That’s the part I believe my soil has been missing… more fungi & microbes…
and they take time to develop. Just started my next container for the bloom room,
and decided to ‘prep’ it in advance.
Fabric container from previous run, grabbed the main stalk and pulled the entire rootball
from the container (moist but mostly dry) so I could shake the soil off. Leaving the bottom
3 inches in the container (rocks for drainage and undisturbed soil layer) started adding fresh
soil (Roots Orig) and layering with:
VitalChar - biochar, EWC, humus, glacial rock, guano etc…
Baseline - a granular humus
Kelp - Neem - CalMag dry suppliment
Planted cilantro as a cover crop around the void left to accept the new plant.
The cilantro in the previous run (only about 2 inches high) had roots almost to the
bottom of the fabric container and were well integrated with the root ball of the plant.
There is about 3 weeks until the container is needed, so that’s their head start.
When I do transplant, I’ll hit the gap with the ‘store bought’ microbe mixes, and thinking
of possibly a handful of worms for the heck of it… That’s the next phase… macrolife…
Next time I take a soil sample I’ll run a small experiment and perform a microbial analysis with varying time lengths of exposure to the “Blue” stuff I’v had laying around for over ten years in the garage. Anyone want to make a hypothesis of the outcome? I’ll use the recommended amount of the blue to treat a liter/ gallon of fluid whether it be compost tea or soil extracted microbes!
Ok so I started this little experiment tonight, I’ll be running a soil sample as well as a compost sample side by side about 3/4 cup of material , 1 gallon each using freshly harvested rain water, about a tsp of molasses in each container using an active aqua air pump 45L/min air capacity ill run for about 18 hours and check my biological activity, post pics of counts and then inoculate with the “blue” stuff. I’ll then take microscope counts at 4 hour intervals for eight hours then the last one at 24 hours then to see what is done to the biology.
So the tea has been brewing for 12hrs now there is activity in both sample but not the numbers I want for the experiment. Trying video upload from iPhone but the site isn’t having anything to do with my format
So I did some tea/soil checks this morning and for some reason I’m not getting the high number counts in my extracts that is expected there’s still life in the two gallon jugs , and it’s not gone anaerobic , I’m guessing my pump may have something to do with it perhaps to vigorous of air input ? I’m pumping in about 22L/min in each containers could it be creating microbe death? My usual set up with this pump is in about five gallons of tea ,any ideas, thoughts or recommendations,? I’v read/heard that spraying teas more forcefully could kill microbes Im wondering if this is a similar scenario?
In the meantime I’ll make a Protozoa soup over the next day or so and see if we can get something done here!
Inconsistencies like these are why some people argue against the effectiveness of such teas. I prefer to simply top dress and water in the (vermi)compost. This way the plant can determine what microbes should multiply and which shouldn’t. My $0.02 anyway.
yes, if all the ingredients are in the soil then we’re making tea with every watering. that’s my way of thinking which also happens to be the easy, lazy way of doing it
same here, K.I.S.S. If there’s some extra process I can eliminate it’s good because I’ll eventually figure out a way to screw it up and kill the plants with it. Although I did go through an airstone & bucket experimentation phase, I didn’t see much difference in the plants.
My mix has a lot of aeration in it and hopefully that allows the organic processes to thrive. I’ve read that the top 2 inches of soil has the most microbial activity - from being exposed to air - so I use flared containers that have more surface area, maybe it helps, puts more of the soil in the 2-inch zone.
I agree with the above statements of @ReikoX, @Muleskinner, I was going to try and do a visual proof as to what synthetics (Miracal grows ) does to the little guys down in the soil.
Great thread. I think you’re all pretty much right about organic vs chem nutes, but I think there’s also something to be said for a hybrid type feeding schedule.
Some of the nicest and best yielding gardens I’ve seen have used something like a regular 2 part a and b fert with organic supplements like castings etc in soil and/or compost teas or even pureblend as an additive. Seems to give the best of both worlds.
Thats called a thalos liverwort, a type of Marchantiophyta…they spread by spores, love to grow where its wet with high humidity and are commonly found with mosses in forest area’s and greenhouses…more of a nuisance than anything
good call! never seen that before - it seems cool though! Is there a downside? I think it would be cool to have a few of those in the pots, we just get regular moss around here
They are known to rob the soil of nitrogen and phosphorus which isn’t a problem if your heavy handed with the rock dusts like I am and in that token, they are beneficial as they soak up the extra moist conditions though have also been known to completely consume logs and boulders given enough time
There are over 200 different species…look over in the uk directories as its more of a problem there though they are all over the world with some fossils even in Antarctica dating back further than any other plant species today.
Britannica Boundless biology - they have it as Hepaticophyta though that is a wrong classification of this type or could be right I am just deciphering it wrong
Anyways, that’s what it is…if your growing cannabis in that soil its not desirable unless your looking for a balance in the short run like I am attempting with the tomato plant to uptake the extra potassium though in the long run can create more problems than what its worth because they are extremely difficult to eradicate outside of dry environments once established…sometimes unavoidable though many have as its a very old species like my nemesis, the horsetail though even more of a nuisance in high humidity area’s
tip! 
