ACT with mushroom Compost ?

[stealthnstoned]

Hey so i couldnt find any EWC at the nursery near my house but they had bags of this mushroom manure ( compost ). Is this usable for compost teas?

I'm thinking of making a ACT with some mushroom compost, kelp meal, alfafa meal, langebenite. This is for early flowering.

What do you guys think ?

 

[jaykush]

mushroom compost varies in quality greatly from source to source. some treat them with chemicals during the mushroom growing part, some use chemical nitrates to help "speed up" the composting process. But other sources of mushroom compost can be great.

i would consider starting your own wormbin, in a few months youll have more EWC than you can need for ACT. better quality and free.

as for making ACT with the mushroom compost, you could make a test batch and try it on some plants outside.

 

[stealthnstoned]

ahhh ok . The stuff i got looks pertty good its says all organic sterlized and aged and all that. Says its made over a few months turned many times to ensure its completely composted.

I had to make 10 gallons of soil with it too cuz i coudlnt get the ewc and i need tog et my soil cooking. OHwell we will see hwo it goes. So you dont suggest i make a tea with it eh ? I guess ill wait to feed with tea and go get some EWC this weekend when i have some time.

 

[jaykush]

The stuff i got looks pertty good its says all organic sterlized and aged and all that.

if its sterilized then its of no use to make compost tea.

 

[stealthnstoned]

damn....
haha thanks!
i guess i gotta wait for sure now

 

[statusquo]

As Jaykush said, anything sterile has absolutely no biology, including positive aerobic bacteria. Also I tend to be skeptical when buying premade organic soils/composts due to the lack of quality control. Fungus gnats, recycled soil among other things on top of poor handling practices.

Fungal teas are great though, check out the stickies and if you can find a good source of mushroom compost I say go for it.

 

[VerdantGreen]

i think it depends when it was sterilized. they tend to do that to kill the mushroom spores after use so if it has been standing a while afterwards the microbial life should return.

i have never used it for compost tea but i have some bags of mushroom compost that are a few years old now - from a lorryload i had delivered - and i use 1 part in 10 for my soil mix. (as well as 1 in 10 EWC)

VG

 

[stealthnstoned]

ohh ok awesome! Thanks vg! I just got some EWC today too. so i sohuld be good. I'm just really sad now tho. looking like i have 9 / 10 males on my latest batch of seeds i popped. 4 bog bubble 4 whtie rhino 2 oh x sk1. only 1 white rhino girl.

 

[VerdantGreen]

sounds like bad luck - make sure you are 100% certain before you ditch them. they can often fool you as they start to show - they do me sometimes anyway

 

[stealthnstoned]

yea. the problem is they are all starting to really get rootbound badly and are hitting the lights / top of my cabinet.

 

[NinoBrown420]

I know the Rev uses mushroom compost for his flowering teas,and he's a motherfucker who doesn't fuck around.I don't have it on hand so I can't quote word for word,but in Jorge's book he says most places have laws that say that the mushroom compost must lay fallow for a year so all the sterilizers leach out...he also says on one of his DVDs that some of the most abundant harvests he have ever seen were grown in mushroom compost.

 

[stealthnstoned]

alirhgt well i wasnt sure about the quality of the mushroom compost which i had so i finally got some more EWC. Do you guys think the soil mix i have cooking now with emushroom compost is ok ? Should i add more EWC To it ? Its LC's mix but i have my own mix of organic soil ammendments.

So currently i just started brewing some tea.

I used 3 gallons of water, 1 heaping cup of EWC, 1/4 cup of kelp meal, 1/4 cup of alfafa meal, and 2 tbsp of molasses. Being aerated with a couple airstones cuz thts all i have for now..

This is gonna be used to water / spray my plants that are about 10 days into flowering.

Anyone see anything wrong with this ?

anyone know what kind of dilution ratio i should use for this ? ( how do i know when its done or ready as well ) ?

 

[jaykush]

i think the alfalfa wasent the best idea to use in flower. after this application, dont use it anymore unless in very small top dressings. i would dilute 1:5 and apply.

it should be done in about 24 hours.

 

[guest2012y]

i think the alfalfa wasent the best idea to use in flower. after this application, dont use it anymore unless in very small top dressings. i would dilute 1:5 and apply.

it should be done in about 24 hours.

Agreed........a little as a top dressing does great. I've been mixing some EWC or compost with just a touch of alfalfa and usually get good results in a week or more depending..
Also the tricontanol in alfalfa may prolong flowering...mostly foxtails that keep going in my observations experimenting with it.
Plus the nearly immediately available high nitrogen content could be too much at later points in flowering where the plant really doesn't have much use for it.
The soil will deal with it though.

 

[stealthnstoned]

Damn so alfafa is bad? I have it in my soil mix too tho...
I ideally want to design two soil mixes one for veg and one for flower. I have tons of ammendments but i dont know what to put in which one for a good mix...

 

[pseudopod]

Alfalfa is high in nitrogen, so it wouldn't be that good to use in flowering.

I hear you on the veg and flower mixes, but I'm doing the KISS thing and building one solid substrate that I can lightly feed depending on the cycle of the plant. Alfalfa is consumed faster than bone meal, and using it in the initial mix shouldn't cause you problems as long as you use common sense in your ratios. I'll make some nice FPE (fermented plant extracts) with alfalfa, kelp, and other meals to feed the girls with as needed too.

 

[Phedrosbenny]

I love Mush compost.But for me lately it has been hard to find locally.I dont do the hydro shop thing.They are rip offs.

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Ive been a big fan of mushroom compost - the nursery gets it from a local mushroom farm & its in a huge pile.

Get it by the skid steer scoop - two of them for $40 & the truck is maxed out.

It very warm & steaming when loaded - one of the worst smelling items ive encountered.

Like to leave it sit in a pile outside for awhile as its needs composted further / calmed down.

 

[stealthnstoned]

FPE ? i keep seeing that but i havent seen any threads on how to make em. Do you have any link sor any advice ? I woudl like to make some as well. Well here is my mix that my plants are in currently. see what you guys think.

LC#1 ( peat moss, perlite , ewc, lime )

10 gallons of this
added to it is
1/2 cup alfafa meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup blood meal
1/2 cup bone meal
1/2 cup epsom salts
1/2 cup greensand
1/2 cup soft rock phosphate
1/2 cup glacial rock dust
1/2 cup langebenite

I been wetting it with a liquid karma / molasses / ewc tea

 

[guest2012y]

Damn so alfafa is bad? I have it in my soil mix too tho...
I ideally want to design two soil mixes one for veg and one for flower. I have tons of ammendments but i dont know what to put in which one for a good mix...

Alfalfa is very good....great stuff.
I use it in every recycling,teas,and top dresses.
It's just a matter of keeping track of the recycled mixes as they are done with a cycle in order to estimate the amount to re-amend. (I eyeball everything now because I'm comfortable with my proportions)
I would ideally want most of the alfalfa to be broken down and utilized by the soil life and plant by early to mid flower and the other long term sources of nitrogen in my mix to continue to be broken down by the end of flowering as well as carry over into the next recycle.
Try finding a balance in the decomposition of various nitrogen sources....as well as phos. sources.
And I always add more high quality compost...I just wouldn't care to use mushroom compost in my mix or in a tea when I can make my own or get a fairly local higher quality compost. Look around and see what your local organic supply places carry.