AACT, Bloom Tea, Veg Tea, Fungal Tea, Myco Tea, recipes from the outdoor guys.
- Thread starter malignant
- Start date
st0wandgrow
Well-Known Member
The added ingredients are food stocks for the microbes. The duration of the brew and various ingredients can influence growth of either bacteria or fungi.
Dr.J20
Well-Known Member
alfalfa meal would be there primarily as a foodstock for your microbes, but yes, if you poured it straight into your mix, you would also have a little nitrogen boost. We may be talking at cross purposes here: though your addition of alfalfa may also add nitrogen, you add the alfalfa to the tea for the primary purpose of feeding the microbes.
st0wandgrow
Well-Known Member
The food stocks that you add are feeding the microbes during their multiplication. By using different items you can influence the tea to an extent, steering more towards either a fungal or bacteria dominant tea. Once the microbes have consumed the food stocks and have been applied to your medium, those microbes either deficate (poop) or are eaten by predators further up the food chain and a portion of the ingested foodstocks then become plant available as nutrients. However, the plant is in charge during this process. It will discharge differnet exudates through it's roots to attract certain types of microbes to the rhizosphere (root zone) in order to aquire what it is looking for during that particular phase of it's development.
I think most of us started out growing plants using synthetic fertilizers. As such we all became accustomed to feeding the plant by measuring out 5ml of this, and 10ml of that in an attempt to give the plant a well rounded source of macro/micro nutrients and minerals. The beauty of organics is it's simplicity. We don't have to worry about measuring out all of these ingredients anymore. Build a well rounded base soil full of organic ammendments, and inocultae the soil with an army of beneficial microbes and your job is mostly done. The plant is now in charge, and will take from the soil (in unison with the microbes) what it wants, when it needs it. Compost teas don't need to be complicated by a bunch of ingredients. Why not keep it simple? Molasses is a cheap, easily sourced food stock that serves it's purpose well. As long as you are starting with a good source of compost in your soil, it can be argued that teas really arent necessary at all ..... you already have the compost in your soil which is full of microbes. Experimenting is fun, and gives us a sense that we are helping the plant in some way, but when you step back and realize what's going on in the soil and how that nurtures the plant it will become obvious that less is more in most cases. We are trying to mimic nature. In nature there are no bottles and teas .... just organic matter that is broken down by a variety of critters which in turn feeds the plants.
Dr.J20
Well-Known Member
well said st0w!
Scroga
Well-Known Member
Great info thankyou! So there is no point in me adding mycos and bennies together because one will out compete the other? I'm using dwc and have leant the error of my ways with synthetics..I'm all about the teas now...but it seems I am randomly adding ingredients...a pinch of this a dash of that.. Icing sugar for foods lol...the molases is in the mail...
P.s I'm not getting foam? My recovering girls are growing nicely but no explosive white root growth as such..?
P.s I'm not getting foam? My recovering girls are growing nicely but no explosive white root growth as such..?
Scotch089
Well-Known Member
That explanation was just... perfect. Touched on every end. Thank you. Among some others on the forum- THAT kind of information is golden, couple threads make you lose hope now and again.
1.) Can we store these teas? how long? And do we need to reacticvate by bubbling and feeding the bennies again before innoc?
2.) Will the drained Kelp/Alfalfa/ewc/etc.etc. still contain any/enough of anything worth reusing with topdress/teas?
3.) When is the most beneficial time to use the teas?
Hang on.. I am coming from a hydro history using the heisenberg tea and that puts me in a 36-48 hour window before I see serious activity/foam... the tea I brewed last night (my first organic tea brewed and applied to soil. ever.) was foaming over the lip within 15 minutes.
3b.) Should I be using these teas at the highest "point of foamage?" Draws me back to the storing/rebrewing questions, should I not be storing these at all and just brewing what I need?
4.) I used to add molasses as the kickstarter, since I added kelp/afalfa/... is it necessary to continue adding molasses? How little of each do we REALLY need to get them rolling?
Fuckin 20 questions but I do appreciate all the time the members put forward in these threads, kick ass organic section.
1.) Can we store these teas? how long? And do we need to reacticvate by bubbling and feeding the bennies again before innoc?
2.) Will the drained Kelp/Alfalfa/ewc/etc.etc. still contain any/enough of anything worth reusing with topdress/teas?
3.) When is the most beneficial time to use the teas?
Hang on.. I am coming from a hydro history using the heisenberg tea and that puts me in a 36-48 hour window before I see serious activity/foam... the tea I brewed last night (my first organic tea brewed and applied to soil. ever.) was foaming over the lip within 15 minutes.
3b.) Should I be using these teas at the highest "point of foamage?" Draws me back to the storing/rebrewing questions, should I not be storing these at all and just brewing what I need?
4.) I used to add molasses as the kickstarter, since I added kelp/afalfa/... is it necessary to continue adding molasses? How little of each do we REALLY need to get them rolling?
Fuckin 20 questions but I do appreciate all the time the members put forward in these threads, kick ass organic section.
Dr.J20
Well-Known Member
First off, I think everyone would do well to give microbeorganics a close and careful read: www.microbeorganics.com
Now, to get to your questions:
1) These (AACT) teas go anaerobic very quickly so you will want to use them right away. Some store-bought versions claim viability with refrigeration of up to 7 days, but I'd be willing to wager you get better effectivity from fresh, home-brewed.
2) Absolutely you can throw your leftovers in the compost pile, top dress your veggie garden etc.
3a) by "these" teas, I'm assuming you're still talking about AACT, but most people are using them once or twice throughout a grow, as the purpose is largely geared towards microbial life inoculation. When you get into nutrient/botanical teas, enzyme teas, fermented plant extracts, then there will be different purposes and their concomitant, varying "timings."
--I'm unfamilar with the "hydro-heisenberg" tea--
3b) foaming is largely a myth. the way to tell what's going on in your tea is to get a microscope and place a slide sample under it. while foaming may indicate the activity of enzymes, saponins, other surfactants etc., and it certainly isn't a problem or a danger, it is largely forum-lore to make any hard-and-fast judgements about your AACT based on "foaminess"
4) Molasses is a good all around (feeds both bacteria and fungi) foodstock; extraordinarily small percentages of kelp can be helpful, but you needn't overcomplicate your recipe: for most, good quality EWC and 2tbsp/gal molasses bubbled for 36 hrs is a good inoculating tea.
5) In anticipation that you read the microbeorganics.com section on teas, you want to make sure that if you decide to add fish hydrolysate to your tea, you add actual fish hydrolysate and not fish emulsion. Hydrolysate is produced via a cold water process while emulsion requires a processes that includes boiling up all the microbe goodies we are looking for :shocked:
best of luck,
be easy,
st0wandgrow
Well-Known Member
- Spot on!
- You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Dr.J20 again.
Scroga
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the read! So nobody uses fulvic in their recipes?
I don't understand why my plants are growing, slowly, but no explosive root growth?
Ewc
Icing sugar (waiting for molases to arrive)
Hydro store trichoderma
Aquarium bacteria (nitripro)
Fulvic dash
Made in 20ltr bucket
Am debating wether to add pondzyme or not??
Will be dropping the fulvic from now on...
Thoughts appreciated
I don't understand why my plants are growing, slowly, but no explosive root growth?
Ewc
Icing sugar (waiting for molases to arrive)
Hydro store trichoderma
Aquarium bacteria (nitripro)
Fulvic dash
Made in 20ltr bucket
Am debating wether to add pondzyme or not??
Will be dropping the fulvic from now on...
Thoughts appreciated
DANKSWAG
Well-Known Member
I hear you, no worries. Are you using air (cloth pots)? What is your mix percentages for your soil, do you follow the 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost (ewc), 1/3 aeration material?
DankSwag
KLITE
Well-Known Member
Hi all
Ive dabbed in organics over the years but never tried the teas. I have a few doubts.Do i have to dilute the tea after its done bubling? At what ratio? Im planning on making guano tea for flower and worm casting for veg. Can i use humbolt honey instead of molasses?
Do i not risk burning the plants with some recipes ive read on the first page if the plants are already in a richly ammended soil being pushed to the very max without being burnt?
Ive dabbed in organics over the years but never tried the teas. I have a few doubts.Do i have to dilute the tea after its done bubling? At what ratio? Im planning on making guano tea for flower and worm casting for veg. Can i use humbolt honey instead of molasses?
Do i not risk burning the plants with some recipes ive read on the first page if the plants are already in a richly ammended soil being pushed to the very max without being burnt?