Total Noob using teas and I am a believer

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
Great info Hammy!!! I want your guys opinion on straight coco and ACT/nutrient teas. Should I even check PH going in? Won't the mighty microbes buffer everything for me?
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'll shade a bit conservative on that.


It is basically this with some tweaking and a half cup each of 3 different kinds of bat poo:

-1.5 cubic feet Fox Farm Ocean Forest
-38 cups Wiggle Worms Earthworm Casting (1-0-0)
-10 cups Perlite
-11 tsp Rooters Mycorrhizae

-1.5 cups Indonesian Hi-P Bat Guano (.5-13-.2)
-1.5 cups Algamin Kelp Meal (1-0-2)
-1 cup Espoma Tomato Tone (3-4-6)
-.5 cup Fox Farms Peace all purpose (5-5-5)


-1.5 cups Azomite dust
-0.75 cup Espoma Green sand
-1.25 cups Hi-Cal Lime


I can not remember if I added soft rock phosphate or not, lost the paper I wrote it down on. :oops:
From what I've read you don't like dirty gnats. I'd replace the FF with Roots 707 for that reason. Oh and lava rock is much better and cheaper than perlite. Other than my 2¥...just let that cook and then cook some more :fire:
 

GandalfdaGreen

Well-Known Member
This is for my bro Gandalf. In the spirit of this thread, I am here to show you my latest cock-up and elaborate on it a little. I've been going by the 'less is more' mantra for a little while now. Well, I am here to tell you less is LESS. Right is more. Not MOAR, not less, but RIGHT. And another thing, I have been ignoring my old mantra of 'Baby Steps' when jumping into true living organics.
I am experiencing a P def for the first time in my life, EVER. It is a nasty sight to behold, folks. Looks like a Ca def, but it took me sobering up off the goddamn Indica weed to click that it was all over my LOWER leaves. MOBILE element. NOT IMMOBILE. I also seemed to completely miss the fact it only showed IN FLOWER.
I am a fucking idiot.
You guys are going to hate me for this, but I hit them with a bottle fert (runs, ducks, hides and hangs head in shame). But fact of the matter is, I should've weaned myself off them slowly while I get my soil mixes right. The were hit with a product called Phyta, a pure PK booster. It was not the best time for feeding as soil was a bit moist, but this shit progresses FAST. De-humidifier running full power now.
Here be a pic. The other weird pic is a little something I took on simply because of a conversation about re-vegging we had here. This is the Wicked Witch, LVBK I harvested 2 weeks ago. I just left the last and lowest two little popcorn nugs, they actually grew where I missed the growth tip when trimming. Pretty cool.
Good catch bro. I think that the best growers notice what the hell is wrong and then they fix it, period. Just like you have done. We all run into the gauntlet. These plants are like children man. They need corrections from us along the way. I try to minimize the damage from these events and keep moving forward. I think running an all purpose tea the whole way is crucial for starting new mixes until the bugs are worked out. I swear by these all purpose teas. Let the microlife store the extras. It's never at a high ppm. I only run them until I see a def which occurs at week 6 in some of the phenos I run. I am now adjusting my mixes for those phenos to see what they can do. Try to top dress too. I am now learning to use top dressing in conjunction with teas. So fucking cool. Target the plants that run different. We all know that not every one runs the same.

Question for you worm farmers. I hear bat guano is bad for the worms. I would love to toss my tea ingredients into the worm bin. Educate me.

I know Rrog does not use bat guano any longer. I respect Rrog more than anyone. Why don't you use it Rrog if you don't mind me asking? I would love to hear your view on it. Thanks.

Tip of the day.....never buy Vortex Hollow "cigar wraps". Cool idea but the flavor sucks and you burn yourself.
 

GandalfdaGreen

Well-Known Member
Great info Hammy!!! I want your guys opinion on straight coco and ACT/nutrient teas. Should I even check PH going in? Won't the mighty microbes buffer everything for me?
I go against the grain here and check my ph in teas for every new mix. I adjust it until I get comfortable with the mix and the health of the plants. I then see how one plant does as I back off and let it fly so to speak. I added enough lime to my mix that I don't check ph anymore. I used to run RO water then I switched to my well water, another move against the grain. My well water is 6.45 and 85 ppms these days. It varies throughout the year. At the dry points it is a little higher ph with more ppms up to 110 max.

I would check and adjust your ph with Earth Juice crystals. Let the flogging begin. Be nice to me or I will start throwing pictures up to bore you.
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
Good catch bro. I think that the best growers notice what the hell is wrong and then they fix it, period. Just like you have done. We all run into the gauntlet. These plants are like children man. They need corrections from us along the way. I try to minimize the damage from these events and keep moving forward. I think running an all purpose tea the whole way is crucial for starting new mixes until the bugs are worked out. I swear by these all purpose teas. Let the microlife store the extras. It's never at a high ppm. I only run them until I see a def which occurs at week 6 in some of the phenos I run. I am now adjusting my mixes for those phenos to see what they can do. Try to top dress too. I am now learning to use top dressing in conjunction with teas. So fucking cool. Target the plants that are run different. We all know they do.

Question for you worm farmers. I hear bat guano is bad for the worms. I would love to toss my tea ingredients into the worm bin. Educate me.

I know Rrog does not use bat guano any longer. I respect Rrog more than anyone. Why don't you use it Rrog if you don't mind me asking? I would love to hear your view on it. Thanks.

Tip of the day.....never buy Vortex Hollow "cigar wraps". Cool idea but the flavor sucks and you burn yourself.
I just save the guano for nute teas. Trying to spend less from here on out. I actually added some left over HF soil conditioner (has guano) and they're eating away.
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
My perspective- Guano harms the local environment where it's harvested. It's unhealthy to be around, and not local to me for sure. I'd recommend fish bone mean, fish meal, feather meal, etc.

Nothing magic about guanos. The nutrients we need are found in innumerable sources.

I Like To S I M P L I F Y
 

Mad Hamish

Well-Known Member
I have top dressed with a healthy dose of EWC. That stuff is nothing short of miraculous. I can't help but feel I need to not toke much when doing a fat run. It seems to me I am a lot better at growing when not toking. Ironic isn't it?!

Anyhow, I need to correct myself, it is not a P issue, but POTASSIUM. Dammit. K. not P. Whoooops.

Gandalf, I think you are spot-on when it comes to dialling in the mixes per pheno. The DB suffered quite a bit with this (or at least to my eyes, my wife is not convinced I need to be freaking out at myself, she reckons they look happy. Girls eh LOL), but the Gigabud right in there at the same age is doing marvellously. Perfect health. PM on the way to you bro...
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
My perspective- Guano harms the local environment where it's harvested. It's unhealthy to be around, and not local to me for sure. I'd recommend fish bone mean, fish meal, feather meal, etc.

Nothing magic about guanos. The nutrients we need are found in innumerable sources.

I Like To S I M P L I F Y
My local zoo wouldn't give me their guano :(
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
I go against the grain here and check my ph in teas for every new mix. I adjust it until I get comfortable with the mix and the health of the plants. I then see how one plant does as I back off and let it fly so to speak. I added enough lime to my mix that I don't check ph anymore. I used to run RO water then I switched to my well water, another move against the grain. My well water is 6.45 and 85 ppms these days. It varies throughout the year. At the dry points it is a little higher ph with more ppms up to 110 max.

I would check and adjust your ph with Earth Juice crystals. Let the flogging begin. Be nice to me or I will start throwing pictures up to bore you.
I actually do everything you just mentioned...besides the boring pics ;) I used to be so OCD with coco and I'm thinking about not worrying much about .1-.5 off. I'm not doing a drain to waste money just inoculating it up.
 

Trousers

Well-Known Member
Great info Hammy!!! I want your guys opinion on straight coco and ACT/nutrient teas. Should I even check PH going in? Won't the mighty microbes buffer everything for me?
I would be curious to see if this works. I love the way properly fed plants grow in coco.
I am toying with the idea of a coco/ewc base.

There is a dispensary in town that grows in coco and uses teas.

*Rumor* A friend switched back to soil because he tried organic nutes on coco and didn't like the way the buds burned - said that he had to light his bowl too many times. He used bottled, organic nutes on identical cuts he ran in soil. /rumor
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
I'm using straight coco w/Dolo and following Stow's link to a T! http://microbeorganics.com I top dressed with EWC, crab shell meal, neem cake, and a bunch of dolomite lime (during my blackout) I'll be set back a week due to that f'n ground up lime. I'm keeping track and going to make a journal no matter the outcome.
 

GandalfdaGreen

Well-Known Member
I would be curious to see if this works. I love the way properly fed plants grow in coco.
I am toying with the idea of a coco/ewc base.

There is a dispensary in town that grows in coco and uses teas.

*Rumor* A friend switched back to soil because he tried organic nutes on coco and didn't like the way the buds burned - said that he had to light his bowl too many times. He used bottled, organic nutes on identical cuts he ran in soil. /rumor
Interesting. I have coco in my mix. I love organics. It is so fun. So many great ways to do things. Always keep your mind open. :eyesmoke:
 

GandalfdaGreen

Well-Known Member
I'm using straight coco w/Dolo and following Stow's link to a T! http://microbeorganics.com I top dressed with EWC, crab shell meal, neem cake, and a bunch of dolomite lime (during my blackout) I'll be set back a week due to that f'n ground up lime. I'm keeping track and going to make a journal no matter the outcome.
Microbeman rocks. He's like E.F. Hutton to me.

[video=youtube;SX7ZEotoFh0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX7ZEotoFh0[/video]
 

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
This might be helpful to some. After all, I feel like a need to give back. Here's a mathematical breakdown to Tim #*^%+\|'s (Stow's link) miracle ACT...NOT nute or fungal dominate tea.

Per 5 gallons
1) 30 tbsp or almost 2 cups compost/EWC
2) 6 1/2 tbsp BSM
3) 12 mL fish hydrolysate
4) 2 1/2 tsp kelp (less is MOAR)

Kelp can can delay microbes so I add this first for 12 hours, then the rest. You could just use in nute tea instead.
 

Mad Hamish

Well-Known Member
I would be curious to see if this works. I love the way properly fed plants grow in coco.
I am toying with the idea of a coco/ewc base.

There is a dispensary in town that grows in coco and uses teas.

*Rumor* A friend switched back to soil because he tried organic nutes on coco and didn't like the way the buds burned - said that he had to light his bowl too many times. He used bottled, organic nutes on identical cuts he ran in soil. /rumor
I have been talking about this to some very cool cats over at Trinity East, Kaptain and SHOE. They have found that more coco in their soil mixes allows them to get larger yields in smaller pots. They are currently playing with where the line lies as far as how much can be used. According to my hydro shop owner, coco encourages trichoderma to thrive also. He told me last week he is doing organic in coco, adding trichoderma and other microbes but still feeding off bottles and is getting yields above and beyond his old ebb and flow rigs. One thing is certain, my coco grows gave me the fattest whitest roots I have ever seen up to this DB run. I am now very keen to do an organic coco test with one plant. You actually put me onto the idea a few pages back by mentioning it. Far as organic hydro goes, this makes a LOT of sense, using coco. I quite like herb that doesn't burn too fast. It means there is little N left in it for one, and seeing as I am a bonghead, it burns a lot 'cooler' and tokes more smoothly. Slow burning herb is for bowls not blunts in my house. It is personal preference in the end, but after reading this I am even more keen to try it out.
 

GandalfdaGreen

Well-Known Member
I have been talking about this to some very cool cats over at Trinity East, Kaptain and SHOE. They have found that more coco in their soil mixes allows them to get larger yields in smaller pots. They are currently playing with where the line lies as far as how much can be used. According to my hydro shop owner, coco encourages trichoderma to thrive also. He told me last week he is doing organic in coco, adding trichoderma and other microbes but still feeding off bottles and is getting yields above and beyond his old ebb and flow rigs. One thing is certain, my coco grows gave me the fattest whitest roots I have ever seen up to this DB run. I am now very keen to do an organic coco test with one plant. You actually put me onto the idea a few pages back by mentioning it. Far as organic hydro goes, this makes a LOT of sense, using coco. I quite like herb that doesn't burn too fast. It means there is little N left in it for one, and seeing as I am a bonghead, it burns a lot 'cooler' and tokes more smoothly. Slow burning herb is for bowls not blunts in my house. It is personal preference in the end, but after reading this I am even more keen to try it out.
I am starting to love the bong again.
 

Mad Hamish

Well-Known Member
This might be helpful to some. After all I feel like a need to give back. Here's a mathematical breakdown to Tim #*^%+\|'s (Stow's link) miracle ACT...NOT nute or fungal dominate tea.

Per 5 gallons
1) 30 tbsp or almost 2 cups compost/EWC
2) 6 1/2 tbsp BSM
3) 12 mL fish hydrolysate
4) 2 1/2 tsp kelp (less is MOAR)

Kelp can can delay microbes so I add this first for 12 hours, then the rest. You could just use in nute tea instead.
I think it is cool to make the clear distinction between nute tea, and fungal/bacterial ACT. They are all quite different aren't they?! I will make a point of referring to each as what it is from now on too. This is a cool recipe, thanks for sharing, simple and cheap too.
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'll shade a bit conservative on that.


It is basically this with some tweaking and a half cup each of 3 different kinds of bat poo:

-1.5 cubic feet Fox Farm Ocean Forest
-38 cups Wiggle Worms Earthworm Casting (1-0-0)
-10 cups Perlite
-11 tsp Rooters Mycorrhizae

-1.5 cups Indonesian Hi-P Bat Guano (.5-13-.2)
-1.5 cups Algamin Kelp Meal (1-0-2)
-1 cup Espoma Tomato Tone (3-4-6)
-.5 cup Fox Farms Peace all purpose (5-5-5)


-1.5 cups Azomite dust
-0.75 cup Espoma Green sand
-1.25 cups Hi-Cal Lime


I can not remember if I added soft rock phosphate or not, lost the paper I wrote it down on. :oops:
Great stuff.

I like to recommend the Espoma "Tone" products for the high
quantity of various bacterial colonial units that they include.

I used Plant Tone and Citrus Tone in the garden.

JD
 
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