A Basic Compost Tea Guide

[vonforne]

OK veg stage.

2 TBS N guano or Alfalfa
1 TBS P guano bone meal does not work in a tea.
2 TBS liquid seaweed.
1 cup of EWC
2 TSP of molasses or some kind of sugar product. Raw sugar, syrup etc.

All placed in an old sock or No. 2 panty hose doubled up or a 400 micron cheese cloth. I am a cheap ass so I use old socks. Place in a bucket of tepid water (chlorine burned off minimum of 24 hours) with the air pump with a minimum of 10 gallons per hour capacity.
Brew for a minimum of 24 hours. I like to dilute mine to look like weak tea and then work up from there. Remember less is better. And you are feeding the soil and it feeds the plant.

Have you added Dolomite lime to the soil substrate? Are you filtering the water? and you burning off the chlorine?

V

 

[AndreNicky]

Let me get this straight, u mix 1 cup of dry mix with 5 gallons of water and bubble that. Then you mix 1 cup of that mix with 5 gallons of water to make the tea for the plants? This is assuming I'm using the veg mix from Recipe#3 in Organic for beginners sticky

 

[onahah]

Von

Von

I forgot to mention dolomite lime. yes, i did add some dolomite lime to the soil when i mixed everything in. I dont think i mixed to much, but dont know if it was enough. if i need some ill add it back HOPEFULLY before flower, if signs show.

the water sits for 48 + to get chlorine out.

Thanks for the info boss. Im gonna throw a 5 gallon bucket to bubble right now so i can water tomorrow night. give it the 24 hrs at the least, or ill wait till monday, is 48 hrs too much?

I know this is out of the tea area, but how long would a mixture of nutes last if bubbling with two-4 airstones in it?

 

[onahah]

cups is way too much

cups is way too much

AndreNicky: the original mixture amounts were a TAD high for what i am working with. Those amounts are if your using a lot of water on alot of plants.

i use 5 gals of water to water pretty much water all my plants so i just wanted a less concentrated version of the tea mix. This way instead of taking one cup from a 5 gal tea, and mixing it with 5 gals of water i can feed the mix straight from the original mixture container..

ya diiiiiiggggggggg. I dont know why i felt like writing that.

 

[AndreNicky]

AndreNicky: the original mixture amounts were a TAD high for what i am working with. Those amounts are if your using a lot of water on alot of plants.

i use 5 gals of water to water pretty much water all my plants so i just wanted a less concentrated version of the tea mix. This way instead of taking one cup from a 5 gal tea, and mixing it with 5 gals of water i can feed the mix straight from the original mixture container..

ya diiiiiiggggggggg. I dont know why i felt like writing that.

Thx for clearin that up, got alittle confused

 

[useless people]

what do you guys think about using 10ml Earth juice bloom with 5 ml earth ambrosia 5ml earth nectar and 5ml carboload bubbled in 1 gallon for 36-48 hrs as a tea for plants 43 days old in promix thanks

 

[CT Guy]

what do you guys think about using 10ml Earth juice bloom with 5 ml earth ambrosia 5ml earth nectar and 5ml carboload bubbled in 1 gallon for 36-48 hrs as a tea for plants 43 days old in promix thanks

Just to clarify, this is not the same as compost tea. What you're adding with these ingredients are food resources for the microbes that already exist on the leaf surface and in the soil of your plant.

With compost tea, you're adding BIOLOGY, with some soluble nutrients.

There's no need to bubble it or aerate it for any length of time because there's no biology in those products (as far as I know).

 

[useless people]

Just to clarify, this is not the same as compost tea. What you're adding with these ingredients are food resources for the microbes that already exist on the leaf surface and in the soil of your plant.

With compost tea, you're adding BIOLOGY, with some soluble nutrients.

There's no need to bubble it or aerate it for any length of time because there's no biology in those products (as far as I know).

Earth Ambrosia
Our Liquid humus (Humic substances) is gently teased into solution via microbial action because of this biological process our liquid humus is low in salts and any negative salt affects are minimized its purpose is to help the deliver system of earth nectar's living culture of biologically active soil beneficial organisms plus the other known benefits of humus

Ambrosia TM: is my answer to the high salt and high pH liquid Humic acid products that are very popular in the industry. A natural source of Humus in a liquid that was not made using chemical base extraction, so it’s not toxic to the soils microbiology and will not harm the microbes in the product itself. Liquid materials move into the soil faster then the dry humus products such as Humates, Cultured humus in TerraPro etc. Liquids can also be used in spray equipment, injectors or hydroseeders.

Earth Nectar
Liquid compost concentrate with Mutualistic microorganisms selected for their synergistic ability to help make soil nutrients available to plants a complete liquid inoculant of indigenous microorganisms plus mycorrhizae for restoring biology of soils made from liquefied compost using our exclusive enzyme digestive process

Nectar TM: Not a compost tea or an extract of compost. Nectar is a concentrated broth of Enzymes, Naturally occurring bacteria in stasis, Mycorrhizal spores and vegetative root tissues and a high level of Total Dissolved Solids derived from the digestion of three types of composts including Worm castings, bacterially dominated and fungally dominated, into a liquid. Much like how your digestive system will turn solid food stuff into a liquid that can pass across the membrane of the small intestine, we digest compost into a liquid that is the foundation of this product. No animal manures, city biosolids or yard wastes are used. All composts ingredients are tightly controlled for quality and specificity. Better then any compost tea, Nectar can be placed into a sealed bottle without losing significant diversity for many months, plus it’s a source of microbiology that’s impossible for Compost tea to achieve and yet stay stable. Using Michael’s exclusive Bacterial stasis and oxygen donor technology to keep this product fresh in the bottle, Nectar is the cutting edge liquid inoculant.

taken from the bottle and website

 

[CT Guy]

Earth Ambrosia
Our Liquid humus (Humic substances) is gently teased into solution via microbial action because of this biological process our liquid humus is low in salts and any negative salt affects are minimized its purpose is to help the deliver system of earth nectar's living culture of biologically active soil beneficial organisms plus the other known benefits of humus

Ambrosia TM: is my answer to the high salt and high pH liquid Humic acid products that are very popular in the industry. A natural source of Humus in a liquid that was not made using chemical base extraction, so it’s not toxic to the soils microbiology and will not harm the microbes in the product itself. Liquid materials move into the soil faster then the dry humus products such as Humates, Cultured humus in TerraPro etc. Liquids can also be used in spray equipment, injectors or hydroseeders.

Earth Nectar
Liquid compost concentrate with Mutualistic microorganisms selected for their synergistic ability to help make soil nutrients available to plants a complete liquid inoculant of indigenous microorganisms plus mycorrhizae for restoring biology of soils made from liquefied compost using our exclusive enzyme digestive process

Nectar TM: Not a compost tea or an extract of compost. Nectar is a concentrated broth of Enzymes, Naturally occurring bacteria in stasis, Mycorrhizal spores and vegetative root tissues and a high level of Total Dissolved Solids derived from the digestion of three types of composts including Worm castings, bacterially dominated and fungally dominated, into a liquid. Much like how your digestive system will turn solid food stuff into a liquid that can pass across the membrane of the small intestine, we digest compost into a liquid that is the foundation of this product. No animal manures, city biosolids or yard wastes are used. All composts ingredients are tightly controlled for quality and specificity. Better then any compost tea, Nectar can be placed into a sealed bottle without losing significant diversity for many months, plus it’s a source of microbiology that’s impossible for Compost tea to achieve and yet stay stable. Using Michael’s exclusive Bacterial stasis and oxygen donor technology to keep this product fresh in the bottle, Nectar is the cutting edge liquid inoculant.

taken from the bottle and website

Okay, I retract part of my previous post, but it's still not compost tea. It's more of an instant compost tea that you're attempting to grow out and replicate into greater numbers. You still won't get anywhere near the diversity that you would with a good ACT. Also, you don't know what the best food substrates are for the microbes in these mixes. Personally, I think they're a waste of money if you want BIOLOGY. That is, unless you want to add a specific microbe to deal with a specific imbalance or problem.

I see these claims all the time like the Nectar product. Unfortunately, I have yet so see someone back it up with microscope work or lab results that support these claims. There's just no way to take a good ACT and make it dormant and give it a shelf life, without losing significant diversity. At least, I haven't seen it yet....

Oh and Earth Nectar. What the heck are "indigenous" microbes? Aren't these just "soil" microbes? How do you "liquify" compost? And what are "mutualistic" microbes? Maybe I'm totally ignorant (it's possible), but it sounds to me like they're making this stuff up!

Ambrosia is just a humic acid. Good for plants and a food source for microbes, but isn't going to contain any biology if I read the paragraph on it correctly.

 

[Microbeman]

Okay, I retract part of my previous post, but it's still not compost tea. It's more of an instant compost tea that you're attempting to grow out and replicate into greater numbers. You still won't get anywhere near the diversity that you would with a good ACT. Also, you don't know what the best food substrates are for the microbes in these mixes. Personally, I think they're a waste of money if you want BIOLOGY. That is, unless you want to add a specific microbe to deal with a specific imbalance or problem.

I see these claims all the time like the Nectar product. Unfortunately, I have yet so see someone back it up with microscope work or lab results that support these claims. There's just no way to take a good ACT and make it dormant and give it a shelf life, without losing significant diversity. At least, I haven't seen it yet....

Oh and Earth Nectar. What the heck are "indigenous" microbes? Aren't these just "soil" microbes? How do you "liquify" compost? And what are "mutualistic" microbes? Maybe I'm totally ignorant (it's possible), but it sounds to me like they're making this stuff up!

Ambrosia is just a humic acid. Good for plants and a food source for microbes, but isn't going to contain any biology if I read the paragraph on it correctly.

Let me guess. These are Soil Secrets products - right? I recently compared their cultured humus product to my own vermicompost. I examined microscopically.
The cultured humus did grow some fungal hyphae but very little else. I saw none of the protozoa promised on the website except for a few ciliates and very very few bacteria. My vermicompost subjected to an identical examination showed bacteria, flagellates and fungal hyphae in amazing numbers.

Buyer beware of sales pitches and words like indigenous, beneficial microbes and other non-specific phrases.

 

[jaykush]

a complete liquid inoculant of indigenous microorganisms

indigenous to where? lol

 

[vonforne]

indigenous to where? lol

To the bottle they package it in I suppose JK.

Microman has a good point......never believe the sales pitch of what they sell you. That is why I make my own.

V

 

[Joey56789]

I think you have to take it for what it's worth. Products like this sell convenience. With convenience there is always a down side. A TV dinner is not going to be as good as a home cooked meal. There are some decent TV dinners though. Just don't listen to anyone who says their TV dinner is better then a home cooked meal. Of course people around here push the home cooked meal, but there are some expert cooks around here

 

[onahah]

Life of nutes?

Life of nutes?

I was wondering what the life of a tea would be all together?

-How long will the tea last past 48 hrs.

-When using teas, do i keep a regular nute schedule or do the teas substitute for the nute regiment?

-If not too much to ask? how long would something like floranova grow last bubbling in a 5 gallon with 4 airstones?

 

[hbstoner]

how do you tell exactly when your tea has gone anaerobic? i mean when you use any kinda guano and bubble it it smells pretty bad. does the smell usualy progress into something nicer smelling? it does smell somewhat sweet from the molasses but it still smells pretty nasty. is there an easier way to tell other then smell? do tons of bubbles on the top tell you that its working right or can it still go bad when its bubbling like that?

 

[CT Guy]

I was wondering what the life of a tea would be all together?

-How long will the tea last past 48 hrs.

-When using teas, do i keep a regular nute schedule or do the teas substitute for the nute regiment?

-If not too much to ask? how long would something like floranova grow last bubbling in a 5 gallon with 4 airstones?

Your tea has a shelf life of 4 hours from when you shut off the motor.

Past 36 hours, you'll begin to have a batch that is primarily protozoa. You may or may not have much bacteria and fungi.

The tea should allow you to cut back on your nutrients and make them more efficient. Remember, when you're putting out organic fertilizers you're not directly feeding the plant, you're feeding the microbes that cycle the nutrients for the plant

No clue on the floranova and unless someone has done real testing or microscope work, it's anyone's best guess.

 

[CT Guy]

how do you tell exactly when your tea has gone anaerobic? i mean when you use any kinda guano and bubble it it smells pretty bad. does the smell usualy progress into something nicer smelling? it does smell somewhat sweet from the molasses but it still smells pretty nasty. is there an easier way to tell other then smell? do tons of bubbles on the top tell you that its working right or can it still go bad when its bubbling like that?

If it still has a strong odor at the end of the brew then you probably didn't have sufficient microbial activity to process the material. Having said that, I had no experience with guano. In a batch, if I were to add molasses, the smell would be gone by the end of the brewing cycle.

The only way to know for sure if you tea did not go anaerobic would be to use a dissolved oxygen meter and track it through the entire brewing cycle.

 

[onahah]

so far so good

so far so good

Well, im only ~5 hrs away from 24 hrs of bubbling.

It looks just like the original post except i put it in a big ass 30 gall tote (made 15 gals of tea) so that it would not tear my floor. i do that enough with the liquid karma, floranova and molasses.

I also stuck my ph meeter and my ppm meter in. 6.2~6.4ph and ppms were around 450.

Im sorry i havent read all 30 pages but does the tea supplement the nute feeding i should be giving or is it just to rejuvinate (<-- spell check) the soil only which, like is said, feeds the plant?

Some plants have the green/yellow leaves coming through

should i maybe throw some cal mag into the mix or is that a no-no?

 

[gamehaze]

hello all a big thank you to everyone in this forum you all give me so much inspiration to keep learning always!!

i have recently decided to start brewing my own teas and it has rejuvinated my excitement for growing as its opened up a whole new world to me instead of just buying biobizz products.

My first question is when would you need a more bacterial tea i gathered you do that by adding soy sauce rather than mollasses

and what stage would you need a more fungal tea

i live in london so its hard to get the same products as you guys here so heres what ive purchased today

blackstrap mollases from holland and barrett

spirulina powder from holland and barret

and organic drink comprised of wheatgrass, green tea extract,apple juice,thick agave syrup, lemon juice and micro algae spirulina also from holland and barret

i purchased fish blood and bone feed from homebase

and some guanokalong bat shit

i am still trying to source some kelp

are these alright to use

also i have an ro machine does that mean i have to still add cal mag because i cant find no dolomite lime

thanks for the help

 

[Thundurkel]

So I posted this question a few days back and haven't got a answer in the other threads so I'm hoping Vonforne will help me out cuz I'm wanting to use nothing but teas now and here's what I asked..

So I just got into brewing tea's and right now I'm using Mother Mary's recipe but I can't get the powdered phosphate and was wondering if I'm ok through flowering using the following each watering since I grow in 20oz containers...

1 gallon non chlorinated water
1tsp Happy Frog All Purpose 5-5-5
1tsp Happy Frog Bat Guano 0-5-0
1tsp Moleasses 1-0-5
1cup Worm Castings

brewed for 24-36 hrs then mixed 50/50 with non chlorinated water, IMO I think I should be fine and I'm thinking I will get better results than what I was getting using Tiger Bloom and moleasses what do you guys and gals think??