I just use nettle tea Put aload of nettles in bucket cover with water and leave it for around a week or 2 Sent from my C1505 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Not really a tea.... per se, but I made my first batch of aloe water yesterday. I had some peat based soil that dries out quite easily. I will be using a mulch soon to help combat this as well. But I thought a good dose of aloe water (saponins in aloe are wetting agents allow everything to moisten better). It went well. I have lots of aloe around the house. Just simply take a sharp knife and cut off a few filets from the plant. 2 or 3 good sized chunks is enough for a gallon. (1/4cup/gal) This must be used quickly (15min) unless you have citric acid on hand to slow the degredation of the aloe goodness. Cut along the edge of the aloe down the length of the filet, along the edge where the spines come out. Then imagine it opening like a book. You can separate the skin from the meat and peel it over exposing the goodness. Then a spoon can be used to scrape it into a cup or something. Mash it all up as best as possible and pour into a gallon jug, fill jug up about halfway with water and shake the living hell out of it. I say halfway because you want plenty of room in the jug for the shaking to happen nicely. The water and commotion/turbulence of all the shaking activate all the saponins and gets it nice and frothy. You can then top off with water and give it a few more shakes. Use quickly, and you'll be saturating your soil with some good stuff Aloe in bloom. A few filets of aloe, try to only take one or two from each plant if you can. Cut down along the edge and fold over like a book, exposing the meat. The "meat" saponin goodness
Here are my recipes I am just now going to try. I take the EWC and guano and form a ball in cheesecloth and tie it off with twine. I allow this to hang suspended in a 5 gallon bucket with an air stone, mixing at least once per day. The reason I add kelp on the second day is that I have read kelp might inhibit bacterial growth if introduced too early. Any experts out there please let me know if I should boost the amount of molasses or any other issues. Also, is there any reason why I cannot amend my next batch of soil with the leftover sludge ball of guano? Thanks ________________ Vegetative ACT 1 Gallon - Water Day #1 - Add the following per gallon: 2 TBSP - Worm Castings (1-0-0) 1 TBSP - Bat Guano - Mexican (10-1-1) 1 TBSP - Blackstrap Molasses Day #2 - Add the following per gallon: 1 tsp - Kelp Meal ________________ Flowering ACT 1 Gallon - Water Day #1 - Add the following per gallon: 1 TBSP - Worm Castings (1-0-0) 1 TBSP* - Bat Guano - Mexican (10-1-1) 1 TBSP - Bat Guano - Indonesian (0.5-13-0.2) 1 TBSP - Blackstrap Molassess Day #2 - Add the following per gallon: 1 tsp - Kelp Meal *Omit Mexican bat guano the final 3 weeks of flowering
[quote name="FarmPutz" post="19849402" timestamp="1397484049"] Just simply take a sharp knife and cut off a few filets from the plant. 2 or 3 good sized chunks is enough for a gallon. (1/4cup/gal) This must be used quickly (15min) unless you have citric acid on hand to slow the degradation of the aloe goodness. quote] An aloe plant in full bloom can be exquisitely eye catching. Thanks for posting it. Would you or anyone know exactly how much citric acid one should add to exceed the 15 min prime usability window? I've seen passing mention of this before, however no one ever mentions the specifics. Does anyone perhaps have any links to reliable sources detailing the harvesting/uses of fresh aloe in horticulture with mention of using citric acid to slightly prolong its usability for gardening purposes? Is there any known compromises or negatives with the use of citric acid? I've got a small bag full of it I purchased at a brew supply store a year or so ago that I haven't even opened. I've also been growing as well as buying fresh aloe (Spanish markets and occasionally some chain supermarkets carry them as huge palms for a few bucks each) for use in my gardening pursuit's and I harvest exactly as you pointed out. However, I always have trouble getting the gell to completely dissolve in water no matter how much shaking/mixing I do. I now just put the scrapped out gell in my blender to completely purée/liquefy it, but doing this takes a few mins more thereby eating away even more at my prime usability window. As a side note, my worms seem to absolutely love the leftover aloe skin when placed outer skin side up on top of substrate. Since we mentioned aloe ..... Anyone ever hear of other medicinal aloe species besides the usual aloe vera? The aloe genus apparently contains over 500 species, so I'm sure there's a whole plethora of other beneficial components available and at widely varying concentrations depending on species as well as growing conditions. I purchased a small aloe ferox plant about 1.5 to 2 years ago due to claims of it having much higher medicinal values. I haven't researched these claims much since purchasing or pursued how this would translate to horticulture uses but this is the slowest growing aloe species I've ever attempted to grow myself. The ferox appears quite healthy and does grow, but it's been excruciatingly slow going and probably only 10% bigger now than when I first acquired it. This slow growth phenomenon is undoubtedly my own fault as I'm very likely not providing the ideal/preferred soil and/or optimal conditions as it apparently has the potential to reach 10 feet. One last thought - Supposedly, aloe provides differing medicinal compounds depending on whether one harvests the inner gell core or the latex (material just below outer skin). I'm not at all sure how that translates to our interests, but I have often wondered if using the whole leaf and not just the usual inner gell to make a purée would be a detriment or benefit for our intended purposes. OC Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. -- Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
[quote name="Organicanna" post="19921029" timestamp="1398628861"] @[member="Organicanna"] "Would you or anyone know exactly how much citric acid one should add to exceed the 15 min prime usability window? I've seen passing mention of this before, however no one ever mentions the specifics. Does anyone perhaps have any links to reliable sources detailing the harvesting/uses of fresh aloe in horticulture with mention of using citric acid to slightly prolong its usability for gardening purposes?" -end quote I have read that 1-2grams per cup of aloe is sufficient. I don't think there are any detriments to using this small amount in a garden setting. Interesting u mention putting the aloe in the worm bin... I'll do that next time! I think some people do blend the aloe guts for better emulsification of the goo. I never bothered and just shook like hell as i stated, even though the aloe goo had not completely dissolved, the water seemed quite...... aloey if I do say so Perhaps tossing the whole/cut up filet in the blender as you suggest may be an option.... ("honey....I need to borrow the blender !!")
I have lots of thistle growing and only a small amout of nettle. Anybody use thistle in their tea? Edit - locally applied white vinegar really calms down the sting of nettle.
So if I have a half a can of dodgy salmon, can I toss it into my big bucket of sludging nettle? I think it'll be good, but just want to make sure.
You could but I wouldn't. The fish will take longer than the nettles. I would do them seperate. Twas Ever Thus!
Ive been using this tea for veg and will add some high P in the bloom stage. 1 Cup EWC 1 Cup Aged Horse Compost 1 Half Cup Kelp Meal 1 Half Cup Alfalfa meal 1 TBS Fish Emulsion 3 TBS Unsulfured Black Strap Molasses I use a 5 gallon brewer set up and will usually will use a gallon of tea to a gallon of fresh water that has been evaporated of chlorine for my smaller clones and seedlings. Full strength for anything bigger than that!
would it be ideal to use the neptunes harvest fish/seaweed blend instead of buying a seperate bottle of each?
I personally prefer my hydroslate and my kelp seprate. Then I can use it as so. If I need both I use both. But with em seprate I can always use em as stand alones. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
thanks for the reply @LilJ86. ive got them ordered seprately.. now im wondering what kind of ACT i should brew for beginning of flowering stage balanced, bacterial, or fungal, its for the roots im not so much going to foliar spray them. ... its also an all organic supersoil/compost ive only watered with rain water, very small doses of blue mountain organics grow, and superthrive once or twice when transplanting.
^^^ I beileive soy is one of those crops that's nearly all GMO isn't it? Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
[quote name="LilJ86" post="20289053" timestamp="1405210964"]^^^ I beileive soy is one of those crops that's nearly all GMO isn't it? According to the company they dont use any GMO products....
I'm a lazy bastard and really dont want to have to go through 96 pages lol....but I was wondering if there is a quick, yet effective "soil drench" for "mid-flowering period" that I could use without bubbling it for 15 hours? This is what I have at my disposal: Kelp meal Alfalfa meal Crab meal Neem seed meal Unsulphured organic molasses EWC Indonesian bat guano 0.5-13-0.2 Pure well water Maybe just a little molasses next watering? Not sure my soil even needs it...I have a solid, well balanced organic mix and this is my second grow in this soil....I also have about 100 red wrigglers living in there...but I'm willing to try anything that might boost some bud production Figured it couldn't hurt to ask Thanks in advance.
Are you growing organically? If you want to "boost bud production", grow a strain that yields more... "More" does not necessarily equate to "better". Just mass...