Ok basically I want to start using organic teas for my outdoor grows, however I have been reading that teas do not feed the plant. Or maby it does if you dont use mollasses. I have sunleaves seabird guano,mexican bat guano, jamacian bat guano, maxicrop soluable seaweed, and roots organic wormcastings and I intend on using it to feed my plant, and add beneficial bacteria organisms in my soil. So with that being said, here is where im confused, bubbling all this will feed the microherd, not the plant. I guess the microherd eats all the npk causing them to reproduce. Or can you have a tea that both feeds the microherd and gives the plant nutrients? Problem is I grow outdoors in 30gal smartpots (forest was once a junkyard or I would grow in the ground) And im limited to feeding once a week. So it is important to me that my plants get their nutrients. Also I read that phosphorus in bat guano isn't availble to the plant without a chelating agent, which i assume is molasses, but wont the molasses eat up the phosphorus? I appreciate any help and advice.
whats up boogieman when growing organically our main goal is to create a healthy, diverse, living soil that is full of microorganisms. this microherd is what breaks down the organic matter that we've amended our soil with. our plants can then feed on the waste products and exudes produced as a result of the 'herd feeding throughout the soil. the herd IS the chelating agent, more or less a common phrase in organics is "we feed the soil, the soil feeds the plants." so yeah in a way teas do not feed the plant-directly, but that doesn't mean they're left out, they just need the herd to do their thing so that they can get their food. make sense? it looks like you've got the start of a good mix there, i'd recommend some alfalfa meal and seed meals, and some minerals & various rock dusts and such. you can top dress with 'em or add it all to your bubbler, make a tea and then top and side dress with the sludge that's left over. you could also mix all your dry amendments into the soil before planting and you'd have a pretty bomber "water only" mix that you could simply refreshen every couple of weeks with a good kelp and alfalfa tea. have fun and happy growing!!!
Thanks btc that makes alot more sense, I use fox farm happy frog, or roots for 50% of my soil base (with promix and extra perlite). So could I not filter the tea with a pillow case and get the organics used in the tea into the soil, to break down and release nutrients? If I could somehow get the guano in by liquid (maby just shaking up 1 or 2 tablespoons of guano per gal of water) and feed once a week, feeding again 3-4 days later with the tea to help break down the guano? Im insure on how much guano is too much, or too little.
either of those options would work, you could also add the amendments to your soil ahead of time or top dress with 'em if you've already got established plants. if you're making teas, i'd definitely save the leftover sludge that's in your filter and top dress your girls with that too, it's good stuff. keep in mind that when you're making a tea or adding guano to water in order to apply it, the organic amendments we use do not dissolve in the h2o;you could shake till you're blue in the face but that guano you added will still remain as particulates in the water. when you apply that water to your plants though, the particles will then get carried down into your soil where they are then available to be chelated by the microherd and used as food for your plants. this is key in organics-our amendments are not water soluble, they can remain in the soil looooong after the water that has been used to apply them is gone. the organic particles are actually held in the soil by electric bonds and therefore cannot be easily washed away or lost to leaching, our plants can take out and use what they need when they need it. i'd suggest checking out lumperdawgz's thread on mixing your own fully amended organic soil that requires nothing more than h2o and a good tea every now and then. it's got some really great info and could help you better understand what's goin' on down there. have fun and happy growing!!!