First Tea brewing

[Mr.Metal]

Last year I met a buddy of mine, and watching him through a grow cycle I've been very interested in organics and brewing some teas of my own. So I finally stopped by the hydro shop and I picked up some oregonism xl, O.G. seabird guano bloom,and some roots organic HPK. I've already got some liquid karma, some bio weed and bio marine, and also some sea green, as well as earth worm castings and molasses. I know I don't need to use ALL of these but am trying to figure out a good recipe or a couple recipes for flowering. I'm gonna start off with the
HPK,
OG Seabird Guano,
Blackstrap molasses
bio weed
liquid karma
and build from there w/5 tbs each 5 gal and brew for 48 hrs. Any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

I've got 4 ladies in vermifire and 4 ladies in empire builders and I'm using organicare pure bloom with all.

 

[Seamaiden]

Hi Mr.Metal, sounds like you've got your head wrapped around the concepts. I personally have moved away from LK, it's expensive and didn't necessarily add anything that I noticed that made using it make sense, but that's me being my cheap-ass self. However, the guano is a great addition. I can't actually speak to anything else you mention because I haven't used it, those items being the HPK and the BioWeed.

Wanna know what I'd add to that mix? Spent blossoms, of anything you can find. I like to use my dropped Camellia or rhododendron blooms, but those are available only certain times of year, so I go around and find what's growing around me. This would make it much more like a plant extract, fermented plant juice or extract, but the thing to remember is that you're also getting at secondary plant metabolites, and what you're getting at depends on what part of the plant you're using. Blooms would possibly also be high in P, vital for flowering.

 

[Mr.Metal]

Excellent Info and advice man!! I already had the liquid karma laying around along with the bio marine and bio weed from a compare/ contrast I did in the G.O. I've seen them used in other teas similar to the one I'm thinking about so I figured I'd use the rest of them up haha. Also I just started a home compost pile for my veggies so the spent blossoms are an excellent idea!

I went to the hydro shop looking at the primal harvest bat guano but the gentlemen there who usually helps me suggested the HPK, his main point was concentrated on the "thickness" of the mixture.

I really like that idea though, of using whats growing around me. I think that'll help me to learn what the ladies are actually liking and using!! Ask for the info air, ill let you know how it turns out!!

 

[Seamaiden]

Get your brew on!

 

[Natural]

Sea's a farmer lady btw. I agree LK is basically a "soil conditioner"..not my favorite by a long shot..it does have humic molasses seaweed etc. One of the worst micro products I have ever used..but it won't hurt your teas.

 

[mastacheeser]

Get some worm castings or humus in there

I second not using the liquid karma in your tea. Jus use it with regular waterings

 

[Mr.Metal]

Sea's a farmer lady btw. I agree LK is basically a "soil conditioner"..not my favorite by a long shot..it does have humic molasses seaweed etc. One of the worst micro products I have ever used..but it won't hurt your teas.

Lol ohh man, sorry about that! Definitely not trying to be misogynistic in the least!

So I'm gonna scratch the LK. and pack some of the oregonism xl in the sock with some worm castings and get to gettin'!!!

 

[Seamaiden]

No worries, this just happens to be a heavily male-dominated field, if you will, easy assumption to make. :)

 

[Mr.Metal]

That coupled With my California boy lingo makes for a lot of "dudes" and "mans" at the end of my sentences lmao

 

[Mr.Metal]

Question: would spent crab apple blossoms and honey suckles be alright to add to my mixture? I do have an abundance of these around the yard..

 

[Seamaiden]

I would totally try it out. Look into fermented plant extracts/juices, there are a few different methods and techniques to get at the secondary plant metabolites and compounds.

That coupled With my California boy lingo makes for a lot of "dudes" and "mans" at the end of my sentences lmao

I remember the first time I called my husband 'dude' when we were first dating, man. ;)

 

[masshole61]

I've been reading a lot about teas and specifically teas made with comphrey and stinging nettles. I asked my farmer/ farm stand friend for it and he looked at me like I had 2 heads. Apparently it grows in the wild, not in the greenhouse. Although he does have a form of nettles. Anyone here know what they look like ? Is the farm stand nettles close enough?

 

[baba G]

bu's blend has nettle and comfrey I think, I know it has some sort of lil biodynamic herbal mixture in there and you can def base a tea off it.

 

[Mr.Metal]

Soo I've got a question, and I know there's a "to foam or not to foam" thread but I've gotta ask. These are a couple picks of my tea right now. I'm using a water pump with a PVC pipe attached to the end instead of an air stone. For the first couple of hrs i had it submerged with the water flowing up and I could visibly see the water "fold up and over on itself" which is what I was told we wanted to happen by a buddy at the hydro shop. I just set the pump up as you can see in the picture, skimming the too of the mix and I could see small micro bubbles aerating it then foam within two minutes where as I had no foam before. Soo what's up with that? What's going on?? Thank you in advance, I'm every curious as to the science behind this!

I read you saying the foam had a correlation with something being shakin up, I've also read another place foam was an indication of availability, or lack of availability of food for those hungry micro guys?

 

[Seamaiden]

Oh boy, well, Mr.Metal, did the hydro shop guy discuss diaphragm vs impeller driven pumps? If that's an impeller-driven pump, you're shredding the microbes, gotta use a diaphragm. The other issue is surface turbulence--this is where the O2/CO2 exchange occurs, and the more turbulence the better. Doesn't have to 'fold' on itself, has to be turbulent. If you're getting microbubbles, then I think you may be seeing a venturi being pulled somewhere in the line. It's not bad, it just is. I'm more concerned with the type of pump you're using because you could be killing the very microbes you're trying to culture.

Foam is, in my aquatic/aquarium world, dissolved organic compounds, aka DOCs. These compounds have a hydrophilic and hydrophobic end, they're polar you see. The hydrophobic end sticks to the air bubbles and is brought up to the surface. That's foam fractionation, one of the oldest forms of chemical filtration. That foam is therefore rather concentrated in terms of nutrients. I know this because it is by this action that a given water column is 'cleaned' of excess nutrients, why we love things like protein skimmers (foam fractionators) in aquatics, especially for keeping animals that require low nutrient levels in their water such as corals.

Ok, looking at your pix, that's a powerhead, and it's not appropriate for this application.

I've been reading a lot about teas and specifically teas made with comphrey and stinging nettles. I asked my farmer/ farm stand friend for it and he looked at me like I had 2 heads. Apparently it grows in the wild, not in the greenhouse. Although he does have a form of nettles. Anyone here know what they look like ? Is the farm stand nettles close enough?

Stinging nettles are what you're after, and I think you're going to have to forage for them. They're high in Si, that's what comprises their little stingers, IIRC. I've kept dead nettle--not the same thing.

I can't get comfrey to really grow where I am, not without giving it a LOT of extra water. Great if you're in Washington or Oregon, bullshit if you're in California or another dry state.

 

[Mogrow]

Mr. Metal // use a cup of so of the best compost you can find, make it yourself is the best way, add a tablespoon or so of molasses. add to 5 gallons of the best water you can get your hands on, bubble for 24 hours. that's it. this is from microbeman, dude knows his stuffage....

 

[Mogrow]

I've been reading a lot about teas and specifically teas made with comphrey and stinging nettles. I asked my farmer/ farm stand friend for it and he looked at me like I had 2 heads. Apparently it grows in the wild, not in the greenhouse. Although he does have a form of nettles. Anyone here know what they look like ? Is the farm stand nettles close enough?

hole61 dude//// comfrey and nettles are best used in compost or top dressing, they make a great foliar also. to get the extract of these plants chop up about 4 cups or so, let sit in good water for no more than 3 days, if you leave longer some of the goodies get lost as they start to ferment. be ready for a wicked smell.:arghh: i sprayed some comfrey this morning.

 

[Mr.Metal]

Excellent, switching over and thanks for the info. You explained that perfectly well and I actuAlly see what you're sayi lol :) you've been a hella big help! I don't know why anyone would say " you can use a pump, suuuure" but doesn't let you know a certain type would be detrimental -__-