Quick question: Do you brew tea before you use it then use it all? Or do you brew a large amount then keep it/store it until you need it?
If its an AACT then yes you brew what you need and use it all. The bacteria youre breeding are aerobic and thats what the bubbling is for. So once the bubbling stops the reproduction rate rapidly decreases and is pretty much dead after a few hours. But a botanical tea can be stored for weeks.
This is a slightly edited version of a message I sent to someone earlier this evening, wanted you to grade it for me if you could? If there's anything wrong I'd really like to know it...Thanks Microbe Man, you're the best These are modified to be perfect for a gallon, if you're going into a 50 or 55 gallon brewer go back to Microbe Man's original numbers: *these recipes are based off of Microbe Man's work, feel free to check him out online, he's def the guru in this field as far as I'm concerned *use fungal inhabited compost or EWC if you can, you can add a teaspoon of grain (oat flour or powdered oatmeal is recommended but I like the thought of using rye grain ground in a coffee grinder instead) to your EWC and keep it moist and covered by a cloth for 8-10 days, or until it starts growing clear hairs (hyphae), if they're white or blue just turn it under and start again. Also, you can buy fungal inhabited compost and although I haven't done it yet, it's only because I haven't gotten that far. The quality of your compost or EWC will determine the quality of your tea, and getting fungi into your compost tea is one of the hardest things to do I've heard, so if you can it's probably the best choice. Microbe Man's website is 'microbe organics' I think, you'll probably wanna check there if you wanna source the best product, he knows and lists it I just can't remember the exact name. *always grind up the soft rock phosphate in a coffee grinder before you add it to the tea *65 degrees fahrenheit is about right for the brewing temp, but the temperature that you're watering them into could possibly be a factor too, so if it's a little warmer there and you wanna brew at a higher temp, like within ten or fifteen degrees, it shouldn't matter, it just might be a little faster is all I think, but that's just a guess *always use de-chlorinated water, if it's chlorinated let it sit out for 24 hours or aerate it in your brewer for 6 hours, the chlorine will kill the very beneficials that you're trying to breed *it's best to pre-mix the ingredients before adding them to your active brewer, except the kelp, add it last and walk away, it floats on top but there's no hurry, don't worry it will mix in at it's own rate *any fish hydrolysate will do, but I'm pretty sure the Biobizz Fish-Mix is superior because it's not stabilized with phosphoric acid, initially stumbled on this product by accident and thought it was the wrong one because it's misrepresented as an emulsion almost everywhere that it's sold online, I was gonna return it at first *also I have been adding 1/2 tsp food grade DE (diatomaceous earth) on my own, I have no idea if this helps or hinders and I'm def not recommending it, more fyi than anything, other than that I'm keeping with Microbe Man's ratios in these recipes, and I even accommodated for the Dutch molasses they use in the fish fertilizer Bacterial Brew: mature compost or earthworm castings (EWC) (fungal inhabited preferably)- 1/2 cup- or 1/3 cup+ unsulfured molasses- 1 tbsp Biobizz fish-mix- 1/2 tsp+ kelp meal- 1/2 tbsp- soft rock phosphate- 1/2 tsp Brew 18-24 hrs. If compost or EWC was fungal inhabited, 18 hours is just about right for a nice balanced fungal tea, but if you can, let it go at that point to between 30-36 hours, total, I'm pretty sure that's the best tea if you can make it happen Fungal Tea: fungal inhabited compost or EWC- 1/2 cup- or 1/3 cup+ unsulphured molasses- 1/2 tbsp- Biobizz fish-mix- 1/2 tbsp+ kelp meal- 1/2 tbsp- soft rock phosphate- 1/2 tsp- Brew 10-18 hours for fungal tea. Brewing 18-24 hours makes a more balanced fungal tea, offering a complement of bacteria as well as the original fungi, just takes a little longer. Also, if you're only going for fungal content with a short brew, molasses is unnecessary Well, hope everyone likes it Has anyone ever heard of Azomite or food grade DE? I was wondering if they might be of use in a brew since they're like the fountain of youth and all...Everyone should check out the Biobizz home page (it's refreshing to read and only a couple paragraphs) and then check out their Fish-Mix product (don't forget to look at the ingredients page too). Is it better than the others because it's not stabilized in acid? I know in Europe they agree it's organic but the others were processed with acid, and so they're not considered organic in Europe, also Fish-Mix's ph is 6.1 instead of the normal 4 (approximately), but also I add acid constantly to my water so idk if that is even an issue in any way...does anyone have some solid knowledge on Biobizz Fish-Mix, or the science behind the ph/acid/organics discrepancy that I'm talkin about? Is an entire country caught up in a bunch of senseless red tape, or did I just accidentally screw up and buy the best one by pure dumb luck? And oh, for the sake of a price comparison I can tell ya that it was like $23 at the hydro store..Also, what is the ideal ph for the water, or should I just not adjust it at all? Or does it matter what kind of acid I'm using? And was I right about my wild guess about brew temp, or do I need to let her know to keep it between 63-70 degrees like you said on ur site? I'm thinkin so because me and her both will be doing all this without a microscope, at first at least, and I don't wanna mess with the brew times but rather replicate all the controllable factors that I can, instead..and sorry for all the questions, but so are the fungi we're growing NOT mycorrhizal then? Is it the trichoderma? How do the two differ in the brewing process?
should i put biobizz fish mix into my ACT? (molasses + alfalfa meal) or should i add it after when my tea is done
Tim (MM) offers one of the simplest methods to exponentially expanding microbial density in a short time frame, yet people continue to insist on making it harder than it has to be. Please correct me if I misstate something or am just 'wrong' with my assertion. I go by Tim's method of 2.38% vermicompost/compost and .5% molasses by volume. It works out to be roughly 2 cups of vermi/compost and .4 - .5 cup of molasses per 5 gallons. Aerate for roughly 36 hours at 65 degrees Farenheit, no more than 48 to achieve a balanced brew.
Before This is a great tea for bacterial inoculation, but ur not breeding any fungals. From what I understand it's good to have a balance of bacterial and fungal microbiology in a good tea, or to at least feed regularly with fish hydrolysate fertilizer to feed the fungals. If u want fungal inhabited tea u gotta used fungal inhabited compost starter though, I use the KIS stuff
Fungal elongation (they tend to grow longer rather than multiply like bacteria) depends upon the compost utilized, oxygen supplied and the feedstock. You do not need hydrosylate; molasses is a simple carbohydrate, meaning it's a sugar source. On top of being far cheaper and readily available in more locations, it stimulates and supplies both fungal networks and bacterial colonies with nutrition. There isnt much of a reason (imo) to deviate from using it. Does my vermicompost have a decent fungal count? I believe so as I get mycelium puffs (lol) every time I layer a small amount of feedstock into my bins. Should I focus on supplying more lignin to encourage more prolific fungal growth? Probably. Am I not getting any fungal growth in an ACT? I dk, I dont have access to a microscope to check my work. I can only work from assumption and state that more likely than not ACTs I make using my vermicompost have a decent fungal count. This site is still one of the better ones out there for thorough information as well as videos depicting what life you may encounter while looking at your ACT via microscope. http://microbeorganics.com/
I wanted to make a tea to help my soil "cook." Should I just use EWC/Molasses? I wanted to make a half gallon, what ratio?