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tutorial Beginner's guide to AACT/Compost Tea

Lavatung said:
Guano is actually Spanish for "dung". Meaning anything that comes out of an ass. Look it up wise guy.
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Farts come out of an ass... ;) Have you seen any guano for sale in Australia Lavatung? I think its a bit exotic for Australia where there is such a rural tradition of using cow, horse, sheep and chicken manure for fertilizer.
 
Guano gas mega. Nah dude, I've only seen regular ol chook shit. I reckon you could score some bat shit up north though. I was in Cairns a few yrs ago, F me there are a few bats up there. The sky almost turns black when they fly over & everyone runs for cover hehe.
 
Lavatung said:
Guano is actually Spanish for "dung". Meaning anything that comes out of an ass. Look it up wise guy.
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Yes, which is why I said "traditional guano" in reference to bats not seabird guano which is different.
My point was why so many different terms? Why isn't it worm manure or chicken castings? ;)
Wise guy? I didn't know I was mafioso? :lol:
 
Wow thanks for this info guys. I am making a batch tonight should have foam tomorrow.

I have old frozen bananas in my freezer, think they would work for the sugar/carbon substitute for the molasses?
 
ATX EFX said:
I have old frozen bananas in my freezer, think they would work for the sugar/carbon substitute for the molasses?
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I don't know about that. I am not sure if the oil in the bananas would cause harm to the bacteria or not.
If you don't have molasses you can use table sugar, maple syrup or even fruit juice I have read.
 
Just to let you guys know, the Bananas worked like a charm! I am constantly freezing bananas so they don't spoil.
It's either my family eats them all quickly, or they sit for days and spoil. Now i have a use for the brown ones nobody wants to eat!

I would imagine that Spoiled fruits and veggies not only have the sugars needed but other micro nutrients that will help to.
Next I will try spoiled apples. My wife just brought home bags of apples and pears from a Fall festival.
 
Found this thought I'd share.

I don't yet have a worm bin for my garden, but what I do have is a mealworm bin for my hedgehog, who enjoys the little things more than anything in the world. Does anyone possibly have any experience with mealworm poop? I've about five gallons of the stuff right now, a very fine grey powdery material, and I'm wondering what the hell to do with it.

UPDATE: I did some digging! Insect poop is called "frass" - and according to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frass - "It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi content. Frass is a microbial inoculant, also known as a soil inoculant, that promotes plant health using beneficial microbes. It is a large nutrient contributor to the rainforest, and it can often be seen in leaf mines."

-From a site on setting up mealworm bins for your birds - "Mealworm frass is an exquisite plant fertilizer – indoors and out. We do, however, recommend not having it on the top of the soil for indoor plants as watering it will enhance its odor. Otherwise, we’ve not met any kind of plant – leafing, flowering, or fruiting - that doesn’t love mealworm frass."

-Someone did an article about it over at another growing site, but I'm not sure on IC's rules about posting links to other grow forums, is it allowed?

-I've found frass for sale from hydrostores online. It's suggested that frass A)Kills fungus gnats, B)kills root-feeding nematodes, and C)It contains, and I don't know how believable this one is, I hope microbeman stops by "6+ TRILLION cfu/gm(Is gm a typo there? Do they mean g?); no other biologic source comes close - 100 Billion Fungi spores per gram"

If any of those claims are true I've some awesome stuff on my hands!

Since the mealworm bin needed cleaning anyway, I might as well save the frass. Apparently frass is made up of eggs and poop, so I will have to save it for a couple weeks with some oats, let the larvae hatch, and then sift them out. After that though I should have a bucketful of frass!

Unfortunately I'm not growing that wonderful good green(for a variety of reasons) right now, but I'm going to try a side-by-side with some tomatoes indoors, and then a side-by-side out in the main garden. It's a start to figuring out the effect this stuff will have. The worms will be here regardless, but if I can get a fertilizer out of them as well they're paying their way twice.

- Mr. S
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I got my son a Bearded Dragon for Christmas and they love these little guys. So I found a easy tutorial to farm them, and then it hit me... MEALWORM TEA!!! the article above was the results of the first google search.
link Sure it is a link from a unreliable source, but I still feel like it is worth invetigating.
 
Oh yeah I got head.
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Proud Marine Dad said:
I don't know about that. I am not sure if the oil in the bananas would cause harm to the bacteria or not.
If you don't have molasses you can use table sugar, maple syrup or even fruit juice I have read.
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Oil doesn't harm the bacteria it just kills the head. Oil will float to the top while the bacteria will be swimming all through that tea.
 
I'm not sure if this question has already been asked. I only have a couple of plants and I water them every 2-3 days. Foam usually builds up in about 36 hours for my 3 gallon bucket and I could only use at least a gallon for all my plants' foliar feeding and soi watering.

My question is how long can I keep my tea brewing. Do I need to discard any unused tea (even if it's aerated 24/7) or I can keep it for another 2-3 days until the next feeding?

Thanks!
 
jlacosta said:
My question is how long can I keep my tea brewing. Do I need to discard any unused tea (even if it's aerated 24/7) or I can keep it for another 2-3 days until the next feeding?

Thanks!
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Keep feeding it and providing the ideal conditions and it will last forever. Some Brand name Whiskey and Bread companies have used the same batches of starter yeast for over 100 years to maintain a consistent DNA\Flavor.

EDIT: Just add some Chlorine Free water, and a source of sugars and it should keep going.
 
Cayennemist said:
Keep feeding it and providing the ideal conditions and it will last forever. Some Brand name Whiskey and Bread companies have used the same batches of starter yeast for over 100 years to maintain a consistent DNA\Flavor.
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Wow! That's actually amazing. Reminds me of a soup in China who is rumored to be more than a hundred years old (and still cooking).
 
bigbodybussey said:
IMPO - in establishing the beneficial microbes within the soil and on the plants, I would dose (to the roots and through foliar feeding) once a week for 4 weeks and then once every 30 - 45 days. I also dose after heavy rain to boost the numbers of bacteria on the leaves and to prevent opportunistic leaf spot.
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I am curious about the regulation of feeding advised. I am simply asking as per my assumptions only (I am no expert in this). In my mind, once you foliar feed the plants a few hours before sunrise or after sundown, the plants should be able to feed on the nutrients until the stomata closes or when the tea evaporates. Will there be anything left for the plant to absorb the following day or plants don't need to be foliar fed daily?

The reason I am also asking is because I am trying to get rid of aphids and whiteflies at the moment and I was worried about spraying too much tea on my 3 plants and a dozen or so seedlings. So I turn to regular H2O for the next 2-3 days after using tea.
 
jlacosta said:
I am curious about the regulation of feeding advised. I am simply asking as per my assumptions only (I am no expert in this). In my mind, once you foliar feed the plants a few hours before sunrise or after sundown, the plants should be able to feed on the nutrients until the stomata closes or when the tea evaporates. Will there be anything left for the plant to absorb the following day or plants don't need to be foliar fed daily?

The reason I am also asking is because I am trying to get rid of aphids and whiteflies at the moment and I was worried about spraying too much tea on my 3 plants and a dozen or so seedlings. So I turn to regular H2O for the next 2-3 days after using tea.
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The Tea will leave a layer of BioFilm on the leaves after the Tea dries. This will aid in preventing aphids and white flies. It's not 100%, but give it a shot and come back on here and tell us your results in like a week.

I don't use any pesticides, just AACT. The only 2 pests I have to fight are horn worms and snails.
 
Cayennemist said:
The Tea will leave a layer of BioFilm on the leaves after the Tea dries. This will aid in preventing aphids and white flies. It's not 100%, but give it a shot and come back on here and tell us your results in like a week.

I don't use any pesticides, just AACT. The only 2 pests I have to fight are horn worms and snails.
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I had to research what you meant about biofilm. Watched this video and for sure, I got what you meant.
I guess I should stop on the H2O spraying and let AACT do it's magic.
 
Yessir!

Good job finding the video! Yeah this stuff works, and it is great for people like me who tend to over love plants. Its hard to over do it with AACT.
People seem to think organic is all about hippy, dippies, tree huggers. Sure I like nature, but I come from a small hick town that's #1 resource is the timber industry.
I'm no yuppy! I just see the science behind nature.

If it ain't broke, don't synthesize it for financial gains. *cough* miracle grow. *cough*
 
First batch of brew ever!! My recipe..
Two hand fulls of worm castings
Some Molasses (just poured what looked good)
Crushed Crab Shell (small hand full)
Peruvian Seabird guano (small hand full)
Fish/Kelp emulsion (large dribble)
Extreme Myocorrhizae (just a little bit)

24 hours later... WOOT!
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This thread has really got me exited about feeding my plants now. Not too hard to throw all your different goodies into a sack and wait a day to have some brew for your babies! If only brewing beer was this easy!
 
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