compost tea

Balduvian

Balduvian

quick question ive heard you use 1 part compost tea to 5 parts water when watering or spraying plants, so my question is i would need five 5gallon buckets of dechlorinated to mix with the compost tea in order not to kill the bacteria when i mixed the two correct?
 
i think most will use it without diluting it but i usually do a 1:1 mix. I think the best way to keep them alive tho is to use it right away. The longer you wait to use, the more microbes will die off if im not mistaken. So whatever you do use it right away
 
im gunna use
fish emulsion/seaweed(liquid)
bat guano(high phos)
grass clippings
molasses
worm castings
mushroom manu
 
a man i cant come up with Molasses nor corn syrup can i just use white sugar? i was reading somewhere u can.
 
Sick625 said:
a man i cant come up with Molasses nor corn syrup can i just use white sugar? i was reading somewhere u can.
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You can, but the microbial activity seems to be slightly delayed if you use white sugar.  Just be sure to go at least 48 hours on the brew.
 
chsy83 said:
 
You can, but the microbial activity seems to be slightly delaid if you use white sugar.  Just be sure to go at least 48 hours on the brew.
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thnxs for the response & how much sugar for a 5 gallon bucket About?
 
I dilute 1 part tea 5 parts water. I don't dechlorinate the water first.

Also if you're wondering about measurements...

A gallon is 16 cups. 16 cups divided by 6 = 2.66666

So 2.5 (close enough for me) cups of tea and then just fill the jug the rest of the way. It also helps to have a bunch of different jugs that way you don't have to stop to refill after every plant
 
Balduvian said:
but if chlorine kills the bacteria wouldn't mixing the tea in chlorine water just kill it?
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A lot of us guess that the chlorine isn't strong enough to kill a big colony of bacteria. And a frothy tea is proof.
 
But if it's regular chlorine, it dissipates with time or agitation.
 
Or if it's chloramines, it dissipates after a longer time, or is rendered harmless with some citric acid.
 
Froth does NOT indicate microbial activity and I don't know what makes people think it does.
Balduvian said:
but if chlorine kills the bacteria wouldn't mixing the tea in chlorine water just kill it?
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It can kill some of it yes so aerate the water for 45 mins to an hour first.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Froth does NOT indicate microbial activity and I don't know what makes people think it does.
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You caught me regurgitating info, but i've never seen anything indicate otherwise though.
 
I'll try to catch up on the topic soon, especially because i'm always breeding colonies of Serenade bacteria (fungicide).
 
You caught me regurgitating info, but i've never seen anything indicate otherwise though.

I'll try to catch up on the topic soon, especially because i'm always breeding colonies of Serenade bacteria (fungicide).


While foam on a non aerated mixture would be an indication of microbial activity, the aeration provided by a bubbler would provide the air and a suitable phytochemical extracted say from compost, kelp, or grass clippings would provide the structure to support a matrix of bubbles (foam). Agitated black tea has foam.
 
Sick625 said:
a man i cant come up with Molasses nor corn syrup can i just use white sugar? i was reading somewhere u can.
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just throw in a over-ripe banana or strawberry (or any other sweet fruit which will get moldy easily if left open) ... thats what your "clients" will be thriving at in the tea as well... I'd rather stay clear of white sugar, as its refined and treated with some chemicals, etc...
 
cheers, Al
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
I never dilute it. Straight up foliar and soil drench.
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same here.
 
If you use white sugar, add it to the water the day before just to make sure it dilutes and the excess bleach is cone.
 
Cayennemist said:
same here.
 
If you use white sugar, add it to the water the day before just to make sure it dilutes and the excess bleach is cone.
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Let's per say I have my 5 gallon bucket going right now , if it doesn't foam up after 48hrs can I still use it or what shuld I do?
 
if you don't use molasses it won't foam up besides around the edges, you could just use rotten fruit instead of sugar

rain water is the best, even leaving city water out for 24 hours doesn't give me the same results rain water does
 
also if you leave it for more than 24 hours the foam goes down
 
cactusMD said:
if you don't use molasses it won't foam up besides around the edges, you could just use rotten fruit instead of sugar

rain water is the best, even leaving city water out for 24 hours doesn't give me the same results rain water does
 
also if you leave it for more than 24 hours the foam goes down
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Learned something here thnxs , so aftr 24 hours of bubbling & no foam at all I can use it still or no?
 
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