My first attempt at a tea

FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I decided to try and make a tea for my autos with the DTE dry amendments I have as the strain I'm growing is supposed to be a very heavy feeder and I have never done it before so it's a chance to learn something new. I don't have an air stone yet so I hillbilly engineered my own with a support from my plants and an old air line from my kids aquarium.... don't judge me:bigjoint:, you do what you can right? I have it in the bathroom so I blow into it several times every time I'm in there or walking by. It seems to be doing something because now there are little bubbles like decomposition from a pond coming up from the bottom of the jug which is what I think is the point but I'm not sure. It sure as hell smells like it belongs in the bathroom. I'm going to use it after 48 hours and strain it through a colander and some pantyhose. Other than the lack of an air stone should I have done anything differently? Waited less time or more perhaps? What about the crud in the colander and pantyhose? DTE says to mulch it in, is that okay to do? It just seems like a soggy fungus gnat magnet to me sitting on top of the soil. Here's a pic of the soup on top.Thanks for the help again.IMG_20211107_164051325.jpg
 
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Gumdrawp

Well-Known Member
The only thing that scares me is you say it smells like it should be in the bathroom. The nose knows usually in the case of teas, bad teas smell like shit. Good teas smell like earth/mushrooms. At least that's how it was always explained to me and it's the rule of thumb I've always followed.
 
green_machine_two9er

green_machine_two9er

Well-Known Member
Gumdrawp said:
The only thing that scares me is you say it smells like it should be in the bathroom. The nose knows usually in the case of teas, bad teas smell like shit. Good teas smell like earth/mushrooms. At least that's how it was always explained to me and it's the rule of thumb I've always followed.
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Great advice.

FirstCavApache64 said:
I decided to try and make a tea for my autos with the DTE dry amendments I have as the strain I'm growing is supposed to be a very heavy feeder and I have never done it before so it's a chance to learn something new. I don't have an air stone yet so I hillbilly engineered my own with a support from my plants and an old air line from my kids aquarium.... don't judge me:bigjoint:, you do what you can right? I have it in the bathroom so I blow into it several times every time I'm in there or walking by. It seems to be doing something because now there are little bubbles like decomposition from a pond coming up from the bottom of the jug which is what I think is the point but I'm not sure. It sure as hell smells like it belongs in the bathroom. I'm going to use it after 48 hours and strain it through a colander and some pantyhose. Other than the lack of an air stone should I have done anything differently? Waited less time or more perhaps? What about the crud in the colander and pantyhose? DTE says to mulch it in, is that okay to do? It just seems like a soggy fungus gnat magnet to me sitting on top of the soil. Here's a pic of the soup on top.Thanks for the help again.View attachment 5024344
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My main question is why not just top dress those high quality amendments. Scratch into top inch of soil and Cover with castings. Nutrients will break down fast when In the soil itself. Those bits of food need biology to make them plant available. Snd without the aid of proper fermentation I’d be sacred to use something like you posted there.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I'm just starting out with organics and I thought with top dressing by the time the nutrients would really start to be available my autos are going to be going into flower. Nothing wrong with feeding them 4-4-4- then, I think, but I'm really trying to get it into the system quicker for the upcoming stretch so I could top dress with the flower girl amendments in a few weeks. That was the thinking behind trying to do a tea. I figured it might take effect quicker. It smells really earthy and funky, not quite like manure but still rank. Maybe I'll toss this batch on some of the outdoor mountain laurel bushes and see how they like it and get an air stone to brew up the next batch.
 
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Gumdrawp

Well-Known Member
FirstCavApache64 said:
I'm just starting out with organics and I thought with top dressing by the time the nutrients would really start to be available my autos are going to be going into flower. Nothing wrong with feeding them 4-4-4- then, I think, but I'm really trying to get it into the system quicker for the upcoming stretch so I could top dress with the flower girl amendments in a few weeks. That was the thinking behind trying to do a tea. I figured it might take effect quicker. It smells really earthy and funky, not quite like manure but still rank. Maybe I'll toss this batch on some of the outdoor mountain laurel bushes and see how they like it and get an air stone to brew up the next batch.
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It's probably not that bad but generally you don't want a bad smell at all coming from your tea. I was also always told to never use manures/guanos in teas because of the elevated risk of really bad things like e coli getting into the mix. Honestly I rarely brew teas ever anymore and only use it as a vehicle to move some microbiology around more than for feeding. If you were to water a really microbially active solution over your top dress it will release nutrients just the same as the tea in a much safer manner in my opinion, I'll usually throw a little kelp meal and some fulvic in a 5gal with a stone and then put in about a half cup of vermicompost mix well then let it bubble for about an hour and water it in. I want to dislodge and to get as much diversity of microbes into the soil as possible, not let them outcompete each other for 2 days in a bucket.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I have some real growers Recharge that doesn't need to be bubbled or made into a tea. It can just be mixed and added to boost virgin type soil like mine with low levels of microbes and nutrients. That's might be a good way to go with a top dressing of the 4-4-4- of the DTE dry amendments until I start to see some pre flowers. Then maybe I'll do another shot of the recharge and the flower girl top dressing per Dr. Earth's levels. The recharge can be used every week with soil this new I think. It's virgin Roots organic potting soil. My goal is to slowly transition from these dry amendments to living soil as I try to understand how I can make true organics work with smaller containers and being disabled which limits some of the things I can do like mixing big batches of stuff from scratch. It's a ton of reading so far and a lot of science over my head so the common sense break down is much appreciated.
 
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Gumdrawp

Well-Known Member
FirstCavApache64 said:
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I have some real growers Recharge that doesn't need to be bubbled or made into a tea. It can just be mixed and added to boost virgin type soil like mine with low levels of microbes and nutrients. That's might be a good way to go with a top dressing of the 4-4-4- of the DTE dry amendments until I start to see some pre flowers. Then maybe I'll do another shot of the recharge and the flower girl top dressing per Dr. Earth's levels. The recharge can be used every week with soil this new I think. It's virgin Roots organic potting soil. My goal is to slowly transition from these dry amendments to living soil as I try to understand how I can make true organics work with smaller containers and being disabled which limits some of the things I can do like mixing big batches of stuff from scratch. It's a ton of reading so far and a lot of science over my head so the common sense break down is much appreciated.
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For sure every grow is different and you'll definitely get better over time, the only people that can fail are people who aren't willing to learn. Smaller pots can definitely work you just have to remix your soil every run and top dress a little more often, bigger pots lets you just reamend and replant in the same pot.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Thanks, for most of the autos I run 3 gallons are fine. Some do need 5 gallons to really get the max potential but I can live with 80% most of the time. With photos I like to have 7 gallons or 10/15 if it's just one plant in a scrog but that's as big as I can physically handle pot wise. Outside I'd love to do them in ground but my best spot is on the deck so far until we clear some of my property for better sunlight. They look good for two weeks, and are starting to get darker. I was really worried in the beginning how pale they were but they are doing better now. I'm just way more "newbie jumpy" than I ever am because it's a whole new approach to feeding the plant. I know what to do to fix issues in my salt nute plants, it's just being out of my element so far makes everything seem way worse and more so with auto flowers cuz there's not much time to recover from screwing them up. Thanks for taking the time to respond and help.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Just wanted to post an update and to say thanks for the advice. I tossed the tea on the bushes who didn't seem to mind at all, then top dressed the Bubba Trouble with the DTE 4-4-4 and used the Recharge stuff I had. The growth has been really impressive and they look nice and healthy other than some minor light stress. Thanks for the advice to scrap the homebrew. Here's a shot of the girls.IMG_20211115_233016954.jpgIMG_20211115_232842159.jpg
 
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