Soil Food Web Gardening with Compost Teas

Not sure what aloe you are referring to as I am often snipping bits and pieces and bringing them home...but right now I have a few filets in the fridge, and then when I need some aloe I'll trim off the spines and throw the whole leaf in a blender. 2tbs/gal (sometimes more if I'm feelin it...) and the ladies are loving it. also sometimes I just use a spoon to scoop out the filets and throw the leftovers in the compost/bokashi/worm bin (wherever I feel it is needed).

Also, I recently got 28grams of Purealoe powder - so I've been experimenting with that as well. Difficult to measure in small amounts...I need to get a scale that is more accurate...

I've been getting great results from the coconut h2o 1:15 in my waterings, but haven't tried a foliar yet. I'm sure it will have a profound positive effect - a few weeks ago after watering with coconut h2o, protekt, aloe, and ful-power, one of my ladies had leaves that were vertical. Straight vertical. It actually scared me for a bit and I was worried I f***ed something up, but turns out she was just super happy "Enzymes" and in this case hormones I believe...cytokinins? if I remember correctly...


EDIT: Hilo - I would apply it at lights-on or at lights-off. lights on if you have issues with PM - if humidity isn't a concern I would spray at lights off. Honestly, you can probably spray whenever as it shouldn't burn (unless you have crazy intense lights) and there is no concern as to keeping the leaves wet (not trying to establish any microorganisms in the phyllosphere). I spray most of my foliars at random times of day - the only ones that I worry about timing are neem/protekt (lights off spray) and nematodes (lights off as well - have to keep the leaves wet for x amount of time so they can establish themselves) Hope this helps..I know its pretty damn vague lol

Definitely of help, friend. I just wanted to make it easier for anyone whom may be reading along (and myself, of course). Applied coconut water/aloe (fresh) in a foliar manner before lights out last night and this morning there are some great results.

you should post pics if you got em i've been lazy with the camera lately...need to get batteries.

are the plants praying? cause thats what I always get with aloe

any coconut juice? where would I find this?

young coconut water - the stuff that comes in cans at a health food store - or you can potentially find a young coconut at an asian or mexican market. I can get 12 cans for $18 bucks at my local health food place...not bad

what you don't want is coconut milk - the thick white stuff used for cooking etc. you want the clear liquid before it adheres to the shell and becomes coconut meat...hence "young" coconut.

great stuff both for humans and plants

If coconut water of this type isn't available, you can get a similar kick with corn seed tea.

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When I turned the lights on, unfortunately I don't have a "before" picture... Mind you she's under 28w.

A before and after would be cool, I need to gather ingredients around the neighborhood and I can make that happen later today.

You're doing great Hilo. You're going to love this more and more as you see what you can accomplish

Redbird1223 said:

any coconut juice? where would I find this?

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Frys market place dude in the organic section for us AZ folk.. I bought a aloe plant at a nursery for 7 bucks the other day..

Please let us know how you like that Aloe Beav.

you're going to chop that aloe to shit in a few weeks...just throwing that out there LOL. I would have to be cultivating a LOT of aloe to provide the amount I use..and my garden isn't even that big. I find I have to use bottled aloe, powdered aloe, or do a lot of hunting for fresh aloe in the area (one of the few good things about the desert). just know that if you are planning on growing your own aloe you are going to need more than one plant unless that plant is a tree...

Hilo - those plants look beautiful, they are obviously happy about that foliar. is that a 28w fluorescent?

That's 28w of good quality LED.

I have a few aloe plants around my house, I do my best not to massacre them lol...

I accidentally left a HUGE aloe plant at my cabin over the winter once...

I came back to find a pile of black slime...

Ill never do that again, I felt terrible for the poor thing and lost an old plant..

Hilo, that's cool about the LED. I'm building a LED panel as we speak.

Rrog said:

Hilo, that's cool about the LED. I'm building a LED panel as we speak.

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I've skimmed through your thread on ICMag, I don't have an account there though. It sounds like a great project!

We'll see. I'm excited about it.

I have 3 gallon pots, should I soil drench every time I use aact's

.....read the thread from the beginning and it will answer your question. I don't even know what you are asking necessarily

What do you consider a soil drench? Do you use ACT every time you water? If not, how often do you use ACT? Are your plants in smartpots or regular pots?

we need more info to help you

soil mixers, I need some help.

I re-use my soil by recharging with amendments, but I usually just "wing it".

I wanted to try and measure a little more closely this time, but I bought more than I usually use, and I'm unsure how much of what to add.

I have:
roughly 9 cu. ft. of used roots organics soil w/biochar
.75 cu. ft. Worm Gold Plus EWC
2 cu. ft. perlite
Growmore alfalfa meal 2-0-0
Dr. Earth kelp meal 1-0.5-2 (with probiotics)
Dr. Earth fish bone meal 3-18-0 (with probiotics)
The Guano Co. budswel 0-7-0
Whitney Farms greensand 0-0-3
Whitney Farms prilled dolomite lime
azomite
4 oz. powdered humic acid
2 packs Mycos for transplant

also
homemade compost
chicken litter/feathers
rice/oats
2 bags of fresh roots that I'll use while my mix cooks
on a side note, when I got home and was checking everything out, reading labels, etc. I noticed everything I bought today (soil, amendments, containers) was AMERICAN MADE! except the alfalfa which I actually had already from my last trip to the store. I understand many of these bottled nutes come from other countries, and they have to carry the lines to be competitive.....but major kudos for sourcing all of their non-bottled items from home @Sea of Green - Tempe, AZ

So, any suggestions? I have added too much N in the past and really F'ed up my flower stage, so I tend to make more of a "flower mix" because I usually flip around 18-24 inches tall
Thanks for your help everyone!

I will say, the Growmore Alfalfa meal suggests WAY too much on the back of the box (big surprise...)

I would use only 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil.