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Organic Fanatic Collective
- Thread starter Suby
- Start date
G
Guest
I keep seeing posts about sources for organic K, so thought I'd mention. I use the powder white ash from an incinerated 'Ash' tree branch/trunk. Farmers have been using ash from Ash trees for a long time to grow potatos; which need ALOT of Potash. Also you can make your own charcoal for those of you who use charcoal for hort. use. Just pull glowing chunks from the fire before they ash over and set on cement or some other non-burning surface. Sometimes the newfangled ways are more complicated than need be.
J.
J.
Hey P,
I find ashes whack ph out, how do you get them stable enough to use?
Although since then I've bumped up the dolomite so maybe that would off set it.
Sub's
Any ideas on what kind of tea would be good for breaking down thatch in my grass?
I spoke to chemist last year and he had a certified organic thatching fert, he definately knew his stuff and had me on the phone awhile, in the end the shipping was alot and the product was also a bit pricey, now I'd like to see if I can brew my own.
I find ashes whack ph out, how do you get them stable enough to use?
Although since then I've bumped up the dolomite so maybe that would off set it.
Sub's
Any ideas on what kind of tea would be good for breaking down thatch in my grass?
I spoke to chemist last year and he had a certified organic thatching fert, he definately knew his stuff and had me on the phone awhile, in the end the shipping was alot and the product was also a bit pricey, now I'd like to see if I can brew my own.
3BM
Member
Hey pyrex,
What about just using the potato skins themselves? If they consume K then they must contain K in their tissue. Add them to the compost bin and BAM K containing compost. For another interesting source of K, check out ...
Orchard Grass: its a dynamic accumulator with a deep root system
- Ca 53 mg/100g
- Fe 23 mg/100g
- P 51 mg/100g
- K 3440 mg/100g
Orchard grass is commonly planted with legmues like alfalfa and clover for feed hay fields. I just pick up bails of it throughout the summer, and compost like crazy.
What about just using the potato skins themselves? If they consume K then they must contain K in their tissue. Add them to the compost bin and BAM K containing compost. For another interesting source of K, check out ...
Orchard Grass: its a dynamic accumulator with a deep root system
- Ca 53 mg/100g
- Fe 23 mg/100g
- P 51 mg/100g
- K 3440 mg/100g
Orchard grass is commonly planted with legmues like alfalfa and clover for feed hay fields. I just pick up bails of it throughout the summer, and compost like crazy.
G
Guest
Subs,
I usually mix it in with the soil thats sitting. By the time I get around to needing the cycled soil I don't have any problems - I've never used it fresh in the soil so I don't know how long it takes to settle down.
I've thought about this before but the problem that occured to me is that I can't bubble enough water to efficiently water the yard with and city water kills my colonies so for the moment I'm stuck with hand watering my tea or dumping 5 gallon buckets but my yard would take probably 100X 5gallon buckets.
3BM,
I already have potato skins in my bucket, it just didn't occur to me that they are probably as you mentioned; I just used them because I know generally they are nutritious and I don't like the skins. Never heard of orchard grass; I'll look into that, I know there's a few farm supplies around town.
J.
I usually mix it in with the soil thats sitting. By the time I get around to needing the cycled soil I don't have any problems - I've never used it fresh in the soil so I don't know how long it takes to settle down.
I've thought about this before but the problem that occured to me is that I can't bubble enough water to efficiently water the yard with and city water kills my colonies so for the moment I'm stuck with hand watering my tea or dumping 5 gallon buckets but my yard would take probably 100X 5gallon buckets.
3BM,
I already have potato skins in my bucket, it just didn't occur to me that they are probably as you mentioned; I just used them because I know generally they are nutritious and I don't like the skins. Never heard of orchard grass; I'll look into that, I know there's a few farm supplies around town.
J.
V
vonforne
Here Suby, this is a 1000 US gallon tea brewer. You can brew a tea up for your yard and when you are done you can loan it to Smurf to fertilize his tree. HaHa.
G
Guest
I have been inspired! DAMN; thats alot of tea.
J.
J.
Alright now I know I have to get serious about making quality compost, it just seems too easy to pass up.
That is a DIY job if I ever saw one, the only problem is the tank but then again Rubbermaid makes some bloody big tanks.
V you have the specs on that puppy, I wonder what the additional gadjets would be on a professional brewer?
I dunno guys I keep seing these fantastic liquid organic ferts that are stable and have great results and claim to be active and they all include some type od soil microbes and a specific brewing cycle, I have been looking for links to those types of brewing so if any OFC heads have any info please share.
That is a DIY job if I ever saw one, the only problem is the tank but then again Rubbermaid makes some bloody big tanks.
V you have the specs on that puppy, I wonder what the additional gadjets would be on a professional brewer?
I dunno guys I keep seing these fantastic liquid organic ferts that are stable and have great results and claim to be active and they all include some type od soil microbes and a specific brewing cycle, I have been looking for links to those types of brewing so if any OFC heads have any info please share.
i dont think rubber maids make anything that huge. you would have to get something made. biggest thing thats waterproof on there site is 50 gallons.
as for some things id want would be ph meter, temp meter, oxygen level meter, and a few other goodies all on a digital pad. oooh and a nozzle to drain the tea i hate spilling it on me and i ALWAYS do. i could easily throw one of those together for 1/2 the price and it would be bad ass. too bad thats waaaaaaaay too much tea. it would cost an arm and a leg to run that thing constantly without any profit from it coming in. id sell tea
links to these fantastic liquid bottle ferts? im sure i could dig something up.
as for some things id want would be ph meter, temp meter, oxygen level meter, and a few other goodies all on a digital pad. oooh and a nozzle to drain the tea i hate spilling it on me and i ALWAYS do. i could easily throw one of those together for 1/2 the price and it would be bad ass. too bad thats waaaaaaaay too much tea. it would cost an arm and a leg to run that thing constantly without any profit from it coming in. id sell tea
links to these fantastic liquid bottle ferts? im sure i could dig something up.
V
vonforne
I will do some more searching tonight. I seen that and I said to myself.......I said self, now that would be one killer tea brewer........and then I said ....self, you are crazy. but there were a hundred of these things all different sizes.
JK, I WAS looking to make one that is why I have been looking around.
Suby, I will try and get the specs to one of these and post it up. And if you had that thing you could fert the whole yard from the front porch.
V
JK, I WAS looking to make one that is why I have been looking around.
Suby, I will try and get the specs to one of these and post it up. And if you had that thing you could fert the whole yard from the front porch.
V
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Hey GUYS,
I think 50 gallons would be plenty, even if I have to give it more than one feeding it would be fine.
Jay those sound like a good list of bells and whistles, it'll need a powerhead or something similar to the soil soup aerator.
And I'm not looking for the fertilizer sites I'm looking for a brewing process description for an industrial brewer.
Sub's
I think 50 gallons would be plenty, even if I have to give it more than one feeding it would be fine.
Jay those sound like a good list of bells and whistles, it'll need a powerhead or something similar to the soil soup aerator.
And I'm not looking for the fertilizer sites I'm looking for a brewing process description for an industrial brewer.
Sub's
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why go with a 50 gallon rubbermaid when you can go with a 55 gallon drum.
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/rcwb55.html
this is one of many many sites out there im sure you can find some way cheaper.
these drums will last 10x longer than a rubbermaid and take some abuse.
* if you use ebay you can get them for 10$
maybe V can find one thats maybe more like the 100-200 gallon range!
and suby i had some links to all the different types/ways to brew tea but i lost the link ill have to look for it. and a few on how the pros do it. but honestly the number of pure organic growers is limited imo. no one does it like the good ol days anymore.
edit: http://www.aeromasterequipment.com/ACS/te500.html
they kind of explain the process might be what ur looking for. ill add a few later on as well.
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/rcwb55.html
this is one of many many sites out there im sure you can find some way cheaper.
these drums will last 10x longer than a rubbermaid and take some abuse.
* if you use ebay you can get them for 10$
maybe V can find one thats maybe more like the 100-200 gallon range!
and suby i had some links to all the different types/ways to brew tea but i lost the link ill have to look for it. and a few on how the pros do it. but honestly the number of pure organic growers is limited imo. no one does it like the good ol days anymore.
edit: http://www.aeromasterequipment.com/ACS/te500.html
they kind of explain the process might be what ur looking for. ill add a few later on as well.
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G
Guest
Strangely, I have a power bubbler setup for upto 2500 gallons of water. It's basically a portable hot tub jet system. The bubbling is rediculous from this thing. I'll post a pic tomorrow. Think I got it for like $85 or something like that at Walmart...........I think
Ya know, I was thinkin the same thing about the barrells, I know a couple of Cali folks who store rain water for the dry season in these blue 55gallon rain barrels.
J.
Ya know, I was thinkin the same thing about the barrells, I know a couple of Cali folks who store rain water for the dry season in these blue 55gallon rain barrels.
J.
V
vonforne
I had a link to an Australian site that had something that looked like a boat motor. HaHa!
JK, we use a rubber barrel at work to mix certian types of construction material up.
Also farm equipment sites would probably have on that is tough enough also.
here is the link to where I got that one.
http://www.composttea.com/
JK, stop making fun at me. HaHa.
JK, we use a rubber barrel at work to mix certian types of construction material up.
Also farm equipment sites would probably have on that is tough enough also.
here is the link to where I got that one.
http://www.composttea.com/
JK, stop making fun at me. HaHa.
V
vonforne
See, here is one that is 22 gallon. this web site also provides fert packets and brewing instructions.
and it is the only one I found to be OMRI listed....I'm sure there are more out there. I will have to keep looking.
Here is another site:
http://www.norganics.com/tea.html
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V
vonforne
JK, I had an idea when I was loading up tools for the day.......I have this old Pressure washer 2500psi with a chemical feed line......brew the tea you want and insert the feeder hose into the fert holding tank. It will draw out the fert/mix it with water and apply at the same time. You would just have to filter the tea to remove any solid coumpounds so you wouldn't clog the pump up......
What do you all think?
What do you all think?
Courtesy of SFI - Soil Foodweb Institute (Australia)
Demonstrated to Make Good Compost Tea, Grow Beneficial Fungi in the Tea Maker. These are not in any particular order!
1. EPM, Earth Tea Brewers – 100 ($3,500) and 500 gal Excellent extraction http://www.composttea.com/
2. KIS brewers – 5 ($99) and 25 gal Good extraction, easy to clean!!!!! http://www.simplici-tea.com/
3. Alaska Giant – 1 ($40) and 5 ($80) gal, good extraction, soaker hose http://www.alaskagiant.com/
4. Ground Up – 50 gal and larger
5. Worm Gold (www.wormgold.com)
6. Compara
7. Sottilo - [email protected] Brewers made to order
Demonstrated to grow bacteria, and usually only anaerobic bacteria
SoilSoup – 6.5 gal ($400), 30 gal, 250 gal
Growing Solutions – 25 ($1300), 100 ($5000) and 500 gal ($12,000)
Figure out the amount of tea you need to put out at any one time. If you can put out 5 gal today, and 5 tomorrow, and 5 the day after, why buy a machine that makes 50 gal? If you own 10,000 acres, ok, you need a big machine. If you own an acre or less, a 5 gal machine will likely do fine.
You need a means of transferring the tea from the tea brewer to the soil, or to the foliage of your plants. With small size tea brewers, pouring the tea into a sprayer works well. But with larger volumes of tea, you will need a transfer pump to move the tea into the sprayer unit. You need to talk to your tea machine maker and find out the testing that they have done to make certain that the pump doesn’t destroy the organisms in the tea as it is being transferred.
There is a tea maker on the market, clearly one not recommended by SFI , where the transfer pump kills about 50% of the organisms in the tea. So even though that company posts plate count data showing there is bacteria in the tea made by that machine, moving the tea out of that machine into your sprayer will kill about half the organisms in the tea. Please be aware of these kinds of snake-oil salesmen!
You need a sprayer that will distribute the organisms evenly on the leaf surface. Typically any sprayer meant to apply pesticide will evenly apply tea organisms. The only thing that needs to be checked is that the sprayer re-circulates tea while the tea is in a large size tank (back-pack sprayers or smaller don’t need this, it typically doesn’t take hours to apply tea in small amounts), and that the pump used by the sprayer doesn’t kill organisms either. Talk to the tea machine makers about their lines of spray equipment.
Edit: I'm not sure if those prices are in US$, could be Aust.?
You have to check out the fella from Alaska Giant (John Evans.... all the Guinness records he holds for growing vegies).
Demonstrated to Make Good Compost Tea, Grow Beneficial Fungi in the Tea Maker. These are not in any particular order!
1. EPM, Earth Tea Brewers – 100 ($3,500) and 500 gal Excellent extraction http://www.composttea.com/
2. KIS brewers – 5 ($99) and 25 gal Good extraction, easy to clean!!!!! http://www.simplici-tea.com/
3. Alaska Giant – 1 ($40) and 5 ($80) gal, good extraction, soaker hose http://www.alaskagiant.com/
4. Ground Up – 50 gal and larger
5. Worm Gold (www.wormgold.com)
6. Compara
7. Sottilo - [email protected] Brewers made to order
Demonstrated to grow bacteria, and usually only anaerobic bacteria
SoilSoup – 6.5 gal ($400), 30 gal, 250 gal
Growing Solutions – 25 ($1300), 100 ($5000) and 500 gal ($12,000)
Figure out the amount of tea you need to put out at any one time. If you can put out 5 gal today, and 5 tomorrow, and 5 the day after, why buy a machine that makes 50 gal? If you own 10,000 acres, ok, you need a big machine. If you own an acre or less, a 5 gal machine will likely do fine.
You need a means of transferring the tea from the tea brewer to the soil, or to the foliage of your plants. With small size tea brewers, pouring the tea into a sprayer works well. But with larger volumes of tea, you will need a transfer pump to move the tea into the sprayer unit. You need to talk to your tea machine maker and find out the testing that they have done to make certain that the pump doesn’t destroy the organisms in the tea as it is being transferred.
There is a tea maker on the market, clearly one not recommended by SFI , where the transfer pump kills about 50% of the organisms in the tea. So even though that company posts plate count data showing there is bacteria in the tea made by that machine, moving the tea out of that machine into your sprayer will kill about half the organisms in the tea. Please be aware of these kinds of snake-oil salesmen!
You need a sprayer that will distribute the organisms evenly on the leaf surface. Typically any sprayer meant to apply pesticide will evenly apply tea organisms. The only thing that needs to be checked is that the sprayer re-circulates tea while the tea is in a large size tank (back-pack sprayers or smaller don’t need this, it typically doesn’t take hours to apply tea in small amounts), and that the pump used by the sprayer doesn’t kill organisms either. Talk to the tea machine makers about their lines of spray equipment.
Edit: I'm not sure if those prices are in US$, could be Aust.?
You have to check out the fella from Alaska Giant (John Evans.... all the Guinness records he holds for growing vegies).
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G
Guest
Smurf,
Do you have any idea how the pump kills the microbes?
J.
Do you have any idea how the pump kills the microbes?
J.
