B
BeAn
Ahh, i see...thanks for the heads up.
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Organic Fanatic Collective
- Thread starter Suby
- Start date
wood ash and guano tea
wood ash and guano tea
Neat thread
I n I been growing it organic since,, well since ever since,, so we thought we'd add two stalks to this thread. Guano is something still relatively new to us in the UK,, especially in horticultural circles,, never the less it always makes the best feed for I's erb and food crops.
First thing to note is that guano usually has soluble and insoluble parts. For example the sea-bird guano we use is partly dissolvable and thus extremely responsive,, while the bat guano take longer to take effect within the soil,,, often several weeks after the application!!
DocLeaf Guano Tea
Water, (2 gallons)
Sea Bird Guano - UK (small spoon)
Bat Guano - Kenya and Peru (large spoon),,
Maple Syrup (large spoon) or Honey (large spoon) or Granulated Sugar (large spoon)
Alga-C* ( 5ml )
optional in vegetative period:
Urine** (small cup)
* Alga C is a seaweed based micro supplement from ATA Organics.
**The ammonia nitrates really help to activate the tea
After mixing the tea in a bucket with a stick it gets put in a warm place (glasshouse) to ferment. Stir every 5-6 hours for a day or more before use.
Only use on intermediate waterings,, i.e feed, water, feed , water, . This allows the residual guano in the soil to be used up.
Experimenting:
After reading this in the old growers guide by Mel Franks...
".. fertilizers work best when their nutrient compositions compliment each other, to provide a balance of the three major nutrients (e.g. bat guano and wood ashes together provide a good balance of all three major nutrients). " [Mel Franks, 1988].
,,we decided to experiment with fine wood ash and bat guano
Using a blend of wood ash and guano as an application feed over coco provides a healthy run-to-drain feed for the plants. This experiment is to see if fine wood ash is responsive enough to run over inert mediums like coco with positive results on plants.
Outdoors on food crops i n i always used wood ash from old fires as a base when preparing soil beds in winter; this is standard horticultural practise that makes the land ready for spring. All this got us thinking further about old Terra Petra methods of cultivation which incorporate the qualities of charcoal as a holding for nutrients in otherwise depleted soil sites in S. America
Will keep all posted on how the wood ash and guano tea works
peace peace peace
wood ash and guano tea
Neat thread
I n I been growing it organic since,, well since ever since,, so we thought we'd add two stalks to this thread. Guano is something still relatively new to us in the UK,, especially in horticultural circles,, never the less it always makes the best feed for I's erb and food crops.
First thing to note is that guano usually has soluble and insoluble parts. For example the sea-bird guano we use is partly dissolvable and thus extremely responsive,, while the bat guano take longer to take effect within the soil,,, often several weeks after the application!!
DocLeaf Guano Tea
Water, (2 gallons)
Sea Bird Guano - UK (small spoon)
Bat Guano - Kenya and Peru (large spoon),,
Maple Syrup (large spoon) or Honey (large spoon) or Granulated Sugar (large spoon)
Alga-C* ( 5ml )
optional in vegetative period:
Urine** (small cup)
* Alga C is a seaweed based micro supplement from ATA Organics.
**The ammonia nitrates really help to activate the tea
After mixing the tea in a bucket with a stick it gets put in a warm place (glasshouse) to ferment. Stir every 5-6 hours for a day or more before use.
Only use on intermediate waterings,, i.e feed, water, feed , water, . This allows the residual guano in the soil to be used up.
Experimenting:
After reading this in the old growers guide by Mel Franks...
".. fertilizers work best when their nutrient compositions compliment each other, to provide a balance of the three major nutrients (e.g. bat guano and wood ashes together provide a good balance of all three major nutrients). " [Mel Franks, 1988].
,,we decided to experiment with fine wood ash and bat guano
Using a blend of wood ash and guano as an application feed over coco provides a healthy run-to-drain feed for the plants. This experiment is to see if fine wood ash is responsive enough to run over inert mediums like coco with positive results on plants.
Outdoors on food crops i n i always used wood ash from old fires as a base when preparing soil beds in winter; this is standard horticultural practise that makes the land ready for spring. All this got us thinking further about old Terra Petra methods of cultivation which incorporate the qualities of charcoal as a holding for nutrients in otherwise depleted soil sites in S. America
Will keep all posted on how the wood ash and guano tea works
peace peace peace
Last edited:
pretty funny there. Great info there I use peruvian seabird and jamaican bat guanos in my teas,I use the blackstrap mollasses as well.
DonChron said:
No. In this case, over coco, its more like using potash as feed. (i.e stuff ppl feed to roses in winter , after blooming period is done), although this is much finer so the medium/plant can absorb the minerals easier/quicker in the otherwise inert medium.
Gradually the use of guano tea in coco allows the medium to take on a much more healthy character when using organic feed.
Large pieces of charcoal in Terra Petra substrates outdoors is much like using added perlite sure
it increases drainage and helps provide pockets where friendly bacteria can form. peace out.
Hello all,
I used to use wood ash for a natural potasium soucre but also as a pH up in my EJ Bloom or Alaska fish fert solutions.
You need to be careful as the calcium(significant amount) will move your pH up and becomes alkaline.
So be careful with woood ash, it can and will phuque up your grow medium and thus your grow.
This is just my experience. To retrive the available potash (K) you have to go through a purification process.
http://cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/projects/potash/
I have done this....now I just use molasses and kelp for K...so much easier and much harder to roger your grow with.
minds_I
I used to use wood ash for a natural potasium soucre but also as a pH up in my EJ Bloom or Alaska fish fert solutions.
You need to be careful as the calcium(significant amount) will move your pH up and becomes alkaline.
So be careful with woood ash, it can and will phuque up your grow medium and thus your grow.
This is just my experience. To retrive the available potash (K) you have to go through a purification process.
http://cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/projects/potash/
I have done this....now I just use molasses and kelp for K...so much easier and much harder to roger your grow with.
minds_I
C
CrystalsCrystal
BONE MEAL
Guaranteed Analysis
Phosphorous, min. 14 %
Calcium, min 23 %
Fluorine, max .05 %
Typical Trace Element Analysis (measured in ppm)
Iron
400
Magnesium 120
Manganese 50
Molybenum 5
Copper 5
Aluminum 200
Vanadium 5
Sodium 300
Sulfates 2000
Potassium 20
Cobalt 0.5
Zinc 100
Lead 2.5
Mercury 25
Selenium .05
Arsenic 0.5
Cadmium 0.8
Chlorides 400
Bulk Density 40 – 50 lbs./cu.ft.
Moisture less than 2.0 %
Color white
Packaging Multi-wall paper bags 50 lbs. net
Caution: Any recommendations given here should be considered as general only and may not apply in your specific situation. All final recommendations should be made by a qualified person familiar with your particular circumstances.
bone meal is pretty complete stuff!
Guaranteed Analysis
Phosphorous, min. 14 %
Calcium, min 23 %
Fluorine, max .05 %
Typical Trace Element Analysis (measured in ppm)
Iron
400
Magnesium 120
Manganese 50
Molybenum 5
Copper 5
Aluminum 200
Vanadium 5
Sodium 300
Sulfates 2000
Potassium 20
Cobalt 0.5
Zinc 100
Lead 2.5
Mercury 25
Selenium .05
Arsenic 0.5
Cadmium 0.8
Chlorides 400
Bulk Density 40 – 50 lbs./cu.ft.
Moisture less than 2.0 %
Color white
Packaging Multi-wall paper bags 50 lbs. net
Caution: Any recommendations given here should be considered as general only and may not apply in your specific situation. All final recommendations should be made by a qualified person familiar with your particular circumstances.
bone meal is pretty complete stuff!
B
BeAn
Maybe the particular cow/animal the bone meal came from eat a thermometer...?
Bone meal is grat stuff in raised beds out doors or in the green house but breaks down too slow for fast growing indoor crops. I've always found it more productive to add bonemeal to the compost heap in conjunction with something highly nitrogenous like alfalfa or sweet clover clippings or a bucket of urine after the compost heap has been mixed ans gone through a few heat and wetting cycles a tea can be madé from the compost and the phosphorous released from the bone meal by the composting process is now in a soluble from that is bio-available and ready to be used to the plants best advantage.
Locally sourced guano
Locally sourced guano
As a person who has spent much of the last 20 years living "Off the Grid ïn remote Canadian Locales , it's often a whole days journey or more to score exotic treats like Jamaican Fruit Bat Guano, Coco Coir, and Marquesian Sea Bird Guano. I'm also cheap! The Idea of Paying 40 $ for 3 kilos of feces rankles me! So here are some local solutions that will yeild some fat buds with out a huge cash outlay.
Pigeon poop: Old Barns are rice sources its often mixed with old hay or straw and should be added to an active compost heap to kill weed seeds.
Barn swallow Guano, these birds are common on farms and eat a diet of 100% bugs. I place pieces of scrap plywood under colonys to catch the rich droppings, the clay from fallen nests is also a great soil addtitive. It's powerful stuff 1-2 large spoonfuls are enough for two gallons or 8 litres of tea-too much can burn!
Chicken Shit! Chicken Manure added to an active compost pile is a great source of phosporous!
Kelp from the beach should be washed with fresh water composted and used as a general tonic-my personal experience has been that seaweed boosts the frost resistance of plants.
Comfrey ; compost or tea made from this vigourous plant is a general tonic of trace minerals and potash. Many people have comfrey taking over there lawns and gardens and it is often available for the work of digging it up and removing it from your friends peony patch.
The whole biosphere is made of potetial nutrients , develop the skills to recognize the magical plant foods in your nieghbour hood!
Locally sourced guano
As a person who has spent much of the last 20 years living "Off the Grid ïn remote Canadian Locales , it's often a whole days journey or more to score exotic treats like Jamaican Fruit Bat Guano, Coco Coir, and Marquesian Sea Bird Guano. I'm also cheap! The Idea of Paying 40 $ for 3 kilos of feces rankles me! So here are some local solutions that will yeild some fat buds with out a huge cash outlay.
Pigeon poop: Old Barns are rice sources its often mixed with old hay or straw and should be added to an active compost heap to kill weed seeds.
Barn swallow Guano, these birds are common on farms and eat a diet of 100% bugs. I place pieces of scrap plywood under colonys to catch the rich droppings, the clay from fallen nests is also a great soil addtitive. It's powerful stuff 1-2 large spoonfuls are enough for two gallons or 8 litres of tea-too much can burn!
Chicken Shit! Chicken Manure added to an active compost pile is a great source of phosporous!
Kelp from the beach should be washed with fresh water composted and used as a general tonic-my personal experience has been that seaweed boosts the frost resistance of plants.
Comfrey ; compost or tea made from this vigourous plant is a general tonic of trace minerals and potash. Many people have comfrey taking over there lawns and gardens and it is often available for the work of digging it up and removing it from your friends peony patch.
The whole biosphere is made of potetial nutrients , develop the skills to recognize the magical plant foods in your nieghbour hood!
V
vonforne
Dr Psycho said:As a person who has spent much of the last 20 years living "Off the Grid ïn remote Canadian Locales , it's often a whole days journey or more to score exotic treats like Jamaican Fruit Bat Guano, Coco Coir, and Marquesian Sea Bird Guano. I'm also cheap! The Idea of Paying 40 $ for 3 kilos of feces rankles me! So here are some local solutions that will yeild some fat buds with out a huge cash outlay.
Pigeon poop: Old Barns are rice sources its often mixed with old hay or straw and should be added to an active compost heap to kill weed seeds.
Barn swallow Guano, these birds are common on farms and eat a diet of 100% bugs. I place pieces of scrap plywood under colonys to catch the rich droppings, the clay from fallen nests is also a great soil addtitive. It's powerful stuff 1-2 large spoonfuls are enough for two gallons or 8 litres of tea-too much can burn!
Chicken Shit! Chicken Manure added to an active compost pile is a great source of phosporous!
Kelp from the beach should be washed with fresh water composted and used as a general tonic-my personal experience has been that seaweed boosts the frost resistance of plants.
Comfrey ; compost or tea made from this vigourous plant is a general tonic of trace minerals and potash. Many people have comfrey taking over there lawns and gardens and it is often available for the work of digging it up and removing it from your friends peony patch.
The whole biosphere is made of potetial nutrients , develop the skills to recognize the magical plant foods in your nieghbour hood!
You can also harvest Stining Nettles for compost piles and active compost teas. Also dandelions, yarrow and lets not forget Alfalfa......in any form.
V
ambr0sia
Member
I'm a newbie grower running my first soil grow with Fox Farm nutes; My eventual goal is to grow in a completely organic, self-sustaining way (ie no need to purchase anything, all items available locally), and I think I've got a few resources that may help make this happen. A nearby friend lives on a little hobby farm with a few chickens, goats, and cows. This comes along with, of course, all the necessities such as alfalfa hay, straw, etc.
As a newb grower, I don't know alot about nutrients and how to provide them organically; I'm almost certain that I could make some excellent tea with all of these manures and other ingredients around, but don't know where to start as far as mixtures and ratios go.
How can I best utilize these great resources I've got available?
Happy Holikwanzasolsticemaskah!
As a newb grower, I don't know alot about nutrients and how to provide them organically; I'm almost certain that I could make some excellent tea with all of these manures and other ingredients around, but don't know where to start as far as mixtures and ratios go.
How can I best utilize these great resources I've got available?
Happy Holikwanzasolsticemaskah!
Sam Slambam
Member
hey ambrosia,
You seem to share the same ethic that permeate through the folks here in the organic threads...... self reliance. In essence isn't that why we are all here in the first place? Regardless of our preferred method of growing? I think so. That's what's nice about growing your own, or making your own booze, what have you, it's that knowledge in the back of your mind that if the world we know collapses tomorrow we'll still be able to grow and drink our own, just like regular old everyday people have ALWAYS done.
All I can tell you, ( as a newbie myself), is, experiment. Use a method, start off small, use a tester plant, don't go whole hog right out of the gate, take your time and dont rush, and most of all, don't give up! These things take time and it's funny how after a while things that used to seem so strange and foreign all of a sudden just "make sense".
To me, that is what the quest to grow organically encapsulates, the quest to understand things that just come naturally.
Does that make sense?
I hope so, it sure as shit does to me, but then again I'm burnt toast from a 1/4 of a cookie I ate earlier
You seem to share the same ethic that permeate through the folks here in the organic threads...... self reliance. In essence isn't that why we are all here in the first place? Regardless of our preferred method of growing? I think so. That's what's nice about growing your own, or making your own booze, what have you, it's that knowledge in the back of your mind that if the world we know collapses tomorrow we'll still be able to grow and drink our own, just like regular old everyday people have ALWAYS done.
All I can tell you, ( as a newbie myself), is, experiment. Use a method, start off small, use a tester plant, don't go whole hog right out of the gate, take your time and dont rush, and most of all, don't give up! These things take time and it's funny how after a while things that used to seem so strange and foreign all of a sudden just "make sense".
To me, that is what the quest to grow organically encapsulates, the quest to understand things that just come naturally.
Does that make sense?
I hope so, it sure as shit does to me, but then again I'm burnt toast from a 1/4 of a cookie I ate earlier
Suby, i have a couple questions if you don't mind. Do you not use any P in veg?
In the first quote you say you water w/ a tea of EWC, LK, and molasses every time. In the second you say the base tea you can water w/ has all the same except liquid seaweed too. Can you/do you water with the liquid seaweed/soluble kelp in every tea, every watering? Also i noticed you seem to use less EWC then i've typically seen in these forums, like compared to B1's recipe. It seems like some people use more EWC and less molasses, while others use less EWC and more molasses. What's your take on this?
I really like how you use some dry ferts in the soil and feed with teas instead of only using soil amendments or just feeding teas. Sorry for all the questions, i hate being the new guy.:smile:
Are you still using this mix Suby? If not, did you find anything wrong with it?
V
vonforne
Brother Subs is fighting cancer right now so I will have to help you out.
Yes he uses P it is in the bone meal.
At different stages of growth requires different ingredients. I like you use alot of EWC. It is just the way I grow my plants. I like to add as much active bacteria to my teas as possible and EWC has a minute amount of nutes and will never burn your plants....even seedlings. Mollasses is best used in lesser amounts. 1 to 2 TSP per gallon. B! mix is to be used with unfortified soil mixtures. Subs fortifies and supplements with teas for the active bacteria. I also do the same. I do not feed the plant but instead feed the soil with bacteria that breaks down the nutrients in the soil to feed the plant.
I hope I have answered all this for you. If I have missed anything please feel free to ask again.
V-man
V
vonforne
Subs is using a mix combined with coco fibers now. I believe it is about 25% of the mis volume in gallons.
V-man
