-
ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Fermented plant extracts
- Thread starter sophisto
- Start date
Yeah cool cheers.
Having just read through the entire thread again i have changed my plan a little.
The jist i am getting is that FPE are more about stimulating plants and suppresing disease/pathogens rather than fertilising per se.
So... i am going to have a bash at making a litre or so of lavender FPE as a plant tonic. This will be used on all my young uns to give them a good start in life.
My main need at the moment is lots of nutrient rich liquid to get my plants well vegged. I have started getting plants in the ground and due to poor (cold) weather some are bit straggly and pale.
The liquid nutes are going to be made with comfrey, few nettles (not many around but i started some seeds off) and i have lots of watercress growing semi-wild. I am also going to add any male marijuana plants i find in the mix. That and pig poo but this isnt a thread about manure.
The watercress i am very keen on as i know it accumulates lots of goodies. Its in flower at mo.
I was also looking at all the grass thats gone to seed but not sure if its wise to include??
Having just read through the entire thread again i have changed my plan a little.
The jist i am getting is that FPE are more about stimulating plants and suppresing disease/pathogens rather than fertilising per se.
So... i am going to have a bash at making a litre or so of lavender FPE as a plant tonic. This will be used on all my young uns to give them a good start in life.
My main need at the moment is lots of nutrient rich liquid to get my plants well vegged. I have started getting plants in the ground and due to poor (cold) weather some are bit straggly and pale.
The liquid nutes are going to be made with comfrey, few nettles (not many around but i started some seeds off) and i have lots of watercress growing semi-wild. I am also going to add any male marijuana plants i find in the mix. That and pig poo but this isnt a thread about manure.
The watercress i am very keen on as i know it accumulates lots of goodies. Its in flower at mo.
I was also looking at all the grass thats gone to seed but not sure if its wise to include??
ganjasuiteseat
Member
holy hell im on p1.lol ill be back
imo the FPE act as both. each plant has its benefits and uses. theres no denying it that nettles and comfrey make great ferts, while others like lavender make good pesticides, and others with various uses. the key as always is diversity, in one season im sure that i have used at least 15 different plant extracts on my plants. i have no disease, no pests, bud buds, potent pot.
only fresh young grass growth is worthy( think wheatgrass type situation) otherwise just feed it to the chooks.
Lavender as an essential oil has so many uses i was thinking as a plant tonic it might be a good all rounder. Have you any preference to the type of lavender? I have a nice french lavender bush and a few english in full bloom at mo. I love the smell of the french.
I did collect a heap of acacia (wattle) flowers when they were in bloom beginning of spring. I had forgot about them until i read through this again. Put a couple kilos in a 20litre bucket and filled with water and lacto b... its still in my shed waiting for use. That and a bucket of random plant matetial that has been stewing for almost a year!
Wasnt brave enough to use it on my indoor but i will give it a whirl today and see how it goes.
The calcium phosphate is a fantastic sounding one too! Must stop chucking my eggshells in the compost for a while!
Cheers for the tip on the grass. Jaykush do you have a set routine or timetable regarding plant stage and the extract you use??
I did collect a heap of acacia (wattle) flowers when they were in bloom beginning of spring. I had forgot about them until i read through this again. Put a couple kilos in a 20litre bucket and filled with water and lacto b... its still in my shed waiting for use. That and a bucket of random plant matetial that has been stewing for almost a year!
Wasnt brave enough to use it on my indoor but i will give it a whirl today and see how it goes.
The calcium phosphate is a fantastic sounding one too! Must stop chucking my eggshells in the compost for a while!
Cheers for the tip on the grass. Jaykush do you have a set routine or timetable regarding plant stage and the extract you use??
S
Stankie
I kind of burned one of my more sensitive strains last round and all I was giving it was FPE.
Speaking about using local weeds, I've heard dandelions are pretty much calcium drills. An ounce of dandelions has more calcium than an ounce of milk. The reason their tap root grows so deep is in search of calcium. I'm definitely planning on fermenting some once it warms up around here.
its always best to go light and often with plant extracts. you can burn plants just as easily as you can a bottle of nutes off the shelf of the hydro store if you dump concentrated stuff on there. its easy to start low and if it wasn't enough simply make it stronger next time or apply more often. everyone will eventually work out there own system because of the many variables that there are. undiluted nettle FPE can actually be used as a natural herbicide, so much available ammonia(which becomes N for your plants) burns the plants to death( most use it on weeds then mulch and plant a garden in fertile soil)
dandelion is great, be sure to use the roots, shoots and blooms along with the leaves. if you manage them right you can harvest blooms almost daily in season, harvest the leaves bi-weekly, and harvest the roots annually. each having there own good qualities. i have a dandelion patch i pick from that is about 10x30, mixed with various other useful plants of course. and its eatable and GOOD for you.
dandelion is great, be sure to use the roots, shoots and blooms along with the leaves. if you manage them right you can harvest blooms almost daily in season, harvest the leaves bi-weekly, and harvest the roots annually. each having there own good qualities. i have a dandelion patch i pick from that is about 10x30, mixed with various other useful plants of course. and its eatable and GOOD for you.
Well i went a flower picking and mixed up a batch.
Decided i would just go for a mixed lot for the ferment. Lots of pretty blooms around. Can ID some but maybe some members can pick them out.
Into my mix went french lavender, fuschia, raspberry leaves, apricot leaves, yarrow, few roses and about 5 or 6 that are unknown.
Decided i would just go for a mixed lot for the ferment. Lots of pretty blooms around. Can ID some but maybe some members can pick them out.
Into my mix went french lavender, fuschia, raspberry leaves, apricot leaves, yarrow, few roses and about 5 or 6 that are unknown.
do any of y'all make maye e. bruce's quick return FPE for your compost piles? i'd like to hear your experiences, recipes, advice. thanks!
here's her pamphlet if you're unfamiliar with QR activator.
here's her pamphlet if you're unfamiliar with QR activator.
jay- do you follow the original recipe? how long does it take in your experience from application to harvest?
yes i followed the original recipe, except now i add a few drops of lacto b culture if i have some made.
not sure how long exactly, lots of variables mostly weather and i usually have like 5-8 piles going at once, id say a month to two months depending on a few things. even if it took 4 months, if you built a big enough pile and did it right, youll have tons ( could be literally if the pile is big enough) of HIGH QUALITY compost. with no effort into turning the piles.
ill say though that for some it takes a few times to get it right, some people ive taught get it asap, others struggle for a while before getting it going good( usually not the most garden inclined people, or people who dont follow directions)
not sure how long exactly, lots of variables mostly weather and i usually have like 5-8 piles going at once, id say a month to two months depending on a few things. even if it took 4 months, if you built a big enough pile and did it right, youll have tons ( could be literally if the pile is big enough) of HIGH QUALITY compost. with no effort into turning the piles.
ill say though that for some it takes a few times to get it right, some people ive taught get it asap, others struggle for a while before getting it going good( usually not the most garden inclined people, or people who dont follow directions)
should put that book up on the reading list thread
damn this is a good thread. just re-read the whole thing.
so i have a couple new questions.
1. it seems that most people are just chopping up plant material and covering it with good water. but the original post suggested adding 1 part molasses to 3 parts chopped plant material (and no water?). anyone want to reassure me one way or the other?
2. i'm gonna try a lavender FPE to start. i'm mostly looking for a pest repellent. i'm wondering if i should stick to the flowers, or can i use leaves and stems too?
3. i collected dandelions and dried them out a couple months ago. can i make FPE from dried plant materials?
thanks!
....the recipe on page one calls for 45% water, the sugar is just a microbe stimulant. imo the decomposing plant matter is the microbe stimulant. im not opposed to adding some homemade lacto B culture though.
"Recipe:
5 % EM-1
5 % Sugar cane molasses
45 % Fresh, chopped plant material like weeds & herbs
45 % Water"
i dont ferment with EM but do it with the homemade lacto B. really 90% of the time i just put the plants in the water and let the natural microbes do there job. and the waters properties to do its job. the extracts come out good and the plants enjoy.
the blooms have FAR more active plant chemicals than the leaves and stems. it may work, it may not. i use blooms either fresh or dried from the previous season.
yes of course, drying and storing material for the "off season" is a good practice. take note that equal weights of dried and fresh material will produce different strength extracts, dried material always comes out stronger. so either add less, or dilute a little more.
the good thing about properly dried and stored beneficial plants is most of them you can make tea for yourself. lavender tea is yummmm. dandelion is all around good for you, nettle is rich in nutrients, all good for your body.
Fermented plant extracts
I love pointing this out - Jay is actually making traditional bokashi!
that's defined as a compost that relies on an inoculant to get the process going, which "smears" all the material into one thing (a composite, or compost). in Japanese, bokashi refers to the smearing, so there is a form of censorship and a kind of printing that are also called bokashi.
the whole bokashi bucket thing is a modern take.
I love pointing this out - Jay is actually making traditional bokashi!
that's defined as a compost that relies on an inoculant to get the process going, which "smears" all the material into one thing (a composite, or compost). in Japanese, bokashi refers to the smearing, so there is a form of censorship and a kind of printing that are also called bokashi.
the whole bokashi bucket thing is a modern take.
ooops. hello. guess i missed that water somehow lol.
do i understand it correctly that the em1 just jump starts the process and the lacto b helps eliminate some foul odors?
but fermentation will take place without either because of the presence of native bacteria?
do i understand it correctly that the em1 just jump starts the process and the lacto b helps eliminate some foul odors?
but fermentation will take place without either because of the presence of native bacteria?
not really imo, as long as the particle size is small it will get jumping asap. specially in warm weather. in the summer sometimes i have concentrates that will be as strong in 3 days as it would in 3 weeks in the winter. as long as the particle size is small = more surface area = faster decomposition.
it helps but there's no stopping the odors imo unless you do weak and short soaks rather than the long and strong soaks.
yes, there is bacteria/fungi in the air, on the plant surface and even inside the plant. no NEED for inoculates at all, there for shits and giggles mostly. EM and lacto B are best used imo other ways.
True jay, but I would add that acid-fermented material does send a pile into overdrive. You actually have to be careful not to get too hot.
