[LadyLargely]

Heh, its cool rrog. I'm not a very patient person and I've never seen myself as a good teacher, but the sheer amount of awesome that emanates from this community has compelled me to do my best. I think that I am growing as a person just as much as you are from all this.

Now, for today's lesson!

having built and filled the tubs we've got bennies out the wazoo well on their way. However, we could use even more of them. Specific beneficial bacteria are a big part of my feeding regime. We've got tons in the root zone but that is not the only way aerobic bacteria can help our plants.

So, we need to whip up a quick Lacto Bactilli culture! I've seen one or two instructionals on how to make one here on the site, but I do things a little differently myself. User Jaykush has a nice, reliable cold-extraction method posted but I am far too impatient for that crap.

So here's how to make Lady L's supercharged Lacto B culture!

Gather these supplies:



A mason jar full of water, a pan, and some nice long-grain brown rice.

Boil the water in the pan and add a cup or two of the rice. Reduce to a simmer. Cook briefly, only 3-5 minutes. Don't cook it like you are going to eat it. Add no salt or oil. Remember, briefly.

Remove from heat. Pour out the pan and filter the rice from the water. Add this 'rice wash' back into your jar like so:



Mmmm, perfect.

You can let this jar sit around loosely covered for a week or more. Fuck that though, do this instead:



Stick the jar somewhere cool and dim and run a small accessory air stone in it. Minimal air flow, just enough to bubble at the surface a bit.

Within hours the mixture will start to foam up like an organic tea. This means the bacteria have colonized and started going to work. Scrape this foam away and remove it several times over the next day or two. After that we will move on to the rather less pleasant step 2. Come back in 2 days or so to see.

Time for an OBBT update!

I think this is the most aggressive OBBT medium I have mixed up to date. The tubs have been assembled for only three days and already they are COMING TO LIFE!



I know its hard to see in the image from my shitty camera, but look hard smack in the middle of the image. Right above the shadow line. See that? That little gray fuzzy guy? That is a colony of Mycorrhizae fungus! It has already breached the surface of the medium which means it is well on its way to complete takeover.

Fungus Porn!

That poof is a particularly dense colony, but as you can see from the above 2 images there is a light gray haze creeping over the whole surface of the medium. Beautiful! At this rate I would say the tubs will be ready for seedlings in about 3 more days. Can't wait!

*EDIT* Oh Noes! I've already just about run out of image space! Four measly megabytes? Thats all? Is there any way to expand my image space? Do I have to become a cooler user? More posts? More good karma? Must I be an ICmag donor?
*woe* I guess all further images will be remotely hosted from a photobucket account or something. Srry in advance guys.

[rrog]

Originally Posted by LadyLargely

Heh, its cool rrog. I'm not a very patient person and I've never seen myself as a good teacher, but the sheer amount of awesome that emanates from this community has compelled me to do my best.

?? From my selfish perspective I couldn't have asked for more. You have great answers, explain things in a straightforward manner, and you have details that someone trying to follow exactly need. I'm thrilled.

Really extremely exciting. I love fungus porn! Wow, I never knew.

You should open up a free Photobucket account. Then you can post images like crazy

Thanks again. This was a great post

[LadyLargely]

Heh, no prob man, I'll get images figured out.

Love having your responses, but try not to quote my entire post when you respond. Especially when it is such a large, image-filled one. Delete a bunch of that crap and only leave the relevant bits you are responding to. I want to keep this thread nice and clean and easy to read.

Things are starting to get properly exciting now. Resisting the urge to go ahead and stick my sweet beans in the incubator is getting more difficult with each day. Won't be long before we have some of the green stuff going!

[DrunkenMessiah]

Hah, well I'll be damned!

Lady L, you don't have to be a plumber to successfully work with PVC fittings, you just have to be patient! This was always your weakness! My rendition of the OBBTs aren't that bad, although I will admit RipVanWeed's version is awfully clean in comparison.

Looks like you have things properly nailed down. Are you seriously getting away with nute concentrations that high up front!? Jumping Jeesus that is a hot medium.

Watch out for the Lady everyone! She pushes her methods right out to the edge of what is possible and then talks about it like its no big deal. She walks a very fine line! The difference between what she does and a catastrophic failure isn't very big. You would all do well to take her advice, but back off on things a little. The OBBTs are very relaxed and easy-going by their nature, but it seems that Lady L has taken them and redlined their performance to within an inch of their little lives. It will make for some spectacular pictures I'm sure, but just be careful if you plan on trying it out for yourself.

Lady Largely

I'm sorry our little reunion had to happen this way. You know that I didn't want the last time we saw eachother IRL to go the way it did. You're just so damn hot-headed, you forced my hand!

In another life, in a parallel universe, in a different potential reality I think things between you and me went a lot differently. Somewhere out in the spiraling firmament different potential versions of you and me are still happily gardening together. Perhaps happily doing other things together as well. Other things that it seems you think should have happened here, in this reality. We both know we came close to that, it almost was that way. But we also both know that it wouldn't have lasted. I'd rather you be an angry old friend hanging out on an internet forum with me than a scorned ex-lover who would refuse to ever speak with me again.

When you get your post count up I'll PM you some contact info, maybe we can have some more long-winded and pointless conversations like old times hm? You know that the distance I put between us is the only reason you are willing to speak with me at all. You gotta see things from my perspective at the time, I really didn't have any other choice.

Ahem *cough* erm

This is a gardening forum isn't it? Well, tried to start off with relevant info, sorry for letting it trail off into something totally unrelated everyone! I'll now get my ass out of here and stop marring Lady L's nice clean thread with my big stupid rants. Count my in for a ringside seat Lady L, can't wait to see what this past year of OBBT experience has yielded you.

Good luck and happy gardening!

-DM

[McDanger]

Here is the recipe of the medium I mixed up yesterday:
2gal sta-green soil w/perlite
1gal ewc
2gal vermiculite
1gal perlite
6gal coco (2gal hydro chunks and 4 more of the chunks treated w/boiling water and broken up w/paint mixer)

2tbsp "activator" bacteria
6cups Holly-tone (I used this instead of bio-tone because I had it. It is more for acid loving plants, but has most of the same things as the bio-tone.)
12cups kelp meal
4cups blood meal

I did not add the epsom salts or lime because I don't have any right now. (can you let me know what these provide and if I need both with the holly-tone?)

I have to get some grommets and elbows for the buckets and will build them today. Ordering an air pump today also. (I have a cheap one to use for now).

Thats it for now, I will have some questions soon enough.

[rrog]

I have read that using the O-ring type bulkhead nozzles are less likely to leak than the grommet-type.

[McDanger]

Originally Posted by rrog

I have read that using the O-ring type bulkhead nozzles are less likely to leak than the grommet-type.

I'll keep that in mind when I go shopping.

[rrog]

It's really bugged me and I posted the question on three different forums. I have also ordered a few different types and will try them in a scrap pail. I'll pick the winner and post pics and results. The fact that these might leak pissed me off.

[DrunkenMessiah]

Heh, leaks are an issue which is why I always liked working with PVC. Get everything fit tight and use lots of glue and primer. PVC is pressure rated and so will easily stand up to the crummy water pressure presented by gravity. Lady L says they are a bastard to work with but its not that bad. She prolly hustled through the process as usual, not bothering to make sure she cut the tube square or primered the fittings properly.

Whatever you end up using leaks can be annoying. That White Lightning Maximus stuff Lady L showed us looks pretty good. Using it preventatively should see even the leak-prone OBBT design being sealed up nicely.

Good luck and happy gardening!

-DM

[rrog]

Originally Posted by DrunkenMessiah

That White Lightning Maximus stuff Lady L showed us looks pretty good. Using it preventatively should see even the leak-prone OBBT design being sealed up nicely.

That appears to be standard latex sealant. It's possible to get these things leakproof without sealant. I'm hoping that my little trials will yield some good info for everyone.