Tea Article

[gOurd^jr.]

Thanks for those links MM, most of those guys credit the soil though and not the 24hr light. I'm thinkin it probably doesn't hurt though! Seems like the rich volcanic soil, thriving with life and humus, boosted with regular compost tea is how the Alaskans consistently turn out world record veggies. I bet 24hr light helps but like Evans says in one of those videos, Do you see scandanavia or Russia turning out giant sized veggies where they also get 24 hr sun? how come they seem to get extra huge in AK? might be a lot of credit due to the soil...

And about adding ferts after the brew, I've only done it once since I got my scope, and I didn't check for changes after I added it, I just used it right away. I'll definitely take your word until I check it for myself (for fun). But hear this out:

1..As I tried to emphasize in my other post, I ONLY do this when I am applying fertilizer anyways. So If I smother 40% of the microbes, I still have 60% left which is a lot more than I would have had if I just used water to dilute the Yarrow extract. NOT experienced enough by any means to say that it works better that way than say alternating ACT straight and then a few days later applying the yarrow plain(diluted!). Maybe dilute with molasses would be best I'll have to experiment more for sure.So I'm in no way sure that it is more beneficial to apply the ferts with ACT at the same time. But I look at it more like applying ACT as a bonus to my ferts rather than using the ferts to "boost" my ACT. 60% microbes still seems like it may be better than 0% though you see what I'm sayin?

2. My plants seemed to love it, the hungry lookin ones got the same concotion as the healthy vibrant green or even slightly clawing SLH plants. They all seemed to respond positively. So I can say that it works. Not that its the best, just that it does work well for me. it was less yarrow than normal and I think the hungry ones are already ready for more
ALL other stages if I want to boost the microherd or green things up a bit I will brew the ACT and apply as is no funny stuff. With my new bigger brewer I never dilute more than 1:1 now, even for the veggie garden. And the mj usually just gets it straight.

I'll have to try some yarrow diluted with a little molasses and no ACT, see how the hungry ladies like it.

Thanks again for all the knowledge spreadin tim, youdaman

 

[Microbeman]

You are likely correct on the soil.

As far as the ACT goes I'm pretty sure John followed in the footsteps of Leon (a cheap imitation with an aquarium pump with no hope of sustaining DO2 at or over 6 ppm). His 50 gallon model is a joke. There is no invention there, no science that I can see. He describes himself as the 'inventor'. I should not have looked at that stuff...riles me too much.

Many of those Alaskan champion growers don't say they use ACT.

Wasn't one of them an immigrant from Scandinavia where they grow similar size plants but he could not afford the land there?

They do grow large vegies in other northern areas; Yukon, Northern Alberta, etc. but do not talk about it so much. Maybe Russia too but I don't know how many farmers/growers are in that area. Ask Sara, she can see them from her balcony.

The 40% figure I mentioned was just my evalutation at that time. For all I know some substances may have less or more of an effect. We diluted a brew for the first time the other day 10 gal ACT with 40 gallons water. The difference under the scope was apparent; much less dense but everything was surviving much to my surprise, since we just used coldish water from the hose. We are very fortunate to live in a community which provides chemical free water.

 

[gOurd^jr.]

Well I've only watched a few of the videos so far, I guess I should say some instead of most of those growers credit the soil primarily. I'm sure the combo of great soil and intense long daylight are both necessary. I expect your right that there are more giant veggies grown up north in Europe/Russia than you hear about.

One other thing I noticed was that several of them are using hoop houses...no surprise you would want to extend that short, but intense, summer as much as you could. Plus nighttime temps make a HUGE difference in growth rates of any plant I know of. Warm nights = explosive growth. Don't they grow a lot of giant pumpkins down in the southern US? like Georgia/Alabama/Mississippi too? Days don't get quite as long down there but the season sure is a lot longer and nice warm night temps...
I've heard that Compost Tea is practically standard for competitive pumpkin growers.

I agree its obvious his brewers are crap, can't hold a candle to your designs. His understanding of ACT is minimal, he just bubbles it and knows it works, doesn't seem like he has a microscope around...

Guess we'll just have to do some trials with different substances eh?
I'll give the hungry ladies some yarrow diluted with only molasses/water and see how they respond. Plus next time I feed yarrow with a batch of ACT I'll investigate its effect on the microbes as best I can with my Crappy Scope

Got a couple dandelions been in a jug for a month or so now too...

 

[mexcurandero420]

There is another place where they grow large veggies and that is in Scotland at the Seer Centre.They use compost, but not compost tea.Instead they use rock dust in large quantities.

[YOUTUBEIF]M4co_pfmJxA[/YOUTUBEIF]

Keep on growing

 

[TribalSeeds]

Sox, I used a very similar recipe back in my early days of growing and had fairly good results.
BUT After reading CTguy and MM telling new growers over and over again that Compost tea is NOT "fertilizer" in the classic sense, and you will get better results if you leave out the guano, I agree with them. I know they are sick of repeating themselves, so I'll just repeat themselves so they don't have to.
You will see improved results if you leave the Guano out of the brew and apply it seperately, as needed, for "fertilizer" (macro/micronutrients). The Compost Tea should be used only to provide a diversity of active microbes to your soil. The guano does not belong in the ACT.
WC, Alaska Humus, and Molasses are ALL you need for making awesome microbe tea. Adding more "goodies" will not really help your tea, it's just not how ACT works...The extra N/P in may in fact be detrimental to the microbes you want to cultivate in your ACT.
In fact you can just use either WC or the Alaska Humus, though both are good sources for diverse microbes and I would go ahead and use both if you got'em.
I've found Guanos best use is topdressed and then watered in, or mixed right into the soil before planting.

IF you insist on applying guano with your tea, which is SILLY, (you should listen to the advice of MM and CTGuy as they know ACT like few others do) then try adding it right before you apply the tea, AFTER the brewing cycle is over. This in theory will provide the diverse microbes from the ACT at the same time as the micro/macronutrients from the guano. This is how the Bountea guy, John Evans, applies his fertilizers and I do it that way sometimes too with great results actually. I usually do this when I want to apply fermented Yarrow flowers as my "fertilizer". I add this IMEDIATELY prior to application, AFTER the tea is thriving with a diverse population of microbes (usually mine looks best under the microscope at 24-40hrs brewing). I only do this during the middle of flowering when the plants respond best to bloom type (P/K) ferts. ANY other time and its only straight ACT with WC, garden soil (for it's diversity of microbes) and Molasses.
Though it SEEMS contradictory to MM and CTGuy's advice at first, adding guano/ferts to the tea, it is NOT BREWED with the tea, merely applied at the same time. Mr. Evans has many world records for giant(and delicious) vegetables so its hard to argue with that...
plus he might well be the one marketing the Alaska Humus you've got. He's from Palmer, AK If I recall.

Hopefully that is helpful and not too confusing for someone new to ACT such as yourself.

p.s. Microbeorganics.com is a treasure trove of info on ACT and WELL WORTH your time to read it through a couple times. plus it has a formula to calculate the amount of WC/Molasses depending on the size of your brew.

This is all really good advice from what Ive gathered. I think it should be clear though that you shouldnt just throw your guano in there when its done brewing though. You should bubble your guano or whatever you want and then use that to dilute the tea with.

 

[SeaMaiden]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFF7tODO4hk

http://www.rtbot.net/Alaska_giant_vegetables


Hehe

Oh jeez, I watch America's Heartland (and California's Heartland).

 

[gOurd^jr.]

Yea the seer center is awesome, surely there are a lot of minerals in the alaskan soil too. volcanic Parent Material, then a lot of time for natural accumulation of Organic Matter/Humus aka Compost. Plus most of AK has gone undisturbed by man for millenia until quite recently.

I'm leaning towards fully heeding the advice of MM, Ctguy, and add jaykush to the list of extra knowledgeable and experienced growers that reccomend applying ACT and fertilizers in totally separate applications for best results. Gotta try out different methods for myself of course, but those guys have a wealth of experience they are basing that advice on so it's probably right on. If your just getting started I would take their advice out of the gate and then as you feel comfortable you can try some other methods to compare.

 

[mapinguari]

Yea the seer center is awesome, surely there are a lot of minerals in the alaskan soil too. volcanic Parent Material, then a lot of time for natural accumulation of Organic Matter/Humus aka Compost. Plus most of AK has gone undisturbed by man for millenia until quite recently.

I'm leaning towards fully heeding the advice of MM, Ctguy, and add jaykush to the list of extra knowledgeable and experienced growers that reccomend applying ACT and fertilizers in totally separate applications for best results. Gotta try out different methods for myself of course, but those guys have a wealth of experience they are basing that advice on so it's probably right on. If your just getting started I would take their advice out of the gate and then as you feel comfortable you can try some other methods to compare.

Nice to see jaykush cited, dude is about the nicest guy on here and 110% straight-up with local wildcrafting and such.

Just want to say, I think I remember jk saying he sometimes adds some FPE to compost tea immediately before application.

I've done the same to good result, but no microscope involved.

 

[Granger2]

Hello all,
Please tell me what you think about this recipe. Thanks. -granger

4 gal tap water, carbon filtered. pH 8.3, high alkalinity, high lime,
pH'd down with citric to 7
8t GO seaweed
1T Ful power high % fulvic
4t blue agave nectar, organic, raw
1T epsom
Spritz of Bot. Aqua Shield, 2T mas o menos
1 scoop Plant Success Soluble

In paint strainer bag
Big handfull EWC, Soil Mender brand
Big hndfl manure compost, local brand
4T yeast, inactive nutritional flakes
Big hndfl Gerbers baby oatmeal, crushed, organic
1T humate, leonardite powder, seems crude
2T Perfect Food-Best Green powder supplement I've found,
contains multiple green sources, fruits, berries, veggies
Has probiotics, but it's 3 + years old. To see ingredients
http://www.transformyourhealth.com/gardenoflife/perffoodpoworg.htm [choose view label]

After, 12 hours of bubbling added enough Soil Mender Molasses to bring pH down to 6ish, maybe 2 t. Bubbled for 12 more hours, brought pH down to 6 with EJ Catalyst.

Plants were healing from root aphid outbreak, caught before they were critical. Three days after undiluted application [added H&G Roots Exl], they have rebounded with rapid growth, and color is perfect.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Can't the brewing time not be decreased when you warm up the brew till a temp of 25-30 C (77-86 F)??

Keep on growing

 

[handyandy]

Just wanted to thank Microbeman for shareing is vast know how in this area! I have gone from a broke plant burning fool with buying every fert under the sun to a grower with some awsome huge ass plants, all thanks to organic ACT.

I started using just promix bx and ewc then started adding bone meal and blood meal to my soils with good results with most plants, my blue berry only likes it when flowering.
The AK47 and some bag seeds with no blood meal or blood meal in the soil are getting real yellow fan leaves at 35 days 12/12. Should I top dress with N Guano or tea or......
I have: N Guano, Ind and jamacin Guano, Blood meal, bone meal, kelp meal, EWC, all General Organics line ferts, All Earth juice, All nectar of the Gods.
I may just keep using my EWC, Ancinent forrest, vermi compost, mollassas ACT and not worry. I have been using this every watering. Could this cauce problems.

Thanks again to all who ADD knowledge to this thread and to this web site!!!!

 

[TicalionStalion]

need some good advice/recipies for first OG grow w the vortex ACT brewer and guanos!

need some good advice/recipies for first OG grow w the vortex ACT brewer and guanos!

Hey fellas, ill be a main stay on here from now on. I was killing it w AN and was really into my organic potting mix and expensive bottled microbes. One i got my Progress Earth Vortex brewer, everything changed. My current run is frostier than ever before. All thats been used is progress earths products in thier brewer, simply amazing! Just thier tea flip flopped w plain water feedings once-twice a week got me thru veg in a big way! Side branching and top count is thru the roof. Also 5 gal smart pots with roots organics potting soil w EWC mixed in. Now im in flower and iv been adding things in my brewer along w the progress earth products...budswell dry 0-7-0 has brough out ABSOLUTELY AMAZING frost, and in turn major improvment in aroma, only 4 weeks into 12/12. My last tea feeding was my base vortex tea, EWCs, budswell...and now im trying to feed heavier as i enter weeks 5-7, so i added some cave bat 1-10-1 guano to my last brew also, at a real low rate maybe 2-3 tsps tops into my 10 gal brewer. Seemed to have beefed em out in mass and trichs even more! Im so impressed w these products, the brewer and Super ACTs. Its my new digs for sure. Just a few questions i have off the bat, im new to this vortex brewer, but very versed in growing, soil and plant biology and the wonderful world of microbes, BD preps and all that good stuff. So here we go...

Iv been told by one of my good customers that its impossible to burn w the budswell because its a light mix of dif. Guanos and ewc, and all is does is bring out all aspects of quality in every way, that it certsinly has done. But the other, stronger straight bird and bat guanos i have (10-10-2.5 and 1-10-1), so i wanna know how and when to be added to the vortex brewer. Along w the tea? added right before i water? Or watered a few days later, brewed alone in the vortex? Also, how much? I hear it can be east to burn, but not as bad if u slowely build it up. I thought guanos help feed and miltiply guanos, but ppl on here say it kills off half ur microbes if u brew the guanos in w the tea? Unless added right before?

Another question is if i do a high guano feeding day with or even without the tea, do i want to use water feedings in between? Will the high phos guano build up too much? I dont wanna over saturate the soil w elements from the tea(there are over 90 earthbound elements in it!) And too much guano even tho im bein careful.

Also i need to know if adjusting ph in the tea orcguano teas is impotant? Progress earth says thier tea is nutural in ph and doesnt need to be phd, but id still like to be closer to 6.5-6.8. The ph down works, but i imagine it kills plenty of microbes? I was thinking earth juice natural down dry. My buddy uses it and its nice amd potent...is that really all natural? Will that NOT kill microbes? Any other ideas? The good thing tho is that i wont have to worry about ph stableness, the ph will be adjusted no more than 5one mins before i feed.

If your using SUPERCHARGED suuper airated premium compost tea, is it possible to overload them? Any ill affects with overloading trace trace amounts of EVERY element, sea kelp?

Im sure ill have a thousand more questions for u guys! Please help me become an ACT and organics master! I shoulda listened to my old pal jaykush YEEEAARS ago when i was using only ff and he was hiking the woods collecting stinging nettles to make tea, thought homeboy was nuts but he most certainly wasnt! I just killed it last run...4x8 tent, 2kwatts, all air cooled and perfect, smartpots, whole line of AN and pulled 4 lbs. Now that im becoming and OG nerd, this run is basically all OG and u can certainly see and smell it! i ill post pics up tomorrow, i have thick frost like i never have before! Week 4 smells like harvest day last round! If i can just keep the leaves juuust green enough and get these guanos down, im looking forward to my besy crop yet, fall colors slready amerging, beautiful!

So my ultimate goal is to go all og, even one step further with sea minerals and every biodynamic prep added. It feel amazing to be feeding my plants w only mother nature and not 200 dollar bottled microbes lol.

So thanks in advance guys! Jaykush we need to have a nice long chat like the good ol days since im in it like swimwear now lol. Thanks for reading the book! Please offer advice at all! What would be best would be great bloom recipies, keep in mind im using a vortex brewer, i can top dress guanos or add to teas.

Thanks a million in advance guys! Im gonna be on this section of the forums like white on rice on a paper plate in a snowstorm!

 

[SeaMaiden]

Yes, it's possible.

I'm getting the impression that your growing paradigm is to push as much as you can possibly get away with. The thing with AACT is you must let go of that paradigm and stop pushing so hard. You have all these microbes shitting out ALL this stuff, you will kill them if you try to push too hard (push too much food too quickly).

IMO, you don't need the Budswell, you can achieve the same thing yourself just using that brewer, some fermented plant extracts or teas (simply allowing plant material to sit in water), and a sugar of your choice.

I don't adjust pH of my teas. I may be making a mistake doing that, but I simply don't bother pH'ing any of my organic cultivation that's outdoors. I may change that when I get the indoor going again. IF you wish to pH, then I suggest you go for a mid-6 range like you're thinking.

 

[somoz]

Swimming With Microbes

Swimming With Microbes

Hey tea fellars, some great reading in this thread and want to thank everyone for contributing......makes for a powerful knowledge base. I'm going to brewing for the first time this year in my outdoor and have some basic questions.

Dilution Rates
I'm planning on brewing in my 500 gallon green mixing tank and wanted to see if folks are diluting main watering like they would when they foliar with a tea or is it a straight feed? I've read that you can't oversaturate with the tea but I'm still curious on peoples practices.

Recipes
I have a couple of recipes in the oven but wanted to hear from others and see what their input is.

Per 25 gallons
1/4 to 1/2 gallon of compost
1/4 to 1/2 gallon of EWC
1cup kelp
1cup alfalfa
1cup. Fish Hydrolysate (this and the guano are in debate whether to be used and will probably be with held until further testing on my end)
1cup of activator
1-2 cups of molasses
And alternating the molasses and one cup of bat guano every other feeding.

Also I just saw sea maiden post about the ph concern, my well comes out at 7.7 and everyone I know who does outs does not ph their water but what are folks feelings on ph'ing their tea?

 

[RespectGreen]

....

 

[Microbeman]

Ive switched to the EJ pwoder PH down, and up.. I was sold on it, as they did say it had NO effect on microbe life...

I use these benes:
NUTE PACK:

The Nute pack is an ideal way to boost your plants ability to do what it does best: grow and flower. With the proper application, you will see a noticeable difference in growth, yield and overall vigor.

-Nitrogen fixers, which convert nitrogen gas in to usable nitrate. Nitrogen fixers also will increase plant growth as they produce vitamins, auxins, and gibberllins. Nitrogen fixers give a boost to seedlings germination and overall yield.

-Phosphate solubilizers, which will dissolve fixed tricalcium phosphate in to the usable form monocalcium phosphate. These little guys also produce organic acids (citric acid, lactic acid), hormones, and enzymes which will help in nutrient uptake and general plant vigor.

-Potash mobilizers,that will seek out Potash near the root zone and bring it to the roots of the plant. It is great for low K soil, or coco, since coco is known to "hold" K.


-Mycorrhizae. This product has 100 spore colonies per gram of each of the following endo mycorrhizae:

-Glomus intraradices
-Glomis mosseae
-Glomis aggregatum
-Glomus clarum


ROOT PACK:

The root pack is a proprietary blend of over 20 different different species of beneficial fungi and bacteria. Each one in the concentration of 5 billion organisms per gram. The root pack is designed to promote plant health by boosting immune systems, shoot and root growth, flower production, and the overall well being of your plants! The root pack includes (but is certainly not limited to) the following species:

-Pseudomonas flourescens: This is a saprophyte that creates colonies in water, soil, and on plant tissue. It will suppress plant diseases by acting as a systemic (a unique ability). Once it enters the vascular system of the plant, it actually produces antibiotics which prevent fungal and bacterial diseases from taking hold.

-Bacillus: Bacillus is best applied to young plants and seedlings, so that it can take hold and colonize on the developing root system. Here, it will offer protection by limiting the growth of fungal organisms like fusarium.
This bacteria alsosupresses other fungi and bacteria that cause scab, powdery mildew, sour rot, downy mildew, and early leaf spot, early blight, late blight, bacterial spot, and walnut blight diseases.

-Trichoderma: Trichoderma is a beneficial fungus, that will seek and destroy other harmful fungi in the soil/media. The presence of trichoderma will also cause the plant to activate its own SAR (stimulated auto response), which in turn causes the plant to boost its own immune system.



FOLIAR PACK:

The foliar pack is designed as a 100% safe, non chemical spray for insect control that can also be used as a drench for soil borne insects. The foliar pack includes but is not limited to:

-Bacillus: for the destruction of caterpillars and fungus gnat larvae.
-Beauveria: will control a number of pests such as termites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids, and beetles.
-Metarhizium: will infect spittle bugs and weevils, and thrips.
-Verticillium: will infect and kill aphids, whiteflies, rust fungi, and scale.
-Paecilomyces: will effectively eradicate many pests, including several species of spider mites.


All three packs were designed with 100% compatibility in mind. They are meant to work together, to help your plant be all the it can be.







from capulator, this is the recipe....





I use

Nute, Root, Foliar Packs all at 5 Tablespoons per 5 gallons

Alfalfa, and Kelp at 2 Tablespoons per 5 gallons

Earthworm Castings at 7 Tablespoons per 5 gallons



,and then I dilute that down in to 2-4 parts (ie I put 4 equal part in to separate 5 gallon buckets, and then top them all of with RO water) with great succes so far

What has this to do with compost tea? Trichoderma and endomycorrhizal are not really compatable.

 

[Microbeman]

No need to adjust pH....don't do it

 

[handyandy]

When brewing an ACT to feed in bloom with EWC, compost, dirt from the woods, and mollases. Should I add the P Guano at the begenning or at the end right before apply.

 

[RespectGreen]

What has this to do with compost tea? Trichoderma and endomycorrhizal are not really compatable.

whoops I was just answering tacoma when he asked for recipes will edit

 

[mexcurandero420]

Beware what sort of compost you're buying

CSWD: Herbicide contamination in compost extends to bagged products

Keep on growing