I'm use AACT exclusively and one of the strong points is its ability to fend off aphids. I will admit that it is a bit of work to get every leaf top and bottom once a week, but I feel it is worth not seeing any aphids or aphid damage. Caterpillars on the other hand, they are a bit tougher to get rid of.
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If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.
tutorial Beginner's guide to AACT/Compost Tea
- Thread starter bigbodybussey
- Start date
I'm use AACT exclusively and one of the strong points is its ability to fend off aphids. I will admit that it is a bit of work to get every leaf top and bottom once a week, but I feel it is worth not seeing any aphids or aphid damage. Caterpillars on the other hand, they are a bit tougher to get rid of.
Ok, so I making a tea. I used:
Rain water
Mushroom compost
Pro mix organic mix with sea based compost and mycos
A clump of soil and grass from the yard
Humid acid
Bat guano
General hydroponics bio weed, seaweed
A new line from black label including: zym, which is supposed to support benificial bacteria growth.
Root-which supposedly helps repair damaged roots and new root growth.
Big bud-which is high in P and K
Some other micro Nutrients
To get to my question, I forgot to add sugar!
My tea is foaming up (it's been about 13hrs)
Should I add sugar now or leave it be?
Rain water
Mushroom compost
Pro mix organic mix with sea based compost and mycos
A clump of soil and grass from the yard
Humid acid
Bat guano
General hydroponics bio weed, seaweed
A new line from black label including: zym, which is supposed to support benificial bacteria growth.
Root-which supposedly helps repair damaged roots and new root growth.
Big bud-which is high in P and K
Some other micro Nutrients
To get to my question, I forgot to add sugar!
My tea is foaming up (it's been about 13hrs)
Should I add sugar now or leave it be?
id go ahead and use it
ok.. im having a bit of trouble with my aact.. while it "appears" to not hurt my plants, after a few aps it doesnt seem to be helping really.. and my biggest concern is that i never seem to get a big foam. the finished teas always smell the same.. fishy, earthy, and very faintly of poo.. i should also note that it does seem to have helped with my bac spot..
i still have a bunch of healthy plants that never had the bac spot that have showd no results.. maybe im not being patient enough? they have only had 3 treatments.. i was just concerned because of the lack of the big foam ^.^
any thoughts there hot pepper?
my ingredients:
2 cups of worm castings
3/4 cup of indonesian bat guano
1/2 cup of veggie compost from my composter
a good sized handful of kale leaves..
4 tbsp of extreme gardenings mycos
4 tbsp of unsulfered molassas
1 btsp of bonide fish fert.
i use cheese cloth for the bag.. and a good bait areator, and a 7 gal bucket 3/4 full of rain water or off gassed tap water..
what am i missing?
if your going to brew it, longer then you might want to feed it.. but im really not an expert.. i cant get mine to foam at all.. but i do understand bacteria.. the longer it brews the more fuel it will need
i still have a bunch of healthy plants that never had the bac spot that have showd no results.. maybe im not being patient enough? they have only had 3 treatments.. i was just concerned because of the lack of the big foam ^.^
any thoughts there hot pepper?
my ingredients:
2 cups of worm castings
3/4 cup of indonesian bat guano
1/2 cup of veggie compost from my composter
a good sized handful of kale leaves..
4 tbsp of extreme gardenings mycos
4 tbsp of unsulfered molassas
1 btsp of bonide fish fert.
i use cheese cloth for the bag.. and a good bait areator, and a 7 gal bucket 3/4 full of rain water or off gassed tap water..
what am i missing?
if your going to brew it, longer then you might want to feed it.. but im really not an expert.. i cant get mine to foam at all.. but i do understand bacteria.. the longer it brews the more fuel it will need
I realize there are endless possibilities in terms of recipes for AACT ... and that a great many can and will work ...
But can someone who has made a great number of them over a long period of time post the simplest recipe that could possibly work? ...
I would greatly appreciate that ...
But can someone who has made a great number of them over a long period of time post the simplest recipe that could possibly work? ...
I would greatly appreciate that ...
Imo i would back off the [background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]unsulfered molassas to just One Teaspoon, (I just say that because in my experience molassas acts like cooking oil kinda lide a lubrication which cuts away the foam, I personally use a small amount of cooking oil to have about nill foam)[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]from what i have read is that to much "food" the micros organisms will multiply to fast to the point of using up more Oxygen then is in the water then will die off or worse case to anaerobic which is what you do not want.[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Just Yesterday Morning at 7am i started a 50 gallon batch, checked it before going to bed around 10pm ...woke up at 6 am today ...went downstairs to check it and seen the main tubing supplied from the air pump had popped off the fitting so i wasn't to sure how long the tea had gone with out air...the water temp was at 19c or around 66 degrees F and it did not smell bad at all, so i rehooked up the air line removed the gallon of compost and replaced it with new and fired it up again.. and will apply it about dark tonight.[/background]
For the 55 gallon container i am now using i only use about 2 Tablespoons of Molasass and about 3 Tablespoons of Peanut oil to cut back the Foam, its so much easier to clean with out the foam but when i first started making tea out of the 55 gallon container i had so much foam it was overspilling big time and quite the mess to clean up.
Oxygen is one of the biggest keys imo the pump i am using has a manifold that came with it with 28 outlets, I plugged 8 of them and run 20 ....2" X 2" airstones and another important thing to do is to have at least one of your airstones right in the bag of your compost so it can assist getting the micro-organisms free, the pump is a 520W ... 450lpm with a 1/2" id fitting...its loud and gets hot but that is what i have to use.
Thats how i started out but now i add 4 different kinds of bat poo, Liquid and ground solid Kelp, "Hydrolyzed fish protein (has molasses in it also),Humic acid, corn meal, oats and have seriously thought about putting in fine ground supper hot dried chilles in to act as a possible deterrent for critters .
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]from what i have read is that to much "food" the micros organisms will multiply to fast to the point of using up more Oxygen then is in the water then will die off or worse case to anaerobic which is what you do not want.[/background]
[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Just Yesterday Morning at 7am i started a 50 gallon batch, checked it before going to bed around 10pm ...woke up at 6 am today ...went downstairs to check it and seen the main tubing supplied from the air pump had popped off the fitting so i wasn't to sure how long the tea had gone with out air...the water temp was at 19c or around 66 degrees F and it did not smell bad at all, so i rehooked up the air line removed the gallon of compost and replaced it with new and fired it up again.. and will apply it about dark tonight.[/background]
For the 55 gallon container i am now using i only use about 2 Tablespoons of Molasass and about 3 Tablespoons of Peanut oil to cut back the Foam, its so much easier to clean with out the foam but when i first started making tea out of the 55 gallon container i had so much foam it was overspilling big time and quite the mess to clean up.
Oxygen is one of the biggest keys imo the pump i am using has a manifold that came with it with 28 outlets, I plugged 8 of them and run 20 ....2" X 2" airstones and another important thing to do is to have at least one of your airstones right in the bag of your compost so it can assist getting the micro-organisms free, the pump is a 520W ... 450lpm with a 1/2" id fitting...its loud and gets hot but that is what i have to use.
I have only made tea this year so not real experienced yet only making like 6 or7 batches so far but i would say Fresh worm castings along with your best compost and avoid anything that is not organic.
Thats how i started out but now i add 4 different kinds of bat poo, Liquid and ground solid Kelp, "Hydrolyzed fish protein (has molasses in it also),Humic acid, corn meal, oats and have seriously thought about putting in fine ground supper hot dried chilles in to act as a possible deterrent for critters .
I hate to use this site again for a source but i remembered read about humic acids in aact and this was the first place i found a link stating it. See the note below the humic acid.
http://www.compostjunkie.com/CompostJunkie-Store-Ingredients.html#individualfood
Says can delay the bacterias growth. So would use sparingly.
GrantM,
This is my recipe which im done about four times with great visual response from my plants. And i put it on everything potted from the wifes plants, the raised beds with tomatoes, to the pepper garden and everything shows major differences within two days.
I bubble off the chlorine for four to six hours in five gallon bucket full up to about an inch below the top.
then in cheese cloth i add...
one handful of worm compost
one handful of garden dirt
one handful of grass, freshly riped out of the yard
about one to four teaspoons of an organic fertilizer that contains kelp meal, alfalfa meal, mycos, bat guano, humic acid, and other beneficial bacteria. I vary this based on how much food i think they really need. I add less when doing an additonal or weekly batch.
and i know this has humic acid in it. But such a small amount it hasn't seem to hold anything back.
its this... http://www.pikenursery.com/garden-center/garden-care/fertilizer/all-purpose-plant-food-5-5-5.html
tie it off on both ends. And suspend it right above the airstones so it sits about an inch or two below the surface.
I found a spot up the bottom of the driveway in the drain off ditch were pine straw and leaves collect with a ton of worm compost under it. And i have used store bought worm compost with equal success.
i then add about one big tablespoon unsulfered molasses , by just pouring directly in. Guesstimating.
I let it bubble for atleast 48 hours.
i think with using the whole 5 gallon bucket you get a buffer on the amounts so you dont have to be exact.
i have not ever added fish. But that may change soon.
i think less is better. Just the basic necessities is all i do.
and i cut it 1/3rd tea with 2/3rd water in a watering can.
i dont think u can make a bad batch as long as there is plenty of air regardless of the ingredients.
Good luck.
Peace
GA GH
http://www.compostjunkie.com/CompostJunkie-Store-Ingredients.html#individualfood
Says can delay the bacterias growth. So would use sparingly.
GrantM,
This is my recipe which im done about four times with great visual response from my plants. And i put it on everything potted from the wifes plants, the raised beds with tomatoes, to the pepper garden and everything shows major differences within two days.
I bubble off the chlorine for four to six hours in five gallon bucket full up to about an inch below the top.
then in cheese cloth i add...
one handful of worm compost
one handful of garden dirt
one handful of grass, freshly riped out of the yard
about one to four teaspoons of an organic fertilizer that contains kelp meal, alfalfa meal, mycos, bat guano, humic acid, and other beneficial bacteria. I vary this based on how much food i think they really need. I add less when doing an additonal or weekly batch.
and i know this has humic acid in it. But such a small amount it hasn't seem to hold anything back.
its this... http://www.pikenursery.com/garden-center/garden-care/fertilizer/all-purpose-plant-food-5-5-5.html
tie it off on both ends. And suspend it right above the airstones so it sits about an inch or two below the surface.
I found a spot up the bottom of the driveway in the drain off ditch were pine straw and leaves collect with a ton of worm compost under it. And i have used store bought worm compost with equal success.
i then add about one big tablespoon unsulfered molasses , by just pouring directly in. Guesstimating.
I let it bubble for atleast 48 hours.
i think with using the whole 5 gallon bucket you get a buffer on the amounts so you dont have to be exact.
i have not ever added fish. But that may change soon.
i think less is better. Just the basic necessities is all i do.
and i cut it 1/3rd tea with 2/3rd water in a watering can.
i dont think u can make a bad batch as long as there is plenty of air regardless of the ingredients.
Good luck.
Peace
GA GH
King,
I'm using General Organics as well..
Check out the ingredients in the CalMag, Grow and Bloom.
They all have either cane sugars or fermented mollasses already in them.
You may not need to add any additional sugars...
Just a heads up if you didn't already know..
"LIKE" a thousand+ C-Ron, you are the man. Thank you for that info, I was unaware. That makes me feel more confident that everything is going the way it's supposed to inside this batch. I'm going to check the rest of what I'm using to see if it contains any sugars. Awesome!
I also wanted to add that i always bubble the tea in garage and with the lid on propped up so the tubes from the airstone don't get crushed. That is a cooler spot ( way hot here in the ATL ) and do not think the light is needed.
Great results doing so.
Building the colonies is what its about. So make them happy with food to grow. Everyone's environment varies so adjust as you see fit.
i added some additional composting pinestraw with fungi growing thru it that i found out back to my last batch and it foamed even more.
Good info all thru this thread.
just do it.
peace
Great results doing so.
Building the colonies is what its about. So make them happy with food to grow. Everyone's environment varies so adjust as you see fit.
i added some additional composting pinestraw with fungi growing thru it that i found out back to my last batch and it foamed even more.
Good info all thru this thread.
just do it.
peace
I've been using worm tea for last few years with quite simplified recipe - fresh worm casting, aquarium water, old honey and about teaspoon of pelleted horse manure.
Following recipes in this topic I've changed my routine and in few last batches was added fresh grass clippings and still "hot" compost from a pile - I was in doubt since late blight already struck my tomatoes and roses, interestingly in last few years not a single pepper plant doesn't show signs of and disease even all other plants around them has been infected.
Worm tea has been used on my all plants but this 3 plants receive regular dosage cause they are my top performers for this year:
Two days later Ive noticed first signs of disease:
10 hours later anti-fungicide medication (Quadris) was applied but to my surprise about 50% of leafs are already infected and badly damaged so I cut them:
Interestingly, other plants that receive smaller or irregular dosages shows much milder signs of infestation, maybe 10% of leaves was removed:
I don't know why this happen in such brutal way, looks like spores from clippings and fresh compost multiplies in perfect condition and struck my plants in full blow.
Now I'm brewing new batch cause plants are need it badly now but I prefer my old recipe without any fresh components
Following recipes in this topic I've changed my routine and in few last batches was added fresh grass clippings and still "hot" compost from a pile - I was in doubt since late blight already struck my tomatoes and roses, interestingly in last few years not a single pepper plant doesn't show signs of and disease even all other plants around them has been infected.
Worm tea has been used on my all plants but this 3 plants receive regular dosage cause they are my top performers for this year:
Two days later Ive noticed first signs of disease:
10 hours later anti-fungicide medication (Quadris) was applied but to my surprise about 50% of leafs are already infected and badly damaged so I cut them:
Interestingly, other plants that receive smaller or irregular dosages shows much milder signs of infestation, maybe 10% of leaves was removed:
I don't know why this happen in such brutal way, looks like spores from clippings and fresh compost multiplies in perfect condition and struck my plants in full blow.
Now I'm brewing new batch cause plants are need it badly now but I prefer my old recipe without any fresh components
This brings up some questions for me personally.
Is fresh grass clippings something we would want in the compost tea?
What if it's carrying a disease? Then it is spread to the leaf surface of our plants.
It seems to me that sticking with compost that has been heated and killed all bacteria would be far less of a chance of carrying fungus or bacterial spores.
Thoughts and experiences?
Is fresh grass clippings something we would want in the compost tea?
What if it's carrying a disease? Then it is spread to the leaf surface of our plants.
It seems to me that sticking with compost that has been heated and killed all bacteria would be far less of a chance of carrying fungus or bacterial spores.
Thoughts and experiences?
UPDATE for you all.... I added a 2nd bubbler, and now have the first signs of a larger foam building. im at 40ish hours now.. gonna wait till moringing and apply. just thought you all may find this interesting.
Hello Everyone!
I have been learning a lot from everyone on this site. After reading about compost/worm tea on this thread, I decided I needed to try it out. The results of my first try are shown below:
This is my first time trying to post pictures, so please bear with me if the pictures don't load properly.
Ingredients:
3 cups worm castings
3 Tbsp Mykos
1 Tbsp fish emulsion
1 Tbsp peruvian seabird guano
1 Tbsp indonesian bat guano
1 Tbsp jamaican bat guano
6 Tbsp unsulphured molasses
1 handfull green grass clippings
Dry ingredients combined in a paint strainer:
Aeration equipment:
I aerated the bucket of tap water for 2 hours to remove the chlorine:
Complete setup:
After 12 hours:
After 24 hours:
I applied the tea to my plants shortly after the 24-hour picture was taken. The tea was brewed in my garage, which probably probably stayed between 70-85 degrees F. Overall, the process was rather easy, although I owe much of the credit to everyone who posted recipes and tips in this thread (you guys are awesome!). As you can probably tell, my recipe is a mix between several other recipes posted here, adapted to what I was able to buy at the local Hydroponics store.
Hopefully my plants like the tea, because I will probably be brewing another batch next weekend.
Thanks everyone for all the help!
Follow-up:
My first batch of worm tea (see above) was made this past weekend, but after applying the tea to my plants, I found that I didn't have the initiative (or the daylight) to spread the contents of the "teabag" on my garden. So, I re-filled the bucket with water, added 4-6 Tbsp of molasses, dropped the air stones back in, and put the "teabag" back into the bucket.
That was Sunday night. Now, about 20 hours later, I have this:
My question is: Has anyone ever re-used their "teabag" to make a second batch of tea? Are there any potential problems I should watch out for in the second batch? I would think that the nutritional value of the second batch would be lessened, since a portion of the nutrients would have leached into the first batch of tea. However, the Mykos and beneficial bacteria should all be in there, and that's the important part, right?
It looks like the second batch came out almost as good as the first, judging by the amount of froth. Not bad for a batch of tea that only cost as much as the additional molasses I added. I tend to be rather frugal, so an almost-free second batch of tea is quite appealing, especially since I have plenty of plants to apply it to. Anyway, I can see myself re-using my "teabags" in the future.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Any input is appreciated!
Thanks,
-Coot
I have been learning a lot from everyone on this site. After reading about compost/worm tea on this thread, I decided I needed to try it out. The results of my first try are shown below:
This is my first time trying to post pictures, so please bear with me if the pictures don't load properly.
Ingredients:
3 cups worm castings
3 Tbsp Mykos
1 Tbsp fish emulsion
1 Tbsp peruvian seabird guano
1 Tbsp indonesian bat guano
1 Tbsp jamaican bat guano
6 Tbsp unsulphured molasses
1 handfull green grass clippings
Dry ingredients combined in a paint strainer:
Aeration equipment:
I aerated the bucket of tap water for 2 hours to remove the chlorine:
Complete setup:
After 12 hours:
After 24 hours:
I applied the tea to my plants shortly after the 24-hour picture was taken. The tea was brewed in my garage, which probably probably stayed between 70-85 degrees F. Overall, the process was rather easy, although I owe much of the credit to everyone who posted recipes and tips in this thread (you guys are awesome!). As you can probably tell, my recipe is a mix between several other recipes posted here, adapted to what I was able to buy at the local Hydroponics store.
Hopefully my plants like the tea, because I will probably be brewing another batch next weekend.
Thanks everyone for all the help!
Follow-up:
My first batch of worm tea (see above) was made this past weekend, but after applying the tea to my plants, I found that I didn't have the initiative (or the daylight) to spread the contents of the "teabag" on my garden. So, I re-filled the bucket with water, added 4-6 Tbsp of molasses, dropped the air stones back in, and put the "teabag" back into the bucket.
That was Sunday night. Now, about 20 hours later, I have this:
My question is: Has anyone ever re-used their "teabag" to make a second batch of tea? Are there any potential problems I should watch out for in the second batch? I would think that the nutritional value of the second batch would be lessened, since a portion of the nutrients would have leached into the first batch of tea. However, the Mykos and beneficial bacteria should all be in there, and that's the important part, right?
It looks like the second batch came out almost as good as the first, judging by the amount of froth. Not bad for a batch of tea that only cost as much as the additional molasses I added. I tend to be rather frugal, so an almost-free second batch of tea is quite appealing, especially since I have plenty of plants to apply it to. Anyway, I can see myself re-using my "teabags" in the future.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Any input is appreciated!
Thanks,
-Coot
Well, after the second batch, I cut the bag open and spread the contents around the bases of about a dozen plants. I was actually going to do that yesterday when I completed the first batch, but I ran out of daylight.
After you watered your plants through the tea bag, did you open the bag and dump out the contents, or just leave it there all wrapped up? I would think that leaving it wrapped up would possibly cause it to go anaerobic? Just wondering.
Thanks for the tip!
-Coot
After you watered your plants through the tea bag, did you open the bag and dump out the contents, or just leave it there all wrapped up? I would think that leaving it wrapped up would possibly cause it to go anaerobic? Just wondering.
Thanks for the tip!
-Coot