Total Noob using teas and I am a believer

AllDayToker said:
I don't think I got a straight answer last time I posted here, think I just forgot about it to be honest. :eyesmoke:

My first question is, can I get your thoughts on this veg tea? I was thinking about a vegging tea, using 1/2 cup Alfalfa Meal, 1/2 cup EWC, 1/4 cup Kelp Meal, 1 tbsp. Molasses. That's in 4 gallons of water. My soil doesn't have a lot of nutes in it, and I only plan to start feeding when it starts looking like it needs fed.

My second question is, how would you tweak it for flowering?

Other things I have on had are like seabird and bat guanos, rooters mycos, epsom salt, liquid seaweed, ect.

Thanks,
ADT
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In veg, top dress with EWC should give you all you need. For your tea, drop the kelp, double the EWC and the controversial bit, add a little calmag. Only reason I say that is because I have a feeling your soil is not limed, no gypsum right?... If you can get fish hydrolysate, substitute the alfalfa with two tbs of. Bubble for two days, the 24 hour thing doesn't have me,convinced yet.
 
...and when using mycos, make sure, and absolutely certain, that your product does not contain Trichoderma, which most of them do. Trichoderma has the same benefits to roots but eats fungi, so you will actually end up with an envirnonment free of fungi. OK on one run, sucks in ROLS.
 
Exactly how cold are we talking here? Also, does your soil go cold or are your room temps regulated to stay warm during cold times? I have to be careful here, to me 'cold' is anything under 18 degrees C (64F). We never get snow here, so my cold might still be quite warm for you.
Because my first thought would be that I have not noticed a difference going in to winter myself, but I can ask around for you if nobody else here has a clear answer on that one, just give me an idea exactly how low temps are for your bubble...
 
Mad Hamish said:
In veg, top dress with EWC should give you all you need. For your tea, drop the kelp, double the EWC and the controversial bit, add a little calmag. Only reason I say that is because I have a feeling your soil is not limed, no gypsum right?... If you can get fish hydrolysate, substitute the alfalfa with two tbs of. Bubble for two days, the 24 hour thing doesn't have me,convinced yet.
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So pretty much just do a completely new tea? I know you know your stuff but I see a lot of people using alfalfa and kelp in their teas, I don't see the help in telling to replace everything, I apologize in advance if you take offense, I'm not trying to me offensive. You know a lot more then I about teas and organics.
 
AllDayToker said:
So pretty much just do a completely new tea? I know you know your stuff but I see a lot of people using alfalfa and kelp in their teas, I don't see the help in telling to replace everything, I apologize in advance if you take offense, I'm not trying to me offensive. You know a lot more then I about teas and organics.
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What are you trying to accomplish with this tea ADT? Are you looking to feed the plant (microbes), or inoculate the soil? Did you add quality compost/ewc when you made the soil to begin with?
 
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Scroga said:
I don't find my 'winter' tea very effective..is brew time longer for colder temps?
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I brew my teas in the basement, on a cement floor. The water temp is too cold due to this, so for a 5 gallon brew I start out with apx 3 gallons of water, and I top it off every 12 hours with a tea-pot full of hot water for the duration of the 48 brew time. This keeps the temp in a more favorable range for microbial multiplication.
 
AllDayToker said:
So pretty much just do a completely new tea? I know you know your stuff but I see a lot of people using alfalfa and kelp in their teas, I don't see the help in telling to replace everything, I apologize in advance if you take offense, I'm not trying to me offensive. You know a lot more then I about teas and organics.
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No offence taken. Let me give you the reasoning behind my answer: First off, kelp inhibits microbial multiplication. Microbeman has proven this several times over, you need to add 24 hours to allow for microbes to come out of dormancy. Problem is, I noticed that anaerobes have no problem in an aerated tea with kelp. You need some time to beat those bastards down at times.
Secondly, alfalfa makes a pretty weak food stock for your microbes. There are many benefits to an alfalfa tea, but as far as brewing a good microbe-rich nute tea goes, other things will serve you better. Like Fish Hydrolysate. Brew your alfalfa tea as a separate tea and feed once ever two to four weeks, you will see MUCH more benefit. Using it as a food stock in a microbial tea is not doing your tea many favors.
 
st0wandgrow said:
What are you trying to accomplish with this tea ADT? Are you looking to feed the plant (microbes), or inoculate the soil? Did you add quality compost/ewc when you made the soil to begin with?
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Well I was trying to figure out a good microbe & nute tea. I did a lot of reading on kelp and alfalfa and decided to add it to my collection of stuff and try to use it because I rarely use my guano stuff anymore.

My soil does have ewc mixed with it. I think 2-3 cups worth for 10g worth of soil. Trying to build the microbes and feed the plant because I don't know if it's my own personal thoughts but I always thought my plants were weak looking going into flower.

Mad Hamish said:
No offence taken. Let me give you the reasoning behind my answer: First off, kelp inhibits microbial multiplication. Microbeman has proven this several this over, you need to add 24 hours to allow for microbes to come out of dormancy. Problem is, I noticed that anaerobes have no problem in an aerated tea with kelp. You need some time to beat those bastards down at times.
Secondly, alfalfa makes a pretty weak food stock for your microbes. There are many benefits to an alfalfa tea, but as far as brewing a good microbe-rich nute tea goes, other things will serve you better. Like Fish Hydrolysate. Brew your alfalfa tea as a separate tea and feed once ever two to four weeks, you will see MUCH more benefit. Using it as a food stock in a microbial tea is not doing your tea many favors.
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Alright, so brewing a microbe tea I shouldn't be adding kelp or alfalfa. Make separate teas for those. And can those be used for veg and flower teas or mainly veg?

For the microbe teas, just use ewc and molasses. And is the Fish Hydrolysate the same as that Fish Emulsion stuff? Because I have that.
 
Mad Hamish said:
No offence taken. Let me give you the reasoning behind my answer: First off, kelp inhibits microbial multiplication. Microbeman has proven this several times over, you need to add 24 hours to allow for microbes to come out of dormancy. Problem is, I noticed that anaerobes have no problem in an aerated tea with kelp. You need some time to beat those bastards down at times.
Secondly, alfalfa makes a pretty weak food stock for your microbes. There are many benefits to an alfalfa tea, but as far as brewing a good microbe-rich nute tea goes, other things will serve you better. Like Fish Hydrolysate. Brew your alfalfa tea as a separate tea and feed once ever two to four weeks, you will see MUCH more benefit. Using it as a food stock in a microbial tea is not doing your tea many favors.
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^THIS^

Brew your nutrient tea (alfalfa, kelp, etc) separate from a compost tea. The only foodstock you need in a compost tea is molasses.
 
st0wandgrow said:
^THIS^

Brew your nutrient tea (alfalfa, kelp, etc) separate from a compost tea. The only foodstock you need in a compost tea is molasses.
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st0wandgrow said:
48 hour brew for a compost tea, 24 hour brew for a nutrient tea.

Per Microbeman
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Alright. Should I be adding the Fish Emulsion with compost tea as well or just molasses. And how often would you suggest feeding those if I'm rebuilding my microbe colony from scratch.
 
AllDayToker said:
Alright. Should I be adding the Fish Emulsion with compost tea as well or just molasses. And how often would you suggest feeding those if I'm rebuilding my microbe colony from scratch.
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Just molasses. I use fish hydrolysate, but I don't add it to any teas. I tbsp per gallon of water, applied as a straight soil drench. I use it once every couple weeks or so.

You can't over-do compost teas. You could brew one every week if you wish. There will come a point of diminishing returns though...... once your medium is alive with microbes adding more really doesn't move the ball any further down the field ime.
 
st0wandgrow said:
Just molasses. I use fish hydrolysate, but I don't add it to any teas. I tbsp per gallon of water, applied as a straight soil drench. I use it once every couple weeks or so.

You can't over-do compost teas. You could brew one every week if you wish. There will come a point of diminishing returns though...... once your medium is alive with microbes adding more really doesn't move the ball any further down the field ime.
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Thanks for the quick and easy info man. So how does this microbe tea sound; 1 cup ewc, 1tbsp molasses? Couldn't be more simple.
 
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