Fresh aloe

Jp.the.pope

Jp.the.pope

Well-Known Member
Thought I should ask the experts :)

Been doing water only ROLs for a year or so now, also been using the dried aloe Ala build a soil. A carniceria recently opened Near the house that sells fresh aloe leaves (about 2 foot long and thick) for $1 a leaf.

Just wondering what the best way to incorporate fresh aloe into my water regiment.

Open to any and all advice and techniques.

Bonus points if you have any insight as to adding it into SIPs, or if that's even a good idea :)


Thanks in advance
 
ShLUbY

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
generally people are using about 2 tbsp of gel blended into each gallon of water.

In a sip i would assume if you just watered it into the soil from above, the wicking process would slow until the soil became dry enough to require wicking to keep it moist again. It's similar to how my blumats operate. if I want to give an aloe or coconut water or what not, I just water it in, and the blumats stop dripping until the soil is dry enough to require dripping to resume again.
 
Jp.the.pope

Jp.the.pope

Well-Known Member
Kind of what I figured. Thanks

So do you use fresh aloe? Just cut a bit off the leaf, scoop a couple tbsp / gal and put the rest back in the fridge?
 
ShLUbY

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Jp.the.pope said:
Kind of what I figured. Thanks

So do you use fresh aloe? Just cut a bit off the leaf, scoop a couple tbsp / gal and put the rest back in the fridge?
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I just take the amount of leaf I think I need for the total application (no real accurate measuring or anything) and then i take about a 1/2 gal of water and make a concentrate so to say. I submerge my hand and the leaves in the water and squeeze the hell out of em, try and extract as much gel as possible, mix it up really really well, and then strain the concentrated water into the bucket with the amount of water I need for the job.

I don't mind cloning with it, it does take a little longer, but with my aerocloner, it works fine. i take a cup of water, make a nice concentrated aloe mixture with it, and soak the cuttings in that for about 12 hours, and then make another fresh concentrate and soak again for 12 hours. then they go in the cloner and have beautiful clones in about 10-12 days! I'm not in a rush when cloning.
 
Amshif87

Amshif87

Well-Known Member
If I'm watering in by hand I'll purée it in my blender with a cup or two of water then just add what I believe to be roughly 2 oz of aloe per gallon into a bucketand scoop in with a quart container. I always err on the side of more aloe. If I'm spraying it in or using it to soak peat plugs for clones or seed I will use cheese cloth or a chinois to strain. The little chunks have started to mold before on the jiffy pellets under the dome.
 
Jp.the.pope

Jp.the.pope

Well-Known Member
Amshif87 said:
If I'm watering in by hand I'll purée it in my blender with a cup or two of water then just add what I believe to be roughly 2 oz of aloe per gallon into a bucketand scoop in with a quart container. I always err on the side of more aloe. If I'm spraying it in or using it to soak peat plugs for clones or seed I will use cheese cloth or a chinois to strain. The little chunks have started to mold before on the jiffy pellets under the dome.
Click to expand...
Blenders sound easy. Do you puree the skin of the aloe as well?
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
I also have the fresh leaves available, same as you describe, but closer to $2 a leaf. Still cheap considering my location. Mo betta than the dried stuff IMO and plenty cheap.

Mainly just use it for cloning now, but years ago did juice it in the blender, although I skinned it first. @$1/leaf you could try both ways (skin or no), to see what you prefer.

For the simplest cloning I've ever done in 25 years, I'll trim the cut on the plant and when it's removed it's stuck straight into a chunk of fresh leaf for a few minutes. I use large cottage cheese or similar, with drainage holes and filled wit un reamended used mix. A chopstick is used as a dibble and the cut goes right from the aloe leaf into the mix. Firm the mix around the stem and done.

I really like the larger size of the big cottage cheese/sour cream containers over the party cups as they seem to hold the proper moisture longer and aside from misting (if needed), watering is seldom needed more than once/week or 10 days.
A reuseable dome was made from a PVC frame and cling wrap for each use.

Storing in the fridge was kinda Meh, but, for long term, you can steak the leaves into chunks, flash freeze on a cookie sheet (so they don't freeze into a big glob), and then into a ziplock for later use. Works well, but most times it's just easier to snag a fresh leaf. YMMV

Wet
 
Amshif87

Amshif87

Well-Known Member
Jp.the.pope said:
Blenders sound easy. Do you puree the skin of the aloe as well?
Click to expand...
Yes. If you've got a vitamix or the will it blend one, it will make the skin small enough it pumps through a Chaplin with no nozzle. I will squeeze the gel out for dipping cuttings in and use the leaf part as mulch or give it to the worms. I'm sure the highest concentration of saponin and salicylic acid are in the inner leaf but I'm a huge fan of using everything. I also am probably putting 3 oz per gallon to make up for that. Between my aloe and the infinite supply of aloe from 2 friends who propagate succulents I'm not in any fear of running out even if I go past the point of diminishing returns.
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Jp.the.pope said:
Thought I should ask the experts :)

Been doing water only ROLs for a year or so now, also been using the dried aloe Ala build a soil. A carniceria recently opened Near the house that sells fresh aloe leaves (about 2 foot long and thick) for $1 a leaf.

Just wondering what the best way to incorporate fresh aloe into my water regiment.

Open to any and all advice and techniques.

Bonus points if you have any insight as to adding it into SIPs, or if that's even a good idea :)


Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
for a buck a leaf I bet you'd be better off paying a good 10 bucks for a live one man
if you can grow cannabis, aloe is CAKE
like most everything, fresh is better...
 
Dragonsflamegenetics

Dragonsflamegenetics

Well-Known Member
ShLUbY said:
and how would one go about making this?!?! :)
Click to expand...
A google search will give the full knf pdf, but basically equal parts minced fresh aloe, harvested before suns up and raw sugar. Jaggerty, washed raw cane etc. You want as close to nature sugar as possible. This is then combined in a large jar or clay pot to ferment for 21 days A splash of knf made LAB makes it ferment better.
 
calliandra

calliandra

Well-Known Member
Wetdog said:
I also have the fresh leaves available, same as you describe, but closer to $2 a leaf. Still cheap considering my location. Mo betta than the dried stuff IMO and plenty cheap.

Mainly just use it for cloning now, but years ago did juice it in the blender, although I skinned it first. @$1/leaf you could try both ways (skin or no), to see what you prefer.

For the simplest cloning I've ever done in 25 years, I'll trim the cut on the plant and when it's removed it's stuck straight into a chunk of fresh leaf for a few minutes. I use large cottage cheese or similar, with drainage holes and filled wit un reamended used mix. A chopstick is used as a dibble and the cut goes right from the aloe leaf into the mix. Firm the mix around the stem and done.

I really like the larger size of the big cottage cheese/sour cream containers over the party cups as they seem to hold the proper moisture longer and aside from misting (if needed), watering is seldom needed more than once/week or 10 days.
A reuseable dome was made from a PVC frame and cling wrap for each use.

Storing in the fridge was kinda Meh, but, for long term, you can steak the leaves into chunks, flash freeze on a cookie sheet (so they don't freeze into a big glob), and then into a ziplock for later use. Works well, but most times it's just easier to snag a fresh leaf. YMMV

Wet
Click to expand...
Thank you sir, had to try it out immediately! :bigjoint:

It's really practical when taking cuttings outside, I think the aloe leaf will keep those cuttings safe till they get to the potting room :)

2017-03-13_lavenderclones.jpg
 
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