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

OhSoGreen... I read that you have your own worm bin. I was thinking about putting 3-4 worms to soil for each plant, but having a bin is a good idea too. I have soem questions, do you just use soil for their home or add some other things? My other question would be about your bin design and how you gather the worm poops? Any info on this would be much appreciated

mv400 said:

OhSoGreen... I read that you have your own worm bin. I was thinking about putting 3-4 worms to soil for each plant, but having a bin is a good idea too. I have soem questions, do you just use soil for their home or add some other things? My other question would be about your bin design and how you gather the worm poops? Any info on this would be much appreciated

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Mv400..... The answers to all your questions are on worms can be found on this site : http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/
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If you place worms in each pot, they usually crawl out and die on the floor. They don't like the frequent waterings / feedings Mary gets.
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If you are growing outside in the ground, adding a handful of worms to each planting hole along with some organic goodies like well aged compost, alfalfa meal, composted cow manunure, rabbit manure or bat guano is a win / win situation.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic.....
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thanks for the input

The explanation about worm castings is invaluable. Always avoided it because of that whole debate of less vs more. LESS=assholes, bullies (intellectual and physical) ignorance. MORE= educators, friends, love. You would be under the "educator" tag. Again thanks for that bit about the worm castings.

I also have avoided most manures for feer of pharma poisoning. If the water tables are full of it because we and the cows and the chickens vacuate it then I do not really want it in my herb. I don't know if people consider that fact when making their teas but they certainly should.

Something I have always wondered was if companies such as earth juice or Blue Mountain source their manures from organic farms. If someone could provide feedback on that it would be appreciated.

Something I learned from my days working at a commercial greenhouse (mostly annuals/perennials- the stuff people buy every year for their yards) was that cheap (quality not price) BLOODMEAL CAN BE EXCEPTIONALLY TOXIC.

drewbear said:

BLOODMEAL CAN BE EXCEPTIONALLY TOXIC.

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do you mean that it carries specific toxins or just that it is/can be exceptionally hot due to high concentrations of N?

a scoop of compost that is nice worm and active helps too

Excellent thread!

Just got about half way through then jumped to the end. I noticed while reading that almost all questions/answers are related to growing regular strains. But I am more interested in Auto-flowering strains and wonder how this all applies to them. The thing with AFs is that they have almost no veg stage. So basically, a good organic soil mix (considering 30%Perlite, 30% Peat Moss, 40% Compost) would take them all the way into flowering (2-3 weeks) before starting with tea feedings, and then only high P and K. Would that be OK?

overfiend said:

just thought i'd add a little to this list i've also used teas i make from seaWEED. being from the ocean state its something i can get free any day of the week.
i wash the seaweed good before adding it to the tea to remove most of the extra salt . this stuff is full of all kinds of micronutrients i also add a few trashbags full of seaweed to my compost pile

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Hey, I live by the sea too. And I have considered using SEAWEED as tea or directly in the soil mix. But I heard that not all seaweed is good for this. Can you name any species or post pics. Also, I want to know how to make seaweed juice.

Anybody?

Grassmeister said:

Hey, I live by the sea too. And I have considered using SEAWEED as tea or directly in the soil mix. But I heard that not all seaweed is good for this. Can you name any species or post pics. Also, I want to know how to make seaweed juice.

Anybody?

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Well I just use maxicrop, but I have heard of people harvesting kelp (seaweed). You have to wash it very thoroughly because it's full of salts from the water. After it is washed you need to let it dry and crush it up into a powder. I'm sure if you search around a little more you will find someone that has directions.

Hey OhSoGreen i just am stopping by to say this is a great thread

i have a question if you have time, how would you apply the guano teas in conjunction with say a liquid organic line? (such as bmo or earth juice.they're the only ones i can think of quick here) you don't use alot of liquid bottled products personally i found out by reading the first few posts, but what do you think would be a good feeding to follow? every week watering and every 2 weeks feeding is my thoughts. switch between the teas and bottled organics for feedings. what do you think?

LogHead said:

Hey OhSoGreen i just am stopping by to say this is a great thread

i have a question if you have time, how would you apply the guano teas in conjunction with say a liquid organic line? (such as bmo or earth juice.they're the only ones i can think of quick here) you don't use alot of liquid bottled products personally i found out by reading the first few posts, but what do you think would be a good feeding to follow? every week watering and every 2 weeks feeding is my thoughts. switch between the teas and bottled organics for feedings. what do you think?

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LogHead... I have the time. If you want to use both dry & liquid bottled ferts, that is not a problem. Both have advantages and can work well together.
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I think making a weak guano tea (1 tsp of higher N bat guano per gallon of water) and feeding it to your plants when they are two weeks old is a great way to introduce valuable microbes. Feed in the range of 15 to 20 % of soil volume. Example: If you have them in 16 oz cups, only feed them 2 or 3 oz's of your tea, only when the soil is semi-dry.
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After that, wait 5 to 7 days and use the liquid bottled products mentioned, following the instructions of the label.
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Later, when you see preflowers, drop the bottled liquid grow fertilizer and make a weak guano tea (using 1.5 tsp of higher N bat guano and 1 tsp of higher P bat guano per gallon of water). Feed in the range of 20 % of soil volume.
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Do not feed any other nutes for 7 days. Allowing a lot of the N to be used up, helps in the transistion to flowering. If you look at products by AN for example. The ones used at the begining of flowering have no N. Then later, N is added.
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The guano tea you made will provide just enough N to help keep them green, without being too much. The higher P guano in that tea, will help jump start the flower process and level out the pH of the tea.
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Then on the 8th day (I don't count preflowering as a flower week), feed using only the bloom fertilizer. 4 days later, mix a small amount of the grow fertilizer and with the bloom fertilizer and feed. The ratio should be in the range of 1 (grow) to 3 (bloom) Example 5 to 7.5 ml of Grow It Green to 15 to 22 ml of Flower Power per gallon of water.
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Then over the next three weeks slowly increase, each fert in teaspoon increments. At week 6 of flowering, cut the ferts and use water only. Maybe with some added Cal-Mag (used as per the label) if you notice any issues with spotty leaves, or premature fading.
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The last week, nothing but water, only water.
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The fan leaves will yellow, fade and may drop. This is not a problem. This ensures Mary has used up all the N in the soil, and is drawing the last of her extra reserves from herself. This also ensures she is using up all the extra P she has banked in herself (this reduces harshness in the smoke and helps improve flavor).
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Hope this helps......
Keep it Real....Organic......
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Question;

even if i have sheep shit in the soil mix can i still get a bucket with water and put some shit in, give it a stir and water the next day without bubbling it??

thanks !

You might be alright but if you have the time then at least take some of the tea and pour it back and forth into another bucket to get some oxygen put into the water. I hope this helps in the absence of Ohsogreen.

You might be alright but if you have the time then at least take some of the tea and pour it back and forth into another bucket to get some oxygen put into the water. I hope this helps in the absence of Ohsogreen.

great thread thanks tons of info. ive been all organic in this grow now with no ill effects but ive been driving blindly, maybe you can fill me in a bit. ive been making my own teas with leftover fruit/veggie scraps and fish tank waste water. i try to balance the mix out and use different scraps every time and now that im in flower i try to use more banana for the potassium but i still have tomato onion grape and a few others in the mix. i boil everything at the end of the week, strain, let cool and mix with the fish water. any thoughts on that? ive also just started (2x last 4 watering) using snail poop in the mix is that like worm poo?

View attachment 1103327 i have to be doing something right i just dont know what it is... thanks for any input

Mr. Mike now that you are in flower are you using any molasses? Great product, is not only good for the plant it is great for your soil. Being organic and using your teas you have lots of micro organisms in the soil and the molassess will help to feed them, add sugar to the plant for better overall health. As far as boiling the water I don't truly know the answer for that but to me persoanlly I would think that you are killing most of the good things you are trying to add to your soil and plant. I would be more inclined to put this mix in a big container and put the aerator to it, strain and use. I do use scraps (veggies, fruits, eggs shells and a few coffee grinds) as top dressing if the soil has been in the container for a long while. I do this because I have so many earthworms living in the containers I am just keeping food for them. Snail poop? never used it but would think it has its benefits for sure. I brew up horse manure mainly in a 20 gallon drum about 1 pound dried weight and put the air pump to it with a little molasses in there. That, molassess and I add woodash once a month in the waterings, is the sole nutes my plants get during their grow.
I know I am not the most conventional of growers but these methods have worked for me and I hope that it gives you something to consider. Happy Growing and always ready to help as I can.

thanks man, i dont know where to get molasses in italy yet and i wouldnt be able to read it to see if its the right kind. i figured the sugars from the fruits would be enough, i use alot. i dont boil the fish water i know thats full of awesomeness, just the kitchen mix to break everything down. after its strained and cooled i mix it with the fish waste. i dont think there is much alive in the kitchen mix it doesnt even have a chance to decompose. i do take the mush after i strain and toss it in my compost pile though. the snail poo...idk i have a small 3 gal tank on my balcony and it sits in the sun and grows algae all over the place, i take the unwanted snails from my fishtanks as i find them and toss em in there. they eat the algae and about once every other week ill dump the water and replace with clean water to keep mosquito from laying eggs in it, i strain the water with a fine net and im left with 4-6 tablespoons of fresh snail poo. i toss it in with the mix and water my plant. it all works i just dont know why and i dont know where i can get any other free poo

Hi

I have a big compost heap of food scraps and plant material it just a big goey mess at the moment, do you think i could make a tea out of it ???

Thanks

R

Rtoke said:

Hi

I have a big compost heap of food scraps and plant material it just a big goey mess at the moment, do you think i could make a tea out of it ???

Thanks

R

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yes you should, then return the pulp to the compost...i have not had an issue yet. just cause its free doesnt mean its not good

Cheers mate ill give it a try. i also got liquid seaweed seasol too