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need some input on my tea!

chronic50s

chronic50s

Member
Whats up guys!

I just got a garbage bag full off seaweed from the beach, rinsed it off really good and let it all dry out... today i blended it up and put it in a bucket with some mushroom compost... the compost has a shitload of different nutrients so i figured these 2 ingredients should suffice... the teas been bubbling for about 10 hrs now and looks nice n foamy already... my question is, will this tea be good enough, will it make the plants grow quicker??

any input would be great, thanks!

Chronic
 
M

MrFista

Active member
Veteran
I love seaweed but don't think much of mushroom compost for bacteria. Of course with seaweed it depends on the species I collect anything and everything making sure i have bull kelp with it and let it brew in a bucket stir every few days it gets stinky foul and all the garden loves it. A cupful to about 2 1/2 gallon watering can.

many mushroom places sterilise the soil or use chem ferts and this means no bugs or a bad balance in them. Bagged mushroom compost, sorry to say, aint good for compost tea.

Seaweed helps plants grow faster yes. It has a growth promotant in it.

As for is your tea gonna be good for your plants - only way to figure that out is pour some on, or send it to a lab.
 
quadracer

quadracer

Active member
I'd throw in a handful of soil or two to replace the mushroom compost. As MrFista said, mushroom compost tends to be sterilized.

It should work fine. At the very least, you can use the seaweed as a mulch on the surface of the soil, and let the soil do the work.
 
chronic50s

chronic50s

Member
alright well heres an update on my tea...more info for you guys!

5 gallon bucket
3/4 full of rainwater
2 handfuls of mushroom compost
2 handfuls of MG organic choice potting mix
1 handful of natural soil from my backyard
2 handfuls of seaweed (from beach, rinsed n dried)
5 tbls molasses
1 tbls corn syrup
1 teabag and same amount of coffee grounds

been bubbling in the bucket with pump/airstone...foam is getting there!

now lets here some input, maybe the other things i put in there will help contribute to the mushroom compost, which lacks the microbes im needing i guess?

anyhow, some input would be nice, thanks ;)

Chronic
 
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jaykush

jaykush

dirty black hands
ICMag Donor
Veteran
id cut the molasses amount by half, 5 tablespoons is too much. 2.5 is pushin it.
 
chronic50s

chronic50s

Member
you think anything bad will come of the high amount of molasses?? im just curious if i should add a bit more water to the mix now or something? i mean, more molasses=more food=more bacteria=more goodness...or maybe im just being stupid and too simple with that, hahaha ;P
 
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jaykush

jaykush

dirty black hands
ICMag Donor
Veteran
you think anything bad will come of the high amount of molasses?? im just curious if i should add a bit more water to the mix now or something? i mean, more molasses=more food=more bacteria=more goodness...or maybe im just being stupid and too simple with that, hahaha ;P
Click to expand...

its fine just dont let it brew too long, and next time add just a little less. also when you see it as this "more molasses=more food=more bacteria=more goodness" it could be "more molasses=more food=more bacteria=eat up the oxygen faster= go anaerobic=bad" and i said "could" that doesn't mean its going to happen, unless you let it brew too long. 24-30 hours should be more than enough.
 
M

MrFista

Active member
Veteran
If it's warm where you are even 24 hours could be too long with that much molasses. I wouldn't use it as a foliar, as a drench should be ok.
 
chronic50s

chronic50s

Member
its foamy as fuck already, and only been about 12 hours since i put the molasses in...shit i guess ima dilute 1:3 (tea:rainwater) adjust ph n drench the soil, fuck it....might dilute a lil more and foilar feed, i dont think it should harm the babies anyway...ill let you guys know how it all turns out ;)
 
C

CT Guy

Personally, I think you're using way too much of all your ingredients, especially since you're using an airstone. For example, in our system (which we've tested) we're using 1 heaping cup of total compost from 3 different sources, a 1/2 c. of food (comprised of a variety of different resources), and 1 T. of humic acids (optional). That's it....

And, our pump is pushing 51 liters/min @1.5 psi.

Less is always more when making compost teas.

You can always experiment on your plants, but just be careful!

Good luck,
Tad

You can go back through and look at recipes I've posted by Dr. Ingham.

Foam is not an indicator of a good tea, smell only tells you if it's gone bad, not if you have anything beneficial.
 
chronic50s

chronic50s

Member
turns out, CT was right.... i guess the tea was a lil strong, or way strong, shit i diluted 1:3 (tea:water) and it still burt the living shit outta them! idk if it was the tea, or the fish emulsion fuckin with the PH of my soil, but either way, ima hold off on both for awhile, prolly 3 weeks.... it was about that time to transplant them in bigger pots so i did that, flushed, and then watered again with a very dilute 1:4 (liquid kelp:water) mix.....im hoping the "girls" will recover, but idk....all 5 plants have yellowing leaves up to the 3rd node (plants have 5 nodes) with a downward claw curl...top leaves and growth tips look OK so i guess well see in a few days how they do...any ideas on what coulda been the problem!??
 
C

CT Guy

The issue could also be that you brewed a bunch or pathogens or anaerobic organisms rather than the beneficial aerobic ones.

I need to make a video to show our brewer, but here's one that a guy in Canada made. It's not great quality, but if you scroll to the end of it, you can see the aeration in the bucket that you're getting. Is your brewer pushing anywhere near as much air? If not, you'll need to cut way back on your foods in order to keep the tea aerobic. Can you post a photo or more info. about your brewer?

http://blog.douggreensgarden.com/2008/07/27/how-to-make-compost-tea/

Sorry to hear about your plants. If you did spray out aerobic organisms, I'd hold off on any foliar nutrient application that may be feeding the organisms you don't want.
 
chronic50s

chronic50s

Member
well my camera is shit, ill post a pic when i make it again, but ima just tell you now, my pump isnt anywhere near that strong, lol! its just an old walmart pump, so your probably right on the fact it was a bit anaerobic....but i only fed a little bit so i figured it wasnt that big a deal....do you think the new transplant into fresh soil and the flush will get things going again?
 
C

CT Guy

Hmmm....that's a tough call because you're going to stress the plant out through the transplantation process too. I'll defer this question to someone with a bit more plant-specific experience in this regard.
 
minds_I

minds_I

Active member
Veteran
Hello all,

I am surrounded by liveoak trees and as it is fall, the leaves are everywhere.

Anyway, I was outside today and was looking at a 5 gallon bucket that has about 5 inches of water and a bunch of leaves...anyway, the water is a nice tea color and ;might be a good garden tea.

Just a thought.

minds_I
 
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