Looking for some tea idea's

[lidspinner]

I already have a veg recipe dialed in pretty good using guano's from bats and seabirds......I am wanting to try and dial one in with rabbit shit. anyone have some good recipes? Here is what I have at my disposal at ease..

Endless supply of rabbit shit

Worm castings

molasses

other stuff I will have to order as I have done with the Guano tea. Throw soe idea's at me.....as long as I can order it online, I am ok with it.....Looking for veg or flower...anything will do.....I am really starting to fall in love with this tea stuff........I have seen my plants really take a liking to the teas and my veggies love it.
Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[CT Guy]

Compost the rabbit manure and then use it as a soil amendment. Use the EWC as part of your soil mix or in making aerated compost tea. The molasses can be used as a food source in the compost tea or as a separate foliar application. There should be recipes and info. in the stickys at the top of the page.

 

[lidspinner]

Compost the rabbit manure and then use it as a soil amendment. Use the EWC as part of your soil mix or in making aerated compost tea. The molasses can be used as a food source in the compost tea or as a separate foliar application. There should be recipes and info. in the stickys at the top of the page.

I found a ton of recipes in the stickys and most of them are awesome...I was kind of wonderign if there are any recipes for just the 3 items I mentioned....and if not, what items am I going to have to order online? Also what strenghts to use rabbit shit at?

I have been using Rabbit shit as a soil amendment for a long time now on my veggies, am I going to gain anything by adding it to a tea versus just using it as a amendment? These are the questions that drives me nuts cause they both work, but I cant figure out which works better....I get myself in that mode where I cant just leave well enough alone, I have to dig for answers and I end up confusing myself more...LOL....

 

[Microbeman]

Compost the rabbit manure

Yes yes yes

Shit; no no no - unless top dressing with small amounts

 

[CT Guy]

I would never make a tea out of the rabbit droppings. If you want to use it, I would really compost it first. The reason you make biological teas (not nutrient teas) is to add beneficial AEROBIC biology to your plants and soil. When using a manure like rabbit poop, you have the potential to be cultivating some nasty anaerobes and other bugs that you don't really want to multiply and put on your plants.

Stick with something safe that's already been composted. I recommend EWC if you're not testing, as the worms do a better job of composting than we can.

That's my 2 cents....good luck!

 

[killa-bud]

they tend to piss on it also(the rabbit shit)

 

[maryjohn]

they tend to piss on it also(the rabbit shit)

that's a good thing

 

[JackTheGrower]

I'll be picking fresh alfalfa.. So grinding up that plant makes a juice I think would be good in a tea brew..

 

[CT Guy]

I use organic alfalfa meal all the time, it's a wonderful amendment and microbial food.

 

[judas cohen]

CT Guy and Microbeman: Are EWC compost or do they have to be composted like animal manure in order to be true compost? (I'm under the impression that pure EWC is worm manure that's full of BB and microbes.) I thought compost contained things like decayed leaves, grass, food, manure, soil, sand, etc. that are broken down over time by microbes and soil critters.

Do water and EWC as the only 2 ingredients make a true compost tea? I understand molasses, humicic acid, etc improve the number of bacteria and fungi.

 

[Microbeman]

EWC = Vermicompost or organic material which has been digested by worms is basically equivalent to thermophylic compost or some say better. The worms apparently take care of any pathogens but seeds remain viable. You can use just vermicompost and water to make compost tea but the addition of food stock multiplies the microbial population.

 

[maryjohn]

the seeds don't just stay viable. I could swear they germinate even better. Especially tomatoes. Of course, you can germinate tomatoes by running them through a dog...

 

[judas cohen]

^^^^Thank you.

 

[CT Guy]

Judas,

Another option is to use extraction. This is where you use the air to strip the organisms off the compost or EWC and don't add foods or need a brewing cycle. You're merely extracting the organisms from the compost into a liquid form that you can now spray onto your plants.

 

[maryjohn]

Judas,

Another option is to use extraction. This is where you use the air to strip the organisms off the compost or EWC and don't add foods or need a brewing cycle. You're merely extracting the organisms from the compost into a liquid form that you can now spray onto your plants.

please describe further!

 

[Microbeman]

Run a brewer (or extractor) for a few minutes to an hour (depending on design) with 10% compost and strain (unless using a mesh) through 800 to 1000 micron broad filtration. The microbes will be in mostly a dormant state and wake up in the soil when conditions initiate them. Not applicable to foliar microbial displacement.

 

[judas cohen]

^^^"FOLIAR MICROBIAL DISPLACEMENT" means ??? Thanks to all 3 of you for responding.

Extraction tea means vermicompost or aged compost plus water only brewed with airpump for less than about an hour.

Compost tea means vermicompost or aged compost and water plus bacteria food with airpump brewed 12+ hours.

Both can be used as foliar spray (strain first) or soil drench. Left over solids can be used as top dressing on soil or used in compost pile.

Have I got it right this time...LOL Thanks again!

 

[maryjohn]

Run a brewer (or extractor) for a few minutes to an hour (depending on design) with 10% compost and strain (unless using a mesh) through 800 to 1000 micron broad filtration. The microbes will be in mostly a dormant state and wake up in the soil when conditions initiate them. Not applicable to foliar microbial displacement.

So if I am guessing correctly, this would be a way around needing to maintain a high dissolved o2, since the micros are dormant anyway and won't use up what is there?

 

[Microbeman]

"FOLIAR MICROBIAL DISPLACEMENT"

Used as a foliar spray to coat the plant with live microbes thereby displacing or preventing bad microbes. (does not have desired effect because microbes dormant)
If you strain be sure to strain over a broad area preventing build up of matter which will block the passage of microbes.

MaryJohn: Yes but you use 5X the compost.

 

[judas cohen]

Got it! Compost extraction is best as soil drench. Strain through filter that has relatively large surface area so sludge doesn't accumulate and block microbes.