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organic grow with a troubleing ph situation (first organic)
- Thread starter wonderful
- Start date
when you say "anything" are you just referring to the casting tea? because the method i brew involves dumping the guano or castings directly into the water. i choose to use this technique bacuse an old guy once stated how the interaction of the guano through all the water was way more beneficial than keeping it in a brew sack.
rckymtnthuglife
Member
He means strain nothing man. I never strain shit. I throw everything right in the bucket like you do man. Those pics were kinda hard to see but I didn't see any cal/mag issues. Almost thinking you got a little burn going on. Those plants aren't very big. Less is usually more. You did hit them pretty hard with 5tbs of mex guano per gal of water. I wouldn't have done that with the size of the plants.
Oh yeah, even though I don't strain...I simply don't use the last gal of water...or I'll pour everything into another container...leaving the shit at the bottom of the original tea bucket.
You got burned tips man??? Ever see your leaves get the "claw"? Both indicators of a nute burn. Basically if I see the burned tips and the plants are super dark green...I'll back off and just give em an ewc and molasses tea. If I see the claw...I start to shit my pants...then I'll transplant into a mellower soil, unless I'm in flower...then you're just fucked...try again.
Peace
Rocky
Oh yeah, even though I don't strain...I simply don't use the last gal of water...or I'll pour everything into another container...leaving the shit at the bottom of the original tea bucket.
You got burned tips man??? Ever see your leaves get the "claw"? Both indicators of a nute burn. Basically if I see the burned tips and the plants are super dark green...I'll back off and just give em an ewc and molasses tea. If I see the claw...I start to shit my pants...then I'll transplant into a mellower soil, unless I'm in flower...then you're just fucked...try again.
Peace
Rocky
the plant that was in the picture was lst'd and its stem is curved around the pot, it is nice to know that you wouldnt have given it that much so i can do things beter next time. and that plant was the only one that had a claw like leaf symptom. i only make 2 gallons of tea at a time and try to waste none because i dont want to run out of liquid karma before this grow is done. i am hesitant to not strain it again i must admit.
ill post pictures of all the plants once i get em off my phone
ill post pictures of all the plants once i get em off my phone
and here is the group shot. i hope you guys like the pictures because i had to picture messege everyone to myself.
and i would have included a pic of plant 1 from today but it was too big to send, and plant 1 is the picture of the plant i posted the other day.
gave plain RO water thursday. planning to make a EWC tea for next watering. let me know what u guys think!
and i would have included a pic of plant 1 from today but it was too big to send, and plant 1 is the picture of the plant i posted the other day.
gave plain RO water thursday. planning to make a EWC tea for next watering. let me know what u guys think!
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okay first off, if it's only two leaves, i wouldn't be so worried. your plants look pretty healthy overall to me.
what you don't want to do is treat a deficiency that doesn't exist---that's a great way to REALLY fuck up your soil/plants.
that said, i think you're probably making crashed teas and i don't suggest continuing your "feed" schedule as is.
worm casting tea does not need "nutes" and adding guano will hinder the reproduction of the biology you are trying to culture.
worm casting tea should be something like 1 cup of high quality compost and 1.5 tablespoons of molasses per gallon of water. if you were to add anything else, it must be to further feed the bacteria and fungi from the compost. it will never be to "feed your plant." the only other inputs i use in my ACT is a very small amount of kelp meal (not seaweed extract!) at 0.5 TBSP per gallon and fish hydrolysate at 0.5 TEAspoon per gallon.
all of the ingredients and ratios in my recipe are taken from microbeorganics.com, and were formulated based on direct observation of bacterial and fungal growth as seen by an expert through a high powered microscope over many controlled trials.
if you wish to continue using a guano "tea," just make it separately from your worm casting tea.
as for the "tea bag," depending on the mesh size, they can restrict certain fungi, but it's not the end of the world. i brew in free suspention (no bag), and it is absolutely fine to pour the sludge out on your soil or back in your compost bin/pile, especially when you are correctly brewing your teas.
what you don't want to do is treat a deficiency that doesn't exist---that's a great way to REALLY fuck up your soil/plants.
that said, i think you're probably making crashed teas and i don't suggest continuing your "feed" schedule as is.
worm casting tea does not need "nutes" and adding guano will hinder the reproduction of the biology you are trying to culture.
worm casting tea should be something like 1 cup of high quality compost and 1.5 tablespoons of molasses per gallon of water. if you were to add anything else, it must be to further feed the bacteria and fungi from the compost. it will never be to "feed your plant." the only other inputs i use in my ACT is a very small amount of kelp meal (not seaweed extract!) at 0.5 TBSP per gallon and fish hydrolysate at 0.5 TEAspoon per gallon.
all of the ingredients and ratios in my recipe are taken from microbeorganics.com, and were formulated based on direct observation of bacterial and fungal growth as seen by an expert through a high powered microscope over many controlled trials.
if you wish to continue using a guano "tea," just make it separately from your worm casting tea.
as for the "tea bag," depending on the mesh size, they can restrict certain fungi, but it's not the end of the world. i brew in free suspention (no bag), and it is absolutely fine to pour the sludge out on your soil or back in your compost bin/pile, especially when you are correctly brewing your teas.
Heady Blunts, after reading your post i realize that i dont know very much about teas at all. i know that the point is to grow bacteria and tha bacteria feeds the soil not the plant. but i dont understand why the organics for beginners thread has tea recipe i was using isnt a good brew. i thought i could put my trust in it but now i really dont know how to feed teas anymore.
so your telling me if i made a guano tea for flowering should i disregard adding the castings the recipe says to use?
i understand what you mean by saying "the guano will hinder the reproduction of biology i am trying to culture"
sorry i am just trying to tell up and down apart at the moment.
perhaps im going to go look at some tea recipe threads now and try to learn some more
so your telling me if i made a guano tea for flowering should i disregard adding the castings the recipe says to use?
i understand what you mean by saying "the guano will hinder the reproduction of biology i am trying to culture"
sorry i am just trying to tell up and down apart at the moment.
perhaps im going to go look at some tea recipe threads now and try to learn some more
You need something for the bacteria to feed on. you add food for them, but when they do this, your ph can swing high, and without a buffer like lime, you can still get lockout. This is why ph is still relevant. You are controlling the pH with this 'good soil', you just use understanding of biology rather than chemistry to help you out.
you still don't want to feed a tea with a ph of 9 to your plants.
It never bothered mine. BIG BUDS. That's why it never ceases to amaze me why people on here say it can't be done. My garden must be one of a kind or something. I don't know.
Burn1
it is hard to find a recipe for an ACT that doesnt involve earth worm castings. woud you say leave out the castings and use a compost along with the guano for guano teas?
as in this recipe from thc farmer
For Bud (Early to Mid Cycle)
1gallon RO water
1/4c Worm Castings
1/4c Mushroom Compost
3ml Maxi Crop
1tbl Molasses
1tsp-Heaping 5-5-5 Fox Farm Peace of Mind (w/ Mycos)
1-2tbl Indonesian Bat Guano .5-12-.2
1-2tbl Peruvian Seabird Guano 10-10-2
Brew for about 22 hours and dilute to 3-5 gallons of RO water. I use this tea about every 2-3 waterings.
for an example of a recipe out there. i would love to hear what you do for a guano tea.
as in this recipe from thc farmer
For Bud (Early to Mid Cycle)
1gallon RO water
1/4c Worm Castings
1/4c Mushroom Compost
3ml Maxi Crop
1tbl Molasses
1tsp-Heaping 5-5-5 Fox Farm Peace of Mind (w/ Mycos)
1-2tbl Indonesian Bat Guano .5-12-.2
1-2tbl Peruvian Seabird Guano 10-10-2
Brew for about 22 hours and dilute to 3-5 gallons of RO water. I use this tea about every 2-3 waterings.
for an example of a recipe out there. i would love to hear what you do for a guano tea.
ACT = aerated compost tea = an aqueous culture of beneficial microbes.
the type of compost most people use in ACT brewing is vermicompost.
vermicompost= earth worm castings = EWC = a type of compost made by earthworms.
EWC has high populations of bacteria and fungi, which is what makes it an ideal inoculant for your ACT.
well composted manures or thermal-composted yard waste can also be used.
mushroom compost probably has the lowest levels of beneficial microbes out of all the types of compost. also it can be full of inorganic salts left over from conventional mushroom farming. i don't recommend it unless you have access to a very high quality chemical free source.
that "for bud" "nute tea" is ridiculous IMO.
if you want the benefits of guano, you should be amending your soil mix with it, and better yet, practicing recycling or no-till methods.
if you want to add guano to an established plant, the best method in my opinion would be to use a fine a powder as you can find, top dress it on the surface of your soil, follow that with a bit of compost and mulch, then water it in with ACT. that way the food is there when the microbes arrive.
GL to you.
thanks for the input, would you say i would be fine to use the recommended on the package for the topdressing of guano?
also what would you consider an apropriate casting tea strength for veg? i only need around 2 gallons f water for feeding
do you have an air pump or are you just stirring/shaking every once in a while?
rckymtnthuglife
Member
Hey Man, Just do what you've been doing. Your plants look great...just like I said earlier...you pushed them right up to the max they can handle...hence the dark green leaves, burnt tips and yikes the claw.
If you see the claw, back off and give them plain water next time. Honestly, your plants look better than mine this last round. I'm using a new soil mix and I had to play catch up throughout flower.
I hardly ever hit my veg plants with a tea. If it's time for food-i.e. bottom leaves start to yellow, then it's time to transplant.
When brewing an act tea for flowering we are actually going for a higher fungi to bacteria ratio in our teas. Alot of people on here get kinda snobby when it comes to ingredients for their tea. Compost, EWC, kelp meal, and fish hydroslate are all ya really need.
Adding myco fungi a few days after every transplant really helps too.
Keep up the great work.
Rocky
P.S. You may want to consider getting rid of any bottled nutes you have as they are expensive and not necessary. Also, as the crops come and go, you airstone will become less and less effective...make sure to replace as needed...unlike me on my last round.
If you see the claw, back off and give them plain water next time. Honestly, your plants look better than mine this last round. I'm using a new soil mix and I had to play catch up throughout flower.
I hardly ever hit my veg plants with a tea. If it's time for food-i.e. bottom leaves start to yellow, then it's time to transplant.
When brewing an act tea for flowering we are actually going for a higher fungi to bacteria ratio in our teas. Alot of people on here get kinda snobby when it comes to ingredients for their tea. Compost, EWC, kelp meal, and fish hydroslate are all ya really need.
Adding myco fungi a few days after every transplant really helps too.
Keep up the great work.
Rocky
P.S. You may want to consider getting rid of any bottled nutes you have as they are expensive and not necessary. Also, as the crops come and go, you airstone will become less and less effective...make sure to replace as needed...unlike me on my last round.
