Trouble with Guano

[guanoman]

I thought I'd try a little experiment. I took a hand full of pine needles and a couple tablespoons of My Indonesian Bat guano. I mixed these into 2 liters of water and put a bubbler in it overnight. I notice this morning the PH is 6.8 down from 8.2.

I read somewhere that pine needles might have growth inhibitors in them. On the other hand I've seen mention of them being used for mulch in the garden and around trees.

Does anyone know if pine needles could be used as orgainc ph down? It seems I can make a tea out of pin needles and not put any in my medium. Is this safe or will I mess things up?

thanks

 

[guanoman]

Hello everyone. I thought I'd post an update on the progress I've made since I originally posted my problems.

I re-read some other threads and gathered suby's recommended blends and procedures. I proceeded to mix 3 batches of potting soil that would sit for 2 weeks.
I mixed
2 TBSP dolomite lime
1 TBSP blood meal
2 TBSP bone meal
4 TBSP worm castings
1 TBSP Dry Molasses "molasses on soy husks"
Per each gallon of soil.

One batch was coco coir, one was fresh Promix HP and the other was recycled Promix HP from the last run that went bad "thought 'what the heck'".

After the 2 week compost period, I put plants in my new soil mixes and watered them with a tea containing.

4TBSP Dry molasses "molasses on soy husks"
4TBSP Worm castings
1TBSP fermented Banana "I do have some Kelp extract, but wanted to save it for later"
In 4 liters "or a bit more" of water.

I also replaced my air stone with some soaker hose. I looped the soaker hose 3 times in the bottom of my 5 gal bucket. The soaker hose floats, so I've weighed it down with a couple pieces of granite rock. It bubbles ferociously compared to air stones.

With these changes I made to my setup. My plants are growing very healthy in all 3 mixes. The plants in the coco are showing some leaf curl, but other than that there is very little noticeable difference between all the plants.

In conclusion, I think the addition of 2TBSP of dolomite lime was the main amendment. My second problem was probably dead soil "no microbes". I don't think it will make much difference if I use Guano or Bone and blood meals. I think the soil "new or old" needed to sit for those 2 weeks to activate. I've gone ahead and given some Indonesian Bat guano tea to all the plants now as well and don't see any ill effects yet. So all problems I had at the beginning of this thread are solved.

Thanks

 

[vonforne]

Do you have an update on the mixes you are trying?

 

[guanoman]

Hey vonforne

That last post outlines what I've mixed into my soilless mix's. I mixed the base recipe of amendments into my 3 different soilless mediums. Coco, Promix HP, and Once used Promix HP.

I also gave all my plants a tea made from.
3 dixi cups 519ml of my own Urine
4TBSP dry molasses
4TBSP Worm Castings
mixed with 4gal water

I was only going to water 2 plants, but I got carried away and watered them all. The day after I applied the Urine tea, the plants stretched about an inch, and every day since they have gotten bulkier and greener! I gave my plants this tea before I gave them the indonesian bat guano tea.

I apologize for not having any schedule or dates I did each step. I've had these plants in flower for a couple weeks now approximately. I'll post a few more updates on my progress as I go along. I'll see if I can get my hands on a cheep camera aswell.

Peace!