Soluble Nutrient Mix via Organic Amendments?

ChiT · Feb 19, 2021

If I’m looking to create a soluble nutrient mix from dissolving the solubles from Guano, EWC, blood meal, Compost Etc...how feasible is this. I understand organics is mostly insolubles released slowly over time. If I compost tea with the above mentioned, will the lesser solubles not extract into the water? If so, are these soluble elements readily available... I would imagine the living bacteria in the tea would assist with some immediate uptake? Specifically regarding NPK and CMS? I’m essentially trying to create a nutrient that is best of both worlds, Organic , Soluble, and readily available for plant uptake? Very motivated to perfect this...

Homesteader · Feb 20, 2021

Depends on the nutrients you are using as some are more soluble than others. Maybe I am not understanding though.

ChiT · Feb 20, 2021

Homesteader said:
Depends on the nutrients you are using as some are more soluble than others. Maybe I am not understanding though.

We on the same page. For instance , let’s take DTE Bat Guano 7-3-1 & Seabird Guano 0-11-0 + Ca 20% in an AACT.... We likely need to look at each element individually. Of the 7% N, 1.8% is soluble. Does that mean the 1.8 will dissolve in water, become readable on a TDS meter, and will readily uptake into the plant? Same question for P, K, and Ca....

ChiT · Feb 20, 2021

These tables of Guano composition have me believing a portion of each macro will immediately uptake, at least for NPK...

Homesteader · Feb 20, 2021

I think the nitrogen would be the easiest to come by for you with this method but it is way too complicated for what you need and would be really tough to dial down to be honest. Let the plant do the work. If you want readily available nutrient I would suggest you try plant based. Something like KNF can be fun to try or just feed the soil every few weeks with what you have. I don't know what soil you are using so that may not be a good suggestion though.

SaintsSamilia · Feb 20, 2021

There are plenty of liquid organic nutes out there in all forms I'd say you can if they can I've used both Nectar of the gods line as well as Advanced nutrients currently. Actually looking into this myself since I'm currently in diy for the savings soils easy to mix the nutes no idea though

mancorn · Feb 20, 2021

AACT feed microbes in order to break down organics, not a means of dissolving nutrients in water. Mineral salts (synthetic fertilizers) break apart in water to reveal their ionic nutrients - which is the only way plants absorb nutrients (both organic and salts). Plant roots then absorb the dissociated mineral salts as ions. Organic fertilizers don’t readily dissociate in water and why they need to be broken down by soil organisms to reveal their ionic, plant-available elements. The length of time required for mineralization may take years after application.

This isn’t to say you can’t add nutrients to your tea, but the organisms aren’t going to be making these nutrients plant available in the couple days it takes to brew (and they’re primarily chowing down on the sugars not the fertilizer). So no advantage to making teas with fertilizers and best to brew your organisms by adding ingredients that help the microbes (like kelp - which surface area is a good environment for organisms, not that they’re eating it.) Then adding your dry fertilizers directly to your soil and your AACT as separate steps. By soaking the ferts you may be making them easier for organisms to break them down, but not at a molecular level.

(Check out the NFTG bible which might give you some ideas of what you’ll need for creating your own soluble ferts. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1298/4199/files/Unofficial_NFTG_Growers_Bible_v4.0_FINAL.pdf)

ChiT · Feb 20, 2021

mancorn said:
AACT feed microbes in order to break down organics, not a means of dissolving nutrients in water. Mineral salts (synthetic fertilizers) break apart in water to reveal their ionic nutrients - which is the only way plants absorb nutrients (both organic and salts). Plant roots then absorb the dissociated mineral salts as ions. Organic fertilizers don’t readily dissociate in water and why they need to be broken down by soil organisms to reveal their ionic, plant-available elements. The length of time required for mineralization may take years after application.

This isn’t to say you can’t add nutrients to your tea, but the organisms aren’t going to be making these nutrients plant available in the couple days it takes to brew (and they’re primarily chowing down on the sugars not the fertilizer). So no advantage to making teas with fertilizers and best to brew your organisms by adding ingredients that help the microbes (like kelp - which surface area is a good environment for organisms, not that they’re eating it.) Then adding your dry fertilizers directly to your soil and your AACT as separate steps. By soaking the ferts you may be making them easier for organisms to break them down, but not at a molecular level.

(Check out the NFTG bible which might give you some ideas of what you’ll need for creating your own soluble ferts. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1298/4199/files/Unofficial_NFTG_Growers_Bible_v4.0_FINAL.pdf)

Not the response I was hoping for, but helpful. So when I start with RO and 2 ppm , Brew my tea for 24 hours, and end up with a TDS reading of over 1000, where is this EC building up from. I assumed it’s water soluble nutrients, but not necessarily readily available for plant uptake? Also, if compost is used, are nutrients in an ionic form not being extracted, as the compost would have created them while the compost process was occurring?

mancorn · Feb 21, 2021

ChiT said:
Not the response I was hoping for, but helpful. So when I start with RO and 2 ppm , Brew my tea for 24 hours, and end up with a TDS reading of over 1000, where is this EC building up from. I assumed it’s water soluble nutrients, but not necessarily readily available for plant uptake? Also, if compost is used, are nutrients in an ionic form not being extracted, as the compost would have created them while the compost process was occurring?

Coca Cola has a TDS of ~650 (EC of 2500) so your 1000 could be from any of the ingredients that you added to your tea. TDS is a combined content of all inorganic and organic substances present in a liquid in molecular, ionized, or micro-granular suspended form. Some organics don’t have a EC so might not show up at all, where others (like fish emulsion) do. The TDS of compost or teas is pretty much a worthless metric and TDS is only helpful for salt based nutrients.

Obviously if you added 10 different bottled nutrients to a gallon and then gave it to me, I could test the TDS, but it doesn’t really help me as I have no idea what’s actually in the mixture. On the other hand if you’re mixing up nutrients and the instruction say feed at 600ppm, then a TDS meter is helpful. With salt based fertilizers you know the % of each nutrient so you can figure how exactly how much of each you have.

In terms of your compost, it has very little plant available nutrients. Most of the nutrients are in an unavailable, organically bound form. AACT have almost no nutrients. Here’s an info that may help. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/composts

ChiT · Mar 8, 2021

Just an Update. I’ve been dissolving Roots Bloom Tea, Seabird Guano, TM-7, recharge, fish shit, molasses, citric acid, hades Down and Langbeinite into my compost tea and brewing overnight. Plants seem to be thriving ever since I added the micros and started using almost triple the recommended Tea/Guano. I only use the liquid from the tea, and leave any sediment on the bottom of the bucket. That idea was to increase solubles, and decrease in solubles. Any thoughts/recommendations, anyone, anyone?

Soluble Nutrient Mix via Organic Amendments?

Soluble Nutrient Mix via Organic Amendments?

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Soluble Nutrient Mix via Organic Amendments?

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