how do I know/adjust the NPK ratios in compost tea?

Bargar

Bargar

Well-Known Member
I was wanting to know how I would get my N P K ratio's correct for a compost tea?

The ingrediants I have to work with are: Compost, Worm castings, Ancient forest, Azomite (0-0-.2), Sea kelp (1-0-3), Mexican Guano (10-1-1), Peruvian Guano (12-11-2) and Indonesian guano (.5-13-.2). Also I have liquid nutrients by BMO: Grow it green (5-2-5), and flower power (1-8-7).

I am trying to make a tea that is roughly 3-2-2 (per someones suggestion on this site). I am using subcools super soil so I do not really need a high NPK, I would prefer it to be rather weak actually. I want to be able to give the plants a microbe boost, with minimal fertilizers, while being in the proper ratio so I don't throw my soils balance off.

I am looking to learn how to mix additives properly, so I can always get my ratio's right with every tea that I make, for my babies or for my lawn and vegitables.
 
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blueJ

Active Member
"I would prefer it to be rather weak actually. I want to be able to give the plants a microbe boost, with minimal fertilizers, while being in the proper ratio so I don't throw my soils balance off."

then just get a cup of compost or EWC, bubble it in 5 gal of water with a couple TBSP of molasses, throw a few scoops of a soluble fungi/bacteria boost if you want and there ya go!

When you want a little extra, then add on a couple TBSP of kelp or guano or whatever you have that's appropriate for the stage your plants are in

that's it, work your way higher if you can tell your plants want more.
 
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Buddy Hemphill

Active Member
I only use EWC. I rarely add a ton of supplements.

I dont want the tea for nutrition...only for microbial life.

I feed nutes and have found that it works better for me to feed/water/tea...repeat.

If I add a lot of nutes to the tea it screws up my nutrient program. I start burning stuff and getting weird deficiencies.


One less unpredictable variable, IMHO.
 
1337hacker

1337hacker

Active Member
Buddy has got the right idea imo... brew your tea for microbial life...

I would read 3lb's guide to guano and feeding with molasses / Earthjuice. Even if you don't use earthjuice the teas they use and theories they explain will help you understand what you are seeking a little more.
 
Bargar

Bargar

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the replies, I guess I'm taking something simple and making it difficult. I guess I will just stick with the EWC/compost/oatmeal/molasses unless my plant show a deficiency. Thanks for keeping it simple!
 
Corbat420

Corbat420

Well-Known Member
Bargar said:
I am looking to learn how to mix additives properly, so I can always get my ratio's right with every tea that I make, for my babies or for my lawn and vegitables..
Click to expand...
disregard everything everyone else on this thread has said..... organics have obviously fallen a long ways since a bunch of us left....

When mixing compost teas it is actually very east to judge what is going into the tea, and the final N/P/K output of the tea, this is why experienced growers make teas in the first place..... it breaks the nutrients down and makes them readily available for uptake via the plants roots. feeding the microbial life in the soil will do this over time, but it is much better and easier to create the enviroment inside of a 5 gallon buchet, and ensure there is a MASS amount of nutrients available to the plants upon feeding....

https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/503805-outdoor-teas-application-methods.html <- This is a thread that many of the experianced organic growers have been working on for a while. Page 2 and page 3 are LOADED with info on teas, even after the hack attack our thread lives on. Here is an example of the tea's WE create....
hmmmm let's see...:
5 scoops of compost
3 scoops of chicken manure compost (veg-only)
2 scoops of Dr. earths bud and bloom booster 4-7-5
1 scoop Bat Guano 10-3-1 (veg-only)
1 scoop Bat Guano 0-12-1 ( bloom-only)
5 scoops worm castings
5 scoops Denali Gold Humus
4 glubs of Fish Emulsion 2-4-0.5
4 glubs of Kelp
4 glubs of Molasses
2 cups Bio-Link 0-5-5 (bloom-only)
2 cups Bio-Link 3-3-3 ( veg-only)
2 cups Bio-Link Micro Nutrients
2 cups Earth Juice catalyst
I mix this in a 55 gal drum and aerate it for 24 hours before use. I use it 2-3 times per week, and that 55 gal covers my 6 legal plants, but you could feed 5-10 plants with it.
BTW...A scoop is just a 2 cup measuring cup, but full of dry material it holds almost 2 1/2 cups. A glub is the sound a 5 gallon bucket with a spout makes when pouring...haha...it's about 2-3 cups. You can leave the Bio-link stuff out if you want, it depends on what you got in your soil.
Click to expand...
P.S: when using organics properly, its almost impossible to "burn" your plants....
 
malignant

malignant

Well-Known Member
Like corbat420 said, using the tea to breakdown your nutrients will speed things up greatly. when everything is teaming with life and ready for uptake your plants will be more happy. just start with your AACT and add what you need accordingly. ive always used guano, never heard of bio link, but am going to look into it.

where can i order bio-link
 
billy4479

billy4479

Moderator
Well if your Q .. was how do you adjust your Your npk just look at what your putting in there ...for example if your put in a fish emoision what was a 5-1-1 for example than 5% of the product is N 1 % P 1% K right so if your want a a ratio of lets say 5 /16 /16
fish emoishin 5-11 indosion bat 1-15-1 and water soulbe seaweed extract 1-1-16 all in equal amount would be close to what your are looking 4 i think
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
Corbat420 said:
disregard everything everyone else on this thread has said..... organics have obviously fallen a long ways since a bunch of us left....

When mixing compost teas it is actually very east to judge what is going into the tea, and the final N/P/K output of the tea, this is why experienced growers make teas in the first place..... it breaks the nutrients down and makes them readily available for uptake via the plants roots. feeding the microbial life in the soil will do this over time, but it is much better and easier to create the enviroment inside of a 5 gallon buchet, and ensure there is a MASS amount of nutrients available to the plants upon feeding....

https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/503805-outdoor-teas-application-methods.html <- This is a thread that many of the experianced organic growers have been working on for a while. Page 2 and page 3 are LOADED with info on teas, even after the hack attack our thread lives on. Here is an example of the tea's WE create....


P.S: when using organics properly, its almost impossible to "burn" your plants....
Click to expand...
just so you guys can re read it.
 
$waGgEr

$waGgEr

Active Member
when adding things like the flower power and grow it green..its more like soup style organis.... not TLO like u guys are talking about... what is proper organics?... with subs super soil at 50% strenth you can grow with water only water and ...guess what else...water. it may well be a good idea to add in a light TLO style tea arround mid flowering as alot of TLO ppl tend to struggle with their plants at that stage..but i wouldnt go soup style and put junk in like flower power as that totally depletes the purpose of TLO those synthetic products kill off the mico life like no other...i have last months skunk mag on my coffee table the rev said so....
 
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Buddy Hemphill

Active Member
Corbat420 said:
disregard everything everyone else on this thread has said..... organics have obviously fallen a long ways since a bunch of us left....

When mixing compost teas it is actually very east to judge what is going into the tea, and the final N/P/K output of the tea, this is why experienced growers make teas in the first place..... it breaks the nutrients down and makes them readily available for uptake via the plants roots. feeding the microbial life in the soil will do this over time, but it is much better and easier to create the enviroment inside of a 5 gallon buchet, and ensure there is a MASS amount of nutrients available to the plants upon feeding....

https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/503805-outdoor-teas-application-methods.html <- This is a thread that many of the experianced organic growers have been working on for a while. Page 2 and page 3 are LOADED with info on teas, even after the hack attack our thread lives on. Here is an example of the tea's WE create....


P.S: when using organics properly, its almost impossible to "burn" your plants....
Click to expand...

What type of microscope do you use?

WHat dominates this particular recipe?
 
Corbat420

Corbat420

Well-Known Member
i have last months skunk mag on my coffee table the rev said so....
Click to expand...
Well, have you ever actualy made a tea with semi Synthetic ingredients? Do you know how to measure the microbial life in the tea? i do.

Semi-Synthetic ingredients do not kill the microbes in the tea. i use AFF Morbloom on a regular basis, people on this forum will say it kills the microbial life but the truth of it is the tea is TEAMING with life.

the foam on top of the tea is the indication that there is life. not just bubbles, foam....

with subs super soil at 50% strenth you can grow with water only water and ...guess what else...water.
Click to expand...
you COULD use subs super soul with water, but almost no one does and when they do they run into problems around 1/2 way through flowering. you can write sub yourself and ask him if he feeds his plants with teas (he does....) he has covered such things before on the weednerd.

P.S: if you just believe what the magazines tell you then you obviously arn't a serious grower. there are Podcasts such as the weednerd, the Dopecast and others where REAL GROWERS talk about REAL PLANTS.
 
Corbat420

Corbat420

Well-Known Member
What type of microscope do you use?
Click to expand...
http://www.microscopenet.com/40x2000x-digital-compound-microscopevinyl-caseslidescovers-p-9222.html?osCsid=1d2i405out6lmi7jc4bv6fabg5

Exact same model, but i got it from the University of British Columbia. i got it for mycology purposes, but it works even better for bacteriology.

WHat dominates this particular recipe?
Click to expand...
that PARTICULAR recipe is dominated by around 60% Nitrogen fixing and 30% acrinomycetes (bacteria which form Hyphae, like fungi) with the remaining 10% being nitrifying bacteria and uncontrollable bacteria (from making tea in unsterilized environments, such as outside or basements)
 
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Buddy Hemphill

Active Member
Corbat420 said:
disregard everything everyone else on this thread has said..... organics have obviously fallen a long ways since a bunch of us left....

When mixing compost teas it is actually very east to judge what is going into the tea, and the final N/P/K output of the tea, this is why experienced growers make teas in the first place..... it breaks the nutrients down and makes them readily available for uptake via the plants roots. feeding the microbial life in the soil will do this over time, but it is much better and easier to create the enviroment inside of a 5 gallon buchet, and ensure there is a MASS amount of nutrients available to the plants upon feeding....

https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/503805-outdoor-teas-application-methods.html <- This is a thread that many of the experianced organic growers have been working on for a while. Page 2 and page 3 are LOADED with info on teas, even after the hack attack our thread lives on. Here is an example of the tea's WE create....


P.S: when using organics properly, its almost impossible to "burn" your plants....
Click to expand...
Are you saying that you bubble all this stuff in a 55 gallon barrel for a week?
 
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Buddy Hemphill

Active Member
How do you keep one bacteria or fungi from becoming dominant and eating the rest?


I thought (according to Teaming with Microbes) that an ACT was best when used fresh to take advantage of a wide range of biodiversity....not just a bacterial or fungally dominant tea?

I like the idea...it sounds easy. I just am not sure that you get consistent microbial life across a 7-14 days of constant brewing.
 
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Buddy Hemphill

Active Member
tried to edit??

I use EWC up until mid flower. This is bactera dominant. I have read that this is better for veg and the first half of flower.


I use fish emulsion halfway thru flower for a fugal dominant tea.

Do this sound right to you. I always like talking to the guys with a scope.
 
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