Compost tea question

Brandon Nebel

Brandon Nebel

Well-Known Member
I started a batch of compost tea today at noon before heading to my restaurant. When I got home at 9 the air omi hose had come off so I have no idea of knowing how long the bubbles had been off. I fired the pump back up and the tea began to make the foam it usually does when it's alive and active. The tea still smelled sweet and not foul at all. I use bokashi along with molasses so the microbes are fed well. I'm torn on what to do cause it's 20 gallons of tea. A pain in the ass to drag out and dump. Then wait 20 min while I make 20 more gallons of de chlorinated water, adding multiple cups of 10 different ingredients which is a huge waste of money too. Plus I really need to water my girls tmw morning. What should I do. I know most people will say toss it out and start over. However from every forum I've read and articles I've found. It said you will know when the tea has gone bad it will smell. I just don't wanna give my girls bad tea. Would rather just plain water tmw. Synthetic feeding again 2 days after that and then try again with the compost tea next week. Any thoughts and ideas is greatly appreciated. Thank you rollitup community.
 
Brandon Nebel

Brandon Nebel

Well-Known Member
Lacedwitgame said:
Add the air back....youll be fine in a few hours.....if it was bad, you would know it.
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That's what my gut said. I just wanted to double check with the community. It smells sweet still. It had only been on the bubbles for about 8 hours so it couldn't have been off too long. And at only 8 hours there are much less microbes than at 18 hours so the oxygen levels might not have dropped as fast since there were less microbes to fight for the air. No scientific proof behind my theory it's just something I came up with after reading several articles about how fast teas need to be used after being under bubbles for 24 hours. The microbial count is so high after 24 hours that the oxygen in the tea gets used up rather quickly. Most people say use it with 4 hours at the most. I hope it's ok.
 
Brandon Nebel

Brandon Nebel

Well-Known Member
ganga gurl420 said:
May I ask why you are using synthetic ferts mixed along with teas? Is your soil organic???
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It was my first run doing any sort of grow. I had started out already using synthetic GH products. I'm using floranova bloom along with other additive . Halfway through the grow I decided to make compost teas to see how they faired. Plus I have a huge garden with tomatoes. Zucchini. Tomatillos. Pomegranates. Blue berries. Etc. So the tea gets spread all around the garden not just my girls. I realize next year I can feed just the tea and regular water if I wanted t . But this year I've been rotating the feedings and so far everything looks good.
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
Brandon Nebel said:
It was my first run doing any sort of grow. I had started out already using synthetic GH products. I'm using floranova bloom along with other additive . Halfway through the grow I decided to make compost teas to see how they faired. Plus I have a huge garden with tomatoes. Zucchini. Tomatillos. Pomegranates. Blue berries. Etc. So the tea gets spread all around the garden not just my girls. I realize next year I can feed just the tea and regular water if I wanted t . But this year I've been rotating the feedings and so far everything looks good.
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The reason I ask...is teas are made to feed the micro life in the soil and synthetic ferts feed the plant directly. Synthetic ferts also kill the micro life. In organics the organisms attach to the root and feed the plant. You see?
 
Brandon Nebel

Brandon Nebel

Well-Known Member
I understand completely. However my plants are healthy and thriving. So next year I will adjust my feedings to be more coherent, i will go organic. For this year I will see how it goes. Thank you
 
L

Lacedwitgame

Well-Known Member
ganga gurl420 said:
May I ask why you are using synthetic ferts mixed along with teas? Is your soil organic???
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Actually i would run more teas with synthetics to replace the microbes killed off by salt buildup... I know it sounds counterproductive.....but in theory, the plant benefits from both.
 
Brandon Nebel

Brandon Nebel

Well-Known Member
testiclees said:
"Synthetic ferts" will not kill the microorganisms. Also foam is not a confirmation of good biological activity in your tea.
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I realize foam doesn't completely mean the tea had good biological activity. But it can't be a bad thing either. From every hydro store employee. To every forum. If you use this recipe foam usually indicates the tea is alive but is not the end all be all. This is probly the 10th time I've made this recipe and every time I get massive leith airy foam that rises almost to the top of the 32 gallon can. And I brew 20 gallons at a time. It's a good recipe I've just never had my air lines blow off my pump before like this so I was scared to feed it. But after reapplying the air and smelling it i just let it brew for the remainder of the time and fed it to my girls just now. This northern California summer is perfect Temps right now. About 92 every day
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
What I mean.....is... it is counterproductive to the micro life..you are not getting the full benefits of anything when mixing the two. However there are nutes in teas and if using along side of synthetics it isn't going to hurt the plants.
 
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