my teas dont seem to be working....

[anzohaze]

So I am on my second attempt of bubbling up some tea and it does not seem to work. I am using the Earth Juice line up. I have the grow, bloom, meta k, catalyst, microblast aling with hi brix a and b(2part). Everyone that uses it says let it bubble and it will foam etc etc. Well my 1st tea I brewed for 3.5 days and never got any foam more then a lil place here and there. On my second attempt I did same as the first round. the tea calls for (per gallon)
1-2tbsp EJ grow
1-tsp of EJ bloom
1-tsp of EJ catalst
My water temps are 70. I am bubbling in a 5 gal bucket with 4 gallons in it. I bubble tap water for 3 days, and a water pump in it to keep water moving. It stays in my room bubbling not in the sun. I just bought all new EJ products but not sure if there this year or 5 years ago. I have to order off line as I have no Earth Juice dealer around. The only dates on bottle are copy right dates the oldest says 2008 newest says 2011 all bottles are brand new looking. All ordered off amazon from 1 company.

 

[GreenSanta]

3.5 days is too long. try to always use ur tea 24-36 hours after u make it, if there is no foam after 24 hours, there will be no foam. I am not sure about this but i dont think no foam means not working. Try a more basic recipe, not with bottled nutes but a simple basic recipe with worm castings, molasses, kelp ... if it works u will know ur water is good and ur room condition is good. good luck

 

[anzohaze]

Yea I no 3.5 days is to long it says 24-48 hours but so if there is no foam but I always here of it foaming and I never see it. Since you mentioned ewc kelp etc is there like a basic ratio example 1 cup ewcs 1/4 cup kelp tsp of mollasses per gallon etc for veg diff for flower any additional help is awesome thats dude
p.s. is there a way to test the tea with earth juice to see if it is actually working and just not foaming

 

[Trousers]

Mine doesn't really foam. When I make a larger batch it foams more, not so much with smaller ones.
48 hours bubbling at most then use it within 24 hours.
I know it is okay because it has that great tea smell.
I have a batch bubbling right now at about hour 18, zero foam.
You can check ppm.

Is it working?

 

[anzohaze]

Ok would the ppms increase as the tea bubbles or not and a guess ph would or should increase as well. Most peoole say earth juice ph will rise as it bubbles. Do you find that not really the case or.. and I appreciate all the help this is as its obvious my first organic run so . Thanks my riu buddies

 

[Trousers]

I have no idea. I don't know what earth juice is.
Gandalf told me to check my ppm. Last batch was 700 I think?

I neglected tea in my other plants and they suffered. It was a combination of problems.

 

[SpicySativa]

Foaming is irrelevant... Don't try to judge a tea's quality by whether it foams. Some teas do, others don't.

You aren't really making a "tea" when you just bubble a batch of Earth Juice bottled nutrients. The reason people bubble their Earth Juice nutrients is to raise and stabilize the pH. That Earth Juice recipe you listed above probably has a pH of about 3.5-4 when you first mix it up. Pouring that onto a well buffered living soil shouldn't cause any issues, but if your soil is lacking, it could definitely be a problem. Bubbling the nutrients for a day or so will usually bring the pH up to at least 5.5 or so. I used Earth Juice nutrients for a quick minute before I started mixing up my own soils several years ago (and stopped fiddling with pH measurements, altogether). I'll never go back to bottled nutrients; the results just don't compare (in my experience).

If you want to learn how to brew up some ACTUAL teas, read these two links:

http://www.microbeorganics.com/

http://ecologiesurleweb.free.fr/docs/Docs_agir/Lombricomposteur/Brew Manual compost tea.pdf

 

[anzohaze]

Spicy thanks for the info I would love to go without bottled nuted as thats my gosl but i dont have compost. I have been reading about aact and learning on here in the organice sticky section but i have never experimented with making teas so I guess I was using bottles nutes as twhat I always had before. Gotta break the old nute bottle habits and learn cause organics is all I like. I love this damn site and all them damn good people that make this site better thanks

 

[hyroot]

The foam depends on surface tension too. Foam can rise and dissipate rather fast. Foam usually means the food for microbes is just about gone. Half the time I don't get any foam, the rest i do and some has more or less foam than others.

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

Foam means absolutely nothing. You can have lots of foam and not many microbes and vice versa. EJ is my favorite bottled nute. Just follow directions. 24-48 hours and you'll be fine. Don't effe up and you'll have some great tasting stuff.

 

[anzohaze]

Sweer thanks red I am learning about making my own teas but at times it gets over whelming esp when your like me I cant read and comrehend very wellbor easly show me one time what needs to happen or how something needs to work and bitch back up cause im rollin lol

 

[May11th]

Just keep it simple. Hell I always have a ton of foam due to molasses. I notice that certain teas bubble different. I just made a oystershell flour tea w gishbonemeal and man it created a ton of lil air bubbles and ripples compared to my normal flower tea.

 

[RedCarpetMatches]

I missed it earlier, but the microbe link in post #7 says it all. Same link Stow gave me when I got into teas. Mind blowing.

 

[anzohaze]

Yea I have read it and on the 3rd reread and still dont completely comprehend. I mean I guess I do comprehend but making teas with enough of this and that and use this but not that to much of that is what is confusing me. For example the sticky part of this thread for aact teas etc I believe the first post has a looks to be good mix but thats seems really complex as others say just use ewc molasses and bat guano(I think) and thats all you need that seems a lil to easy but I dont no if that would do enough for npk number do I need to use different teas or is 1 all I need and supplement in a lil more potash or potassium etc

 

[GreenSanta]

once you have used teas once I believe they are not necessary, some of my nicest plants were grown in re-used soil with water only

 

[anzohaze]

What kind of veg teas and flower teas are yall using

 

[hyroot]

Veg - alfalfa meal, kelp meal, aloe Vera, sometimes dandelions..

flower I topdress nutes I don't like using guano or manure. But I do compost teas during flower, molasses, compost, worm castings, kelp, pureed oatmeal, aloe Vera. Add the aloe right before watering. Sometimes dandelions too.

 

[anzohaze]

Were do you get aloe vera at for brewing I no its not like sun burn aloe vera out a bottle

 

[Rrog]

Personally (that means my opinion only, so no hollering... )

I like the bubbled enzyme teas from plant materials. Not a fan of aerated teas, vortex brewers, and Beneficial Microbes brought in from other areas. GreenSanta and Hyroot have excellent comments. Again, IMHO.

 

[hyroot]

Were do you get aloe vera at for brewing I no its not like sun burn aloe vera out a bottle

I grow aloe vera plants. Take the leaves , drain sap, filet one side. And then puree the leaves then add to tea. If I use the aloe in a foliar I strain it after puree and water.