Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

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organicflames

Member
Hey KB, What do you mean by the water bottle test?
I agree with those who stated that fresh castings sre much better. My fresh castings always produce a better tea and always produce a better topdress. They are literally crawling with life, worms, worm cocoons, springtails, soil mites, etc. all good things in an organic, all-natural container.
 
wyteboi

wyteboi

Well-Known Member
organicflames said:
Hey KB, What do you mean by the water bottle test?
I agree with those who stated that fresh castings sre much better. My fresh castings always produce a better tea and always produce a better topdress. They are literally crawling with life, worms, worm cocoons, springtails, soil mites, etc. all good things in an organic, all-natural container.
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i was kinda wondering about the bottle test myself ? i guess if you was to put some in a bottle of water you would see all the wood chips ? i guess the wood chips an maybe even the peat moss will float as to where poop will not. not sure?



soil
 
Kb's seeds

Kb's seeds

Active Member
wyteboi u got it right, u add sum of ur store bought castings to a water bottle and u can see the fillers, wood chips will float, sand will sink quicker than castings, here is the test i do with store bought castings

use a EMPTY 20 oz. water bottle, and 3oz.of castings into bottle, fill bottle 3/4 full with water, shake hella good for 3min. let it sit for a half hour, go back to check it and see what floating, if there are grass or weed seeds (not the good kind) in the castings they will be floating along with any other unconsumed junk, sand will be first to settle on bottom, u should be able to see sediment layers (i.e. whatever is sitting on bottom would be considered the bottom layer) check and see what the colors of the layers are, the darker the color the more pure castings are in the product, try it out with a couple different store bought castings ul see the difference
 
trichmasta

trichmasta

Active Member
Thought i'd share my current flower tea

*Aerate and liven water for 24 hours prior to brewing*
*brew for 24-30 hours*

1/2 cup/gal Wonder Worm EWC
1-2 tsp/gal Honey ES
1/3 tsp/gal soluble Seaweed
1 quart/gal Alaska Humisoil
 
wyteboi

wyteboi

Well-Known Member
trichmasta said:
Thought i'd share my current flower tea

*Aerate and liven water for 24 hours prior to brewing*
*brew for 24-30 hours*

1/2 cup/gal Wonder Worm EWC
1-2 tsp/gal Honey ES
1/3 tsp/gal soluble Seaweed
1 quart/gal Alaska Humisoil
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that is a BEAUTIFUL tea masta! thats an ideal tea to me.





soil
 
trichmasta

trichmasta

Active Member
thanks!! It truly was a bomb brew...ladies LOVED it. The only thing that i felt i was missing, was some Alaska Humisoil at 1/2 quart/gal. ACT & Soil <3
 
trichmasta

trichmasta

Active Member
ooh yeah...lol! Coffee hasn't kicked in:) regardless this is a killer brew that i will run every feeding till week 3, then every other till week 6.
 
wyteboi

wyteboi

Well-Known Member
trichmasta said:
ooh yeah...lol! Coffee hasn't kicked in:) regardless this is a killer brew that i will run every feeding till week 3, then every other till week 6.
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i'd rock that mix until week 8 of bloom. it would be real hard to go wrong with that tea in any good soil. maybe lighten it up a lil by using 2 gal instead of one.
and if you got PLENTY of air it wont hurt to brew for longer , just add more castings every 3 or 4 days, and dont go no more then a couple weeks without cleaning out the brewer real good.



soil
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
wyteboi you are quite the tea brewer! I love it!

I have this fascination with microbes, these days. I make yogurt, I feed my dog a completely raw diet, I eat raw eggs by the dozen. Everyday. I was sick 15 years ago. We're supposed to work with them in the soil, our animals and ourselves.
 
P

puppasmurf

Member
Hey mate nice thread im studying horticulture production and this shit is what im learning at the moment so ive got a good grasp on what ur posting about....
Now onto my MJ planties......What do they prefer a Bacteria or fungal dominated tea??

I could ask my teacher.......nah ill ask you
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Cannabis likes bacterially dominated soils. The plant will tailor its root exudates to customize the microlife population the way it wants. It likes certain bacteria around so it secretes bacterially favorable food. Certainly EM fungi are all a part of this web, but the bacterially dominant soil that the cannabis creates.
 
PakaloloHui

PakaloloHui

Active Member
Rrog said:
Cannabis likes bacterially dominated soils. The plant will tailor its root exudates to customize the microlife population the way it wants. It likes certain bacteria around so it secretes bacterially favorable food. Certainly EM fungi are all a part of this web, but the bacterially dominant soil that the cannabis creates.
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I believe you may have that wrong. MJ likes Fungal Dominant soils and tea's, hence the acidic growing environment. Bacteria likes High pH, Fungi likes Low pH. When making and brewing our tea's, they should be Fungal Dominant. We have to work hard to build the fungi and keep it populated, it takes longer to grow than Bacteria, which explodes in a tea or multiplies very rapidly. When your pH is high you can be sure the Bacteria has out performed the fungi and you need to populate.

You have to keep the balance, but fungal dominant tea's and soil/compost is what we are after, to keep the bacteria in check, and to keep the soil in prime working range for MJ.

If you notice in most of the compost tea recipe's, people use a fungal dominant compost. People grow Mold with rice or oatmeal on their compost before making a tea.

Sure, if I saw my pH drop way low in my soil I would brew a Bacterial tea to raise the pH in the soil.
 
trichome fiend

trichome fiend

Well-Known Member


:wall:

...from the book, "Teaming With Microbes"
2) Most vegetables, annuals, and grasses prefer their nitrogen in nitrate form and do best in bacterially dominated soils.

...cannabis is an annual plant.


...from Wiki----> Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous plant in the Cannabaceae family.
 
B

blueJ

Active Member
I made the same assumption above based on that book & it makes sense. Perennials and trees prefer fungal dominant soils as they create longterm relationships with fungi, if i were planning on keeping moms for years, then i would feed at least 70% fungi teas, for our quick, typical, 90 day veg/flower cycle, i like to inoculate early with mykes at transplants & some fungi dominant teas early veg, then keep it all bacterial, the fungi are in place and doing their thing by a couple weeks into flower...... for fungi dominant i use vermiblend & kelp, bacteria i use EWC

...... at least that's what i like to think, not being all scientific about it 'n all :D and it works for me
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
PakaloloHui said:
We have to work hard to build the fungi and keep it populated,..l.
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For sure there is a balance that the plant is looking for with fungal / bacterial ratios. As well there is a great advantage to re-using the soil without disturbing the soil. After 2-3 plants cycle through the soil (being amended through top dressings and teas) the now mature soil will take on quite a different textural quality. The fungus has really started to define the texture and porosity of the soil.

This is what I'm shooting for now. My only other point is the plant is in much greater control than you give it credit for. It's pretty capable of creating the bacterial / fungal associations that it wants.
 
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