Tea Recipe

[squiggly]

I have a Q for ya Cap

I been brewing my teas for 18 to 24 hrs (love it by the way) and Im trying to schedule myself to be able to be at the grow a few less days a week. Im wondering if it will be good if I brew my teas for 48 hrs instead of 24.
Is there any pros or cons for shorter longer brew times

Thanks in advance
The shit is the shit

If you go for 48 I'd recommend feeding a bit more molasses @ or near the 24 hour mark.

You don't want to overfeed to begin or you'll create a foothold for anaerobes--but the good bennies will deplete the sugar VERY quickly (more quickly than you'd think) and will immediately begin dying when the food runs out (providing yet another foothold for anaerobes).

This is how I do it, and I end up with great results.

Typically I'll let my tea go for 24 hours and then I'll give it another TBS or two of molasses and drop in a chunk of a mosquito dunk at that time and some VERY VERY VERY dilute sea green.

(For a 5gal tea)

 

[BudGoggles]

Ok thanks
I think the helper can manage adding a couple tbls of carbs at 24 hrs

 

[Capulator]

I have a Q for ya Cap

I been brewing my teas for 18 to 24 hrs (love it by the way) and Im trying to schedule myself to be able to be at the grow a few less days a week. Im wondering if it will be good if I brew my teas for 48 hrs instead of 24.
Is there any pros or cons for shorter longer brew times

Thanks in advance
The shit is the shit

Tough question. A lot of what I read seems to indicate this: For the most diverse selection of active microbes, 24 hours or even less is best.

Fungal brews take longer though because fungal spores take longer to germinate (72 hours is not uncommon).

Now, IMHO, if the fungal spores are introduced prior to germinating in a tea, this should not be a problem because they will germinate in the soil or on an insect after the brew.

I also think that you would be alright just adding the bennies and a food source with some water to a bucket, mixing them up, and not brewing at all. Just add after mixing. You may want to try this route. You may not get huge populations right from the get go, but there are 50 billion spores per gram of each pack. That's a retarded amount...

In soil or coco applications.. with the food source and the bennies in the media, given enough oxygen in the media... whats the difference between that and a brew?? This is what I have been asking myself lately.

As far as compost teas go, I would say that 48 hours will be ok. I have scoped lots of tea at 48 hours and there is plenty of action.

 

[Capulator]

Ok thanks
I think the helper can manage adding a couple tbls of carbs at 24 hrs

read this towards the end. Don't let all the talking about needing expensive equipment to make a tea scare you. Thats all BS IMHO. "buy the book" tactics etc..

 

[Capulator]

more good info: http://www.compostjunkie.com/compost-tea-recipe.html

Great recipes here as well.

 

[BudGoggles]

Thanks for the reply
I think I will just keep brewing like Im brewing plants havent been this happy for a long time. 2 of the mothers are recovered russet mite victims and are now finally loving life.
Heres what Im doing if ya dont mind critiquing my tea

2 gallons ro water
1/2 cup ewc
1/2 cup Alaskan humus soil
1/2 alfalfa meal
2 tbls root
2 tbls foliar
50 ml hibrix or molasses
Brew at 78-80f for 18 to 24 hrs

Thanks

PS I have a entire bottle of orca can I dump that in the tea at the end of brew just to use the stuff up???

And thanks again

BG

 

[squiggly]

PS I have a entire bottle of orca can I dump that in the tea at the end of brew just to use the stuff up???

And thanks again

BG

Absolutely on the Orca.

My recommendation is that you never make the same tea twice on a run. Vary the following values:

1. Amount of feed.

2. Initial pH of solution before inoculation (especially this)

3. Recipe.

4. Amount of time you run air in the brewer before inoculation.

5. Setting of your air pump (DO level).

6. Temperature.

7. Length of brew

What this will guarantee is that you get the most diverse biolife in your soil possible. Not all bacteria/fungi/protozoa like the same growing conditions. There are SO MANY different organisms in caps packs and they can't all thrive under the same exact conditions. If one type blooms under a specific set of conditions--perhaps it eats a smaller population of a different type before it can even get a good foothold.

You don't want to follow the same exact process every single time.

I would develop at least a 5 recipe rotation where you vary the above values in different ways to guarantee the most diversity possible.

I don't think I've ever brewed tea exactly the same way twice--I just wing it every time (I also start off with a very dilute mix of my nutrient solution).

 

[BudGoggles]

Sounds great and thanks

 

[We Solidarity]

2. Initial pH of solution before inoculation (especially this)

I've noticed when I ph to 6.5, a 24 hr. brew usually looks weaker, whereas a 48 brew seems to be waaaay thicker than when I don't ph. Last time I ph'd to 6.5 I cultured it adding more ph'd and carb'd water and bennies, and I had some crazy funky stuff happenin...




that guy floated up to the surface and I had to scoop him up...he's the size of a dime, to compare to all the other floaties around. I really need to get a microscope so I can see what's going on in there. But yeah ~ what other "PHs" do you use?

4. Amount of time you run air in the brewer before inoculation.

I have a standard of filling my water two days before and aerating the day before mixing. I always figured that would provide a very optimum environment...what else is favorable?

also - wouldn't water temps contribute alot to colony diversity? I find when I add 10% of the amount of hot water as what I'm gonna brew, right before I brew, it really helps. starting water temp is between 63 and 67 degrees, I try to bring it close to 70. I started doing this instead of just temping my water when I pour it to take advantage of all the dissolved oxygen in the hot water.

 

[squiggly]

Sounds great and thanks

No probs. Biology FTW.

 

[squiggly]

But yeah ~ what other "PHs" do you use?

General biology knowledge states pretty unambiguously that IN SOIL the most microflora diversity is achieved in soil pH of 7.0. IE, the closer to neutral you are the more diverse your soil will be.

As we know a soil pH of 7 is a bit too high to grow in.

Furthermore this is a general statement--so it doesn't apply to specific inoculants. This is what we expect to observe in the wild--not in your brewer bucket or garden.

As for the temperature--yes there is no question this affects diversity greatly.

Certain organisms prefer particular temps. Generally bacteria likes it between 25C-45C.

You need to consider the source. Cultures of human and animal bacterias do really well in 37C (98.6F). So what is the normal temperature of soil where cannabis grows the best?

This will give you your answer.

Considerations here include:

1. exogenous/endogenous enzyme activity at various temperatures.

2. membrane fluidity/rigidity at various temperatures.

3. membrane permeability at various temperatures.

4. colony behavior at various temperatures.

Other things to consider:

1. Ionic strength of solution.

2. Nutrient/micronutrient content of solution.

3. Various thermodynamic properties of the solution (pressure, enthalpy, etc.)

 

[We Solidarity]

hell yeah. I actually understood all that, cheers! We learn lots from you squiggs, thanks for all you do.

 

[sneakyg]

 http://www.compostjunkie.com/compost-tea-recipe.html

^^ Great link .. thanks cap ... I had been adding my foliar to my tea with all my ingredients at the beginning. Getting tons of foam, but since I want a more fungal dominant tea i'm gonna try the method listed in the link above..

Grind up some oatmeal, add it to my vermicompost (wet) and put it over heat in a small container.. after a few days and i see the fungus growing on the vermi, i'll throw it back in my sock and into my 5 gallon brewer than add all my other ingredients for a fungal dominated tea.. apparently gives them a great head start.. can't wait to try this next round !!

 

[GR33NL3AF]

Cap, do you recommend using your products on vegetable gardens? I feel like it help produce some solid tomatoes...

 

[Capulator]

Cap, do you recommend using your products on vegetable gardens? I feel like it help produce some solid tomatoes...

YES. It's made for edible crops!!!! Use away.

 

[LEDNewbie]

Hey Cap, I know this has been asked before a million times. But is it OK to use a Fogmaster Jr. to foliar feed my girls with my OG Biowar Tea?

Also do you add a surfactant like Coco Wet? If adding Sea Green to the tea is adding a surfactant necessary?

Thanks;)

 

[Capulator]

Hey Cap, I know this has been asked before a million times. But is it OK to use a Fogmaster Jr. to foliar feed my girls with my OG Biowar Tea?

Also do you add a surfactant like Coco Wet? If adding Sea Green to the tea is adding a surfactant necessary?

Thanks;)

you can throw it in the fogger. I know thats what jackmayoffer does. coco wet is fine. even if you add seagreen a little coco wet wont hurt anything.

 

[datDANK]

does the fogmaster use electric shock to create micro droplets? if so it will sterilize living creatures found in ACT teas

 

[BudGoggles]

2 questions

First I accidentally added 4 tbls of the nute pack to my tea this morning, was thinking it was root...... oops is this ok I plan to throw some in the cloner tomorrow???

Second my kilo of nute pack is real moist and all clumped together. My last pack was dry and I could mix it easy into coco. This seems to wet and will be real hard to mix in good. Is this normal?????

Thanks cap the packs are killing it

BG

 

[pRiMo303]

Absolutely on the Orca.

My recommendation is that you never make the same tea twice on a run. Vary the following values:

1. Amount of feed.

2. Initial pH of solution before inoculation (especially this)

3. Recipe.

4. Amount of time you run air in the brewer before inoculation.

5. Setting of your air pump (DO level).

6. Temperature.

7. Length of brew

What this will guarantee is that you get the most diverse biolife in your soil possible. Not all bacteria/fungi/protozoa like the same growing conditions. There are SO MANY different organisms in caps packs and they can't all thrive under the same exact conditions. If one type blooms under a specific set of conditions--perhaps it eats a smaller population of a different type before it can even get a good foothold.

You don't want to follow the same exact process every single time.

I would develop at least a 5 recipe rotation where you vary the above values in different ways to guarantee the most diversity possible.

I don't think I've ever brewed tea exactly the same way twice--I just wing it every time (I also start off with a very dilute mix of my nutrient solution).

Squig,

I have always been of the same school of thought. My approach to diversity has always been brewing 2-3 mini batches of tea, add them to res, then water in. Each batch will have slightly varying ingredients, start times, temps, etc.