How valuable is my tea in super soil?

[Dunge]

These two matched Rock Candy clones are squared off to answer this question.
They have been under 12/12 for less than a week and one will get only water while the other gets the regular 4 day microbial tea cycle.
I will go into more detail on soil and tea formulations if anything interesting comes of this test.
For now I am expecting the water only to be a little smaller, but perhaps it will ripen more quickly.
Let's see what happens.

 

[sativasteve]

very interested

 

[Dunge]

I wanted to throw another shot in for the start point of this thread.

I don't expect to see anything noteworthy for quite some time as I have only done the water only on the test subject for the first time four days ago.
I would ordinarily water again today, but I want the pots to dry out to promote root development.

 

[Dunge]

Two weeks in 12/12 and they both are exactly where I expect them to be.

Water only.

Tea only.

Only watering every 4-5 days.
Seven weeks to go.

 

[HouseOfWojo]

Very neat experiment.

I can say that I think you will see a slight difference in the nugs on the tea plant, but not much (depending on the soil recipe you are using). I have used water only soils for some time now, and when I was looking for just a little more kick, I started going with what I call "recharge" waterings. At about week 2, 4, and 6 I would give the plants one or two waterings with tea, and then again just water. I saw some difference but not enough to make me want to go away from the water only, instead I am trying different nutrients and nutrient quantities in my soil mix (lol, posted a video to youtube on this last night) to try and compensate for anything lost. Good luck on the experiment! Will be watching!

 

[Dunge]

Four weeks of 12/12 yields little to no difference in test plants.
Both look healthy and on track for a nine week harvest.

 

[Mogrow]

nice frost for a month in.
so how much longer you going to apply the teas, what's in the teas?
peace mogrow

 

[Dunge]

nice frost for a month in.
so how much longer you going to apply the teas, what's in the teas?
peace mogrow

I brew an alfalfa tea one gallon at a time for four days between watering and continue to harvest.
One little fish tank bubbler, inoculated with caps, and fed molasses.

 

[mastacheeser]

Great test. Everything is looking way healthy. You must have your environment dialed in!

What kinda dirt you using?

 

[Seamaiden]

I think it's the triacontanol found in alfalfa that can cause problems moreso than the N. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Dunge]

At 6 weeks 12/12 the test plants look identical to me.
Three weeks to go.

 

[Dunge]

7 weeks 12/12 update.

It may be that the water only plant has more brown pistols.
Two weeks to go.

 

[Dunge]

One week to go and I'm just starting to see some separation in this head to head trial.
To my eye flowers look much alike in size and appeal. Same frost, same brown to fresh pistol ratio. If anything, the tea flower shows slight cupping in the small flower leafs.
The tea only plant is farther along into yellowing.

I invite comment on variations I may be missing.
Clearly, things are looking good for water only growing in my space.
What will one more week under the lights bring?
I'm expecting the slight variation to continue and thus expand.

 

[Dunge]

60 day harvest shots.
Wet weight and cure pics to follow.

 

[Dunge]

The 'water only' plant came in slightly heavier at 1.4 pounds to 1.3 for the 'tea only' plant.
So I'm calling that a draw.
'tea only' seems to have extended the pistol shooting, and delayed maturation.
Both plants contain abundant and desirable buds.

 

[Dunge]

I would have thought that this report would generated more interest.
With all the effort I and others put into brewing tea, the thought that our plants are not benefiting from the attention should stimulate some controversy.

First off, we can question my tea formulation and habit of using it in every watering start to finish.
This is not that hard a demonstration to duplicate.
I'd like to see an example of a soil/tea formulation that does show improved plant performance.
It is my conclusion that my soil formulation is fully populated with microbes and that the plants are getting all the nutrients they can use without tea.

 

[kuz]

Interesting. What is in you super soil to start.

 

[Dunge]

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/six-super-soil-variants-run-side-by-side.63549/
Soil #2 is my current standard.
It's a Promix, compost, worm castings, blood, bone, guano.
Quantities are detailed in linked thread.
Thanks for asking.

 

[infocus]

your plants seem to love. super icy buds.

What's the compost you use?

 

[Dunge]

Compost is 'Down To Earth'.
It's wood bark based.
Don't know if it's the compost or the Down To Earth worn castings, or the combination, but I'd love for someone to duplicate my results.
This tea experiment is the tip of the iceberg.
Check out my 9 x super soil side by side that has just (5 days) entered flower.
I specified each formulation so that it can be duplicated.
All are performing well, and the common elements are the compost and castings which find their way into every formulation.
Admittedly, some of the nine are refurbishments, but I have been using these products long enough that it has inoculated my dirt pile.
I will admit to being surprised by this result.
Super soil is a challenge to believe that it holds all the plant needs.
The temptation to add more can feel irresistible.