Since mother plants stay in their soil for long periods and are usually kept as small as possible, it's not imperative to add ferts to their soil mixes. Teas can be made from Bat & Seabird Guanos; Bone, Blood & Kelp Meals; and nutritious ashes. Cottonseed meal is acidic and a good source of Nitrogen. The plants will still want sources of Phosphorus & Potassium.
There are slightly different methods of making tea. We put a pot of water on the stove and mix in the solid organic ferts. For very acidic or alkaline ferts, the correct amount of pH adjuster is also added. We turn on the burner to its lowest setting and keep an eye on the pot as it slowly heats, stirring regularly. We turn off the heat once the pot starts to steam. The pot is kept around this temperature for a few hours with occasional stirring. The pot is then allowed to cool for at least a few hours, usually overnight. At least the last hour or two there is no stirring and the solids settle to the bottom. From here, the quick way is to pour the liquid out slowly with most of the solids staying in the bottom. To get all of the nutrients out, the tea should be filtered through a few layers of damp cloth. It should be wet with water first so it doesn't soak up as much tea. Old sheets work well and higher threadcount means a finer filter. The cloth can be layed in a colander or funnel on top of a pitcher. Pour it all through the fabric, rinsing the pot with water and pouring that through as well. The cloth is then twisted up and most of the remaining liquid squeezed out into the pitcher. Any liquid or easily soluble ferts are added next. Dilution & final pH adjustment are performed, if required, and the tea is done.
