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

Hello all.... About teas.... Yes, they do smell, but when properly made - modest amounts of manure (bat guano, or bunny poop, chicken manure & or worm castings), a few gallons of unchlorianted water, an ounce or two of molasses and a good air pump - they mellow over the course of a couple of days. I do mine in the garage (winter) or on the back porch (summer) - just to keep the peace. My wife is pretty easy going & I want to keep it that way... LOL .... I do my growing off the plantation - Grow-illa style so offensive odors - not at my house.
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The BMO stuff - Grow it Green, Flower Power ... etc is pretty mellow. Their Super Plant Tonic - well, it Stinks - but since it gets such great results - I don't sweat it. Your tea, their ferts - whatever you use - just use small amounts & odor is not really an issue. Overwatered soil - with organic nutes - is a green cloud waiting to happen. So just go low, slow & steady on the feeding / watering and your grow area does not have to stink.
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About teas & pH - ingredients make the difference. Fish emulsions, High N Bat Guano, Composted - Chicken, Cow or Rabbit Manure - all drive tea pH down.
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Molasses will raise pH, so will High P Bat Guano, Dolimite Lime, & Egg Shells. The reason molasses will push pH up is - it feeds bacteria - the bacteria multiply and as they bioconvert things (eat & poop them out) they excrete a form of plauqe - which raises pH ( 9 out of 10 times ). Mixing things that drive pH down, with things that push it up - can bring balance to your mix.
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The whole pH thing is not such an issue with soil. Wheter your tea is a 5 or a 7 is really no big deal. The micro-life in your soil - will eventually level it out. That is part of the reason - I feed one week, the water only the next in constant rotation. It allows things in the soil to get used up a bit, before more are applied. Plus it gives the micro-beasties (good bacteria & mcyo fungi) I add / maintain - using SPT on my water only week - a chance to do their thing - level out pH - kill off bad bacteria - bioconvert insoluble (locked up) NPK and help feed Mary all their goodness.
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I'm not saying don't check your soil pH. You should, when you first mix it. When you are about to transplant small seedlings into it and after a few feedings. Make small adjustments as necessary.
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If after a few feedings your soil is sitting in the 6.8 to 7.2 range - next feeding using an slightly more acidic tea. If your soil is sitting in the 5.8 to 6.2 range - next feeding use a slightly more alkaline tea. Small adjustments work best - if your soil is between 6.2 and 6.8 - just let it be. You have a good balance - nothing is being locked out (nute wise) - and as long as you feed reasonably - it will stay that way.
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OK, I hope this helps.....
Keep it Real....Organic.....

Chron said:

where can I get alaska humisoil.

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Chron..... I've bought it, I've used it & it is good. Here is a link to their site. It works about as well as SPT.
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http://www.alaskahumus.com/more_info.htm
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Lot's of special microbes in this stuff......
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Keep it Real.....Organic.......

Hey ohso, I have a question about adding mychorrizae to my tea. I may have asked you this, but I have mychorrizae granules and on the bottle it says to add to the soil via pen size holes with about a half teaspoon per hole. I have been bublling it with my tea, and was wondering if i am getting the full potential of the product.

Also i noticed little black mushrooms in one my pots. is this bad.

as always Preciate the advice. Thnks
Buffalosoulja

bumpppppppp

hey you guys think if i added some high p bat guano to the bmos flower power in my bucket the resulting tea would be to strong? i was guna just topdress with it but whated to ask if you or anyone has done something like this, im sure there FP has enough as it is im just wanting to see the effects. and am i the only one adding kelp?

buffalosoulja said:

Hey ohso, I have a question about adding mychorrizae to my tea. I may have asked you this, but I have mychorrizae granules and on the bottle it says to add to the soil via pen size holes with about a half teaspoon per hole. I have been bublling it with my tea, and was wondering if i am getting the full potential of the product.

Also i noticed little black mushrooms in one my pots. is this bad.

as always Preciate the advice. Thnks
Buffalosoulja

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Buffalosoulja.... The granulated myco fungi, do best if added directly to soil. You can take a plastic spoon dig a little trench in you topsoil around your plants, sprinkle some in - then cover it with your soil or worm castings. That type of mcyo fungi will live a short time (a few hours) then fade to black.
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Cover the little black mushrooms with a layer (1/2 inch) of cornmeal and moisten with water - next day, remove the cornmeal and 1/8 inch layer of soil in that area - to rid yourself of them. They will not hurt Mary.
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You will then have to reinoculate your soil with some myco fungi. The cornmeal will zap them also, several inches down. So, maybe you should kill off the mushrooms first, then inoculate the soil - to prevent wasting your myco's.
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Hope this helps...
Keep it Real...Organic...

Titan4jah said:

hey you guys think if i added some high p bat guano to the bmos flower power in my bucket the resulting tea would be to strong? i was guna just topdress with it but whated to ask if you or anyone has done something like this, im sure there FP has enough as it is im just wanting to see the effects. and am i the only one adding kelp?

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Titan4jah.... The Flower Power is more soluble and will be absorbed quickly. The High P Bat Guano is soluble up to a point, and actually has more P (usually 2x or 3x) the number listed that will break down over time.
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If your guano has a middle number of 7 and the FP is 8 - that's 15 percent P at one shot. Kinda risking the burn. If your plants are heavy feeders they can take it, if not I'd use one or the other - not both together.
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& No - you are not the only one who uses kelp. Lots of people in this forum, including myself - love the stuff. I use the Seamagic Brand - I apply it twice during veg growth, once during early flowering. It has every trace mineral Mary needs, which is a good thing.
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Keep it Real...Organic...

Thanx ohso.

heck ya kelp is the best, i apply it a bit more but at a smaller dose. like every third watering about 2 tablespoons to four gallons. Im guna cut back next grow the soil im using for these plants is almost 50% perlite and doesn't hold allot of water.


so about the bat guano, its like 0-15-0, allot of p know, you think just one topdressing at the start of flower and then the rest of the cycle with flower power would be a nice mix, i know for veging ive been topdressing almost every other week with the high n guano bmo hooked me up with. my plants got way n def because i flushe them early in veg when i saw burn, to bad i didn't replenish the nutrient content in the soil because my girls suffered bad.

Thanks alot Ohsogreen for posting that link, I'm gonna order me up some next harvest!

I have used the bmo high p guano along with the flower power, and I don't think I had any burning because of it. The only burning I had in flowering was where I spilled a little tea on a leaf. However, this was my first grow so I have nothing to compare it to. When in doubt, start with a 1/4 dose and work your way up from there.

I'm somewhat off topic here, but I just finished my first ever harvest last week. I used all bmo products once I started flowering. After sampling the end result, I am hooked on bmo. Great stuff, great people, great price. Thanks OSG for spreading the bmo gospel. +rep to you

I have a question about the BMO Flower Power. When I mixed it as directed the ppm was pretty low - around 400 I think.

Is it okay to mix it stronger later in flowering?

yah thats why im adding the high p quano, either way its guna be great tasting sugery ganja fer sure, you dont really need as much as most peaple think.

kaydub said:

I have a question about the BMO Flower Power. When I mixed it as directed the ppm was pretty low - around 400 I think.

Is it okay to mix it stronger later in flowering?

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Kaydub..... Yes, you can mix upwards to 1000 ppm up until the last two weeks. Soil is more of a buffer zone. I prefer the 700 - 800 ppm range myself, since organic ferts - never really break completely down - any quicker than a couple of weeks / months - depending on what they are.
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Hope this helps...
Keep it Real....Organic......

Hey Ohso,

Whats your take on Pot Ash tea. I am in week 4-5 of flowering my G-Spot/Indica. Today i took a good shovel full of Hard Wood ash, out of my fire place and mixed in water. Let sit for two hours and fed to plants. As i understand the K (potash) is totally water soluble and is dissolved immediately.

Any thoughts?

so how did that ash treat your girls bro ^^?

i read that SPT thread, thanks for that info ohso, very knowledgable. I was watchin a dr chronic video and the doc said he always uses seaweed pretty exclusively for all his foliar, rooting, and waterings. It was sittin in the back of my mind until i saw that you(ohso) and others of the OG way used it, i was wondering if you, or anybody, could elaborate on it and how to use it exactly, knowing that i could get it a walmart a couple miles away is always a plus

SimpleSimon said:

Hey Ohso,

Whats your take on Pot Ash tea. I am in week 4-5 of flowering my G-Spot/Indica. Today i took a good shovel full of Hard Wood ash, out of my fire place and mixed in water. Let sit for two hours and fed to plants. As i understand the K (potash) is totally water soluble and is dissolved immediately.

Any thoughts?

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SimpleSimon.... Hardwood ash is a great source of minerals, but needs to be used in small doses. It's P&K value range from 4-4 up to 9-9 It is very alkaline and will drive pH up, to the extreme, very quickly.
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You are correct the K is absorbed very quickly. I'd just go back and check that soil pH - a shovelfull even to 5 gallons of water is quite a dose.
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Hope this helps...
Keep it Real...Organic...

swishatwista said:

i read that SPT thread, thanks for that info ohso, very knowledgable. I was watchin a dr chronic video and the doc said he always uses seaweed pretty exclusively for all his foliar, rooting, and waterings. It was sittin in the back of my mind until i saw that you(ohso) and others of the OG way used it, i was wondering if you, or anybody, could elaborate on it and how to use it exactly, knowing that i could get it a walmart a couple miles away is always a plus

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Swishatwista.... Seaweed (aka-kelp) is a great amendment. I use it during veg growth as a foliar spray. I mix it at 1/2 strength in warm water, the day of use. Let it cool to room temp, then mist the leaves - top & bottom (bottom being the most important). I do this once each week, on veg weeks 3, 5 & 7. Always foliar feed when temps are mild - like prior to lights on or sunrise / sunset. Foliar feeding when conditions are hot, is not as effective.
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After that, I use it - by watering into the soil, again 1/2 strength (mixed the day of use) on flowering weeks 1, 3, & 5.
16 ounces per plant - more is not necessary.
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Some people do use it on seedlings - I don't. I want Mary to spread out her roots looking for water & food in the early stages of growth. Give her too much early on, and she will not spread out her roots.
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Hope this helps...
Keep it Real...Organic....

So as far as i can tell the tea worked fine. I can't really tell what the effects were. I can say that the plant showed no signs of unhappiness towards it. And is still doing fine. I'll include a pic. I haven't been down there this morning, but when i do, i will check my ph.

I just bought some seaweed extract. I have been watering it in.