Making Tea - is EZ.... & Cheap !

O ok, then ill have nothing to worry about. This is kind of off topic but does anybody know if mylar is sold at Home Depot or Lowes? My hydro shop is like a 35 minute drive that im not wantin to make if i dont need to. Or panda paper will work too if its sold at a local hardware store.

swishatwista said:

O ok, then ill have nothing to worry about. This is kind of off topic but does anybody know if mylar is sold at Home Depot or Lowes? My hydro shop is like a 35 minute drive that im not wantin to make if i dont need to. Or panda paper will work too if its sold at a local hardware store.

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Swishatwista..... Walmart carries mylar (survival blankets) in the outdoor / camping isle. They are a cheap source of mylar, you can buy a couple without throwing up any red flags.
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Sorry, I missed this post. I know it's a little late, but I hope this helps....
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Keep it Real...Organic.....

Hey ohso, i have the high N bat guano(10-2-1), seabird guano(10-10-2) wormcastings, molasses, and some STP. This will be my first feeding as my girls will only be 3 weeks old, and im kind of worried about adding too much. I'v heard that that seabird guano is some stronger stuff so i was kind of afraid of burning. With combining the guanos, is there anything that you'd suggest?

swishatwista said:

Hey ohso, i have the high N bat guano(10-2-1), seabird guano(10-10-2) wormcastings, molasses, and some STP. This will be my first feeding as my girls will only be 3 weeks old, and im kind of worried about adding too much. I'v heard that that seabird guano is some stronger stuff so i was kind of afraid of burning. With combining the guanos, is there anything that you'd suggest?

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Swishtatwista.... I'd go with the High N Bat Guano for now, instead of the Seabird (it's a little to hot). I'd topdress one teaspoon of High N Bat Guano per plant. I'd also topdress two tablespoons of worm castings per plant. Then mix up a gallon of half strength SPT (one tablespoon per gallon of water). Pour 16 ounces over the the guano/castings in each pot.
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If you wanted to make a tea - instead, just mix one tablespoon of High N Bat Guano, four tablespoons of worm castings and one tablespoon of SPT into a gallon of water. Give each plant a pint (16 ounces), because they are so young.
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Low, slow and steady on the feeding will ensure success.
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Keep it Real...Organic....

alright man sounds good, would you prefer to topdress it or make a tea? i'm thinkin of just topdressing this first time feeding. My plants are exactly 2 weeks old and about 1-1.3 inches tall. They're still in dixie cups and im planning on transfering as soon as i do my next watering. How large do you think their root system is by now, and do you think that they could be getting restrained by the cups already?

swishatwista said:

alright man sounds good, would you prefer to topdress it or make a tea? i'm thinkin of just topdressing this first time feeding. My plants are exactly 2 weeks old and about 1-1.3 inches tall. They're still in dixie cups and im planning on transfering as soon as i do my next watering. How large do you think their root system is by now, and do you think that they could be getting restrained by the cups already?

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Swishatwista..... I'd transplant into a bigger pot, then topdress & water with SPT.
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Those small dixie cups are already restricting your plants root growth.
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Keep it Real...Organic...

Alright ohso thanks for the heads up. When i give them the 16 ounce watering, is the key to flood the soil and then let it dry out? Because iv done that the last several times and it seems to work, but i dont want to stress them. I'm gettin the grow technique down, just gotta get all the details straight

Anyone know how to use dried blood?

Microracer87 said:

Anyone know how to use dried blood?

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Microracer87.... Blood meal is a very soluble (hot) fertilizer. Since, I don't know what the N value is on your product - I'll just say this. Use it at a very low mixing strength and slowly work upwards. If they suggest two tablespoons per gallon, use two teaspoons instead.
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If it does not, suggest a mixing strength per gallon, and instead says - use 1 pound per 100 square feet. Do this - for each gallon of soil in your container (call that one square foot) Then divide the amount they are recommending down to the square footage (per gallon) in your container (pot).
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Example: Use 1 pound of blood meal per 100 square feet & your pot's hold one square foot of soil (1 gallon)
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One pound of Blood Meal is 456 grams - so that would be 4.56 grams per gallon (square foot) of soil. If it said use one pound per 100 square feet.
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I just converted the pound to grams, because it makes doing he math a little easier.
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With whatever they suggest, go a little lower - better safe than nute burned.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real.. Organic....

ohso, I have asked you about this mycorrhazae stuff that i bought and i have been adding to my tea, but i was going to make some to for some trees that i have, and read that i am supposed to put the material in holes around the plant. Is my mycorrahzae, working right if i bubble it in my tea? Should i punch holes in my soil and add some? Preciate the info.

I would seriously discourage people from making teas out of animal product meals. Because they STINK! Bone meal is the worst. Other than that, though, they're great. My bone meal is something like 6-0-0, if I recollect.

Soulja, I have been using the leftovers from my teas on my trees (Sequoia sempervirens spp. and incense cedar) and it's greatly benefited them and the surrounding soil. I did not bother making any holes to put the mycorrhizae into, though. I would think putting a few holes will just get it closer to their roots that much more quickly. As long as your tea smells no worse than brewing beer (which I happen to think smells pretty groovy) you're good to go.

thanks seamaiden, i always have my air pump on so my tea never sours (at least not yet). Before i got my pump my tea used to sour quicjly and it smells so bad. I use my leftovers for my trees to, i was just gonna make a mix of wate and the mycorrhizae and noticed what it said.

hey ohso, iv been bubbling my mix of bat guano, molasses, worm castings, and SPT. It got down to around 20' F last night and the mix got kind of slushy. This morning i brought it inside and added a cup of hot chlorine free water, and that unfroze any of it. My worm castings were not deluting too well so i was stirring it up every 30 mins, but its still in small clumps. Is that because of the cold or because it's only been 14 hours since i mixed it? Thanks ohso

swishatwista said:

hey ohso, iv been bubbling my mix of bat guano, molasses, worm castings, and SPT. It got down to around 20' F last night and the mix got kind of slushy. This morning i brought it inside and added a cup of hot chlorine free water, and that unfroze any of it. My worm castings were not deluting too well so i was stirring it up every 30 mins, but its still in small clumps. Is that because of the cold or because it's only been 14 hours since i mixed it? Thanks ohso

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Swishatwista... That level of coldness, has probably killed of the majority of your microlife in your bucket. I'd add just a little more SPT, and keep the temp of the water above 50 degrees - under that, microlife just slows to almost no activity.
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Worm Casting contain dried worm mucus, which helps them retain nutrients when in the soil. This allows them to slowly leach their goodness into the surrounding soil. It also makes them a little tougher to breakdown in a tea.
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Let it bubble for two days (48 hours) then use it. You will notice the Worm Castings will be more broken down, but not completey at the two day mark. To be completey broken down, takes from 5 to 7 days.
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Hope this helps...
Keep it Real...Organic....

Damn i was affraid that was going to happen. I already added the tea and it looks like it still benefited from the nutes, but i'll add a little more SPT to my watering next week. And the tea didnt have much of an odor so i can keep it indoors. but alright thanks alot ohso

buffalosoulja said:

thanks seamaiden, i always have my air pump on so my tea never sours (at least not yet). Before i got my pump my tea used to sour quicjly and it smells so bad. I use my leftovers for my trees to, i was just gonna make a mix of wate and the mycorrhizae and noticed what it said.

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I don't use an air pump, but haven't experienced my teas going bad. The issue is specific to bone and blood meals. And with the bone meal it's such a disappointment. At first it smells a lot like chicharrones. I like chicharrones. But then, as it breaks down the smell changes.

Seamaiden said:

I don't use an air pump, but haven't experienced my teas going bad. The issue is specific to bone and blood meals. And with the bone meal it's such a disappointment. At first it smells a lot like chicharrones. I like chicharrones. But then, as it breaks down the smell changes.

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I do not use blood or bone meal, i use diff types of guano, casting and molasses. I like chicharrones too. The smell of my sour tea is gagable. Makes your eyes water. Do you now how long water and molasses stays good?

buffalosoulja said:

I do not use blood or bone meal, i use diff types of guano, casting and molasses. I like chicharrones too. The smell of my sour tea is gagable. Makes your eyes water. Do you now how long water and molasses stays good?

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Buffalosoulja... If you keep the water / molasses mix bubbling - it will stay fresh and get even more soluble (easily absorbed). If you cut the air off to it, and don't refrigerate it - it will start to sour (turn aneorbic) within a few hours - it will be completely sour in 48 hours.
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If you refrigerate it, it will stay good for a week (7 days), then start to turn.
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I just leave mine bubbling, until use. I also have learned from experience, it's better to make smaller batches - rather than really big ones.
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Hope this helps...
Keep it Real...Organic......

Christmas...is coming..... save your dough and bubble your own (ferts)...... then you can buy yourself something extra nice for Christmas.... with the money you did not spend.
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Keep it Real....Organic...

true that. But for me my christmas is comin a little late but twice as good. All my presents are gonna be wrapped in shinny delicious paper. I always prefer quality or quantity of presents. And then i got some mr. Herer and g13, haze style for a happy easter. As long as the man doesn't come around my way, the follow is going to be a good year..just spittin that out there, everybody have a some good holidays