How do I make guano tea?

[GrowFAQ]

Contributed by glass joe

I have a recipe for an organic tea fertilizer. I would suggest this when your leaves show signs of yellowing. It often means lack of N (nitrogen) and store bought chemical ferts don’t always do the trick, plus they build up (salts) in the soil. Try this:

Put 2 cups of high-nitrogen bat or seabird guano (found at your local garden center or nursery) in the corner of a cloth bag, old pillowcases are perfect. Tie it in a knot around a stick and suspend it in a 5-gallon bucket of fresh (preferably distilled) water. It is now like a tea bag. Just shake the tea bag around several times a day. It should emit a dark secretion from the bag. After 2 days the water should be pretty dark. Take out the tea bag and dispose of it, or rinse it out to be reused. Use this dark water at a rate of 1-2 cups per gallon of fresh water and mix it up. This will give you a “tea” to water your plants with. Use it to water once, and then wait a few days to see if your plants like it.
You can use this high Nitrogen tea whenever your plants tell you they need it (yellowing leaves).

To make a bloom tea, use the same steps but replace the high-nitrogen guano with high-phosphorous guano.

To use these teas most effectively, start with my organic soil mix at the beginning of your grow. It will provide the essential nutrients for a long time before your girls tell you they need something, by showing symptoms of deficiency. You can also use either tea more frequently, according to the growth rate of your plants, to greatly increase growth rate and flowering.

[alpine]

Even adding two cups of vermi compost and two tablespoons of molasses.

[lumbo]

There are lots of different methods. I put the appropriate guanos (like glass joe says) into a 5-gallon bucket, preferably full of rainwater. I use groundwater from my sump, which is about the same. I just dump the guano into the water. Then I put an aquarium bubbler with a stone (get that stuff at Walmart for cheap) into the water and let it bubble away. After about two days, there should be a thick foam on the surface of the water. This tells you that the right bugs are there, and they’re doing their thing. If they are, then it shouldn’t smell. If you shut off the bubbler, the beneficial bugs will die off and pretty quick it will stink like a mofo.

When the foam forms, I just water with the mixture. As I recall from the old OG FAQ, use the high nitrogen tea for every third watering; use the high phosphorus stuff during flower for every watering session. I use bat guano from my mom’s farm’s outbuilding for the high nitrogen, but I buy the phosphorus-laden stuff online. It’s sold as Indonesian Bat Guano. I also use Peruvian Seabird Guano for both teas. It has a nice combination of ferts that make a great base for the tea. There’s probably a recipe around here somewhere. I just eyeball the guano amounts, based on years of experience. Better to use caution–better to under-fert than over-fert. Molasses helps get the foaming going (more food for the bugs). You can also add worm castings, like alpine says, Liquid Karma or any other additive you choose.

[Skippy]

I agree with what both statements and adding worm casting to the tea improves it out of sight

[lumbo]

Here’s what the prepared tea looks like in the bucket. All that plumbing is where I get my water–groundwater from the sump diverted into the bucket. Just as good as rainwater, in my estimation, and it’s just a few feet from the grow room. The bubbler is the black box with the tube going into the water. It hangs from a bungie cord.

[Harlow]

My waterfall from the way back machine. just got tired of replacing stones. A very small pump and a 12" drop and you’re good to go. I think '07 - ish (EDIT) I always used my Koi water after the sand filter back then. Condensation by both Gaia & Carrier (/EDIT)