After some research on GC and the net, I am going organic making my own tea and eventually soil. I have started with my tea and will soon start my soil mix for storage through the winter. Sent from my ADR6400L using GC Forum
...danktank....looks like you have too much water in your compost....keep it moist, not wet....the good microbes need to breath.
Its my compost for my tea, am i doing it wrong. I am following a video i seen on youtube? Sent from my ADR6400L using GC Forum
It looks pretty wet. Like stuff is floating around in the water. Are you trying to make compost or a compost tea (ACT)?
Depends on the video I guess. There's a lot of good stuff, but also a lot of stupidity online. If its on the Internet it must be true... J
Jerry if its on the internet it has to be true! Lol. Its for my tea inthegarden. Sent from my ADR6400L using GC Forum
It is not compost yet. It's simply not broken down anywhere near enough. Be careful - whole leaves like that have the potential to be very acidic until they break down. Just for the hell of it can you test the pH of that water? Welcome to the organics forum. You've come to the right place. J
Thanks Jerry, I have been lurking here reading you and Inthegarden. Some of it was bagged compost and I added some leaves, dry & green. I did check my ph after mixing this, it was 7.5. Is tap water bad for this or should I adjust my ph prior to ATTEMPTING my ACT? sHOULD i DRAIN THIS WATER AND LET IT BREAK DOWN SOME MORE?
dank, a few things: 1) tap water is fine for your ACT. Just let it sit out for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate. 2) compost tea (ACT) has to be made with finished compost. The thing to do is compost those leaves, then once they break down (and look like black dirt) you can make a tea with it or add it to your soil. You're a long way from broken down leaf compost (leaves take a long time to break down), so you're better off making your ACT with high quality bagged compost or vermicompost. But do make a big pile of the leaves and allow them to compost and break down over the winter! Are you making an ACT or an FPE or just a conglomeration? We'll get it sorted. Also, are you aerating your tea with an air pump? You want to aerate it if your goal is an ACT. ACT=aerated compost tea. Compost or vermicompost is added to water. This solution is aerated to introduce as much oxygen as possible into the water. The point of an ACT is to multiply the beneficial microbes present in the compost/vermicompost. The finished ACT is used as a microbial inoculant-to inroduce a large population of microbes into the soil. An ACT is aerated to avoid multiplying anaerobic microbes (those that thrive without oxygen)-many anaerobic microbes are yucky and you don't want to add a large population of them to your soil. Check out this link for excellent info on ACT: http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1110985-act-aerated-compost-tea.html Botanical tea (or FPE [=fermented plant extract])= a "tea" made by steeping plant matter in water. The plant matter breaks down in the water and all the nutrients in the plant matter are present in the botanical tea. The purpose of a botanical tea is to supply nutrients and beneficial plant compounds to the soil/plant. (the purpose of a botanical tea is to provide nutrients/plant compounds; the purpose of an ACT is to provide lots of microbes). A botanical tea is usually made with nutrient-rich plants, like comfrey, dandelion, stinging nettles, yarrow, etc.
Perhaps I should have lurked awhile longer I have drained the water and left the leaves to break down. My plan was to start my new grow organically which likely won't start until the beginning of the year, I need to clean out my closet. I am definitely looking at doing ACT. Can I pick up something from the hydro store or lowes/hd that I can do this over winter with until my failed attempt is ready? BTW I read your simple organic recipes
Dank, here's what I would do. -source some high quality bagged compost or earth worm castings and use that to make your soil and for ACTs -start a compost pile so that come springtime you'll have your own compost to use. Having a compost pile is excellent, and I would recommend it to all gardeners. But you don't have to have a compost pile to grow organically. You just have to source high quality compost. You have no need to ever set foot in a hydro store again. I've actually never been in a hydro/grow store in my life (seriously) and it's not because there aren't any around me. Find a feed/farm store in your area. This is the spot for an organic gardener. Check craigslist for local ewc and compost. You can buy ewc on ebay if you can't get good compost locally. See the thread for more info on where to find things and what brands of bagged compost to look for.
Okay! got my manure turned in with some kelp meal, about 1.5 cups. Still looking for alfalfa meal and fish meal. Tractor supply carries it, but it's seasonal. Still looking.
I would recommend alfalfa hay instead of that straw you have. Search craigslist for your area for "alfalfa hay" of "alfalfa". You can get 60# bales of unsprayed/organic for about $10. Not only is it alfalfa, but you get the hay/stalks which contain more organic matter and lignin. It's is a good balanced source of 'browns and greens' to add to your pile.