Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

[Rrog]

Cann, if you're in a hurry, a fast three way mix of 1/3 sphagnum, 1/3 aeration amendment (pumice), and 1/3 EWC would work right away. Then add amendments through top dressing.

This is the beauty of feeding these amendments to the worms in your own worm bin. They're cool when you're ready for them.

 

[Rising Moon]

Hello fellow Microbe enthusiasts!!!

I just wanted to share some photos I took of my buddy's plants... (I helped him get a TRUE living organic system set-up, and provided the compost and tea recipes)

These girls (Kandy Kush) are only fed herbal compost/ewc teas. Bedsides a little bit of Indonesian Guano in the soil mix, and a couple tbs. added to the flowering teas, these girls are mostly herbivores... (nettle, dandelion, yarrow, comfrey, horsetail, chamomile, alfalfa...)

11 weeks, beginning of flush, 2 weeks to go...

 

[Rrog]

flush? What are you flushing?

 

[Rising Moon]

My friend likes to stop feeding a couple weeks before chop and let a bit of leaf cannibalization happen....

Leach out the salts, chlorophyll ect...

Our teas still have salts in them, and thus, we have found the resulting "extra" flushed herb smoked better, cures faster, smells better ect.

 

[Rrog]

How are you stopping feeding in soil? The soil microbes are still alive and working. You mean you stop with the teas? You realize flushing soil is a complete waste? Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

 

[Rising Moon]

The soil mix these plants are growing in is mainly supplemented with minerals, and all the major nutrients are added via herbal teas.

By, "flushing" in this sense I mean, we are no longer feeding teas, just RO water, with the intention of leaching out the excess salts ect.

 

[Sincerely420]

I would have been with you a couple months ago Rrog, but I've come to learn pretty much the same thing.
We can't technically flush our crop growing organically, but we can rinse the soil essentially flushing it of old build up.
So this flush doesn't really work the same way as it would using bottled nutes. Kinda sorta, but not really.
Someone should coin the term "organic soil flush" or something lol! It would save a lot of discussion

Tho i did think that the chlorophyll had any place in this equation. I've come to learn(at this point) that you only rinse the build up out that's consistent with the ferts you put in it...I'm not the bud God tho. Just my understanding at this point

 

[Rrog]

What "old build up" would there be?

"You only rinse the buildup that's consistent with the ferts you put in." Are these bottled items? Otherwise you wouldn't want to wash out things like EWC, compost, kelp, etc. And any half descent soil is going to have a high compost content, which will lock cations and plant enzymes pretty well. You won't wash that away.

 

[Rrog]

The soil mix these plants are growing in is mainly supplemented with minerals, and all the major nutrients are added via herbal teas.

By, "flushing" in this sense I mean, we are no longer feeding teas, just RO water, with the intention of leaching out the excess salts ect.

Ah, so the initial soil, is more of a medium, then. Or are supplementing only for a month or so because the soil would run out of N or such? What would be an example of one of these teas?

 

[Sincerely420]

What "old build up" would there be?

"You only rinse the buildup that's consistent with the ferts you put in." Are these bottled items? Otherwise you wouldn't want to wash out things like EWC, compost, kelp, etc. And any half descent soil is going to have a high compost content, which will lock cations and plant enzymes pretty well. You won't wash that away.

So...first off I'm not sold on anything really. But I've read a lot and things stick to my mind and this was one of those things.
I'm growing organic w/ an amended bag of FFOF. I cut it with Hi-P bat guano, rock dust, tomato tone, kelp meal, greensand, a hi-cal lime, EWCs and perlite.
My compost content consists of the FFOF compost and added EWCs. Are you saying that's enough to lock up everything that I've added to it?
I was thinking I'd go water only for that last month with added molasses, then heavy water(during waterings) only the last couple weeks.
And I would do so to wash out any build-up. Are you saying that's pointless?

 

[Rising Moon]

Ah, so the initial soil, is more of a medium, then. Or are supplementing only for a month or so because the soil would run out of N or such? What would be an example of one of these teas?

To a certain extent yes. Basically a super soil, without animal by-products, and more diversity of mineral based supplementation and added beneficials.

An example Veg tea would be as follows (per 2 gallons of water):
-1/4 cup dried Alfalfa, 1/4 cup dried Stinging Nettle, 1/4 cup dried Comfrey, 1/4 dried Dandelion Leaves, 1/4 cup dried Horsetail, 1/4 cup dried Chamomile, 1/4 cup dried Red Clover Flower, 1/4 cup dried Yarrow. (or 2 cups dried herbs)
-1 cup homemade compost/vermicompost
-1 cup homemade leaf mold
-30 ML "Age Old Kelp" (0.30-0.25-0.15)
-2 tbs. Molasses

Bubbled for 24-36 hours.

 

[Sincerely420]

Ah, so the initial soil, is more of a medium, then. Or are supplementing only for a month or so because the soil would run out of N or such? What would be an example of one of these teas?

I was thinking in the same terms.
I've used a couple teas thus far.

Brewing by the 1/2gal using 10gal fish tank pump for 24hrs:

4tbsp EWCs
3tbsp my amended soil
1tsp Hi-P bat guano
_________________
4tbsp EWCs
1tbsp kelp meal
1tsp Neptunes harvest liquid fish
__________________________

4tbsp EWCs
1tbsp kelp meal
_____________

Those three I've used so far.
Planning to add molasses to the mix with the next watering in about 4 days.

I amended the FFOF and cycled it for a bit before I potted up, so I don't expect to run out of juice...I used about 3 cups total between all those amendments and additives that i listed above per the giant bag of FFOF.

 

[Sincerely420]

To a certain extent yes. Basically a super soil, without animal by-products, and more diversity of mineral based supplementation and added beneficials.

An example Veg tea would be as follows (per 2 gallons of water):
-1/4 cup dried Alfalfa, 1/4 cup dried Stinging Nettle, 1/4 cup dried Comfrey, 1/4 dried Dandelion Leaves, 1/4 cup dried Horsetail, 1/4 cup dried Chamomile, 1/4 cup dried Red Clover Flower, 1/4 cup dried Yarrow. (or 2 cups dried herbs)
-1 cup homemade compost/vermicompost
-1 cup homemade leaf mold
-30 ML "Age Old Kelp" (0.30-0.25-0.15)
-2 tbs. Molasses

Bubbled for 24-36 hours.

Just finished typing my response and saw yours haha. Guess I was thinking in the ballpark

 

[Rrog]

Interesting stuff. So of all those amendments listed, which are you trying to flush out?

 

[Sincerely420]

any accrued buildup from the combination. None in particular I'd say

 

[Rrog]

Ah. Well, I guess I'm back to saying it's not worth doing or accomplishing much. There's just nothing bad to wash away. I can certainly see Rising Moons point of stopping those really excellent amendments - - a couple weeks before chop, however.

When I'm looking at soil (my opinion only) I'm looking to re-use it right away. So I want the soil and microbial community in tact and at peak performance. Because after I chop I'll be re-planting next to it right away. And continue with the amendments, and so on.

You guys should check out the second link in my sig. Maybe you have read Teaming With Microbes already.

 

[Rrog]

Do either of you have access to those plants live during the summer? If you do the same thing with fresh plants and use immediately, you'll capture a host of secondary metabolites and plant enzymes that degrade over time if not applied to the plant / soil quickly.

Also check out the barley tea mentioned a while back. Crazy levels of plant growth hormones. Try coconut water. More of the same. Try aloe. Very simple teas with extraordinary firepower you can't get in a bottle.

 

[Cann]

Rrog - how do you use Aloe in your teas? Picked me up a bottle recently and I want to start incorporating it into the program. Also I have a case of coconut water...are we talking the kind you get at a health food store???

 

[Rrog]

That coconut water will work.

Aloe Vera Tea - From the fresh leaves you only want to add about 2 tablespoons to 1 gallon of water.

Aloe vera contains high levels of Benzoic acid which begins to ferment in less than 20 minutes once it's exposed to air, so you have to use immediately. Commercial Aloe vera juice is treated with salt which converts this acid to Sodium Benzoate. not good.

 

[Cann]

Hmm...alright well this is what I have - http://www.lilyofthedesert.com/our_products/item/preservative-free-whole-leaf-aloe-vera-juice/8

Luckily I havent opened it yet...but it says there are no preservatives, and the only other ingredient is Citric acid (which it says is a pH stabilizer - unsure about this?). Nowhere on the bottle does it indicate that salt was used...do you think it still was? I definitely don't want to use it if it could have a negative effect, and I could scrounge around my neighborhood at night and get a few healthy pieces of aloe so if that is ideal I will return the bottle and get to harvesting...

Do i just water with 100% coconut water or should it be diluted? Thanks so much, all of this is helping me way more than you know....