Worm / Guano Tea

[El Jardinero]

After growing in hydro setups for roughly 2 years now, I'm moving more towards a soil less hydroponics. Though deep water culture hydroponics produce great quality plants, it also requires just a bit more attention than I can currently give. That said, in a larger scale setup, soil less hydroponics will cut out the worries of having to check and correct PH balance in the water, making sure the air pumps are constantly working and changing out the reservoirs. I will keep a smaller setup though, still awesome to see the fast growth!

So now that I'll mainly be growing in a coco/perlite mix, I decided to give organic nutrients a try ... enter the worm/guano tea.
I've read and seen so many good things about it, especially the fact that it's easy to make. I found a local soil company that carries quality items at a great price. Below is the recipe I'm gonna try out. I'd appreciate any input or suggestions on tea recipes.

1/2 Cup Worm Castings
1/2 Cup Bat Guano (High in Nitrogen)
1/2 Cup Organic Compost
5 Tbs Molasses
5 Tbs Liquid Seaweed
5 Gallons of Water

Brewed for minimum of 24 hrs with air stones.

Gonna try it out on some week / dying pepper plants that were picked up at a local nursery.
Please chime in on any suggestions. I'll be keeping a log on this progress.

 

[nitwit]

are you planning on using raw or "cooked" bat poo and compost?

i would think a cup of stuff from a cave or pile of rotting who knows what
might have nasty unwanted stuff in it.

you may wish to cook that crap before breeding stuff with molasses
i think the worm crap has beneficials but what the 'bugs' in
the bat butt or compost pile are i don't know and/or would not trust

maybe if it smells okay?

 

[El Jardinero]

The bat guano is already composted by beetles, like worms make castings. See product description below.

"It is mined from the Bracken Cave which is a brood cave to 20 million mother bats. The guano is harvested when the bats leave for the winter and after the two species of scarab beetles have completely processed all of the droppings. Safe and free of any dangerous pathogens."

Thanks for looking out. Bad bacteria would not be cool.

 

[arijer]

Hi

Please understand that i am no expert.... now saying that... .lol

You are using imho way too much molasses. I use only 1 Tbs for 5 gallons of water. Good thick molasses has a lot of carbs in it. 1 Tbs is more then the bacteria need to start growing. Second thing, Bat Guano is extremely basic in nature. Check your pH after you make this tea. Looking at the recipe i think you will find that it is way up past 7. I always add 2 Tbs of Coffee grounds to balance the pH for each Tbs of Bat Guano i put in. I also add 1/2 cup of Ancient Humus into the mix and a shot of Great White for added microrizhae. That last part is after the Tea is brewed and before i water the plants. It add a lot of good beneficial Mircrorizhae that the bat guano does not have.

 

[El Jardinero]

Hi

Please understand that i am no expert.... now saying that... .lol

You are using imho way too much molasses. I use only 1 Tbs for 5 gallons of water. Good thick molasses has a lot of carbs in it. 1 Tbs is more then the bacteria need to start growing. Second thing, Bat Guano is extremely basic in nature. Check your pH after you make this tea. Looking at the recipe i think you will find that it is way up past 7. I always add 2 Tbs of Coffee grounds to balance the pH for each Tbs of Bat Guano i put in. I also add 1/2 cup of Ancient Humus into the mix and a shot of Great White for added microrizhae. That last part is after the Tea is brewed and before i water the plants. It add a lot of good beneficial Mircrorizhae that the bat guano does not have.

Thanks for the input ... I just checked my pH and it's roughly at 7.5 Do you add used coffee grounds or does fresh coffee also?
I was going by the label that said 1 ounce per gallon of water ... I just cut it in half. I guess that's the measurement if I'm just adding the molasses to the soil directly?

 

[arijer]

Thanks for the input ... I just checked my pH and it's roughly at 7.5 Do you add used coffee grounds or does fresh coffee also?
I was going by the label that said 1 ounce per gallon of water ... I just cut it in half. I guess that's the measurement if I'm just adding the molasses to the soil directly?

Yes that is right, that is for the soil. The Molases is there partly for the plants and partly for bacterial growth. 1 Tbs is more then enough. You dont want to make the tea too strong and burn the plants. As for the coffee. Yes coffee grounds. Fresh coffee is too strong. I would suggest 1 to 1 1/2 cups of coffee grounds. Starbucks has 5 lb bags that they give out free of their coffee grounds for their "gardner program" all you need to do is go in and ask. it should last a good while for making compost tea. Hope this helps. that pH of 7.5 is definitly not the best for pepper growth. I dont think that it will kill the plants but it also changes the growth habit of bacteria and which ones will be predominant in your tea. I find that a pH of 5.8 to 6.2 is ideal for my compost tea.

I hope this helps.

If you want me recipes i will be glad to PM them to you

thanks
Gabe

 

[El Jardinero]

Yes that is right, that is for the soil. The Molases is there partly for the plants and partly for bacterial growth. 1 Tbs is more then enough. You dont want to make the tea too strong and burn the plants. As for the coffee. Yes coffee grounds. Fresh coffee is too strong. I would suggest 1 to 1 1/2 cups of coffee grounds. Starbucks has 5 lb bags that they give out free of their coffee grounds for their "gardner program" all you need to do is go in and ask. it should last a good while for making compost tea. Hope this helps. that pH of 7.5 is definitly not the best for pepper growth. I dont think that it will kill the plants but it also changes the growth habit of bacteria and which ones will be predominant in your tea. I find that a pH of 5.8 to 6.2 is ideal for my compost tea.

I hope this helps.

If you want me recipes i will be glad to PM them to you

thanks
Gabe

I really appreciate your input and yes, when you have a chance, I'd like to check out some of your recipes.

Below are some photos of the products I used ... roughly $28 for the Bat Guano, Worm Castings, Molasses, Liquid Seaweed and Compost.
Their stuff has great reviews. I've only used their compost and have nothing but good things to say.



Threw in a shot of the brew after I put in the air stones.

 

[arijer]

I am sure it is good stuff. I am just getting to the point of being comfortable with what brands i like. I think the main thing for you is a less molasses and add some pH balancer to improve the Tea. If you dont have coffee grounds then just add pH lowering agent, although its kind of self defeating if you are going organic, lol

Ill shoot you the recipes later in a PM

thanks
gabe

 

[El Jardinero]

I am sure it is good stuff. I am just getting to the point of being comfortable with what brands i like. I think the main thing for you is a less molasses and add some pH balancer to improve the Tea. If you dont have coffee grounds then just add pH lowering agent, although its kind of self defeating if you are going organic, lol

Ill shoot you the recipes later in a PM

thanks
gabe

Thanks! I also went to starbucks today ... they gave me a double trash bag full of coffee grinds. awesome!