Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

Sincerely420 said:

And no discoloration in the leaves??? So much plant that is!

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And the real kicker she is rooted in 3 gal of soil in a cloth pot that sits on a reservoir (silica rock and h20). That is the top 1/3 of her root mass, the lower 2/3 has grown down into the water silica rock mix that resides under the cloth pot onto of it.

Hmmm...Gonna have to see what ingenuity can do after all haha

Thinking about just putting my smarts on a bed of perlite or something similar so that I don't have to use catch trays! Maybe get some of those tuppeware things that go under the bed??

Sincerely420 said:

Hmmm...Gonna have to see what ingenuity can do after all haha

Thinking about just putting my smarts on a bed of perlite or something similar so that I don't have to use catch trays! Maybe get some of those tuppeware things that go under the bed??

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Just of course make it something opaque, wouldn't want light causing bad bacteria to grow. I use silica rock for it traps air and keeps the water reservoir aerated without a pump. It also helps that there is a 1/4 gap between cloth pot and container helping to trap air an that 1/3 of roots in the top zone in soil where they can get air as well.

My bucket has a drainage hole right above the preferred water line which should be slightly below the surface of the rock, whereas the cloth pot sits on wet rock not in water. Allowing wicking to occur in the soil above.

Have a question about making teas, I'm wondering if I can brew a successful tea using tap water that has been oxygenated overnight to dechlorinate it? I've got a 60 gallon drum that I fill with water and have a air pump with 3 air stones attached to it that are oxygenating the water overnight, similar to this video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_695SfZY9QA

I don't think you should have any trouble Bud, there are a few chemicals commonly used that may or may not evaporate out, but either way, if you have good compost, and reasonably clean water, you can brew teas. Rainwater is really good as well, and I also know many hydro stores near me that sell some cool filter systems (small boy) that you can hook to your hose or faucet, for like $100. Add the optional Chloramine filter and your really brewing some good.

Rising Moon said:

I don't think you should have any trouble Bud, there are a few chemicals commonly used that may or may not evaporate out, but either way, if you have good compost, and reasonably clean water, you can brew teas. Rainwater is really good as well, and I also know many hydro stores near me that sell some cool filter systems (small boy) that you can hook to your hose or faucet, for like $100. Add the optional Chloramine filter and your really brewing some good.

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Ya I have a small boy dechlorinator but it just takes too damn long to fill up a 60 gallon drum, I work 40 hours a week and don't have time every day to wait for the drum to fill up.

Budologist420 said:

Ya I have a small boy dechlorinator but it just takes too damn long to fill up a 60 gallon drum, I work 40 hours a week and don't have time every day to wait for the drum to fill up.

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Get yourself a float valve and put it on your drum that way you always have 60 gallons waiting and ready.

Budologist420 said:

Have a question about making teas, I'm wondering if I can brew a successful tea using tap water that has been oxygenated overnight to dechlorinate it? I've got a 60 gallon drum that I fill with water and have a air pump with 3 air stones attached to it that are oxygenating the water overnight, similar to this video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_695SfZY9QA

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Hell yea boss! You'll be good! I only oxygenate my tap water a couple hours before, which is all it calls for in any text that i've ever read!

Chlorine will dissipate fairly fast, chloramine will not, BUT if you use worm castings or compost in your tea then they most likely have humic acid in them. Since humic acid neutralizes chloramine I coming to believe that it is a moot point. Also ascorbic acid ( vitamin C ) neutralizes chloramine/chlorine so you could add a bit of that to your tea. They also have vitamin C shower head filters that you could probably use as a wand so you can use just your pressurized city tap on your soil without worrying about the chloramine/chlorine killing your soil life.

Sincerely420 said:

And no discoloration in the leaves??? So much plant that is!

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Going start new brew today. Already started fungi process (6 days) with my compost, ewc and bat guano mix combined.
Next going to add humic acid, kelp meal, and rock phosphate. Then brew minimum of 18 hours before use.
While remaining in the brew bucket with how long can this tea last while aerating?

Flowers looking nice these pics are 4 days after watering with tea that had warning label on it.. "NOT FOR WEAK ASS BITCHES"
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Use it within 18-24 hours. Have to keep adding to it to keep it aerobic if you bubble it longer.
But hey, I told you I wouldn't have used that last tea and look what happened....
Looks like a perfectly happy plant from where I'm standing.

I bet she wishes she was outdoor looking like that!

Sincerely420 said:

Use it within 18-24 hours. Have to keep adding to it to keep it aerobic if you bubble it longer.
But hey, I told you I wouldn't have used that last tea and look what happened....
Looks like a perfectly happy plant from where I'm standing.

I bet she wishes she was outdoor looking like that!

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yeah... i do to wish outdoors was an option..maybe someday soon.
nonetheless i think the key thing is i didn't give her an excess of tonic... just 500ml 1/2 liter...
but she did drink and well all is good

keep adding more sugar?

DANKSWAG said:

keep adding more sugar?

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Compost and a tad bit of Molasses. like a couple drops of it! It goes a LONG way

i'm making this compost, like a worms + sugar muscovado + bone meal... but performance low. in my next step adding humic and fulvic acids + fish fertilizer (maybe i put birds guano). what i do for more performance ? this sugar its derivative cana-de-açugar and preserve great part of molasses. carbo for microbiology.

Wayyyy tooo confused by your posting haha so I don't really know where to start.

Are you trying to make a tea just jump start your compost?!

Does anyone have a few links to some awesome, basic, compost teas?

No links, just years of experience...

1/2 cup of QUALITY compost or worm castings per gallon of water

1/4 cup dried Stinging Nettle

1/4 cup dried Comfrey

1/4 cup dried Red Clover Blossoms

2 tbs Molasses

(all herbs available in bulk for cheap at any good health food store, Chamomile, Yarrow, Valerian, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Horsetail and Borage can also be added for diversity)

Bubble for 24 hours.

Use @ 1:2, 1:5 or 1:10 depending.

(feed left-overs from tea to your worms, or compost/top dress them)

Budologist420 said:

Does anyone have a few links to some awesome, basic, compost teas?

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www.microbeorganics.com recipes for 50 gallon brewer @ the bottom


edit: Rising Moon knows his shit

Budologist420 said:

Does anyone have a few links to some awesome, basic, compost teas?

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Microbe organics will give you the ratios you need from the man himself bro!
Depends the on what size you wanna brew as to how much you wanna add of course.

His link calls for he following per gallon:
1.3cup compost
1.75 tbsp Molasses
1.5 tbsp Neptunes Harvest Fish Hydro
1.75 tsp Kelp Meal
1.5 tbsp Rock Phosphate(I used Hi-P Btu Guano here as I don't have Rock Phosphate)

Thats a basic balanced recipe! You next decision is how long you wanna brew.
Longer(24-48hrs) if you wanna cycle the nutrients in the tea and make it more of a bottle nute type concauction, shorter(18-24hrs) to just use is to introduce the bennies!
I would have thought you were already on AACTs given what those bushes or yours are looking like!