfalfa

Rrog said:

I'd bag the bagged soil and look at something like this:

Base Soil

1/3 Sphagnum Peat from Premier Peat or Alaska Peat
1/3 Aeration material (2 parts Perlite, 2 parts chunky coco, 1 part Vermiculite)
1/3 Humus (1 part EWC, 1 part local / used topsoil, 1 part leaf litter, 1 part compost)

Per Cubic Foot of the Base Soil:

½ Cup DE
½ Cup Espoma Starter Plus
1 cup Charcoal
½ Cup Epsom Salt
4 cups Rock Powders (4X Glacial, 1X Bentonite, 1X Oyster Shell, 1X Basalt)

½ Cup Neem Meal (2 g / L)
1 Cup Crab Shell Meal
2 Cups Kelp Meal (Espoma makes it)
2 Cups Fish Meal
2 Cups Fish Bone Meal
1 Cup Sul-Po-Mag
½ Cup Alfalfa

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Cool! Is this recipe for outdoor or indoor grows?

Could work for either. I'm mixing large quantities for raised beds for vegetables.

Also, this can easily be re-used by amending during the grow.

Nice recipe....don't want the lime? Spliff whats your soil recipe?

Rrog said:

Also, this can easily be re-used by amending during the grow.

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Of course it can, so whats your opinion on using different soils for your outdoor and indoor grows, their different enviorments arent they? So wouldnt it make sense that what works for you might not work for that guy, especially outdoor because im guessing you both live in different places? With different, humidty, pH, water, co2, different everything. What I'm getting at is what works for you might not work for me, or the other guy. You just gotta find out for yourself, through trial and error.