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Worm Casting Teas


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  #1  
Old 04-26-2012, 08:23 PM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
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Default Worm Casting Teas

Has anybody tried this. I started reasearching this after talking to my new friend at the new hydro store. We were talking about animal fodder sprouts and I told her I was worried about mold as that is really bad for animals and especially my 17 yo sheep. She told me about the worm casting tea and told me to reasearch myself and go back with any questions I have but she thinks it could be a great "tool" for hydroponics and she will start testing it in her shop.
I did find lots of info on this and think I am going to try it.
Here is a quote I found:
" Castings Teas suppress disease and pests on vegetation and will boost the crucial microbial activity known as the Soil Food Web (SFW) which is so crucial to organic soils. Perhaps the most widely used and known use of teas is to suppress/eliminate black spot and powdery mildew on roses. By spraying Castings Tea on the surface of leaves, you are doing two things. First, you coat the leaf with millions if not billions of microbes all competing for a food source. Some, for instance protozoa, eat bacteria which may be eating decaying plant material. Others eat other microbes and their wastes. In the end, there are not enough resources for the harmful molds and fungi to flourish. In addition, you are also coating the leaf with a protective surface that protects the leaf cells from attack by foreign spores or airborne microbes. Finally, by inoculating the soil with Castings Tea, microbes break down nutrients for uptake into plants thereby increasing plant health and the plant’s own disease resistance/suppression."

Just looking for some feedback

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Old 04-26-2012, 09:41 PM
ju1234 ju1234 is offline
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I don't have an answer for you but have another question for experts in the forum. I have been reading/ viewing lot of videos about this manure tea and how spraying it on foliage is good.

My question: Is there a harvest waiting period after spraying. Should one wait X number of days before picking the vegetables specially the leafy ones. Is it safe to eat all those bacteria or whatever that is produced by the tea?
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Old 04-26-2012, 11:28 PM
hammerpamf hammerpamf is offline
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Yeah, I'm not too sure I would be spraying worm castings, or really any kind of compost tea, onto plant foliage - breeding ground for mold, fungus, bad guys in general. If I were going to spray anything, it would be a dilute nutrient mix or plain water.

I like you way you put that Arrion.
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Old 04-27-2012, 03:26 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Although I tend to agree that using any compost tea's on a plants as a foliar spray may have more disadvantages than advantages. Namely that eventually the beneficial microbes die off, and the remaining food (compost) becomes food for any pathogens and bacteria. But I would like to know how you come to the conclusion that it contains "ammonium" at all, much less large amounts? As well as how you determine that it affects spores and fungal growth at all? Or how long it would be effective for? I need to look it up again, but if I remember correctly, surfer and/or copper foliar sprays tend to work best of fungal problems on foliage. Well other than UV light. Though UV light may not be feasible in many situations, like other than on small plants.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 04-27-2012 at 03:28 AM.
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Old 04-27-2012, 05:21 AM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
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Thanks for your ideas, I was just wondering if anybody has actually tried it. The hydro shop lady did not try to sell me anything, just mentioned something she has been researching and testing that might work for my situation. We discussed using it to rinse the sprouts instead of plain water to decrease the chance of mold. I can't use anything with copper on sheep as they are quite sensitive to it but it would probably be ok for the chickens. I was just using the quote to I found so you could see what I was talking about as I sometimes go on and on and everybody gets confused at the end. I also saw a site that claims freezing the seeds before sprouting reduces mold, but there was not any research to back it up; just the arthors observations.
I don't think that I have to wory about it wearing off because fodder is seed to feed in 7 days.
I am just trying to research animal fodder to see if it would be an option for my situation. I have watched several videos on youtube and several from different manufactors and at this stage I am just trying to gather info.
I did try some compost tea last year on the pumpkins in the DWC and was not really impressed the results.
Niki seem really excited about the prospect of treating for powdery mold with this casting tea so I thought I would pass it on. Take it or leave it, I will be waiting for her results.

Last edited by fintuckyfarms; 04-27-2012 at 05:28 AM.
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Old 04-27-2012, 06:47 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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fintuckyfarms
Mold/fungi, even adage can grow in only a couple days. But it sounds like your only concerned with with what may be on the seeds before germination. If I'm not mistaken they soaked the seeds in a bleach or chlorine water solution before sprouting them for that reason in one of those videos I posted. I have also soaked seeds in H2O2 to kill pathogens and fungal spores on seeds. But in large quantities, bleach/chlorine would be much cheaper. After the seeds are sprouted there is still the possibility of contamination from airborne sources, even from the water supply if not filtered with a absolute one micron filter, or using chlorine/bleach before use. UV wont kill spores, but will kill the fungi once sprouted if subjected to it correctly.
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Old 04-27-2012, 07:57 AM
hammerpamf hammerpamf is offline
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I agree with GPS about sulfur and copper sprays being excellent for deterring pathogens on foliage; I primarily use sulfur because it is also linked to enhanced flavor in a variety of crops.

Also, as GPS points out, chlorine is used in sprout production, both on seeds and to bathe the sprouts before packaging. This is why sprouts are really, really tricky to grow well. But it turns out chlorine isn't quite getting the job done as effectively as in the past. During the rash of sprout-related e. coli outbreaks this year I saw an interview with the president of some sprout growers association in the northeast - he is calling for a new disinfection regime that isn't based on cholrine. I'll see if I can find the interview - I think it was on NPR.
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Old 04-29-2012, 02:40 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Arrion Hornsby,
I like fish as well, especially with lemon and tarter sauce. I guess thanks for the link. I'm not familiar with that website, and when I have time to research the websites credibility, I will read it if it's a creditable source for reliable information. But that may take weeks at best, I'm quite busy these days. I'm glad you like to fish. So do I, even though it's been many years since the last time I did. Though I really like to eat fish as much as I can. However I don't see how that is supposed to shed any light on answering the questions I asked. I'm simply not batman, and I don't have time to decipher riddles from the riddler. All I know from your reply is that you like to fish, whatever that's supposed to mean. Happy fishing...

P.S.
I live in the United States, and I only speak English. Let me know if your from some other country, and/or if their may be a problem translating from some other language.


hammerpamf
Quote:
During the rash of sprout-related e. coli outbreaks this year I saw an interview with the president of some sprout growers association in the northeast - he is calling for a new disinfection regime that isn't based on cholrine. I'll see if I can find the interview
That would be interesting, I would like to know what they propose. As well as how it's working out, and if it can be done on live plants safely and effectively. I recently started some pepper seeds I saved from peppers we bought. I had almost half of them grow a mold/fungus on the seeds. I tossed them out, and took the remaining seed stock and soaked them in H2O2 for about 20 min before letting them dry out again. I started a new batch and so far all but one was mold free. I will probably be ready to transplant them into some coco coir in a day or two.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 04-29-2012 at 02:54 AM.
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  #9  
Old 04-29-2012, 10:32 AM
hammerpamf hammerpamf is offline
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Default Interview with Bob Sanderson, International Sprout Growers Assoc.

I found the brief article/interview on NPR:

Sprouts Growers Say They Need FDA To Set New Safety Rules : The Salt : NPR
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  #10  
Old 05-01-2012, 07:01 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Thanks for the link hammerpamf,
I haven't had time to read it yet, but will as soon as I can.
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  #11  
Old 01-22-2013, 03:46 AM
CAPT38 CAPT38 is offline
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Default Compost Tea

Hello Fintuckeyfarms,
I am soon going to build a compost tea brewer and begin making tea for my drip system..... i will keep you posted on the results
P.S. I have read that compost tea ( if brewed correctly is far superior to any chemical hydroponic nutrient) again its just what ive been reading.
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  #12  
Old 01-24-2013, 05:18 PM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
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Thanks so much, I have been wanting to experiment with this but just haven't had the time or space. Looking forward to your results!

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