I have been using the black tea formula for about 3 weeks,so far i have notice a significant increase in the red production of the S.rubricorpora and the S.atropurpurea.The ones that are still all green have not responded, i don't know mabe because it near the end of the season. I will try again next season to see what happends. For those who want to try Robs tannic tea formula here is his revised recipe.
To get a revised tannic tea recipe. In addition to pH related
nutrient deficiencies, color can be lost due to pitcher age or the
season (most often in S.flava var. cuprea, S.flava var. rugellii).
Another factor can be iron deficiency. While the peat tea tends to
correct this, you can take a lower phosphorous fertilizer that has
micronutrients and apply a foliar feed (spray) as the pitchers come
up and expand/mature, maybe every two weeks. Use distilled water to
mix the fertilizer and dilute it to 1/4 normal strength for "house
plants". E.G.: if you use a 20-10-20, the normal dilution is 1/4
teaspoon in one gallon of distilled or reverse osmosis treated.
water. Of course, sunlight is critical for proper pigment and many
types will have weak color if grown in weak light, under plastic or
under glass. I hope this helps. It's so late in the season, you may
not see any improvement until next spring.
This recipe is slightly modified from the original article appearing
in the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter.
1.In a large, stainless steel container add 2 gallons pure water
(distilled, reverse-osmosis,etc.), 3/4 gallon new, unleached peat
moss-tamped slightly,and a ball of long-fiber sphagnum (dead,dry)
about the size of a grapefruit-compressed slightly. You can also
substitute/add many acidic humus sources with the sphagnum, including
leaf humus(partially decayed) from pine, oak, hemlock (Tsuga) and
mixed forests.
These will tend to float; stir them down with a stick, I use bamboo,
until the ingredients are saturated.
2.Add one more gallon of pure water.Stir.
3.Bring this mixture to a high temperature. There are many soil
chemists who prefer to keep the temperature at 160-170°F, due to the
perishable nature of some soil enzymes, but I bring the mixture to a
low simmer for 20-30 minutes to nearly sterilize the concentrate.
This mix will require occasional stirring to prevent boil over and is
best done on a camp stove outside!
4.After 30 minutes, remove from heat and wait about 5 minutes, for
some settling and cooling.
5.This is the tricky part; be careful as the hot concentrate is not
easy to handle. You may wish to cover the liquid and let it cool
before straining. I'm familiar with handling it and prefer to strain
it hot into containers so it will keep better (about 2-3 weeks in a
covered milk jug.)
Stretch a nylon stocking over a clean, large funnel or galvanized
watering can, leaving some slack for the solids. Secure this if
needed so it won't slip. Slowly pour the concentrate to ONE SIDE of
the stocking to strain it. If you pour too quickly, the solids will
plug the nylon and cap the receptacle, spilling the brew over the
top! You can use the stirring stick to hold back the larger chunks
while pouring. Avoid hand contact as this will add bacteria, possibly
burn you (if hot) and decrease the storage life of the concentrate.
With experience, this filtering will get easier as you adapt your
technique to your equipment.
6.Once cool, add about 1 1/2 cups of this concentrate to a gallon of
pure water and aerate the diluted "peat tea" by vigorously shaking in
a partially filled jug. For those of you with test equipment, I
standardize this tea by adding either concentrate or water to achieve
a pH of 4.5-5.4 and a conductivity of about 18-22 microsiemens. The
above dilution ratio should get you close enough for most
applications, so exact meter readings aren't usually needed. The
solution should be dark tea colored and can be used to drench the
soil of the plants you wish to treat. Store the concentrate in clean,
covered plastic milk jugs. Use diluted=ready to use tea within a
couple days, or it will start to grow microbes (mostly harmless water
molds.) I do not recommend using the concentrate without dilution.
I apply this once every month or so. Be sure to leach the soil
between applications or evaporation can concentrate further the
chemicals in the soil. I haven't tested this stuff enough on Dionaea,
but since flytraps like to be repotted every year in fresh peat, I
believe they would benefit from the tea, which can lower the pH in
older media. Pinguicula planifolia does benefit from this tea, as do
most Nepenthes.
This recipe makes about 1 1/2 -2 gallons of concentrate, which is a
lot for most people; you can divide the recipe in half or quarters,
as needed.
Many plants can take, may benefit from a stronger solution, but I
wouldn't use over 3 cups concentrate per gallon of water unless you
have experimented and found it safe for your application.
I hope some will find this information useful.After the article was
published, I received several letters and phone calls from CP growers
who had "problem plants" perk up a few weeks after using this tea,
most likely due to pH improvement. Some created their own recipes and
techniques. One grower uses "blackwater" which is naturally formed
tannic water found in some wetlands. The basic technique is
well-documented with successes, but if your plants are growing fine,
I wouldn't bother; don't fix what ain't broken! Sincerely, Rob
Sacilotto/Botanique.