Q For Organic Growers

[RangerDanger]

Re: nutrient teas.
About 3 weeks ago I bought box of Fox Farms Peace Of Mind 5-5-5 fertilizer.
You can mix it dry with potting soil, "scratch" it into the top soil, or make a tea.
Instead of mixing up each gallon jug of water with the spoonful of the fertilizer (I use 12 gals/day ((and 12 gals a day is enough for me )) I dumped the entire box into a 5-gal bucket and filled with water.
I've been adding that tea to the water and everythings fine.
BUT
Now I'm down the the bottom and there is like a 2" thick layer of "sludge" on the bottom.
I've added a few more gallons of water and the tea is still as dark as it's ever been.
But here's my question:
When I've read instructions for nutrient tea the instructions always say "Strain" before using.
I called several grow shops run by friends and I asked how important it was to strain out the solids.
They all said I don't need to strain out the soilds.

So I have 2 Q's.
-Any input on whether it's important to strain out the solids
-And what do you do with the sludge that you strain out or have left over in the bottom of the bucket?

 

[naturalhi]

Ranger you answered your own Q. " You can mix it dry with potting soil, "scratch" it into the top soil"! Where do the solids go if you 'scatch' Did you shake it before each dose and why am I asking a pro like you dumb q's like this. Am I babbling again?

 

[NoDirtWeed4Me]

You hit an important point though naturalhi, it is important to stir very well before giving to your plants. If you do that you shouldn't have much sludge left at the bottom, and whatever's left you should just toss because it's not going to have much as far as nutes left.

 

[Stoner4Life]

But here's my question:
When I've read instructions for nutrient tea the instructions always say "Strain" before using.
I called several grow shops run by friends and I asked how important it was to strain out the solids.
They all said I don't need to strain out the soilds.

So I have 2 Q's.
-Any input on whether it's important to strain out the solids
-And what do you do with the sludge that you strain out or have left over in the bottom of the bucket?

Sounds like they sorta self strained anyway by forming the 'sludge' on bucket bottom. And I'll bet if they remained fairly undisturbed there you were able to make a 2nd batch of brew.....so
No I don't think you NEED to strain out the solids &
my guess is after you've mixed well the next time your 'batch of brew', you would toss the solids.


One thing I've wondered about is how long can you hold that pre-mixed tea or brew without it losing its potency? Is it better to mix it fresh before use?

 

[RangerDanger]

Sounds like they sorta self strained anyway by forming the 'sludge' on bucket bottom. And I'll bet if they remained fairly undisturbed there you were able to make a 2nd batch of brew.....so
No I don't think you NEED to strain out the solids &
my guess is after you've mixed well the next time your 'batch of brew', you would toss the solids.


One thing I've wondered about is how long can you hold that pre-mixed tea or brew without it losing its potency? Is it better to mix it fresh before use?

Maybe the reason they say to stain the sollids out is because is you used it on the same plant(s) over the course of months it would raise the level of the soil from all the suspended particles in the tea.
For disposal I think I'll dump it on a (non-mj) plant I don't like that much as see what happens.

I made up a batch of chicken shit tea concentrate a few years back and it worked for at least 4 months. I kept it in a cool dark place tightly sealed.

Btw, chicken shit is an ideal organic nutrient for veg. It's got the ideal ratio of N-P-K.
I dug out some well-rotted chicken shit from my neighbors chicken coop and filled a 5-gal bucket 1/5 full of chicken shit then filled it up with water. I put a bubbler in the bucket and ran it for 2 weeks to make sure it was well-composted.
Jeez that stuff stank so much that it would make me wretch (dry heave) when I went out daily to stir it.