Tea Article

[CT Guy]

the first at 24hr didnt exactly smell good




I havent been using ewc, as of yet. So i need roughly 3cfm for 5 gal? I have only made 2gal batches with this air pump, so it should be sufficient? 1/8 tsp per gal?

Thanks, Chief.

Chief,

I'm sorry, we were talking about 2 different things. Let me clarify.

If you're just putting in the Dr. Earth's Fertilizer and no compost (meaning no source of biology), then you don't need/want a brewing cycle at all.

The air pump info and rates I gave before were based on if you were trying to make an aerated compost tea.

 

[Microbeman]

If you have an Eco plus #1 commercial air pump that is plenty for 5 gallons. They output at least 1.4 CFM. All you need for 5 gallons is 0.4 CFM. I would use that pump for 10 gallons but DO NOT use the threaded brass barbed fitting as it restricts the air flow.
http://www.microbeorganics.com/#So_You_Wanna_Build_A_Compost_Tea_Brewer

 

[EatMoGrass]

Thanks MM, I had already read your link about tea brewers but I had forgot about what you wrote about not using the barbed brass fitting and I have been using it so far. The Micropore air diffuser I am using calls for a larger diameter hose than the barbed brass fitting on the commercial air 1. Your idea should work well, now I just need to find the correct size larger hose.

Even though I first began brewing my compost tea made from my kitchen worm compost three years ago, I have still learned most of what I know about teas and brewers from posts and links made by you two members , CT Guy and Microbeman.
Thanks again CT Guy and MM.

 

[Maina]

my worms

Ok I would like to make a tea in the brewer I made .I did one my way and would like to do one the way the pros do.CT thats you.I have just about every thing so you say it I will put it in.I can make 50 gallons but im going with 25 gallons on this one and the plants are in veg.they are out doors and its all organic.This is one in a 150 gallon pot.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Spok]

when brewing tea am i suppose to boil the water to a specified temp.? also do i need a heater or will the room temp. keep the tea at a hot enough temp?

 

[jaykush]

room temp is fine unless its really fuckin cold.

 

[Spok]

ive left water sitting in room temp and it doesnt seem at all hot enough for brewing. Would an aqaurium heater do the job or is there another easier cheaper way?

 

[CT Guy]

Spok,

What temps are we talking about here? You don't need 90 degree water. 65-70 degree water temps are perfectly reasonable.

 

[Maina]

my worms

Ok I would like to make a tea in the brewer I made .I did one my way and would like to do one the way the pros do.CT thats you.I have just about every thing so you say it I will put it in.I can make 50 gallons but im going with 25 gallons on this one and the plants are in veg.they are out doors and its all organic.This is one in a 150 gallon pot.

Thanks for the help.

PLEASE

 

[619Sativa]

Hey CT Guy, just wanted to say thanks for the supplies, and I got a couple questions. In the organics for beginners thread, they say 5 tsp of maxi-crop, should I use that amount with your kelp also? I believe this question was already answered, but couldn't find it and wanted to make sure. The paper I got said 1/2 tsp minimum, so I'm guessing that amount would be fine. Also, I just ordered some of the fungal and alaska compost. How often should I apply these? I'm in 6" square pots, using the guano and kelp tea mix. I was thinking maybe every two weeks, but don't want to waste it if that would be too much, or maybe too little? And should I brew them together, or by themselves in two different batches? Thanks in advance.

 

[grapeman]

Hey CT Guy, just wanted to say thanks for the supplies, and I got a couple questions. In the organics for beginners thread, they say 5 tsp of maxi-crop, should I use that amount with your kelp also? I believe this question was already answered, but couldn't find it and wanted to make sure. The paper I got said 1/2 tsp minimum, so I'm guessing that amount would be fine. Also, I just ordered some of the fungal and alaska compost. How often should I apply these? I'm in 6" square pots, using the guano and kelp tea mix. I was thinking maybe every two weeks, but don't want to waste it if that would be too much, or maybe too little? And should I brew them together, or by themselves in two different batches? Thanks in advance.

I would say that maxicrop and the KIS product are both dried acadian kelp. I don't think you need both.

 

[619Sativa]

I would say that maxicrop and the KIS product are both dried acadian kelp. I don't think you need both.

Haha, I probably should have worded that better. I only have the KIS product, but was wondering if I should use it at the same rate as one would use the maxi-crop kelp. Does that make sense?

 

[SecretGardener]

pH Adjustment Question

pH Adjustment Question

Ok so I just made up a nice EWC & Molasses tea for some seedlings and my question is about pH. I know there are debates about pH and throw out your pH meter yada yada yada because mycorrhizae, lime and humus buffer it and all that good stuff but what about seedlings that don't have all 'that good stuff' yet. I just popped a few seedlings in some standard ProMix (no lime). My tea pH is around 7.5-8.0. Can I use some lemon juice as a pH down?

This is what I have, exact brand. Is it organicly safe?

 

[grapeman]

Haha, I probably should have worded that better. I only have the KIS product, but was wondering if I should use it at the same rate as one would use the maxi-crop kelp. Does that make sense?

KIS says to use 1.5 teaspoons/gal. I use between .5 and 1 teaspoon/gal, depending on how I feel (really how things look).

 

[CT Guy]

Ooops, sorry for never responding. We've updated our rates to 1/2 tsp./gal. from talking with the manufacturer. The higher rates won't be a problem unless you're applying too frequently. For weekly applications, the 1/2 tsp./gal. would work just fine. I can tell you that Maxi Crop is not Acadian, they have a different processing method. Hope that helps, and thanks Grapeman!

 

[619Sativa]

KIS says to use 1.5 teaspoons/gal. I use between .5 and 1 teaspoon/gal, depending on how I feel (really how things look).

So GM, do you use that and only that for your applications? And that's for foliar, right? So say 1/2 a teaspoon for a gallon of water, then spray my plants with it? The KIS website advises using a surfactant with it to allow it to stick, but what should I use for that? Is there another product I can purchase for this purpose? I was reading over some general gardening websites and they advise the use of vegetable oil for foliars, but am not sure about that. Thanks for your help.

Ooops, sorry for never responding. We've updated our rates to 1/2 tsp./gal. from talking with the manufacturer. The higher rates won't be a problem unless you're applying too frequently. For weekly applications, the 1/2 tsp./gal. would work just fine. I can tell you that Maxi Crop is not Acadian, they have a different processing method. Hope that helps, and thanks Grapeman!

So, I mixed your product with my guano mix(the organics for beginners guano tea and kelp recipe) at the amount of 5 tsp as it says. would that be too much? I already have a bunch mixed up, and have used it a couple times but it is too early to tell the benefits/problems with it. Actually my plants aren't doing too hot. They are pretty deficient and/or burned, can't tell, but I'm blaming that on ph as my lime was pelletized and only sat for about a week. I've got d. lime on the way right now and hope that will help for next run. I feed my plants the guano and kelp tea about every 4-5 days and hope I didn't use too much kelp. Sorry for the ramble.

 

[grapeman]

Ooops, sorry for never responding. We've updated our rates to 1/2 tsp./gal. from talking with the manufacturer. The higher rates won't be a problem unless you're applying too frequently. For weekly applications, the 1/2 tsp./gal. would work just fine. I can tell you that Maxi Crop is not Acadian, they have a different processing method. Hope that helps, and thanks Grapeman!

Thanks for the info on Maxicrop CTGuy. Assumptions are always just that.

 

[grapeman]

So GM, do you use that and only that for your applications? And that's for foliar, right? So say 1/2 a teaspoon for a gallon of water, then spray my plants with it? The KIS website advises using a surfactant with it to allow it to stick, but what should I use for that? Is there another product I can purchase for this purpose? I was reading over some general gardening websites and they advise the use of vegetable oil for foliars, but am not sure about that. Thanks for your help.

The organic guys use Yucca Extract as a surfactant.

Me? I use 2 to 5 drops of Pro-90 per quart of spray solution. It's not organic, but is a great all purpose spreader/sticker that I have gallons of. And I really only use it with neem and other such important sprays.

I usually just spray my EWC & Kelp straight w/o surfactant. On my other crops I use a surfactant all the time with my foliar sprays. But personally, since I foliar 2 to 3 times a week on this crop with very light organic nutrient solutions in rotation, I feel I don't need any since I am constantly re-wetting the leaf entirely (top and bottom). I do this to ever so slightly feed but also to kill any mildew spores that may be floating around, since water KILLS mildew, it just doesn't prevent it from occurring. I do this up to week 5 in flower. Lazy I guess.

 

[CT Guy]

619 Sativa,

You may be overapplying the kelp, I'd drop your rates to every 7-10 days to be sure. Also, you shouldn't need a surfactant for the tea, I'm not sure where it says that on the website but if it does, that's an error. Yucca would be the organic choice though.

 

[SecretGardener]

Ok so I just made up a nice EWC & Molasses tea for some seedlings and my question is about pH. I know there are debates about pH and throw out your pH meter yada yada yada because mycorrhizae, lime and humus buffer it and all that good stuff but what about seedlings that don't have all 'that good stuff' yet. I just popped a few seedlings in some standard ProMix (no lime). My tea pH is around 7.5-8.0. Can I use some lemon juice as a pH down?

This is what I have, exact brand. Is it organicly safe?

Thanks for the help! NOT lol