How can I test the NPK of a home made nute solution (or ACT)?

[Mississip Hip]

Pretty much what the title says...

Is there any way to double check my math to KNOW what is actually in the tea?

If I use this poo....that poo.....alfalfa.....kelp.....yada yada....

I always shoot low so I dont burn anything (with good results), but it would be cool to actually know the NPK's of what I am giving them...beyond the scope of, "Thats what Ima figgerin is bout right"......:confused:

The total elemental profile would be cool also. I'm sure I can pay a lab....but is there a home test kit?

You can buy a home drug test kit for 10 bucks at Walgreens.....technology moves so fast. Maybe there is something out there for this....?

 

[rootsnshoots]

ive seen npk test kits at nurseries. theyre kinda like the fish tank ph test kits. test strips and color charts. If you get one or find something let us know! id like the see what your act's are running.

 

[leadsled]

^^^ what roots said. Home npk test kit. groworganic.com has em..

 

[caveman4.20]

I'm familiar with those they say deficient or toxic but still leave you wondering you know

 

[caveman4.20]

That style of grow is faith based plus listen to what your plant is telling you through water uptake and leaf color and formation...

 

[Crysmatic]

professional greenhouses have their reservoirs tested weekly. I'm sure it's more than..."yep, there's nitrogen in it, or not". They have thousands of gallons that they need to recycle, so the cost of a lab test is justifiable. A hobby gardener doing a test on a hunch is misguided, imo. make sure your math is right (it's not that hard).

greenhouses only use ionic salts...easy to test for. hobby gardeners using aminos, carbs, etc...harder to test for. how would you create a practical NPK for decomposing organics?

if you can SEE a deficiency, you messed up days earlier. going by visual cues is a poor method. you're constantly fighting fires.

 

[chronicdreams]

OK,let me give you some advise on organics.

you will NEVER make two organic batches exactly the same as they are always slightly different Its poop etc. You ever take the exact same shit 2x? neither has a bat.

organics are fantastic in that they are hard to burn your plants with.
BUT, there is no "for sure" knowledge of the exact make up. Rough math only.

This is where YOU come in. If you REALLY wanna use organics indoors, you need to know your plants inside and out.

Here is what I mean.

you use a balanced hydro nutrient I tell you adjust PH and EC. You don't worry about " Is this N or P deficiency ?" Hydro is a etch a sketch. you screw up, you flush and reset.

NOT so in soil. You need to be able to diagnose what your plant wants. Iron or N? P or CA?
An expert can get just as good results with organics as synthetics, but that is because he can adjust the constantly changing nutrient needs of his plants on the fly. Without that knowledge you will be always playing catch up to your plants needs.

How I use organics for soil is I load the soil with the slow release nutrients ( not water soluble etc ) These are gonna be your bone meal, fish meal etc. Plant cannot OD on these. It is use as needed.

I top feed with the fast releases. This would be your bat guano, sea bird guano, liquid kelp etc.

The tea I am strictly using an an inoculant. This is for loading up the plant with sugars, fungi and or bacteria that I am wanting to introduce.

 

[outwest]

How I use organics for soil is I load the soil with the slow release nutrients ( not water soluble etc ) These are gonna be your bone meal, fish meal etc. Plant cannot OD on these. It is use as needed.

I top feed with the fast releases. This would be your bat guano, sea bird guano, liquid kelp etc.

The tea I am strictly using an an inoculant. This is for loading up the plant with sugars, fungi and or bacteria that I am wanting to introduce.

This is the same path I have come to. It's good to see someone more experienced then myself executing successfully against the same notions. I do brew/leach my guanos, which makes them even more fast acting.

outwest

 

[chronicdreams]

last yr in santa cruz I lost about a shoe box due to mold. I knew some neighbors who lost 100 + lbs. I give this STRICTLY to the high fungal tea I gave weekly.

 

[outwest]

last yr in santa cruz I lost about a shoe box due to mold. I knew some neighbors who lost 100 + lbs. I give this STRICTLY to the high fungal tea I gave weekly.

Yes!! I try to throw as much beneficials at my girls as possible!!

outwest

 

[caveman4.20]

the foliage need the tea as much as the roots it activates immune system but as for knowing the levels of all that periodic table stuff is even tougher in organics because much of the stuff is unavailable until its digested and broke down by the rizhosphere so i bet its even harder to measure what the roots can uptake versus whats in the soil period thats why we say its faith based.... ithink of it as understanding the sounds (plants health visually) without needing to know how to play the instrument (soil and plant microbiology) :mad: im blazedmad

 

[rootsnshoots]

Could testing your brew before and after give you an idea on how much "breakdown" of insoluble nutes become available after a brew? Most of my food goes in at the beginning of the recycling stage. Then I give some more at plant/transplant. I do a basic tea in early veg, ewc and alfalfa. Then a transition booster ewc/high phos guano/alfalfa/kelp meal/oyster shells. Then just a mushroom compost/high phos guano/kelp extract high K at week 4. So it might be nice to see if the tea is breaking down more in a 48 hour brew vs 24 in my week 4 tea. I have a microscope and could check the microherd as well.

 

[caveman4.20]

Props for trying to understand the biology of it all I mean root/soil/tea they all have their own biology plus symbiotic relationship with each other ... Think of how hard it is to replicate any of those environments my approach is attempt to replicate as much as I can ph and ppm medium environment and then pay close attention to plants response.....don't fix what is not broke plus if a plant isn't cooperating weed it out

 

[homebrew420]

send out a sample to a lab https://customhydronutrients.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4
$45 a shot but at least you would know.

 

[zane4130]

Is there a way to test npk, of my compost tea with everyday common house held items?

Or, a reliable digital controller for taking measurements on a daily basis rate.

Time

???