If you want to make a basic tea that will add nutrients as well as some microbes, here is a great one: Once per cycle try 1/2cup Neem seed w/ 1/4cup Kelp meal, bubble that with an air stone in 5gal of water for 24hrs. To the finished brew, before use add 1/4tsp of 200x Aloe vera powder per gal (any aloe will work this is just what I have from buildasoil) & 2tsp of Fulpower Fulvic acid per gal. For new soils/soils that are lacking, you can use this @ half to full strength as often as once weekly. Perhaps even alternate w/ an alfalfa/kelp tea @ the same amounts above. Otherwise dilute the 5gal tea to whatever amount of water of water is needed. The problem with tea recipes is that usually each is pertaining to a certain style of soil mix, so people tend to give teas when they believe their soil is missing something or could use a "revamp". So depending on how long your soil was in use and what you have in it will usually determine what u add in a tea. However teas are also helpful as you can provide a quick boost to whatever microbes may be lacking which is by using a tea as jumper420 suggested. In an ACT (Aerated Compost Tea) the first microbes to begin dividing & growing are Bacteria/Archaea & Fungi (if present in the compost). The Bacteria/Archaea can divide every 20 minutes & appear as moving (motile) or stationary (non-motile) dots, rods & long strands. Usually these organisms are seen in large volume by the 18-24hr period of the process. In response to the population explosion of Bacteria/Archaea there is a reactive increase in the Protozoa population beginning around the 24hr period. The usual type of Protozoa we see, given an efficient brewer is Flagellates, however sometimes there will also be Naked Amoebae. The third type of Protozoa, which we do NOT wish to see a ton of are Ciliates, as they can indicate the presence of anaerobic bacteria. The Flagellates population can double every 2hrs, so usually at the 36hr period we have a sufficient diversity of microorganisms to apply to the soil & plants. The best way to get the Fungi up and running is the addition of Kelp meal & Fish Hydroslate (a liquid fish product that is made by enzymes) you do NOT want to use Fish Emulsion or related products. Fungi don't increase in numbers but increase in size/length, its not uncommon to have 100,000 fungi strands up to 6' in length in 1/4tsp of a tea. If trying to produce Fungi then leave molasses (Aloe, Honey) out of the mix. The carbohydrates feed the bacteria which consume the food & explode by reproducing & limiting the foods needed by the Fungi. Temperature also plays an key role, a good temperature range is usually 65-75degrees F. If using a heater in your brewer & have the tea @70degrees F, then a higher fungal tea will be ready in about 12hrs. That is when the Fungi have increased in length by huge numbers. @18hrs the bacteria are definitely dominating the culture in the tea. Bacteria will dominate until you hit around 36hrs & then the Protozoa are up & running as the bacteria has faded substantially for lack of food. A drop of 10degrees F from the optimum 70degrees will almost double the time needed to brew. Unless its really cold, the timing estimate is quite reliable. Here is a ACT recipe (per 5gal): 1 cup organic seed meal 1/2 cup Alaska Humus 1 cup Earthworm castings 2 tbls Kelp meal 1/2 cup Fish Enzyme (for fungal development) 1/2 tsp BioAg Pure Humic Acid (Fungi development) 1 or 2 tsp Molasses (not necessary but used when needing higher bacteria counts) Run it @75degrees F for 18hrs to achieve a high fungal tea, 24hrs for a higher bacteria profile. Use as an inoculant for the soil after clones are set in veg & again @ the beginning of bloom. If using as a soil drench (assuming you have the temp under control) it is best to use around 15hrs. If wanting to use to wipe out powdery mildew then use the tea as a foliar spray @12-14hrs. With the addition of the fish enzyme product, kelp & pure humic acid you will end up w/ major levels of Fungi from the earthworm casting. This is known as "inoculation", ie energizing the micro-herd in the compost you've added to the soil mix. There is no benefit to using these teas more then maybe twice in the entire veg/bloom cycle. When you apply to the soil the aerobic micro-herd kick-starts the (sometimes) dormant microbes in the compost/EWC & in a couple days (sometimes within 12hrs) the good guys are in charge with bacteria breaking down the nutrients in the soil and making them available to your plants. So really when it comes to making teas its all about the response your looking to get from your plant and what the soil is needing at a given moment. To make this a bit more understandable in terms of what is needed and when, micro-organisms break down nutrients and make them available to your plants. Kelp being one of the nutrients that feed your plants, kelp meal on average supplies around 60 minerals, 21 amino acids, & 12 vitamins & growth regulators. Also provides sources of Nitrogen & Potassium, micro-nutrients, carbohydrates, & essential plant hormones. So you need the micro-organisms to help convert the nutrients into soluble forms to make them plant available. Make any sense?
Without a preservative agent in the Aloe, you do not want to mix until ready to water the solution in. As it is time sensitive & the compounds degrade in about 30minutes after mixing w/ water.
If and when I decide to do all this, where can I get the ingredients you have listed, if I cannot find all of them at my local hydro store. Is there an online place you can recommend to order organic products? I do think I need to keep my grow as simple as possible though, and not overwhelm myself with any more advanced growing ideas than I need to. I never even thought about growing anything before a month ago. So I am very beginner when it comes to EVERYTHING growing.
My plan is that tomorrow, I am just going to add some ocean forest into all the pots. I think the nutrients in the soil it has, plus what I add, is enough for a little while longer. The plants are looking pretty great, so I don't want to do too much all of a sudden. I am going to gather all the stuff I need to do a simple worm tea to use for watering, and keep using just that as needed for nutrients. In the meantime, I can look into all the other organic soil stuff I have been introduced to.
Also banana peels are great in potassium. Egg shells are good for calcium and some other things and used coffee grounds have everything and acts like a slow release nitrogen fertilizer those are the 3 main things I use plus ewc and a few other things
Ya know, I've never seen a recipe for how much coffee grounds to add to soil.... Nero. Look at it like this. Smile now, cry later... Or do a bit of work up front and skate through... Imagine scrounging for additives (I live in Thailand and the only thing easy to find is worm poo) or simply order online, mix soil, let it simmer for a few weeks. And your soil can last years! Only adding teas occasionally(yes you can simply water with tap water) Or you can go with bottles nutrients measuring and testing all the time... I enjoy making soil, throw down a tarp, dump everything on the floor in my grow/spare bedroom and shuffle around barefooted playing in the diet while medicated great way to spend a few hours http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1316222-4x4-led-wild-thai-seed-second-grow.html#entry20304616
Antidepressant microbes found in soil: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/antidepressant-microbes-soil.htm
I suppose my sudden onslaught of nervousness comes from the fact, that before I started this grow journal, I expected to do this entire grow simple in Ocean forest, with pH balanced water, on a regimen of nutrients from a(ny) highly recommended nutrient company, and just learn how to simply grow a few plants for the first time, with quality products. After I made the journal, I was thrown headfirst into every organic growing technique you can think of, I suddenly need to make new soil, research how every single organic technique is to be used, and everything else. I feel like I understood 100% the way I needed to do this grow, and now I don't know anything all of a sudden. I really, really like everything to do with everything growing organic, but I also feel like I should slowly educate myself on everything growing, and slowly get into more advanced techniques, and slowly transition towards all organic grows. Does this make sense?
If your looking for nuts recommendations ff trio I heard is good I used jacks organic 20-20-20 with micro and macro nutes and jack organic bloom.. I've used miracle grow stuff.. But organic is the way to be..
K.I.S.S. Keep It Super Simple is best for the first time. Personally I'd go with your original plans.
Or just use the soil and don't worry about additives the first go round. http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1316222-4x4-led-wild-thai-seed-second-grow.html#entry20304616
Does Ocean Forest have enough nutrients to do the grow by itself? --- Sent from my brain, to yours... through space.
I watered earlier today, and a couple minutes ago, just finished adding more soil to the pots. I will take some pictures later tonight or in the morning. They may be getting lighter green, but I am probably just paranoid. I still have not decided which nutes to buy, but I figure I can wait another week before adding stuff, as I am still adding soil loaded with nutes in itself. I am almost certain I will be using the GH Flora Series - Simple Drain to Waste program.... http://generalhydroponics.com/site/gh/docs/feeding_sched/GH-FloraSeries-DTW-Charts.pdf Unless anyone debates this as a good option, this is what I will be doing. Thanks again for everyone's help!
I was nervous to test out organic growing techniques when I only had my 10 Pure strain seeds.... But now, I can trial/error my heart out! Me and a bunch of friends picked up a pound of mid-grade shake for very very very little. I use it for my baked goods. Anyways, these came out of just 2oz of it, and I can start trying some new stuff ASAP.
Hell yea man time for trial and error you got enough there to try diff mixes and see what works for you
I use GH Flora series following their simple drain to waste plan, but I grow in an intert media. Not sure how that will work if your soil has amendments already.