Nature_Boy, if you are referring to me you have misunderstood my intentions. I was not laughing at you, but with you re: the 'deep' comment.

Chill dood.

Hahah just pulling your leg.

I'm new to organics which also makes me new to teas. This thread has been a great source of information and I thank everyone for participating. My one question is this: Will an organic home-made tea provide all of the micro/macro nutrients necessary for proper growth and ultimate yield. In other words, do you have to use commercial organic nutrients also.

I found two recipes that looked good to me on another website during my research and I thought that I should share them. They are booth from thcfermer.com and the original authorship is provided at the bottom of each recipe. I haven’t used either of the recipes but I plan to soon even if I just mix it with my chem nutes(CES hydro line).


First, take and fill the container of choice up. Let it bubble for 24-48 hours to ensure that all the chlorine is “burned” off. I call this “tepid” water. Once this procedure is complete you are ready to add your organic material. Take your sock and place in what materials you choose to use. Place the sock with the organic material in the container and agitate it vigorously. After about 24 hours you will see foam start to form at the top of the solution. This will let you know that the micro-population of beneficial bacteria are starting to breed. Continue to brew for another 24 hours. Once this process is complete you will have an excellent foliar feed or a soil drench.

Here is a basic tea recipe:

Guano Tea and Kelp:

Seedlings less than 1 month old nutrient tea mix-
5 TBS. Black Strap Molasses
1-cup earthworm castings/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering

Vegetative mix-
1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican)
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC)
5 TBS. Maxi-crop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 TBS. Liquid Karma (optional)
5 TBS. Black Strap Molasses
@ 1-cup mix/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering.

Flowering nutrient tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 TBS. Maxi-crop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 TBS. Black Strap Molasses

Dilute as needed. Generally, 2 to 3 cups per 5 gallons of water @ every watering.

Each mix is unique. Use your better judgment on the amounts and the ingredients. Remember, your tea can be as versatile as you wish it to be. Be creative. Your plants will love you for it.


Using the above recipe-Flowering nute tea mix:
I convert it to:

2 tbs Peruvian Seabird Guano
2 tbs Earth Worm Castings
2 tbs High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
1 tbs. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
1 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 1 gallon of water (by Guano)

-------------------------------------------------------
I always do my teas in 5 Gal buckets so take that into consideration when seeing measurements..

veg
1/2 cup EWC
1/3 cup mex bat guano
1/3 cup peruvian seabird guano
3tsp Technaflora Soluble Seaweed Extract
1 tsp humbolt mayan microzyme ( every 2-3 teas)
5 Tbs blackstrap molasses


flower
1/2cup ewc
1/2 cup jamacia bat
1/2 cup peruvian
5 tsp seaweed extract
1 tsp humbolt mayan microzyme
6 Tbs blackstrap molasses

I will bubble this for a 1 - 1 1/2 days and then remove the bag with all the poop in it. After that ill just bubble the mixture for another day and then use it. Reason I remove the bag after 2 days is I find that the tea can go anaerobic faster if the bag is left in for too long.

After every tea I soak and clean everything with dr broners peppermint soap and start again (by hbstoner)

Add worm castings to any tea and you'll have EVERYTHING. Nature Boy clued me into castings and they're a GROSSLY underestimated nutritional power house.

Thanks! That's what I wanted to know. I forgot to ask one more question... I'm interested in adding a mycorrihizal supplement to the tea recipes. My only concern is whether the mycorihizal fungi will survive the brewing process or should it be added at the end? I'm particularly interested in General Hydroponics SubCulture M and the Plant Success mycorrhizae products because they are good soil inoculants. Sorry if my questions sound stupid(I'm really new to brewing teas).

Nope not stupid in the least. I love using Myco supps (only use in veg) to answer add them in at the end of brewing right before feeding.

Most people think worm casting/compost tea is a food source for the plants.

In fact, it's a source of life for the soil. When I brew a worm tea, the ingredients that go in are to feed the bacteria and fungi, not the plant directly at watering.

Yes, the nutrients that initially go into the soup will eventually be available to the plant, but only after the life that has eaten those nutrients has released them. Usually by being predated on and secreted as waste: thus rendering them once again available (soluble/mineralized).

Personally, a tea innoculation, and fertilizing my plants are done during seperate waterings. Even though my worm tea has trace amounts of all nutrients due to fish emulsion and liquid kelp. They and carbohydrates (sugar) are simply a fuel to get the microlife multiplying as if the plant roots were exhuding sugars to stimulate the surrounding beneficial life forms.

The tea simply brings life to an otherwise relatively sterile soil/soilless potted medium. This life brings increased organic nutrient availability, soil structure and Cation exchange capacity (CEC) through colloids produced by the microlife. Too much food during the brewing process, or too much of a certain type of food, skews the bacterial:fungal ratio. Though for fast growing annuals, bacterial dominance is fine.

If anyone wants more information on understanding the Soil food web, just type it in google.

As for mycorrhizal fungi, just make sure the propagules are as close as possible to the roots during transplanting, germination or water it in around the base of the stem. I wouldn't put them in the tea, as I can't find any benifit, and they could potentially be predated as there are no roots for them to bond with, and start producing more propagules.

^ Ditto ^

Create a biomass and the micro herds will supplement your plants. However, I like to supplement my plants directly as well.

Although I apply liquid nutes more frequently, I use more AACT throughout my grow than any solution other than water. The liquid nutrients I apply are surplus and adhere to a strict feeding schedule. I only directly supplement my plants with liquid nutrient solutions during specific stages of growth.

Thank you Tomatopie (and FulVic)... that was a good read, but I'm still a little confused. I understand that the tea feeds the soil which feeds the plant. The thing that I don't understand is if the soil is properly feeding the plant, why do I need to feed with a separate liquid fertilizer? If it is to feed the plants directly one could simply apply the compost/worm tea as a foliar spray. Again, I hope that this does not sound stupid... I just don't see the need to go through all of the work of brewing a nutrient tea if in the end you have to resort to commercial organic fertilizers to finish the job.

You don't need to. It comes down to quality vs. quantity. Imagine for a second you breed cows like you breed cannabis. Some are heavier feeders than others.

Feed a cow only raw/prepared organics and you're promoting a more natural metabolism. Over years of selective breeding they would look something like this:



Feed a cow only concentrated supplements and you're promoting an expedited metabolism. Over years of selective breeding they would look something like this:



I don't need to tell you which one would taste better. Regardless, any organism that big needs significant nutrition. Some strains require a lot more feeding than others for them to reach their full potential. All that matters is how big you want to go. Personally, quality comes before quantity.