Fermented plant extracts

[jaykush]

Okay - so by now all of the leaves and have decomposed with only the larger branches and stalk (with roots) remaining. I'm assuming that it's finished, correct?

its never "finished" coot, as it ages you just have to dilute a little more. and then it gets to a point where it doesnt get stronger or weaker. now would be a good time to strain out the goopy matter and store the liquid in something for use whenever you want.

About the smell at this point - this 'tea' (talk about abusing a word) smells exactly like fresh manure as it plops to the ground. It is overwhelming and there's almost a gag reflex if you get close to it as you're diluting it.

lol yea, you get used to it trust me. i can take big whiffs of nettle if i wanted to. when i first started i think i was on the verge of throwing up once.

Is it accurate that comfrey smells worse/stronger than stinging nettle? Is that even possible? LOL

actually its pretty funny, they all have there own unique smells. i wouldn't say any are worse than the others. although ill have to say the possible worst ive smelled was a nettle and alfalfa mixed extract. never again will i mix those two and thats also another reason why i prefer to make them separate.

if a person was to not be able to make these because of smell. just dont soak as long. make what would be a strong extract if you left it for weeks, and fill with water, but use it before it stinks(3-5 days). you wont have as strong an extract and wont get the most out of that single batch of extract but. you can always refill with the same plant material and repeat if need be.

 

[heady blunts]

starting a peach fruit FPE and a pea flower FPE today. lookin for something equivalent to the camilla FPE that bonsai made...

 

[jaykush]

be careful with fruits. you can create a good amount of alcohol. ive made extracts out of fruit and when i went to use it it smelled like a fruity alcoholic beverage.

 

[heady blunts]

hmm good point. i was going to collect some fallen ones from my neighbor's tree. as far as i can tell they are not sweet yet. would that help do you think?

would it be possible to evaporate off the alcohols and end up with something useful in that kind of situation?

 

[heady blunts]

does anyone have that link to the database of plant constituents? i can't find it anywhere...

 

[CC_2U]

Link

 

[Scrappy4]

be careful with fruits. you can create a good amount of alcohol. ive made extracts out of fruit and when i went to use it it smelled like a fruity alcoholic beverage.

I doubt the alcohol gets to the level of too much concern, simple evaporation will take care of a lot of it, and then there is dilution. And really any compost tea that has molasses, honey, barley extract, or any sugar has the chance to ferment. There is usually enough wild, air born, yeast to start a fermentation, once you add sugar, add air and it's game on. Think of it as taking your microbe crew/posse on a bender.......scrappy

 

[jaykush]

how long are you planning on letting it sit? the ones ive made smelled pretty damn strong. im just saying from experience.

 

[CC_2U]

Jaykush

I thought you might find some of this information helpful and informative.

CC

 

[jaykush]

way ahead of you, and there's already a thread here on it called plants that help our plants.

 

[Amber Trich]

I thought you might find some of this information helpful and informative. CC

I found this super interesting.. Good link.

I didnt know adding nettle root to the FPE would make it fungicidal, that must be what the rose gardeners do when they use nettle FPE to fight PM

 

[Dkgrower]

Hey peps i dont know if this have been covered in this tread.

I have been making nettel tee fore a long time and was always told that it was high in Nitrogen but after reading a project on nettel tees preformed by a danish plant school, according to there findings its not the nitrogen in the tee that make plants burn when applying it in to high amounts, but the high level off bacteria that revitalize the soil and make more nitrogen aviliabel to the plant..

After reading that i always add nettel and soil to my pigion (fresh)
shit tee.

This is the mix i make....

I get the pigion shit in bags but there is generaly 15 kilos in it
i mix that up with 150L off rain water to that i add plenty off fresh or dryed nettels and 10L off compost soil. I let that stand fore around 1 to 2 weeks and stir it as often i rember it...

After 4 to 5 days i add a good splash off molasse so the bacs have something to live off...

This stuff is some smelly stuff and after 2 weeks it is thick like portwine i take this solution 1 to 10 depending on mood and weather
if there is rain on the way i dont dilute it to much and water it out inbetween the rows and the let rain flush it down


Symtium officinalis is another super plant to make tee fore flowering plants they are rich in kalium and other trace elements I replace nettels with Symtium officinalis in and around late juli and use that in to mid to late flower, where i end with just plain rain water with 5 ml molasse pr L off water.


Bom Shiva

 

[mapinguari]

way ahead of you, and there's already a thread here on it called plants that help our plants.

Can't find it, jaykush...help a brotha out?

Edit: here's the thread.

 

[jaykush]

I have been making nettel tee fore a long time and was always told that it was high in Nitrogen but after reading a project on nettel tees preformed by a danish plant school, according to there findings its not the nitrogen in the tee that make plants burn when applying it in to high amounts, but the high level off bacteria that revitalize the soil and make more nitrogen aviliabel to the plant..

there is actually a bloom of microbes ( mostly bacteria ) in the early days of the fermentation. after about a week the numbers die down. the "richness" of the tea comes mostly from dead microbes. i have tested my extracts dozens and dozens of times over the years with either a friends scope or in the last few years my own. nettle tea contains a good amount of ammonia too. which in turn ends up as nitrogen for the plant.

Can't find it, jaykush...help a brotha out?

the search engine here sucks, i searched and got nothing. try searching for things like plant extracts, FPE, etc...

 

[Scrappy4]

Jaykush, have you ever used cultured yeast in a FPE? I'm sure there is natural wild air born yeast going in anyway. I suspect it would be microbe food, plus a modem of vitimin B. And the alcohol would be a solvent further breaking down plant materials. Just a thought...........scrappy

 

[jaykush]

yea i have, didn't notice much difference. didnt want to pay for yeast all the time either.

really ive had the best results when i just use plant material and water. the plant material contains all the natural bacteria, fungi and such to do the job needed. K.I.S.S. as usual.
.
now as for the alcohol, i have been messing with tinctures lately. still not ready to post stuff as its in trial mode. alcohol extracts different compounds than water. and in the alcohol its not a microbial based process.

 

[Scrappy4]

yea i have, didn't notice much difference. didnt want to pay for yeast all the time either.

really ive had the best results when i just use plant material and water. the plant material contains all the natural bacteria, fungi and such to do the job needed. K.I.S.S. as usual.
.
now as for the alcohol, i have been messing with tinctures lately. still not ready to post stuff as its in trial mode. alcohol extracts different compounds than water. and in the alcohol its not a microbial based process.

Are you saying yeast are not microbes? (i guess i assumed they were)Or when the alcohol level gets high enough microbes/yeast die off? IE in a tincture.....scrappy

 

[jaykush]

where did i say yeast isnt a micro organism?

all im saying is whenever i have tried to improve on the basic plant material in water method. there was never any results that were leaps and bounds ahead. and i have tried so many different things. i always end up back at, chop some nettles, put it in a bucket with water and wait. the occasional lacto b is added but for the most part i skip it.

the tinctures have nothing to do with microbes. i have been making them the same way you would a medicinal herbal tincture. the reason i said its not a microbial based process is alcohol is a solvent all on its own. and bacteria don't thrive in an alcohol rich environment, and i mean all alcohol, no water. thats what a tincture is, the alcohol levels dont get stronger, its already full strength.

now with fermenting fruit, the alcohol levels start low and raise like your saying.

 

[Scrappy4]

where did i say yeast isnt a micro organism?

This is the line that threw me.

and in the alcohol its not a microbial based process.

Thanks for clearing that up........scrappy

 

[mapinguari]

the search engine here sucks, i searched and got nothing. try searching for things like plant extracts, FPE, etc...

Ain't that the truth!

I'll post a link when I find it.

EDIT: Didn't find the thread jaykush was talking about, despite the (rather brilliant) search for "french" and "nettle"!

Did find a threat called "Getting maniacal with organics," where you can pick up more advice from jaykush and CC.

Also one on Biodynamic gardening may interest some of you if you don't know it yet.