Making Tea - is EZ.... & Cheap !

[Ohsogreen]

Thanks for the info...Oh...do you use the foliar spray?

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Sara the Poet in my Heart .... You are welcome. I have and do use the foliar spray - during veg growth. I do not foliar feed after pre-flowering, since trichromes act like fly paper - holding onto everything that hits them.
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Some people foliar feed several weeks into flowering. It can be done, provided you rinse your plants off, with plain water at least once a week - to remove an residues.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic...

 

[buffalosoulja]

Hey ohso, my tea seems to keep attracting gnats, even after i mixed the top soil with diotamacous earth. Could i just add some to the top?

 

[bettertoday55]

i know this is a beginner question but I am wanting to get started in organic and was wondering was SPT stood for? thanks for this informative post and sorry if my question was answered previously i read the whole forum and finally realized i didn't know what SPT stood for

 

[buffalosoulja]

i know this is a beginner question but I am wanting to get started in organic and was wondering was SPT stood for? thanks for this informative post and sorry if my question was answered previously i read the whole forum and finally realized i didn't know what SPT stood for

Super Plant Tonic.

 

[SimpleSimon]

This is true, but kaydub is trying to remove Chloramine which will not evaporate.

This i did not know....

 

[Ohsogreen]

Hey ohso, my tea seems to keep attracting gnats, even after i mixed the top soil with diotamacous earth. Could i just add some to the top?

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Buffalosolja.... Yes, teas smell great to gnats. Get some fly paper and put in your bubbling area. A fan also messes them up - since they are weak flyers. That will help take care of the adults.
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Yes, you can cover the top of your soil with Diatomacious Earth with no problems. It's good for Mary - contains magnesesium & trace minerals. It even acts as a mild buffer zone for acidic teas. In Japan, many large scale Bonsai Tree producers use it as their primary growing medium (soilless) with good results.
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It will turn a light green color later, don't sweat that. It has very irregular surfaces, that hold tiny amounts of water, & fosters some small scale algae growth. It is deadly to the gnats. The small amount of algae on the surface of your soil is no biggy.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic....

 

[HowardWCampbell]

kaydub, what are you using to test for cholramines?

 

[Ohsogreen]

kaydub, what are you using to test for cholramines?

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HowardWCampbell..... That's a good question. I hope someone has a good anwser. It seems this chloramine or chlorimide stuff is becoming very common in city water systems......
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Chime in if you have the answer.......
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Keep it Real...Organic.......
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[kaydub]

I haven't tested for chloramine, I just looked up my local BWS online and saw that they use chloramine, but here is a link to some test kits:

http://www.aquariumguys.com/chlorine-test-kits.html

On a positive note, my tea is now funky. I drained off the liquid, added more chloramine neutralizer, and let it sit for half an hour. Then I returned it to the solids, and added more SPT. I came home tonight and there were bubbles on top and the room smelled kind of farty. I started up the bubbler and added a little more SPT to help the good bugs overcome the bad bugs, and with any luck it will be ready to feed to my plants in a day or two. I ordered some BMO flower juice just in case.

 

[Laze]

I read your way of preparing the tea, but i also have mine... dont know if its right way. I get 1 gallon of unchlorinated water, I take a part of it and boil it and in the boiled water i put the stuff (potassium rich bananas, fish inside parts - gutz taken from my local fisherman) and i let it stay for a day or two. After that i delute it with the rest of the water and i get 1 gallon of STP. Am on the right path ... or not??

 

[Hayduke]

I read your way of preparing the tea, but i also have mine... dont know if its right way. I get 1 gallon of unchlorinated water, I take a part of it and boil it and in the boiled water i put the stuff (potassium rich bananas, fish inside parts - gutz taken from my local fisherman) and i let it stay for a day or two. After that i delute it with the rest of the water and i get 1 gallon of STP. Am on the right path ... or not??

Boiling would get rid of the chloramine and the chlorine.

You are making banana infused fish stock.

I am totally guessing here, I would think that the boiling the fish parts might kill the good stuff. Not to mention would smell like holy hell after 2 days unless refrigerated.
Not sure if any consideration is given to the bio accumulation of poisons and heavy metals in the fish guts...depends on species and waters taken from.

Plus for about 50 cents you could add 1-2 T/gal of SPT and be done with it. And your garden will not smell like a brothel the day after payday!

 

[kaydub]

http://www.acwd.org/faq.php5?category_id=61#51

"Will boiling remove chloramines from water?
No. Boiling is not an effective way to remove chloramines from water. The only practical methods of removing chloramines from water are using a water conditioner which contains a dechloraminator or by using granular activated carbon. Ask your pet supplier for instructions on how to use these products."

 

[Hayduke]

http://www.acwd.org/faq.php5?category_id=61#51

"Will boiling remove chloramines from water?
No. Boiling is not an effective way to remove chloramines from water. The only practical methods of removing chloramines from water are using a water conditioner which contains a dechloraminator or by using granular activated carbon. Ask your pet supplier for instructions on how to use these products."

Oops, sorry about that I am getting old. I read alot about people asking about using aquarium conditioner to remove chlorine/chloramines, but I have yet to see anybody claim they are good/bad.

This is what the brewing community does to remove chlorine (you can boil to remove, but not always practical and precipitates minerals that mess up brew gear) and Chloramine (which you can not boil out!).

From BrewYourOwn's Ask Mr. Wizard:Although many reducing agents can be used to dechlorinate water, the ones that are most accessible to homebrewers are sodium metabisulfite or its cousin, potassium metabisulfite (commonly found in the Campden tablets used by winemakers). These compounds will remove chlorine from both sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and chloramine treated waters. The reaction converts chlorine into chloride and the sulfite is converted to sulfate. Chloride has no affect on aroma, is found in most water and is added by many brewers in the form of calcium chloride. Likewise, sulfate is a normal constituent of water and is added in the form of calcium sulfate by brewers. When this reaction occurs with chloramines, there are also ammonium ions released into the water. Again, this is no big deal because ammonium ions are found in a brewers mash and come from the malt. Keep in mind, we are talking about very low concentrations of all of these reaction products due to the low concentrations of chlorine and metabisulfite involved in the reaction.

Thanks for catching my screw up Kaydub

 

[Ohsogreen]

I read your way of preparing the tea, but i also have mine... dont know if its right way. I get 1 gallon of unchlorinated water, I take a part of it and boil it and in the boiled water i put the stuff (potassium rich bananas, fish inside parts - gutz taken from my local fisherman) and i let it stay for a day or two. After that i delute it with the rest of the water and i get 1 gallon of STP. Am on the right path ... or not??

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Laze.... Composting or breaking down fish parts by use of enzymes is the best way to bring out all the goodness they have to offer.
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Your tea, will have some NPK, but if not oxygenated (bubbled) it will be full of anerobic bacteria (some of which are not good for Mary). Adding the SPT to it, will help convert it, but solids take time (3 to 7 days) & need the oxygen, as well, to get the job done promptly & properly.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic....

 

[kaydub]

Oops, sorry about that I am getting old. I read alot about people asking about using aquarium conditioner to remove chlorine/chloramines, but I have yet to see anybody claim they are good/bad.

This is what the brewing community does to remove chlorine (you can boil to remove, but not always practical and precipitates minerals that mess up brew gear) and Chloramine (which you can not boil out!).

From BrewYourOwn's Ask Mr. Wizard:Although many reducing agents can be used to dechlorinate water, the ones that are most accessible to homebrewers are sodium metabisulfite or its cousin, potassium metabisulfite (commonly found in the Campden tablets used by winemakers). These compounds will remove chlorine from both sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and chloramine treated waters. The reaction converts chlorine into chloride and the sulfite is converted to sulfate. Chloride has no affect on aroma, is found in most water and is added by many brewers in the form of calcium chloride. Likewise, sulfate is a normal constituent of water and is added in the form of calcium sulfate by brewers. When this reaction occurs with chloramines, there are also ammonium ions released into the water. Again, this is no big deal because ammonium ions are found in a brewers mash and come from the malt. Keep in mind, we are talking about very low concentrations of all of these reaction products due to the low concentrations of chlorine and metabisulfite involved in the reaction.

Thanks for catching my screw up Kaydub

No worries bro. I will try the brew stuff - I used to brew my own beer, and there is a good brew store nearby. I would feel better using stuff that was meant for human consumption, although it doesn't feel very organic, adding more chemicals to neutralize other chemicals. But hey, everything is chemicals, right?

This chloramine thing kind of annoys me, government adding noxious chemicals to our water that basically make true organic gardening impossible. Oh well.

 

[kaydub]

Thanks for the great advice you gave me earlier in this thread.

I have now fed my babies one pot of your veg tea, and one pot of flowering tea, and they are the happiest plants I have grown so far - check out my grow in my sig.

But the proof is in the budding! If I don't see monster buds in 6 weeks, I will go back to pumping up my plants with poison! Don't let me down!

Just kidding of course. But I think I will have to go to BMO's premixed fertilizers - my wife has just about had it with bubbling pots of shit around the house!

 

[closetglow]

Ohso, How bad do your plants grow area smell after you water them with this tea? I will be growing inside and would prefer my house no to smell like a barn. Thanks for the post great info rep+

CG

 

[HowardWCampbell]

closet, I know you asked ohso, but I'll answer it anyway. The only time my teas stink is if I add fish emulsion. I have added bat, worm, and chicken shit to the tea with no noticeable odor. The tea itself doesn't smell very appetizing, but I don't smell it at all while it's brewing or after I water. All of my shit is from bmo if it matters.

 

[Chron]

Has anyone ever seen the secret is in the soil on youtube? John Evans (whom thusfar is the only person with something to show) is using living alaska humisoil as part of his ingredients. He is growing 37 lb cabbages and brussel sprouts the size of apples. I am trying to find out where I can get alaska humisoil. Long story short, here is what I know about the recipe for organic compost tea:


Worm casting compost, Alphalpha cubes, molasses bubbler and a bucket. Some people are using fish emulsion as well. The mixture is 5 to 1 when watering (although they say when you add water to compost tea it is not diluting it but spreading it out over a wider area.

I dont have any information about the ph levels though. If someone has any info on whether or not compost tea raises or lowers your ph levels it would be great if you could post something

 

[SimpleSimon]

My water is a little under 7 before tea, and is the same after.