In theory, this makes sense, but what you have to keep in mind is that in a properly made aerated compost tea, you're creating an unsustainable amount of microbes, as they continue to prey on each other. Over time, you sacrifice diversity, as certain species are more efficient at consuming whatever food stock is in the liquid or other microbes. Without a microscope, you really have no idea what you have. Assuming you maintain dissolved oxygen levels above 6 mg/l for the entire time, then you won't be putting on anything detrimental, but ideally you would limit the brew cycle to 24-36 hours without a microscope. Hope that helps. I have spent a lot of time doing direct microscopy on compost teas, so I hope this helps!
many thanks eco! it certainly does help. does anyone care to recommend a decent entry-level microscope to get started scoping my bugs? i have a feeling this is going to be a huge part of the direction my growing will be headed . i love the idea of compost tea to sort of put the microbial processes in hyper-speed; i can't wait to find out how to best work it into my soil-less grows
I can't recommend a cheap microscope. It's sort of like buying a used car. There's a lot to look for and the best way would be to look at a sample under the microscope in question and see if you can see everything you want to see. Don't get caught up worrying about magnification. You really only need a total magnification of 200X with a maximum of 400X. If you send me a PM, I can send you a few online links to learn more.
[quote name='"Eco12"'] I can't recommend a cheap microscope. It's sort of like buying a used car. There's a lot to look for and the best way would be to look at a sample under the microscope in question and see if you can see everything you want to see. Don't get caught up worrying about magnification. You really only need a total magnification of 200X with a maximum of 400X. If you send me a PM, I can send you a few online links to learn more.[/quote] Eco If you dont mind could you post the links here? Because I as well as others reading here are also interested in the links you're talking about and you may not want other spamming your inbox for you to continually answer the same and other questions individually. Mahalo Sean
I'd be curious as to your opinion on this one: AmScope 40x-2000x Lab Trinocular Biological Compound Microscope: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific