Kiln drying drastically cuts down on enzyme content, so whenever possible, freshly germinated grains will do better than store bought malted.
I uae Alfalfa SST at the beginning of transition.
I then use Corn SST a couple times the first half of flower.
I use to do Barley SST, but after switching to milled malt, I won’t be revisiting sprouting barley.
SST’s are worth their weight in gold in my gardens.
I started using malted barley this year in my soil and bubbled as a sst dont know what it’s doing as I started growing organic this year as well and haven’t ran without them so no comparison
@cannabliss Sst has enzymes and cytokines. It helps feed the worms and beneficial bugs in soil and regulate the immune response in health and disease…it helps with overall soil health so you produce potentially higher yields and boutique craft cannabis.
sorry lol you are correct when I said I dont know what it’s doing I meant I have no comparison I started growing organic this year and have been using it since grow 1 as opposed to trying it or adding it to an existing grow I’m super happy with my results but the malted barley is just one of many new things to me I have been feeding it to the worms even periodically they seem to enjoy it as well
I know Aloe and malted barley are loaded with things like glucomannan and gibberellin (usually more beneficial for veg/transition) where things like coconut water and blue corn SST push more of the cytokinins (usually more beneficial in transition/flower). I am curious if I should keep the blue corn SST more for a transition/flower oriented feed.
I had screwed up and overwatered some seedling/small plants and they were NOT having a good time. I ended up pulling 90% of them out of it FINALLY (and slowly on some of them), through using blue corn SST and CHEAP organic aloe leaf powder together to feed to them a few few times.
So I have been bouncing around the idea of maybe just using things like aloe and malted barley mainly in veg and maybe in a transitioning cocktail and use the blue corn SST and maybe a coconut product of some sort in flower/transition cocktail. I know the blue corn SST did help those upset plants, but just thinking maybe I can get the FULL benefit from everything I have over here (have not even used the malted barley yet honestly) if I used them at specific times.
Is there a reason you use blue corn vs regular corn? Or popcorn?
Good question! I would like to know as well.
Cause it’s more expensive! Jk😆
I believe blue corn is preferred by folks seeking to avoid GMO corn. Could totally be missing something though.
Lol, right?! That’s what I’m thinking - must use the headie blue corn cause ya know it brings the terps!
I’m of course teasin. I love SST’s and I’ve been using them for a lot of years. I just roll my eyes a little when people get caught up in the hype. If someone can show me where blue corn is better than popcorn, or that popcorn has been genetically modified then I’m all for blue corn. However, I think more likely this stemmed from when Bluejayway and Coot bought some blue corn and sprouted it, and the next thing you know, BAS is selling it, and everyone has to have blue corn SST’s.
Why isn’t anyone sprouting mustard seed or fenugreek? How about some daikon radish? I’ve used all kind of wheat and have liked it (unless your soil is gluten intolerant lol). Alfalfa, sunflower seeds, buckwheat, millet, mung beans, cannabis seeds from your most hated breeder, I dunno?
[/stoned_ramble]
We think alike my friend!
Great rant☝️
I’ve done popcorn, barley, alfalfa, and cannabis sprouted teas. I find the pre sprouted (malted) barley best.
I know a lot of people have great results with malted grains. I’ve never been able to achieve the same effects as with SST’s, but I think it’s whatever works in your regimen.
I thought this podcast had some interesting info about how quickly some plant growth regulators can break down and not really be used by the plants.
That’s super interesting — because I’ve read a paper on enzyme content of different grains at different stages of the malting process, and the kiln-drying drastically reduces it. I wonder if the standardization that comes with industrial level production is what causes the difference.
Is it just the ease of use, or do you think the malted gives better results?
Ease of use for me. I don’t notice much a difference from fresh to malted in my garden.
How often do you use SST’s in your grow? I did about 4 in my 3x3 while it was veging and 1 so far at 4-5 days after flipping the lights to 12/12. The last 3 SST’s were alfalfa/blue corn mix, aloe leaf powder, rootwise, quillija and a splash of molasses. The 2 before that were malted barley, kelp meal, aloe leaf powder, rootwise. The barley teas were bubbled for 4 hours before I added the rootwise and then watered in, the alfalfa/corn was blended, mixed and used right away.
I’m not currently using any malted barley or SST in my garden. Just water only right now. When I was using them, I was doing it about once a week.
Run into any issues in flower? I have heard malted barley can make plants finish a bit faster. I had planned on just using malted barley early on and switch to alfalfa/blue corn and then to just blue corn in flower. Also how far into flower did you use them? Just curious.
Sadly I don’t have any worm castings or good compost around or I would toss a few of those teas in the mix, but that will all get lined out in the future.