Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

[BeaverHuntr]

My Veg Tea is as follows - per 4 gallons

EWC- 2-3 cups
Kelp Meal - 2-3 Cups
Alfalfa Meal - 2-3 Cups
Hi Brix Molasses - 75 ML
Cap Bennies Powders Foliar Pack , Nute Pack, Root Pack - 2 Tables Spoons each

Bubble 24 hours
Anything I'm missing ??

 

[RedMan420]

My Veg Tea is as follows - per 4 gallons

EWC- 2-3 cups
Kelp Meal - 2-3 Cups
Alfalfa Meal - 2-3 Cups
Hi Brix Molasses - 75 ML
Cap Bennies Powders Foliar Pack , Nute Pack, Root Pack - 2 Tables Spoons each

Bubble 24 hours
Anything I'm missing ??

Try also adding a high quality organic compost, and I also use a product called sn14 by biodiversity , it's a N that is plant protein and stuff is killer never found anything like it

 

[Rising Moon]

sounds awesome...unheated winter greenhouses in maine??? that are productive??? champion...

about the gypsum...how much should I add? i already have epsom salts as a source of sulfur so I would hope the gypsum doesn't overdo it...

Not sure how much, but I'd say a couple tbs per 10 gal of soil shouldn't over do it.

The winter greenhouse thing is amazing. He figured out that many vegetables will just freeze solid at night, and get right back to growing when the greenhouses hit above freezing again during the day. Literally 20 years of trail and error, now he has a whole list of crops that he knows will survive and thrive in the winter greenhouse operation.

 

[BeaverHuntr]

Try also adding a high quality organic compost, and I also use a product called sn14 by biodiversity , it's a N that is plant protein and stuff is killer never found anything like it

Yeah dude I'm getting the fade @ week 7 and I bought a bag of compost at my local shop this past weekend I'm going to top dress with 50% compost and 50% EWC and water with a tea.. Good looking out my dude.

 

[RedMan420]

Yeah dude I'm getting the fade @ week 7 and I bought a bag of compost at my local shop this past weekend I'm going to top dress with 50% compost and 50% EWC and water with a tea.. Good looking out my dude.

I don't think I would top dress , that takes to long to take effect, but if you make a tea with the compost & ewc than it hits the plant instantly , just brew your tea a little longer (48 hous)

 

[Cann]

Anything topdressed will take at least a week or two to be effectively metabolized into the food web...redman is on point about the tea application. Also, that original tea recipe you posted sounds super hot...2-3 cups of alfalfa per 4 gallons? what???

Try this recipe I got from a friend:

1/2 cup alfalfa
1/4 cup kelp

Per 5 gal water and bubble for 24hrs - then add:

25ml potassium silicate (Protekt)
50-100ml ful-power (Fulvic Acid Supplement made by BioAg)
1/2 cupaloe Vera juice (like Lilly of the desert, or blend up some fresh aloe filets)

Water undiluted and see if you don't notice any greening up in the next 24-48 hrs. The N in the alfalfa becomes instantly available along with a sleu of micronutrients from the kelp and a long list of secondary metabolites from both.

Also...if you've never tried sprouted seed enzyme teas...give em a whirl. You'll be stunned by the results...

 

[Rising Moon]

No alfalfa during flowering IMO.

Its GREAT for veg, but may contain flower inhibiting hormones.

Its also a little high in N to be giving to a plant 7 weeks in.

Comfrey is a more balanced Npk and would be my recommendation.

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

25ml of protekt?!
Protekting me from what? lol

 

[Rising Moon]

From using horsetail or dandelion...

 

[BeaverHuntr]

Anything topdressed will take at least a week or two to be effectively metabolized into the food web...redman is on point about the tea application. Also, that original tea recipe you posted sounds super hot...2-3 cups of alfalfa per 4 gallons? what???

Try this recipe I got from a friend:

1/2 cup alfalfa
1/4 cup kelp

Per 5 gal water and bubble for 24hrs - then add:

25ml potassium silicate (Protekt)
50-100ml ful-power (Fulvic Acid Supplement made by BioAg)
1/2 cupaloe Vera juice (like Lilly of the desert, or blend up some fresh aloe filets)

Water undiluted and see if you don't notice any greening up in the next 24-48 hrs. The N in the alfalfa becomes instantly available along with a sleu of micronutrients from the kelp and a long list of secondary metabolites from both.

Also...if you've never tried sprouted seed enzyme teas...give em a whirl. You'll be stunned by the results...

Okay I'm foliar spraying with neem and pro tek
I think you are right about using too much Alfalfa because my smaller plants had what looked like nute burn and you rarely see that with organics...Thanks for the tip this is my second organic grow and first using teas so I appreciate the info. ALso I never use alfalfa for my plants in bloom.

YOu guys have been talking a lot about Aloe, where the hell do you get aloe for gardening? YOu guys talking about like the plant Aloe Vera ?? I live in the desert and everyone has aloe vera plants in their yards...Damn dude I been putting big ass hand fulls of alfalfa and kelp.. D'oh!!! Thanks again for the head ups.

 

[Cann]

25ml of protekt?!
Protekting me from what? lol

This is why protekt (potassium silicate) would be used: http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/blog/2010/06/silica-the-hidden-cost-of-chemicals/

an extremely overlooked aspect of gardening IMO..

rising moon is correct however about the horsetail or dandelion containing high levels of silica as well...right now I am too busy/lazy to make a FPE of sorts, so I choose protekt...works for me and I consider it to be an acceptable bottled supplement (along with ful-power, preservative free aloe, and thats about it at this point...)

also yes, alfalfa at week 7 flower is questionable due to the triacontanol..but hell, 1/2 cup is a lot better than 2-3 cups lol! talk about a flowering delay...my bad on that though, was a little too medicated . I just used that tea at week 3 flower cause some of my ladies were starting to fade and it will be my final application of anything alfalfa related.

 

[Wolverine97]

Cann- So sorry for being dense. I would guess you are just fine, as there's been no exposure to O2. Not sure how Aloe propagates, but that leaf has gotta be viable.

Great news on the VC find! That stinky soil is weird. Like no one here or at IC had an idea. In all honesty, I'd swear it was urine. What else would have such free N? You said that's not possible, but I really dunno.

Hola all. I agree on the aloe, should be fine. The stinky soil could be anaerobic bacteria breeding, they give off an ammonia smell, could be from low oxygen content/penetration into the media.

 

[Rrog]

Wolverine! How cool to see you dropping by! Where ya been?

 

[H R Puff N Stuff]

say i only use 1/2 of my "cooked soil" is it ok if i fill with new soil and ammendments and recook or should i start with a new batch.

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

I've noticed bokashi gets that similiar "amonia" smell during the middle weeks of composting sometimes, if it's too moist. Hows the aeration in your mix Cann; is it more so muddy or loamy when wet?Anyone ever use Sunleaves PSG?

 

[H R Puff N Stuff]

oh and after reading teaming with microbes and understanding the structure of fugi a little better could i mix soil then put in 5 gal pot water and let it cook so when its done i transplant the plant into 5 gal pot so the fungi structure is still in tacked or does it need to be cooked in large amounts for best results.

 

[Fresh 2 De@th]

Haha try Teaming With Microbes which page one comes from! And maybe The Organic Gardeners and Organic Gardening Soma Style.

The Best book for the serious organic student is Elliot Coleman's New Organic Grower.

It will teach you the old, ancient techniques, combined with tested modern approaches to truly sustainable agriculture.

Elliot is known in farming circles as the organic guru.

hey thanks for the recommendations. i looked into both authors and the Teaming with microbes seems to be more updated, so will more than likely pick that one up instead.

 

[Sincerely420]

hey thanks for the recommendations. i looked into both authors and the Teaming with microbes seems to be more updated, so will more than likely pick that one up instead.

It's good to have a variety bro! It HELP TREMENDOUSLY to reach the same shit in different words over and over again

 

[Wolverine97]

Wolverine! How cool to see you dropping by! Where ya been?

I had to take a break from the forums for a while. It was getting really stale for me. Try to help, some random doodz say nuh uh, blah blah, lather rinse repeat... *wanking motion*
Actually, I took a break from the op for a bit as well, but that could only last so long.

How's it with you? Things going well?

 

[SpliffAndMyLady]

This is why protekt (potassium silicate) would be used: http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/blog/2010/06/silica-the-hidden-cost-of-chemicals/

an extremely overlooked aspect of gardening IMO..

rising moon is correct however about the horsetail or dandelion containing high levels of silica as well...right now I am too busy/lazy to make a FPE of sorts, so I choose protekt...works for me and I consider it to be an acceptable bottled supplement (along with ful-power, preservative free aloe, and thats about it at this point...)

also yes, alfalfa at week 7 flower is questionable due to the triacontanol..but hell, 1/2 cup is a lot better than 2-3 cups lol! talk about a flowering delay...my bad on that though, was a little too medicated . I just used that tea at week 3 flower cause some of my ladies were starting to fade and it will be my final application of anything alfalfa related.

Why don't you just use Earth Juice Meta-K? Does the same thing, but it's organic.