ACT teas- Drip system???Can it be done??

SeaMaiden said:

My thinking is along the lines of aquatics. You cannot grow out many fishes because of their larval stage--either they're so small they'll pass through pump filters and the impeller/driver kills them, or what they eat (plankton) is killed, UNLESS one uses pumps that make no contact with the water column. So I assumed the same would be true of aerated compost teas and the microbes cultured within.

As for the culturing microbes versus nutrients, again as I interpret and understand the process, one must limit the density of 'food' (NPK, etc) or the goal of culturing microbes would be hindered. I totally hear you on saving time (and money and water), but culturing microbes takes time and I haven't pushed the foods because I've been under the impression that once you start pushing the food you upset the microbe balance. For example, more food in suspension could mean that much less DO2, and I know this is true in aquatics, so it seems to extrapolate here, at least in my head it does.

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ACT does not work as a nutrient supply to plants. The reason you put any foodstock, like molasses in ACT is strictly to cause bacteria and archaea to divide and fungi to grow. Subsequent to that flagellates and/or naked amoebae [protozoa] begin to divide in response to the large bacterial/archaeal population. The protozoa begin eating the bacteria and archaea and that is when you apply the ACT to your soil because after eating bacteria/archaea the protozoa excrete pure ionic form nutrients which feed the plants.

Ingredients put into an ACT designed to benefit plants but do not directly benefit microbes in a liquid are a waste of time & money

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This may be a good opportunity to do a minor review.

The predominant way (known so far) which (most) plants receive nutrients naturally in the soil is through the microbial nutrient cycle. This involves protozoa, nematodes or rotifers eating bacteria and/or archaea (bacteria & archaea look the same) and then expelling waste which is ionic form nutrient (predominantly N & P) which is the form uptaken by plants.

The way that ACT fits into this scenario is that when molasses or some other food source is used in the brew fungi & bacteria/archaea are fed and grow & divide respectively during the 12 to 24 hour period. During the 24 to 36 (and up to 48) hour period protozoa (flagellates; naked amoebae) begin dividing in response to the bacteria/archaea, dividing approximately every 2 hours. It does not take many because protozoa can consume 10,000 bacteria per day. Thus you can see that by brewing ACT one is creating a microbial nutrient cycling consortium which when applied to the rhyzosphere should provide an 'instant' kick of nutrients to plants.
Additionally it boosts the soil’s microbial population.

Also in the soil (& compost), aside from legume obligate nitrogen fixing bacteria, there are free living bacteria/archaea N fixers (& other nutrient) and mineralizers. There are several ways that this occurs. One way is that nutrients are made available to roots by bacteria/archaea emitting an acid like citric acid which mineralizes organic matter into available (ionic) forms of nutrients. Similarly many roots excrete these types of acids when needed to make nutrients available to themselves. These nutrients are known as dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorous (DON & DOP)

The way that ACT fits into this is simply by containing and multiplying some of these species of bacteria & archaea.

Also in the soil there are fungal species which form hyphae (long strands) but do not form a fruiting body (mushroom). These are known as fungi imperfecti. They serve to provide pathways for other microbes and moisture, they join soil particles forming aggregates, they retain moisture and oxygen/air, they provide food to other microbes and plants indirectly by degrading organic matter or directly by being eaten by bacteria, they help prevent pathogens by displacing harmful fungi (and I hypothesize that some, as dark septate endophytes provide nutrients directly to roots)

The way that ACT fits into this is by growing out these hyphae if present in the compost used.

Also in the soil there are mycorrhizal fungal hyphae, which in the case of endomycorrhizal grow right into the plant cell in the root, drawing energy from the plant but also injecting nutrients into the cell(s) which it draws widely from the surrounding soil as it spreads.

The way that ACT fits into this is....NOT

Also in the soil are countless mysteries yet to be noticed.

In the end, just as it is for us, it is all about ATP and mitochondria.

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From what I gather, the microbes can handle going through a single pass pump without harm.

I think it was this guy who said this.

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Microbeman said:

I would like to once again bring attention to some recent posts in the Tea Article sticky; in particular # 1178 quoted below. ACT does indeed provide nutrients to plants, it just does not carry nutrients. This was also recently discussed in some other thread with my friend Capt Cheese.

Yes, I was the guy who said this and actually showed it. http://www.microbeorganics.com/#Does_Microbial_Life_Survive_
There you can see even fungal hyphae intact after passing through a mesh bag, impeller pump, sprinkler screening basket and shrubhead sprinkler.

How many years and how many times have I repeated these things on this forum?

To the OP; Unless your drip holes are very tiny, it should work fine. We irrigated about 5000 cannabis plants every summer with compost tea pumped out through a 1.5 horse power irrigation pump through overhead upside down shrubhead sprinklers. Every application of ACT was followed by straight water to flush out the lines. We had the occasional plugged up sprinkler but no major issues. No peutrid laying jelly mass lurking in the lines to pounce on our wondrous aerobian molecules.

This went on for years.

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