Hi guys! I've never made a compost tea before and I want to make some a few times this summer to give my veggies a boost. First question: When I'm making it, can I use a smart pot as a sieve instead of a cheesecloth or something like that? Second question: What recipe do you recommend for chard and lettuce? I'm assuming they require more nitrogen than pot so I was thinking of giving them worm casting compost tea at the start of summer and maybe manure or mushroom compost tea at the end of it. Does that sound like a decent plan or am I going about it all wrong? Thanks!
I always bubbled my nutrient ingredients (your guanos, lime, whatever) in a closed bag (usually a coffee filter) and then I didn't have to worry about draining it or anything. As for what to use for Char and lettuce, I personally have no idea. If someone on here doesn't know what kind of nute schedule they need, I am sure you can find the answer with a quick google search.
Ah. I just looked it up and the direct quote was "you could just about piss in a bucket of hardwater and they would grow." Soo guess I don't have any questions about nutrients I forgot that the teas needed to be bubbled. Damn. I left my air pumps and tubing on the other side of the state when I moved >.< Is there anything else I'm forgetting for making teas? Stick the organic matter in a coffee filter, bubble it for a day or two, then toss the organic matter and water it on the plants is all there is to it, right?
That is basically all I did. I didn't even bubble for days, more like twelve hours, but I am not sure how much of a difference that makes between one day or two. I also composted my used organic material, which later became more fuel for my teas.
My understanding of teas is that while they do deliver nutrients extracted into the water to the plants, the bigger and more important benefit is the biologically active beneficial microbes that develop in the teas. The better your source of microbes the faster they reproduce and populate the tea. The longer you bubble the more "alive" your tea will be, to a point; Obviously don't want to bubble until all the food for the microbes is used up an they start to die. I think most tea recipes I have read recommend brewing for min 24 hrs. some say longer like 48 hours. The fresher and more biologically active your ingredients are will determine how fast the tea will brew. I have not yet made my own teas though. I want to set up a small brewing station soon and try my hand at it.
Thanks guys! That's a lot of help! I figured I may as well learn how to do teas this summer, since I might have to start growing again in a year or two and will be on a shoestring budget. I can find the recipes for MJ specific teas when I need them but I have to get familiar with the process beforehand.
Makes perfect sense. I think the difference for me is that I always used compost in my tea, which has already been broken down, and not many additives like bone meal or the like. Most of that sort of stuff that needs to be broken down always went into my original soil mix, or the compost bin to be used in the soil mix/tea.
