Newbie Grower, Carmen Auto x Diva, Outdoors

And do I cap it? Or leave it open?

Thanks again, @Emilya .
 
@Emilya, sorry to ask this, because I tend to trust your advice, as you seem to be far and away the most knowledgeable person I know on this, but I watched some YouTube videos and read some websites about just sticking banana peels in water (without a bubbler), and everyone said that they rot, and draw gnats.
Is there some special trick to this?
Or do I just try it, because it works?
Thank you very much!
 
el gringuito said:
@Emilya, sorry to ask this, because I tend to trust your advice, as you seem to be far and away the most knowledgeable person I know on this, but I watched some YouTube videos and read some websites about just sticking banana peels in water (without a bubbler), and everyone said that they rot, and draw gnats.
Is there some special trick to this?
Or do I just try it, because it works?
Thank you very much!
Click to expand...
Yes, put the lid on it and just let it ferment for 21 days. It does break down due to the fermentation, but that is closer to being wine, than rot, at that point. I have a jar of this that is over 2 years old, and it still smells yummy. Yes it will draw gnats big time if you leave it open. 1 tablespoon of this per gallon of water will be good for your plants, and I don't think it is going to draw in gnats any more than other organic nutrients we use in the garden.
 
el gringuito said:
Ok, if you do not do the teas, do you ever add molasses and such?
And for this organic cane sugar I bought, would it work to dissolve a little in with the fertilizer, or perhaps lay it on as a top dressing?
And if so, how much would you add
Click to expand...
I stabilized my LAB with molasses and I often add a little of that when I water, but that's about it.

Emilya said:
stick 3 chopped up banana peels in a quart of filtered water... wait 21 days. Boom... fermented banana peel
Click to expand...
And add a little leaf mold soil or worm castings along with the water and Boom Boom... Jadam Banana Liquid Fertilizer!

Adding either of those introduces additional microbes to the ferment and helps speed the breakdown.

And, yes. Cover the jar to keep out stuff you don't want.

Emilya said:
Yes, put the lid on it and just let it ferment for 21 days. It does break down due to the fermentation, but that is closer to being wine, than rot, at that point. I have a jar of this that is over 2 years old, and it still smells yummy. Yes it will draw gnats big time if you leave it open. 1 tablespoon of this per gallon of water will be good for your plants, and I don't think it is going to draw in gnats any more than other organic nutrients we use in the garden.
Click to expand...
Many of the Jadam ferments are used at concentrations of 1:30 up to 1:300. So you could go as strong as 4oz:Gal or 8 tbl, but Em's suggestion of 1tbl per gallon is a good place to start so you can be sure of no I'll effects before you go stronger.
 
Emilya said:
stick 3 chopped up banana peels in a quart of filtered water... wait 21 days. Boom... fermented banana peel
Click to expand...

@Emilya , thank you so much!!
I have my eyes on some banana peels right now...
Only, how important is it that the water be filtered?
I was planning to buy an RO filter, but then I saw that you said it was not necessary (that chlorine does not harm the microbes at low tap-water concentrations), so I held off.

I can hypothetically break out my Big Berkey filter right now (which is kind of a survival filter, and it is good, but it is definitely not R.O.).
OR I can find distilled water (for car batteries), but that is distilled, rather than filtered.
OR I can draw a bucket of tap water and let sit out for 24 hours (which is what I do for everything else).
Are any of those good?
Or do I need an RO filter setup?

I can't wait to try it!
 
Emilya said:
Yes, put the lid on it and just let it ferment for 21 days. It does break down due to the fermentation, but that is closer to being wine, than rot, at that point. I have a jar of this that is over 2 years old, and it still smells yummy. Yes it will draw gnats big time if you leave it open. 1 tablespoon of this per gallon of water will be good for your plants, and I don't think it is going to draw in gnats any more than other organic nutrients we use in the garden.
Click to expand...

@Emilya , fabulous!
I am very eager to try this.
I am not sure if this is the right way to think, but are there any kitchen additives (garlic, or onion) that will repel the gnats?
Or is that a bad idea?
 
Azimuth said:
I stabilized my LAB with molasses and I often add a little of that when I water, but that's about it.
Click to expand...

@Azimuth , great!
What is LAB?

Azimuth said:
And add a little leaf mold soil or worm castings along with the water and Boom Boom... Jadam Banana Liquid Fertilizer!
Click to expand...

Sounds great!!! I want to try it!!!
Do you have a tutorial page for your Jadam Banana Liquid Fertilizer?

They don't really do leaf mold here, but I have some worm castings, and I would be happy to throw some in.
Anout how much worm castings would you use for a quart / liter?

Azimuth said:
Adding either of those introduces additional microbes to the ferment and helps speed the breakdown.
Click to expand...

I ended up with two bottles of ORCA microbes. Would you ever add a half a teaspoon or something to the water at the start of the ferment?
Or leave that out?

Azimuth said:
And, yes. Cover the jar to keep out stuff you don't want.
Click to expand...

Ok, will do!
But do I put the lid loosely (so that it can burp itself by the overpressure)?
Or do I cover it with an old t-shirt (fake cheesecloth) and then rubber band it shut, so it can breathe?

Azimuth said:
Many of the Jadam ferments are used at concentrations of 1:30 up to 1:300. So you could go as strong as 4oz:Gal or 8 tbl, but Em's suggestion of 1tbl per gallon is a good place to start so you can be sure of no I'll effects before you go stronger.
Click to expand...

That's great to know, thank you!
Hahaha, ok, I will start at 1 Tbsp per gallon, but if I can go up to 4 Tbsp per gallon, and it is free, and I cannot get Terpinator here, probably I will experiment with bumping it up pretty quickly....
Thank you, Azimuth!
 
Oh, and I forgot to ask, in addition to putting three peels and some worm castings in a jar, and then letting it sit covered for 21 days, is there a bubbler recipe I can use in the ensuing three weeks?

Maybe three (six?) banana peels in a half gallon of water, and a Tbl of molasses, and a splash of Orca, and then bubble it until it froths??
(But just use this stuff up, and don't try to keep it?)
Thank you.
 

Otterfarm Flooded! NextLight Mega Responsible!

Highya SO, Emmie, guys, Love the picture of the barrel on wheels! Such a great design! I don't envy mixing all that dirt, lol! I just set my little girls in the coldframe a couple days ago, and they're looking great. I used to use a cement mixer to mix up sheep feed. Worked great! Was fun...
www.420magazine.com
This link is for 3 great compost teas
 
el gringuito said:
Oh, and I forgot to ask, in addition to putting three peels and some worm castings in a jar, and then letting it sit covered for 21 days, is there a bubbler recipe I can use in the ensuing three weeks?

Maybe three (six?) banana peels in a half gallon of water, and a Tbl of molasses, and a splash of Orca, and then bubble it until it froths??
(But just use this stuff up, and don't try to keep it?)
Thank you.
Click to expand...
when you bubble, all you unlock is any water soluble nutrients that happen to be there. When you ferment, you open up the material and much much more nutrition is released
 
el gringuito said:
@Emilya , fabulous!
I am very eager to try this.
I am not sure if this is the right way to think, but are there any kitchen additives (garlic, or onion) that will repel the gnats?
Or is that a bad idea?
Click to expand...
separate distillation.... no, dont try to put anything else in that one. It is not going to draw gnats any more than molasses or vinegar would when used in our mixes... you are worrying about something that is not a big issue.
 
el gringuito said:
@Emilya , thank you so much!!
I have my eyes on some banana peels right now...
Only, how important is it that the water be filtered?
I was planning to buy an RO filter, but then I saw that you said it was not necessary (that chlorine does not harm the microbes at low tap-water concentrations), so I held off.

I can hypothetically break out my Big Berkey filter right now (which is kind of a survival filter, and it is good, but it is definitely not R.O.).
OR I can find distilled water (for car batteries), but that is distilled, rather than filtered.
OR I can draw a bucket of tap water and let sit out for 24 hours (which is what I do for everything else).
Are any of those good?
Or do I need an RO filter setup?

I can't wait to try it!
Click to expand...
i think tap water would work, especially if you try to get rid of the small amount of chlorine in there. I just tend to default to RO water in these types of situations.
 
Emilya said:

Otterfarm Flooded! NextLight Mega Responsible!

Highya SO, Emmie, guys, Love the picture of the barrel on wheels! Such a great design! I don't envy mixing all that dirt, lol! I just set my little girls in the coldframe a couple days ago, and they're looking great. I used to use a cement mixer to mix up sheep feed. Worked great! Was fun...
www.420magazine.com
This link is for 3 great compost teas
Click to expand...

Ok, great! :thumb:
Will read...
 
Emilya said:
i think tap water would work, especially if you try to get rid of the small amount of chlorine in there. I just tend to default to RO water in these types of situations.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will try tap and report back.
Thanks again, @Emilya !
 
Hi @Emilya ,
Thanks for being such a help!
I am reading those recipes. I don't have all of the things he recommends, but does anyone ever add other entheogens (coca leaf [Colombia, hehe], mugwort, wild lettuce, frankincense, myrrh, Ceylon cinnamon, etc.?
And do I need to read up on each ingredient first, and make sure it is not anti-bacterial (like honey)?

Or are those recipes set in stone, balanced, and fixed (and don't touch 'em)?

I saw dandelions and wild lettuce inside the community gates in some of these other lots, but I have no idea what has gone on the soil (paint, chemicals, oils, solvents, or whatever), so I did not want to pick any of those things, but I wondered what I do have hanging around in my kitchen...

And does anyone ever ferment ginseng, or jiaogulan, or anything like that, for energy and stamina, etc.?
Or am I thinking the wrong way?
Thank you again for all of your help and work.
 
Read some more on the purpose of the teas. A proper tea is not a nutrient mix intended to feed the plants, a proper tea simply produces the proper microbes for that stage of the grow. The nutrient inputs that you put into the tea are intended to allow the microbes that feed on those specific components to thrive in your tea, while all the others die out. The small amount of nutrients that you put into a tea are for the microbes to chew on, the nutrients you put in there are not nearly enough to feed the plant. As stated above, it takes a microscope and a deep knowledge of microbiology to see if you actually have the populations you desire, or it takes following a good recipe, exactly. A tea made with a hodgepodge of inputs without a clue what microbes they support is likely to be just as harmful to your grow as a well made tea is good. This is why I have gone these days with a commercial product that brings in all the right microbes and none of the bad stuff, so I don't have to worry about what I am brewing. But always remember, you don't feed your plant with teas... a tea is simply a way to produce the proper microbes.
 
Emilya said:
Read some more on the purpose of the teas. A proper tea is not a nutrient mix intended to feed the plants, a proper tea simply produces the proper microbes for that stage of the grow. The nutrient inputs that you put into the tea are intended to allow the microbes that feed on those specific components to thrive in your tea, while all the others die out. The small amount of nutrients that you put into a tea are for the microbes to chew on, the nutrients you put in there are not nearly enough to feed the plant. As stated above, it takes a microscope and a deep knowledge of microbiology to see if you actually have the populations you desire, or it takes following a good recipe, exactly. A tea made with a hodgepodge of inputs without a clue what microbes they support is likely to be just as harmful to your grow as a well made tea is good. This is why I have gone these days with a commercial product that brings in all the right microbes and none of the bad stuff, so I don't have to worry about what I am brewing. But always remember, you don't feed your plant with teas... a tea is simply a way to produce the proper microbes.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, ok. I get it. Thank you a million, @Emilya !
I will read.
But at the moment, I think I will stick with your and @Azimuth 's advice, and just use banana and worm castings---and if it smells good in three weeks, I will use it.
And if it doesn't smell good in three weeks, I will pour it out.

And if I have to ship another package through Texas, I will see if I can have them send a Terpinator, for comparison.
 
I have never put worm castings into one of my fermentations, but maybe I am missing out on something. WC has a broad spectrum of microbes in it, both good and bad, and although it can be used to jump start carefully controlled actively aerated compost teas, I am not sure I would ever use it while fermenting. I would try a jar with and without.

ps. you might be onto something though... just think of tequila, with the worm in the bottle. It's there for some reason.
 
Emilya said:
I have never put worm castings into one of my fermentations, but maybe I am missing out on something. WC has a broad spectrum of microbes in it, both good and bad, and although it can be used to jump start carefully controlled actively aerated compost teas, I am not sure I would ever use it while fermenting. I would try a jar with and without.
Click to expand...

Ok, it looks like my jars are a quart and a half jars.
That is a quart / liter of water in the right-hand jar.
So maybe use four banana peels and 1-1/3 liters of water (for a big batch)?

And @Azimuth , should I use maybe THiS much worm castings for four banana peels in 1-1/3 liters (quarts) of water?
Or a different amount of WC?

liter.jpg


Emilya said:
ps. you might be onto something though... just think of tequila, with the worm in the bottle. It's there for some reason.
Click to expand...

Hahahaha!!
Sí... thanks, @Emilya !
I might just throw a coca leaf in there for fun...
(No ayuhuasca yet... hahaha!)
 
Back
Top Bottom