One correction I would make is that mycorrhizal fungi is in spore form until it come into contact with the roots of the plant. Since it's in spore form, there's no point in adding it to compost tea and it may get eaten by other microbes if the other food sources are scarce. That being said, I've never heard a 24 hour rule in regards to it dying. It's in a stable form when you buy it as a product. If anyone has more info., I'd love to hear it!

Originally Posted by CT Guy

I do add it to our composts as we do find it increases fungi of large hyphal diameter (which according to Dr. Ingham is what you want). Whether or not this particular species that it selects for is of huge benefit has yet to be determined, or at least I haven't seen any data on it. But, I'd add it to your soil in small amounts. Personally, i really like organic alfalfa meal the best. It's an excellent microbial food, and we use it in our tea and our composts.

Alfalfa is a staple in all of my soil mixes. And I do like to make teas with it for the purpose of foliar feeding. And I do add the let over tea to the soil in the right stage of growth.

Thanks Tad.

V

[habeeb]

Originally Posted by CT Guy

One correction I would make is that mycorrhizal fungi is in spore form until it come into contact with the roots of the plant. Since it's in spore form, there's no point in adding it to compost tea and it may get eaten by other microbes if the other food sources are scarce. That being said, I've never heard a 24 hour rule in regards to it dying. It's in a stable form when you buy it as a product. If anyone has more info., I'd love to hear it!

I read it in the tea brewing manual from ingham. the 5th version. said once it has food to start up (the tea) they will die unless getting to roots within 24 ( might be 48 hours)

I will take a look at the book as I don't have it around me right now..

Hey CT...

If I was brewing teas in a 5 gallon bucket, what size air pump would I want to be working with? I guess what I'm trying to avoid is buying a pump that won't aerate the solution enough, and there seems to be a wide latitude in aquarium pumps, anywhere from 10 gal to 100 gallon. Any recommendations?

Microbeman has posted a ratio of 0.05 CFM/gal. minimum. We use a 51 liter/min pump as a minimum in our 5 gal. machine.

Keep in mind that your design, water quality, temp., and recipe (compost and foods), will all effect the amount of aeration you need, but the info. in the above paragraph is good as a general rule.

Wow!

That sucker is pricey. Regarding the air pumps that most seem to use for this job, those made for aquariums...none of those seem to have any information about CFM/gal or liter/min available for viewing.

Do you think the next best option for me, given that I can't afford to plop down $60 or more for a pump, would be to get the aquarium pump that is recommended for the largest tanks? That seems logical, but I'm always prepared for the counter-intuitive to raise its gnarly head...

Thanks for your help.

[Joey56789]

I've been wondering the same thing you have Hal. Guys like CT Guy and Microbeman recommend some huge pumps. One of the pumps Microbe recommends on his website (the Hailea 9730) is 241MM X 173MM X 199MM or 9.5" x 6.8" x 7.8". It is made for ponds.

On the one hand I can't argue with CT and Microbe's research into this field. On the other hand I can't argue with the results that people around here show (killer MJ) with much smaller aquarium pumps. I wonder if it has something to do with us growing in smaller containers, or (If y0u follow recipe #3 in organics for beginners) we are hitting the crop with tea almost every time. Or in the case of Burn1, he uses at least EWC tea every time.

I'm using a really small aquarium pump right now, and contemplating getting a bigger one. I am only making a gallon at a time right now. I think I'm going to hit my old Aquarium forums and see what pumps they recommend.

FYI: 1 cubic foot/minute = 28.316 846 999 liter/minute

EDIT: Hal, you posted as I was. I'm sure bigger is better is a good rule. I have also noticed they often don't specify a flow rate. That's one of the things I need to research.

If you want to lower your inputs (foods) and brew in smaller quantities and extend your brewing times, then you can use a smaller pump. The issue with this is that without a microscope, you don't know if you're getting everything right and where in the brewing cycle you have your best tea.

The better pumps give you a high enough dissolved oxygen level (provided your design is good) that allow for maximal microbial growth.

If you use a smaller pump than this you may not be selecting for aerobic microbes and you probably aren't getting as good of a compost tea as you could.

Whatever you choose to do, try to keep this principles in mind with whatever system your budget can afford.

If you're on a tight budget, your money may be better spent on a good soil mix with worm castings and some soil amendments like seaweed, fish hydrolysate, etc....

Hey Joey...

I'll be looking forward to your post/research on the subject.

Ct...

Thanks again for your pro advice. I'm guessing I might go with what you mentioned in that last sentence, a good soil mix, until I have more money to invest. Good advice.

[jaykush]

if you cant get a pump for enough air for big brewers, brew smaller batches (1 gallon) and dilute it after then apply. if brewed right 1 gallon can easily stretch to 5. or just base your soil mix on the same compost and forget about the microbes and focus on what to feed the soil instead.