Malawi growers till in a fair amount of wood ash for the K content. I would like to ash apple skins as the content is N 0/P 3/K 74 and i have apples up the wazoo this year. Does anyone want to comment, good or bad, becasue i'd like to try some. Also, does anyone know how to make fish hydrolysate from lacto bacillus-airstoned-water bath smell less horrific? Honestly, i thought that the banana's were bad, the fish is curling my nosehairs at 20 feet.
Skunk, you sound like the true organic mad scientist! That is a TON of Potassium- 74!! I wonder how that potassium content comes out after burning myself. You should burn some apples with some of your applewood then get it tested. I am sure others would be interested to know the result. What are you doing - putting fish carcasses in the water? Wish I could help, but sounds interesting. Hope you don't run everyone off. Oh, one thing, would baking soda or something like that help or would it kill off all the beneficials? Have fun. JaK
Mad Nurse I will try ashing some skins but the ph was what i most concerned with, some fluctuation is ok, actually it can be quite some range with organics i gather, but ash is like 10-14, yikes! All ash is high K, just some more than others.... have you seen the cool list someone posted, i love it and a copy sits next to my compost bin now. I'll clip it to this note so you can see it too. The fish brew is fish and squid. It's chopped, airated, with sterile water and lactobacillus acidophulous that i made with the rice wash and milk trick dr lump, mad and possume et al gave us. The smell is actually interesting, it's totally overwhelming, it's like a forcefield; one whiff and you stop breathing, really, it's some kind of brain override, totally autonomic like eye blink. Last week when i airated the bananas and skins and cuke and tater skins with the hydro mycorrhizae that i had from hydro days they smelled bad, but i was hoping that the lacto was going to smell better because lacto concoxion is known to be less odorous... not with fish however. Alfalfa Hay: 2.45/05/2.1 Apple Fruit: 0.05/0.02/0.1 Apple Leaves: 1.0/0.15/0.4 Apple Pomace: 0.2/0.02/0.15 Apple skins(ash) : 0/3.0/11/74 Banana Residues (ash): 1.75/0.75/0.5 Barley (grain): 0/0/0.5 Barley (straw): 0/0/1.0 Basalt Rock: 0/0/1.5 Bat Guano: 5.0-8.0/4.0-5.0/1.0 Beans, garden(seed and hull): 0.25/0.08/03 Beet Wastes: 0.4/0.4/0.7-4.1 Blood meal: 15.0/0/0 Bone Black: 1.5/0/0 Bonemeal (raw): 3.3-4.1/21.0/0.2 Bonemeal (steamed): 1.6-2.5/21.0/0.2 Brewery Wastes (wet): 1.0/0.5/0.05 Buckwheat straw: 0/0/2.0 Cantaloupe Rinds (ash): 0/9.77/12.0 Castor pomace: 4.0-6.6/1.0-2.0/1.0-2.0 Cattail reeds and water lily stems: 2.0/0.8/3.4 Cattail Seed: 0.98/0.25/0.1 Cattle Manure (fresh): 0.29/0.25/0.1 Cherry Leaves: 0.6/0/0.7 Chicken Manure (fresh): 1.6/1.0-1.5/0.6-1.0 Clover: 2/0/0/0 (also contains calcium) Cocoa Shell Dust: 1.0/1.5/1.7 Coffee Grounds: 2.0/0.36/0.67 Corn (grain): 1.65/0.65/0.4 Corn (green forage): 0.4/0.13/0.33 Corn cobs: 0/0/2.0 Corn Silage: 0.42/0/0 Cornstalks: 0.75/0/0.8 Cottonseed hulls (ash): 0/8.7/23.9 Cottonseed Meal: 7.0/2.0-3.0/1.8 Cotton Wastes (factory): 1.32/0.45/0.36 Cowpea Hay: 3.0/0/2.3 Cowpeas (green forage): 0.45/0.12/0.45 Cowpeas (seed): 3.1/1.0/1.2 Crabgrass (green): 0.66/0.19/0.71 Crabs (dried, ground): 10.0/0/0 Crabs (fresh): 5.0/3.6/0.2 Cucumber Skins (ash): 0/11.28/27.2 Dried Blood: 10.0-14.0/1.0-5.0/0 Duck Manure (fresh): 1.12/1.44/0.6 Eggs: 2.25/0.4/0.15 Eggshells: 1.19/0.38/0.14 Feathers: 15.3/0/0 Felt Wastes: 14.0/0/1.0 Field Beans (seed): 4.0/1.2/1.3 Feild Beans (shells): 1.7/0.3/1.3 Fish (dried, ground): 8.0/7.0/0 Fish Scraps (fresh): 6.5/3.75/0 Gluten Meal: 6.4/0/0 Granite Dust: 0/0/3.0-5.5 Grapefruit Skins (ash): 0/3.6/30.6 Grape Leaves: 0.45/0.1/0.4 Grape Pomace: 1.0/0.07/0.3 Grass (imature): 1.0/0/1.2 Greensand: 0/1.5/7.0 Hair: 14/0/0/0 Hoof and Horn Meal: 12.5/2.0/0 Horse Manure (fresh): 0.44/0.35/0.3 Incinerator Ash: 0.24/5.15/2.33 Jellyfish (dried): 4.6/0/0 Kentucky Bluegrass (green): 0.66/0.19/0.71 Kentucky Bluegrass (hay): 1.2/0.4/2.0 Leather Dust: 11.0/0/0 Lemon Culls: 0.15/0.06/0.26 Lemon Skins (ash): 06.33/1.0 Lobster Refuse: 4.5/3.5/0 Milk: 0.5/0.3/0.18 Millet Hay: 1.2/0/3.2 Molasses Residue (From alcohol manufacture): 0.7/0/5.32 Molasses Waste (From Sugar refining): 0/0/3.0-4.0 Mud (fresh water): 1.37/0.26/0.22 Mud (harbour): 0.99/0.77/0.05 Mud (salt): 0.4.0/0 Mussels: 1.0/0.12/0.13 Nutshells: 2.5/0/0 Oak Leaves: 0.8/0.35/0.2 Oats (grain): 2.0/0.8/0.6 Oats (green fodder): 0.49/0/0 Oat straw: 0/0/1.5 Olive Pomace: 1.15/0.78/1.3 Orange Culls: 0.2/0.13/0.21 Orange Skins: 0/3.0/27.0 Oyster Shells: 0.36/0/0 Peach Leaves: 0.9/0.15/0.6 Pea forage: 1.5-2.5/0/1.4 Peanuts (seed/kernals): 3.6/0.7/0.45 Peanut Shells: 3.6/0.15/0.5 Pea Pods (ash): 0/3.0/9.0 Pea (vines): 0.25/0/0.7 Pear Leaves: 0.7/0/0.4 Pigeon manure (fresh): 4.19/2.24/1.0 Pigweed (rough): 0.6/0.1/0 Pine Needles: 0.5/0.12/0.03 Potato Skins (ash): 0/5.18/27.5 Potaote Tubers: 0.35/0.15/2.5 Potatoe Vines (dried): 0.6/0.16/1.6 Prune Refuse: 0.18/0.07/0.31 Pumpkins (fresh): 0.16/0.07/0.26 Rabbitbrush (ash): 0/0/13.04 Rabbit Manure: 2.4/1.4/0.6 Ragweed: 0.76/0.26/0 Rapeseed meal: 0/1.0=2.0/1.0=3.0 Raspberry leaves: 1.45/0/0.6 Red clover hay: 2.1/0.6/2.1 Redrop Hay: 1.2/0.35/1.0 Rock and Mussel Deposits From Ocean: 0.22/0.09/1.78 Roses (flowers): 0.3/0.1/0.4 Rye Straw: 0/0/1.0 Salt March Hay: 1.1/0.25/0.75 Sardine Scrap: 8.0/7.1/0 Seaweed (dried): 1.1-1.5/0.75/4.9 (Seaweed is loaded with micronutrients including: Boron, Iodine, Magnesium and so on.) Seaweed (fresh): 0.2-0.4/0/0 Sheep and Goat Manure (fresh): 0.55/0.6/0.3 Shoddy and Felt: 8.0/0/0 Shrimp Heads (dried): 7.8/4.2/0 Shrimp Wastes: 2.9/10.0/0 Siftings From Oyster Shell Mounds: 0.36/10.38/0.09 Silk Mill Wastes: 8.0/1.14/1.0 Silkworm Cocoons:10.0/1.82/1.08 Sludge: 2.0/1.9/0.3 Sludge (activated): 5.0/2.5-4.0/0.6 Smokehouse/Firepit Ash:0/0/4.96 Sorghum Straw:0/0/1.0 Soybean Hay: 1.5-3.0/0/1.2-2.3 Starfish: 1.8/0.2/0.25 String Beans (strings and stems, ash): 0/4.99/18.0 Sugar Wastes (raw): 2.0/8.0/0 Sweet Potatoes: 0.25/0.1/0.5 Swine Manure (fresh): 0.6/0.45/0.5 Tanbark Ash: 0/0.34/3.8 Tanbark Ash (spent): 0/1.75/2.0 Tankage: 3.0-11.0/2.0-5.0/0 Tea Grounds: 4.15/0.62/0.4 Timothy Hay: 1.2/0.55/1.4 Tobacco Leaves: 4.0/0.5/6.0 Tobacco Stems: 2.5-3.7/0.6-0.9/4.5-7.0 Tomatoe Fruit: 0.2/0.07/0.35 Tomatoe Leaves: 0.35/0.1/0.4 Tomatoe Stalks: 0.35/0.1/0.5 Tung Oil Pumace: 6.1/0/0 Vetch Hay: 2.8/0/2.3 Waste Silt: 9.5/0/0 Wheat Bran: 2.4/2.9/1.6 Wheat (grain): 2.0/0.85/0.5 Wheat Straw: 0.5/0.15/0.8 White Clover (Green): 0.5/0.2/0.3 Winter Rye Hay: 0/0/1.0 Wood Ash: 0/1.0-2.0/6.0-10.0 Wool Wastes: 3.5-6.0/2.0-4.0/1.0-3.5 Plant - Based Alfalfa meal 3-0.5-3 Ca 8 Mg0.3 S 0.1 Corn gluten 9-0-0 ca 0 Mg 0 s 0 Cottenseed meal 7-2.5-1.5-1.5 ca 0.5 mg 1 s 0.2 Soybean meal 7-1.2-1.5-0.4 Ca 0.4 mg 0.3 s 0.2 Seaweed 0.7-0.8-5 Ca 0.2 Mg 0.1 S 0 Wood Ash 0-2-6 Ca 20 Mg 1 S 0 Kelp Meal 1-0-2 potash 0-0-30 Animal Based Blood meal 15-3-0 Ca 0.3 Mg 0 S 0 some are 12-0-0 Bonemeal 3.5-22-0 Ca 22 MG 0.6 S 0.2 Feathermeal 15-0-0 Ca 0 MG 0 S 0 Fish Products 10-6-0 Ca 6 Mg 0.2 S 0.2 Bonechar 0-16-0 Alask fish fert 5-1-1 Neptunes harvest 2-3-1 Mined Minerals Granite dust 0-0-4 Ca 0 MG 0 S 0 Greensand 0-1-8 Ca 0.5 Mg 3 S 0.1 Gypsum 0-0-0.5 Ca 22 Mg 0.4 S 17 Langbeinite 0-0-22 Ca 0 Mg 18 S 27 Dolomitic Lime 0-0-0 Ca 25 MG 9 S 0.3 Calcitic Lime 0-0-0.3 Ca 32 MG 3 S 0.1 Rock Phosphate 0-25-0 Ca 0 Mg 0 S 10 Zeolite 0-0-3.2 Ca 2.5 Ca 2.5 S 0 Azomite 70 trace minerals from A-Z Recycled Materials Coffee grounds 2-.3-.3 Ca .1 Mg .1 S 0 Grass clipings 4-1-3 Ca 8 Mg 3 S .5 Leaves .8-.4-.2 Ca 0 Mg 0 S 0 Sawdust .2-0-.2 CA 0 Mg 0 S 0 Compost 1-0.5-1 Ca 0.3 MG 0.2 S 0.3 Manures Chicken 2-1.5-.5 Ca 2 Mg .2 S .1 Cow .5-.2-.5 Ca .2 Mg .1 S .1 Horse .6-.2-.5 Ca .5 Mg .1 S.1 Sheep 1-.3-1 Ca 1 Mg .1 S .05 Jamaican bat guano 1-10-0.2 Mexican Bat Guano 10-2-1 Peruvian seabird guano 10-10-2 Indonesion Bat guano .5-12-2 Fossilized sea bird guano 1-10-1
Hi JaK, Don't add baking soda, it defeats the purpose of the fermentation process. When fermenting with the EM-1/lacto bacillus you try to shoot for a pH of 3.2-3.4 on the finished product. Of course the baking soda would raise the pH and throw the process out of whack. Skunk, as the fermentation continues, the horrific, malodorous, knock you to your knees while putting your gag reflexes in over drive stench will begin to lighten up, eventually leaving you with a somewhat tolerable smelling hydrolysate. I want to give you both props for your passionate discourse in these forums.........good luck to you both in your endeavors. peace, chunk
chunk, it's been cool getting together on our grows and learning so much. I can't wait to get my stuff in line. Seems like a bit more of a learning curve for us old farts learning new tricks. thanks, as always, for the help and props. I am up late here, researching soil recipes and worrying about my girls. Might have to transplant a second time if things don't come around in a few days or a week. I worry too much and I have no beer to drink. Maybe I am worried about the no beer more than my plants? Nahhh! Gotta fix the ladies up. thanks again, chunk. JaK
SkunkPatronus This is not something that you want to do but since you asked, here goes. Let's say that you have 2 gallons of fish parts and you do NOT want to use the fish organs for a myriad of reasons. At some point of the process you're going to have to grind up the fish parts into a slurry. It's best to do that at the beginning. Take 1/4 cup of EM-1 for each gallon of liquid that you'll need to cover the fish slurry. Add 1/4 cup of a carbohydrate (usually molasses), 2 tsp. of ocean salt and 1 tablespoon of kelp meal. Let this ferment so that now you have a straight AEM mixture with micronutrients added (kelp and sea salt). Take it down to a pH of <3.7 Take this full-strength AEM and pour it into the slurry and add enough to cover the slurry with about 2" of AEM. Let the fermenting begin. With this amount of lactobacillus cultures you should have far less smell. Once you've hit the correct pH you now need to strain the slurry and how you have fish hydrolysate. But you have a problem - you have to stop the fermenting cycle. That's accomplished by adding 3% phosphoric acid. You can get that from hydro-gardens.com that sells chemicals used in hydroponics and such. OR you could you could buy a gallon of a commercial fish hydrolysate product (like Neptune's Harvest or Organic Gem) for about $28.00 per gallon. 1 gallon = 128 ounces. Rate of application is 1 ounce per gallon of water. 1 gallon of mix is <$.22 Just a thought..................... LD
Thank you, thank you, thank you... So i take it mine might be out of balance and that's why it's more smelly than it should be? I used about a cup of the Lacto solution that i made with the milk, 1/2 molasses, 2 cups of boiled rice, and bubbled, then added the fish (which were whole but thumb gutted), and the squid without quill and ink bag, never knew about adding salt and kelp meal. I will continue to bubble it, it is probably working, just not enought of the lacto and too much of the stinky fish... i would bet a dollar that the results of this bucket of tang will be good for the plants eventually. i'll add more lacto and let it multiple to better numbers and hope the stink decreases. Should i add kelp and salt??? And why the salt??? Will buy some 3% phosphoric acid today in the shop that i haven't been near in months, (and that's been really nice too, to be bottle free). and the ph is 4 btw.
Make sure it's sea salt.......sea salt is loaded with minerals and is far different than table salt. I get mine at Trader Joe's. You can also find phosphoric acid at Home Depot Miracle Sealants 1 Quart Fast Acting Phosphoric Acid Cleaner It's used in the Tile/Masonry/Concrete trades as a cleaner. HTH chunk
dang apple skins have a bunch of Potassium. i wonder if i made a fermented plant extract of apple skins if it would be as rich in Potassium as the ash
Chunk I love it here, so many brains to pick, so little time Sundance The skins without charring are less, but you can totally make a high K compost or ferment cuz i did. I used cuke skins and banana skins and potatoe skins because they are high in K too.
I'm sorry, i misread you! I saw LB-1 and thought that more of my Lacto would help the Shitpusfish brew. I need TM-1 like this EM Thanks, I'm all over it.
Sounds like something is wrong with the fish hydrolysate you have. I mix up 4 oz with a gallon of water and sleep in the same room a few hours later. It has a slight fishy odor for about a day, but nothing like you described. I use Neptune's Harvest fish/seaweed. I tried another brand early this summer that came from the great lakes, but it smelled kinda nasty/different. I used it up already, but I probably wouldn't have used it indoors.
No, i MAKING fish hydrolysate...from fish. I have a bottle of the General Organics Hydrolysate, you're right it's not too bad. I hope when i have finished making mine that it smells as tame as what's in the expensive little bottles that i kept having to buy.