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Tea and Microscopes

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rckymtnthuglife

Member
I suppose this question is mainly for CT guy and Microbeman, but feel free to reply. I acquired a microscope that I believe is powerful enough to see BB's and fungi in my teas.

What do I look for?

What resources are out there to identify them?

Help.

Thanks Rocky
 
R

rckymtnthuglife

Member
Don't have much time to check it out right now....but I can't believe the info available. I'll post up later with the kind of microscope I have. A friend of mine "borrowed" it from a university microbiology lab so I'm assuming I'll be good to go.

Thanks a bunch.
 
R

rckymtnthuglife

Member
Alright, so it's a Ken-a -vision no model # that I can see. It has three different "scopes" on it.

Scope #1 has the following numbers 4/0.1
160/0.17
Scope#2 10/0.25
160/0.17
Scope#3 40/0.65
160/0.17

Thanks again for the info. Hope this microscope will work.
 
C

CT Guy

From your post I understand that you have 4X, 10X, and 40X objectives, with 10X eyepieces I'm guessing? That could work, but it's not ideal in regards to objective size. I have a 10X, 20X, 40X setup that I really like.

I'd recommend reading MM's link. There's a few videos at www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com but not nearly as extensive.

Is this your scope?
http://www.ken-a-vision.com/t19031c.asp

If so, it should work, though I don't know about the lighting because they don't give much info.

If you're serious about learning and are going to have the microscope for a while, I'd suggest picking up a copy of MM"s DVD.

Good luck, and feel free to post links to any video if you're having trouble with identification and have a camera attached.
 
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R

rckymtnthuglife

Member
That microscope looks a little nicer. I've got a tea brewing so I'll give it a shot tonight.Sorry about forgetting to check the eyepiece. I think this will be a good hobby for me to get into this winter thanks again for the info.
 
C

CT Guy

Your eyepieces will most likely be 10x, almost all are. I think you'll find it fascinating once you start.

Pick up some slides, cover slips, a good dropper, and some distilled water and you're good to go.

There's different methods to looking at soil/compost than the tea.

Don't have much time, but here's a couple of quick pointers.

1. Keep your microscope covered and clean of dust as best you can.

2. Use enough light to see the organisms, but the lower the light, the longer the slide will last (the heat from the light will start to dry out the sample over a matter of minutes).

3. Start with a wide view (10x, maybe even 4x) to get an idea of the larger organisms in the sample (fungal hyphae, nematodes, ciliates) and then zoom in using the higher magnifications to see the bacteria.

4. The one thing that MM always scolds me for is going too fast. Take your time so you don't miss stuff! :)

5. Fungal hyphae are the hardest to identify, as many things that are just organic matter may look like hyphae. When in doubt, assume it's not a fungal strand so you don't overestimate.

6. Lastly, one trick that MM taught me is that if you lightly bump the table, as fungal strand is more like to shake around than just a piece of organic matter. Not very scientific, but I've found it to be fairly accurate.

7. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!! :)
 
R

rckymtnthuglife

Member
Getting excited now...you were right it is a 10x eyepiece. I almost want to make a tea just so I can take a look.

Question: What is the distilled water for?? What are the different methods for soil rather than tea?

Thanks for all the pointers so far really appreciate it.
 
Microbeman

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Just mix up 1 or 2 teaspoons of soil or compost or sphagnum peat moss with 10 to 20 teaspoons distilled water and 2 or 3 drops of non-sulphured black strap molasses and shake violently in a pill bottle for 90 seconds; remove lid and leave to sit for 12/24/48/72 hours and draw samples (drop) to observe for microbes.
 
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