Tea Recipe

[Fresh Starts]

Just a newbie question. I was planning to use my tea after 24 hours of brewing to use after a transplant. but i was a bit lit. and forgot i needed to go get more coco before i transplanted. I kept my tea brewing. and is 48 hours going to be okay? or is my tea going to be diminishing? in other words. will some bacteria start to die off after 24 hours? and so the diversity will be going down as well? or is 48 hours fine. and i should start to use it after 48 hours? thanks in advance for your help!

Use it. The colonies will not be dead. Letting brews go to long will upset the balance of bacteria to fungi ratio depending on the amount of carbs you put in. More carbs (sugars) the faster the colonies peak and the faster you must use the brew.

 

[Fresh Starts]

It has preservatives in it which will kill the beneficial microbes off. Vegetable oil is probably not a great thing for the colonies either. I wouldn't use it, my two cents. @frebo

 

[d0rk2dafullest]

Use it. The colonies will not be dead. Letting brews go to long will upset the balance of bacteria to fungi ratio depending on the amount of carbs you put in. More carbs (sugars) the faster the colonies peak and the faster you must use the brew.

thx for ur input! so letting it go for more than 2 days is not recommended, correct?

 

[Fresh Starts]

It's recommended to use within 24 hours because the microbe party is at its peak activity- especially with the amount of molasses the recipe calls for. At 48 hours the microbe party is still going, but certain bacterial strains start to dominate. The idea is to shoot for balance in species and that takes timing.

 

[VERMONTSKUNKS]

cap what cha think of these??

You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having tRECIPE #3 (My favorite)
If you want to use guano tea and kelp...
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
(That mak
Guano Tea and Kelp:

Seedlings less than 1 month old nute tea mix-
Mix 1 cup earthworm castings into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
Add 5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses.
Use it to water your seedlings with every 3rd watering.

Veg mix-
1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican)
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC)
5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
(That makes the "dry mix". You can make all you want and save it to use later.)
Mix with water @ 1 cup of dry mix into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
To that 5 gallons of tea add:
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
Use it to water with every 3rd watering.

Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
es the "dry mix". You can make all you want and save it to use later.)
Mix with water @ 2 cups of dry mix into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
To that 5 gallons of tea add:
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
Use it to water with EVERY watering.
o throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half.

 

[Seamaiden]

This is the label from the molasses I get from our local "Grange Coop". The price is $19.00 for 4-1/2 gallons. Is there some reason this is not good for me to use?
frebo, Sep 9, 2014 Report
#1510Reply

I personally don't like that it's not *just* molasses (sugar) and has all this other stuff in it. Vegetable oil? Then adding back something like xanthan gum to thicken it back up? (I use xanthan gum when I'm doing gluten-free baking, so it's not that it's unsafe, but I see it as unnecessary). I think you're getting watered down molasses.

Have you tried buying the bulk powdered molasses, such as is sold by bulkfoods dot com? Then you just reconstitute it.

 

[VERMONTSKUNKS]

Have you tried buying the bulk powdered molasses, such as is sold by bulkfoods dot com? Then you just reconstitute it. no I did not, but I can promise you ill be looking into this!

 

[click80]

Just a newbie question. I was planning to use my tea after 24 hours of brewing to use after a transplant. but i was a bit lit. and forgot i needed to go get more coco before i transplanted. I kept my tea brewing. and is 48 hours going to be okay? or is my tea going to be diminishing? in other words. will some bacteria start to die off after 24 hours? and so the diversity will be going down as well? or is 48 hours fine. and i should start to use it after 48 hours? thanks in advance for your help!

As long as it smells earthy it's okay. Without a microscope it's hard to tell what's going on at 48 hours. You can hypothesize and the worst is that it ran out of food and whatever was existing at that point went dormant.

So much depends on ingredients and equipment. The best thing you can do first is read this guys page. He is awesome and I think one of the best sources for information on the web.

http://microbeorganics.com/

 

[VERMONTSKUNKS]

You can however really screw up the microherd balance if you put an anaerobic (bad smelling) tea. Yeah exactly......do yourself a favor and keep nasty smelling teas into the drain....trust me on this.:D

 

[Dunge]

The fluid that drains from my worm bin smells "fecal", but gets better once placed into my tea.
My plants don't seem to care how long I bubble my tea for. I just start a fresh batch and let it run until time to water. (3-5 days)
Keep the air stone running.

 

[click80]

I personally don't like that it's not *just* molasses (sugar) and has all this other stuff in it. Vegetable oil? Then adding back something like xanthan gum to thicken it back up? (I use xanthan gum when I'm doing gluten-free baking, so it's not that it's unsafe, but I see it as unnecessary). I think you're getting watered down molasses.

Have you tried buying the bulk powdered molasses, such as is sold by bulkfoods dot com? Then you just reconstitute it.

As far as the vegetable oil, Dr. Ingham has recommended adding this in as a defoamer but I have had reduced populations of bacteria when using it. I use one of two recommended Fish Hydrolysates from Microbeman, both of which use whole fish. Without knowing the company, what they are using for feedstock and what they are separating out, you really don't know what you are getting.

The company I use removes the bones only to make stuff for a pharmaceutical company, and the complete fish is used to make the hydrosylate, so all oils are retained, proteins are not denatured and they use a special enzymatic concoction that speeds the process up and requires less phosphoric acid. It's called Organic Gem.

My point is that I use the Organic Gem and add it in small amounts as the high amounts of fats act as a defoamer.

The other ingredients might be problematic, but that would take some research or a conversation with a chemist. I do know propylene glycol is used in some fertilizers and liquid beneficials, but I don't know the chemistry enough and there are so many rip off bennies out there that I would not want anti-freeze in my tea.

As far as Xanthan gum here is what Harvard has on it:

Here is the link to their contact page and I have emailed them questions before and received prompt courteous replies.

Here is a link at ASU with information on liquid and dry molasses. http://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-fertilizer/molasses-050805.htmhttp://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-fertilizer/molasses-050805.htm

 

[Capulator]

^^ great post.

 

[Dunge]

My point is that I use the Organic Gem and add it in small amounts as the high amounts of fats act as a defoamer.

In the cartoon I use to guide my way through tea brewing, I too suppress foam thinking that the material segregated in foam are materials I would rather have dissolved into my tea.
In response to foam, I add a few drops of hydrolyzed fish fertilizer and stir it in to break up the foam.
Works well, but then again, its only a cartoon.

 

[Herb Forester]

Use it. The colonies will not be dead. Letting brews go to long will upset the balance of bacteria to fungi ratio depending on the amount of carbs you put in. More carbs (sugars) the faster the colonies peak and the faster you must use the brew.

You can also monitor the pH for indication of excessive bloom or die-off. Not enough air or too much sugar seem to be the main culprits.

 

[Seamaiden]

As far as the vegetable oil, Dr. Ingham has recommended adding this in as a defoamer but I have had reduced populations of bacteria when using it. I use one of two recommended Fish Hydrolysates from Microbeman, both of which use whole fish. Without knowing the company, what they are using for feedstock and what they are separating out, you really don't know what you are getting.

The company I use removes the bones only to make stuff for a pharmaceutical company, and the complete fish is used to make the hydrosylate, so all oils are retained, proteins are not denatured and they use a special enzymatic concoction that speeds the process up and requires less phosphoric acid. It's called Organic Gem.

My point is that I use the Organic Gem and add it in small amounts as the high amounts of fats act as a defoamer.

The other ingredients might be problematic, but that would take some research or a conversation with a chemist. I do know propylene glycol is used in some fertilizers and liquid beneficials, but I don't know the chemistry enough and there are so many rip off bennies out there that I would not want anti-freeze in my tea.

As far as Xanthan gum here is what Harvard has on it:

Here is the link to their contact page and I have emailed them questions before and received prompt courteous replies.

Here is a link at ASU with information on liquid and dry molasses. http://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-fertilizer/molasses-050805.htmhttp://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-fertilizer/molasses-050805.htm

Thanks for these links! The dry molasses I'm using dissolves completely. The biggest issue I've had is making a solution that's equivalent to liquid molasses, but once it's in solution, it behaves in pretty much the same way. It's not as tasty.

I researched products like xanthan when we had our granddaughter living with us and I'd determined she was gluten-intolerant. I didn't want her to miss out on thing like cookies and cakes that other kids could enjoy, so I know it's safe. Toys? Xanthan gum is used for toys?

Mainly my question arises with the idea of all these other (likely perfectly safe) ingredients being added to something that can, and should IMO, stand on its own. IF I get foaming, for example, I'll deal with it myself, but I don't want someone dealing with it for me if that makes sense.


But, good stuff, all the way around. :)

 

[GrowGod]

Hey Cap, how does fish shit compare to your bennies? African cichlids shit to be exact.:D

 

[Capulator]

Hey Cap, how does fish shit compare to your bennies? African cichlids shit to be exact.:D

I have no clue!

I can tell you that the microbe consortium in the packs is very intentional. I really don't think that fish shit would have all the same species... Especially things like trichoderma t-22, paecilomyces fumosoroseus, metarhizium, streptomyces, rhodospirrilum, etc...

But I could always be wrong.

The thing is that the microbes in the packs have all been isolated and then cultured in a lab. I don' think there is any one natural resource that can emulate that.

 

[GrowGod]

I have no clue!

I can tell you that the microbe consortium in the packs is very intentional. I really don't think that fish shit would have all the same species... Especially things like trichoderma t-22, paecilomyces fumosoroseus, metarhizium, streptomyces, rhodospirrilum, etc...

But I could always be wrong.

The thing is that the microbes in the packs have all been isolated and then cultured in a lab. I don' think there is any one natural resource that can emulate that.

thats a good point, I got a lot of this beneficial bacteria "fish shit" available so I may do some comparison down the road. There's not a lot of info out there on just using the shit.

 

[click80]

Fish excrement is only going to have basic gut biota necessary to digest fish flakes or whatever you are feeding them. There will also be some basic enzymes protease, amylase (?).......gut microbiota rapidly change and do not evolve. Gut tracts are a self limiting environment. If it's not needed it gets excreted. :)

 

[GrowGod]

Fish excrement is only going to have basic gut biota necessary to digest fish flakes or whatever you are feeding them. There will also be some basic enzymes protease, amylase (?).......gut microbiota rapidly change and do not evolve. Gut tracts are a self limiting environment. If it's not needed it gets excreted. :)

Can u please explain in stoner terms :confused::oops: :rolleyes:o_O