Organic Tea Fiddlings and Tinkerings

[SneakySneaky]

Whats up guys, so ive been brewing tea for a while and have read a lot from you old school guys. Unfortunately ive read too much and starting to confuse myself and think we should set the records straight. Is it better to brew specific teas instead of trying to make an all in 1? Instead of mixing compost, guano and michorrizi, would it be more beneficial to do a specific guano tea, followed by a bacterial followed by a fungal and then repeat? ive also heard a few different directions on adding different ingredients at different times (like adding humic acid in the middle of brew instead of beginning etc).... so lets try to set the records straight and get ourselves a "uniform" time table of ingredients.

My current recipes for a 5 gallon brew:

Bacterial tea, Dr. Inghams recipe plus earthworm castings
1lb alaskan humisoil
1/3 cup earthworm castings
1/2 cup humic acid
1tbs kelp
1tsp molasses


Fungal Tea
1 cup alaskan humisoil
2 tbs kelp
1/4 cup mixture of soybean meal and alfalfa meal
2 drops organic soy sauce no preservatives
*i throw a pinch of innoculated coco in during the beginning and add the bulk at the end of brew, i add 2 cups of coco that has been innoculated with Guardian Mycorrhizi and let bubble for about an hour and then serve.


Flowering Guano tea:
1 cup alaskan humisoil
1 1/2 cup superbat
1/2 cup earthworm castings
2 tbs kelp
2 tsp molasses
1/2 cup humic acid
*10 ml Bio Marine optional
*sometimes i add Bio Marine at the end of the brew cycle and let it bubble for about an hour then use, would it be better to add this at the beginning of brew?

Veg Guano Tea
1 cup alaskan humisoil
1 cup superbat
1/2 cup earthworm castings
1 tbs kelp
1/4 cup humic acid



I currently add everything at the beginning of the brew unless otherwise noted.


Hows the recipes look for yall?? Cant wait for Suby and Clackamas Coot to rip my recipes apart i would love their constructive criticism! Would it be better to use the guano as a top dressing and then water with bacterial tea? Havent had any burning, and the only discoloration of the leaves were from the plants growing so much and the newer leaves were slightly less green but time fixed that problem yay!

 

[schwagg]

good post, can't wait for it to get torn apart, improved, or approved. thanks a ton!

 

[grapeman]

I'm sure one of the Tea experts, MM or CTGuy might weigh in here and explain.
But I can tell you my preference and opinion.

Manures and guanos are best used as a soil amendment. I think these mixed into the soil is better (for me anyway) then trying to make a slurry from it. For several years I used liquid chicken manure through my drip system in farming. Now I'm back to the old fashion way of just shanking it into the soil in the winter. This crop is a 6 to 8 week crop and IMO manures are best used when they are mixed in advance into the soil and given time to break down before use (I use fresh EWC tea to keep my soils moist while they are breaking down in the garage. EWC tea into this soil during the grow keeps things active.

I just have a problem making tea from bird shit when i think the product should break down naturally in the soil over time.

I'm sure there are other ways then mine.

 

[CT Guy]

My preference would be to topdress with the guanos. What humic acid product are you using? Depending on the product, that may be way too much (I use 1/2 T. by comparison). The mycorrhizae is no good in a tea, you're wasting your money. Just add it at the end, and only for a single application, directly to the roots of your plant.

Finally, I make one tea that's the same for all stages of plant growth. If the tea is aerobic and high in bacteria and fungi, then the plant's in control based on the exudates it's putting out. No need to make a specific tea.

 

[Zendo]

I'm the same way..

I try to make as balanced of a tea as possible.. I enhance my EWC with fungi, and add the 1/2 T of Humic from CTguy as well.

I'll add more or less of certain things at certain times, but I never try to target anything specific.

I try to find the 'middle path' or 'balance' in all things, including my teas..

I don't use guano's, but if I did it would be as a top dress.

All that said, if you have something that is working, and producing well, maybe don't mess with it too much..Some people, and companies use guanos etc.. in their products/teas..

Myco in the teas is worthless, as CT said.. You could always make 'holes' down to root zones, and dump down there, then cover over and water??

I just use it for cuttings, and transplants, and that's it..

HTH

 

[NUG-JUG]

When I brew inoculant teas I never add guano. I used to think that not adding molasses created a high fungal tea..but honestly I don't bother to try for specific teas since I don't have a microscope, so I wouldn't know anyway. Also 1\2 cup seems like a ton of humic acid..
Big Ballin88 had issues over-doing the humic acid.

 

[CT Guy]

All that said, if you have something that is working, and producing well, maybe don't mess with it too much..Some people, and companies use guanos etc.. in their products/teas..


HTH

Good point. If your plants are happy, and you're happy, then feel free to keep on doing what you're doing. There's more than one way to grow a plant!

 

[SneakySneaky]

My preference would be to topdress with the guanos. What humic acid product are you using? Depending on the product, that may be way too much (I use 1/2 T. by comparison). The mycorrhizae is no good in a tea, you're wasting your money. Just add it at the end, and only for a single application, directly to the roots of your plant.

Finally, I make one tea that's the same for all stages of plant growth. If the tea is aerobic and high in bacteria and fungi, then the plant's in control based on the exudates it's putting out. No need to make a specific tea.

Im using the equivalent of SimpliciTeas sm85 or whatever the one below the super powederized version is. For the mycorrhizae i have a plant outside that i buried half the pot in the ground and have been innoculating the top with mycor for a while, i water around the pot (into the ground its buried in) and get a good colony of fungi from the plant, just pull some coco off the top and wet it add oatmeal and toss it under the sink till the fungi puts threads everywhere and then its ready to be used in the tea. ive read that fungi dont do well in beginning of brew which is why i throw a pinch in there just to have some in there (if they die ok i throw a lot in at the end), so for the fungal tea should i brew same recipe and add the fungi at the end and let aerate for another hour and serve?

Ive tried the recipe with 1tsp of humic acid, but with mine i dont get as much foam as i would using 1/4 to 1/2 cup (which will be scaled down to 1/4 cup permanently, thanks!!)

Anyone use the Bio Marine in your tea also?? i dont use it late in flower because its 2-3-1 and i dont want anymore nitrogen, but as for up to week 5 they sure do love it

 

[Microbeman]

I suggest you read the tea article in the stickies if you have not already. Aerated Compost tea (ACT) is primarily about growing microbes and not for introducing nutrients (the microbes provide the nutrients). The foods put into ACT are for the microbes to consume and not the plants. Endomycorrhizal fungi does not grow in ACT at all. It only sprouts and grows in contact with roots [outside of complex laboratory procedures]. Placing the spores directly proximal to the roots is the only way to infect roots. Ectomycorrhizal spores may sprout in ACT but Cannabis is endo not ecto symbiant.

 

[NUG-JUG]

I like the idea of putting away compost with oatmeal in the dark to make fungi multiply. Then I'd just water it in after it formed.

 

[mad librettist]

My preference would be to topdress with the guanos. What humic acid product are you using? Depending on the product, that may be way too much (I use 1/2 T. by comparison). The mycorrhizae is no good in a tea, you're wasting your money. Just add it at the end, and only for a single application, directly to the roots of your plant.

Finally, I make one tea that's the same for all stages of plant growth. If the tea is aerobic and high in bacteria and fungi, then the plant's in control based on the exudates it's putting out. No need to make a specific tea.

I agree with this. Skip the fungal tea altogether, since it probably wont give you a fungal tea anyway. I made one by accident - it was like an army of spores under the scope. It came from a sample of very fungal compost. I used blackstrap molasses, not soy sauce or fish fertilizer.

So I have to agree with making just one balanced tea for MJ. Compost/castings and molasses or fish juice. Fine get fancy like CTGuy and ad humic acid and what not, but remember you are trying to grow out a bunch of animals and fungi which you then add to your soil. What they eat in the tea does not matter as long as they replicate. Worry about what they eat in the soil. Or don't worry, rather. Because your plants will take care of it.

 

[SneakySneaky]

I suggest you read the tea article in the stickies if you have not already. Aerated Compost tea (ACT) is primarily about growing microbes and not for introducing nutrients (the microbes provide the nutrients). The foods put into ACT are for the microbes to consume and not the plants. Endomycorrhizal fungi does not grow in ACT at all. It only sprouts and grows in contact with roots [outside of complex laboratory procedures]. Placing the spores directly proximal to the roots is the only way to infect roots. Ectomycorrhizal spores may sprout in ACT but Cannabis is endo not ecto symbiant.

I did read the stickies, as well as Teaming with Microbes, and then all the different recipes and suggestions from people overcomplicated it and had me confused. I was primarily interested in critiquing my recipes if you dont mind, possibly adding ingredients at different times during the brew or subtracting them entirely.

Guardian Mycorrhizi is actually and endo, good u pointed out that endo vs ecto in regards to brewing or simply innoculating. will just start turning some into the soil below where the rootball will be when i transplant instead of brewing it.

Bio Marine says "This fish-based fertilizer encourages beneficial microbes for better roots, stems, foliage, flowers, and fruits. A superior natural source of plant nutrition, BioMarine suits all types of plants during all phases of growth, from seedling through harvest" so i use it sparingly and it seems to work, anybody got a good opinion on it?

 

[CT Guy]

Sneaky,

Can we narrow it down to one recipe? I still think your inputs are a bit high for only 5 gallons....

 

[Microbeman]

I keep my recipes simple and I've never used any guanos. You can see my recipes http://www.microbeorganics.com/#Compost_Tea_Recipes

 

[mad librettist]

ingredients to add at specific time intervals: first you need to buy a pocket watch for every microbe in your brew. because right now they don't care what time it is.

using a time interval to do that would be akin to using temperature to decide how fast to go in your car.

I really feel this kind of thinking would clear up if people saw what they are brewing. You stop pining after the next coolest input after you realize just what it is you already have.

 

[SneakySneaky]

ingredients to add at specific time intervals: first you need to buy a pocket watch for every microbe in your brew. because right now they don't care what time it is.

well said, seems the questions has been answerd so i can put that to rest. i didnt know if it was better, gonna stick to the tried and true methods that work and not try and overcomplicate it.

a little McGuyvering on my behalf, and i took an old dwc bucket, a gatorade dry mix container, and a 6" 5 gallon lid net pot and made a pretty awesome compost brewer, i use the ebb and flow fitting at the bottom for a 1/2" nozzle with a filter inside the bucket, brew the ingredients in the gatorade container w holes, inside the gatorade container is a large aquarium media containing ingredients with an airstone inside the gatorade container as well as the bottom. put the gatorade container on the net pot and have air bubbling up from underneath it as well as aerating the compost. the net pots create a hoover dam type floodgate of water movement its awesome to watch

all hail compost tea, pics coming soon

 

[Amphiphile]

Yo dude nice post. I'll try the trick with EWC/oatmeal to make fungal dominant compost.
I was really interested in your brewing system. Could you please post some pics, just to have a look at the settings? I'm upgrading costantly and I feel I can do something more to improve my brewing system.
Thanks in advance