compost tea help

sorry im posting this here. its just that ive asked this many times and no one seems to know or want to answer. but i am wondering if using earth juice catalyst will be as effective or better than using molasses. i know that the molasses is used for carbs for the microbes to eat. the earth juice has carbs also it is made up of Oat bran, sea kelp, wheat malt, molasses and yeast.

dunno but bulk molasses is way cheaper... if you start making teas often go bulk

Go with the syrup. Its organic and cheaper

to answer your question: yes I am pretty sure you can use that stuff... only its costly. I think if you use many ingredients its not a bad idea to look at ph before feeding. (Ijust dont want you to fuck up and hate me for sort of getting you into the teas!!) I dont know what a good ph would be for teas though, ask in the organic section... and let me know!!

Last time my tea was at 5.5 (I never look at ph but came across my ph tester that I bought when I got into growing) and I wasnt sure whether or not I should use it... I didnt use it on my best plants!! but yeah best to be in know... let me know if you find answer to PH range for compost tea ... but I think in healthy organic living soil, no need to worry so much about ph

Botanicare molasses - $15.99 a gallon.

Grandmas 4.99 -12 oz

Black strap - $8.99 12 oz.




I used all 3. I like botanicare the most. I get the most foam in a tea with that one.

Never used the EJ one but it will work

Dont ph teas. When aerating water for a day is supposed.to make the ph neutral. 5.5. Tea is a neutral ph buffer / regulater like dolomite lime and oyster shell flour.

yeah i was wondering about the ph. but i figured that the soil buffers it pretty good. i also have dolomite lime in the tea and if it can get broken down it should help keep it around 7. im gonna pick up some molasses from the store and might use a little of the earth juice just to give it a little extra kick sometimes. for a first tea feed should i dilute it at all or just go 100%? thanks for the help guys

does the molasses have to be blackstrap? or can it just be unsulfered?

Unslulfured. Black strapped is a brand.

I used to like grandmas over any of them. I was going through a jar a week. Thats like $25 a month. Now I get the gallon of botanicare for $16. It lasts me 2 1/2 months.

oh dang haha yeah i have some that is grandmas it doesnt say black strapped on it. i believe it was bought at walmart by the syrups

I still don't understand all this PH talk when it comes to organic growing... mind boggling on every level.

Dank, unless you have a microscope and know how to identify bacteria/archaea/protozoa/nematodes, stick to the basics. QUALITY (can't emphasize this enough!) compost/vermicompost and molasses, that's it. No kelp, no earth juice, no nectar, forget it. Studies have actually shown that kelp delays the division of bacteria during the brew cycle. Brew a separate kelp meal tea, your girls will love you for it.

Remember the primary reason for an ACT is to populate the soil with microbial life, it is not a nutritional tea and it is not to feed the plant. Mix in or topdress the kelp/fish (or whatever else people put into their teas) into the soil. The critters from the tea will cycle that shit, and it is their shit that the roots crave (the shit of the protozoa and nematodes in ionic form). Boy, that's a shit ton of shit . Sure, many people blindly add this and that to their tea with no negative effects, however they do not receive the full benefit of an ACT either. Once again, your tea will only be as good as your compost/EWC, so quality is a must here, ie not the stuff at the hydro store.

you do want kelp. Fungi feed on kelp. Bacteria feed on sugars in molasses. Kelp only delays at the end. So stop kelp after week 6. Kelp also provides iron and amino acids and speeds up metabolism. Molasses is a catalyst, carbs, and a chelating agent, and neutralizes chems.

Look up Dr. Elain Ingham. Microbiologist and queen of compost. There you will find everything you need to know about compost and teas. So you dont get bad advice. ^^^

Naturaly nemetodes form in the first day of aact. After day 3 protozoa forms. Protozoa eats all bacteria and excretes nitrogen. thats no bueno. Dont let teas go.that long. Nemetodes and protozoa are never in there at the same time.

alright thanks for that info i will not be using three day old tea than. everything i read says that when it is done it will froth? is it bad if it doesnt froth? i think i might not have enough air going though it. i have an airstone but it is split between my dwc tomato and the tea.

You want it to foam or froth up. Thats how you know the bacteria is awake and multiplying and doing their thing. When its at its most frothy. Thats when its ready to use.

You need 2 airstones. With out it tea won't foam up. Get a dual air pump

Hyroot,

Ingham's work is, well, old. Her theory about molasses feeding bacteria ONLY is absurd. Molasses feeds bacteria AS WELL AS fungi - this we know now. Teaming With Microbes is an excellent resource but many things written there have long been disproved.

To give you an example, I remember Ingham recommending Ancient forest humus. Tests showed that this product was no better (biologically speaking) than canadian sphagnum peat moss. Just trying to help people evade all the crap on these boards, take it or leave it.

Well post a link. Show some scientific studies.... She still travels the world giving seminars and teaching people how to use soil. Still publishing studies. Still.considered one of most renowned microbiologists in the world. She os chief scientist at rodale institute. Where are these studies about ancient forest vs peat moss? ive tried every compost , ewc, humic, fulvic. Af still makes the best tea. All my plants love it. Af even got rid of all gnats once and for all
Ill believe a scientist over a stoner.

Also, foam is no indication of a tea's viability

I'll stick to Wilson's work/advice. Maybe this can help you: http://microbeorganics.com/

ACT made with only 2.38% vermicompost and 0.50% black strap molasses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZz7vnaX2S8

"You will be searching hard to find anyone who can grow fungi as well in ACT as this kooky eccentric.

If you do a bit of research you will find that Dr Ingham quite willingly admits to learning many new things from amateurs, such as this kook. In recent years some of those include; ACT is not a good environment for nematodes; Sphagnum peatmoss is abundant with beneficial microorganisms; fish hydrolyste grows both bacteria & fungi.

We are still waiting for her to come around to; black strap molasses is an equal bacterial/archaeal & fungal foodstock; there is plenty of fungi in vermicompost; phase contrast microscopy provides better images of ACT (in general); actinobacteria does not necessarily kill endomycorrhizal fungi; protozoa plate cultures for lab tests of ACT give skewed results; etc."

The only thing I ever read that was possibly wrong was the controversy in 1992 between ingham and epa ove klebsiella p. The epa was wrong in that.

Alrighty than, hyroot. Sorry for the hi-jack OP.

That first link backs up most of what i.said. The author states he is not an expert. Vermicomposting is feeding worms. ..... Nematodes do not multiply in teas either.... Geez