Fast Fungi / Myco Mother Culture Mix

[Tactical Farmer]

Going to start off by saying that im not a scientist - just a simple fella that likes to play with dirt.

Been getting alot of questions from folks on my Earth Juice sticky thread about this stuff.

Haven't seen this documented so here is what I have been doing.

Its really simple & you cant really screw up making it but * Do Use Caution * when applying the fungi stuff with seedings & clones as it will attack - eat - kill them quick.

I see there being many different variations with this, some examples would be:

1. Bacterial Dominate
2. Fungal Dominate
3. With Nutes
4. Without Nutes

So basically what im doing is taking my (beneficials) powder to an visibly growing activated state by giving it an ideal environment & nutrition.

There are several benefits to this - some being:

1. Beneficials more readily available for duty.
2. Create large volume of highly active (beneficials) material
3. Speeds up the breaking down of added nutrients.
4. Also adds various nutrients from the food for the plant.
5. Fungi ready for further expansion via bubbled teas.
6. (Beneficials) product lasts a long time as a little bit goes a long way.

Making Beneficials Culture Mix

I just use whatever soil mix as the base - screened compost works great.

Then depending on what my plans are I will just add specific (food store items & or nutrients) to the compost with the (beneficials) powder.

They love these items & it makes them grow like crazy.

#1 Bacterical / Nitrogen dominate - Wet & Dry ferts added (VERY STRONG)

#2 Fungal / Phosphorus dominate - Wet & Dry ferts added (VERY STRONG)

#3 Fungal - No Added ferts - just food

#1 & #2 were moistened heavily with ALOT of liquid & dry fertilizer & the #3 was just wetted with spring water.

I added vermiculite to aid in moisture control - I try to keep them semi damp by misting almost daily.

______________________________________________________

Just place it in a good spot somewhere & wait.

In a few days it should start visibly growing & in a week or so it should be really funky.

Fungal dominate nuted one has really formed a dense / hard formation.

____________________________________________________

APPLICATION

***WARNING***

A mix of Fungi in this concentration will aggressively cling to & turn seedlings / even rooted clones into compost material.

Seriously dont even sit your starter mix near this..[/COLOR][/B]

The material has alot of uses, can be added to compost pile, upcoming soil mix, teas, topdressing.

* (beneficial foliar spray) ?

Once you get some going you can just add more to it when it starts to run low or activity drops.

Or make a fresh batch & activate it with the old batch.

Just try to keep track of what you are doing / adding to aid in control.

You can use it very often as there doesn't seem to be a point of overdoing.

_________________________________________________

Boosting the worm bin.

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Related Info:

Not Just For Roots

Teas are not only beneficial for your plant roots,but also for leaves.I like to spray a bit on the leaves in a topical application.The benefit comes from the "coating" of microbes that you create on the leaf when you spray it.This basically muscles out any bad microbes.Be sure to cover atleast 70% of the leaf surface with the tea-spray,ensuring that you get both the tops and bottoms.


Fungus vs. Bacteria

Most teas are bacteria-dominant.However,in flowering,fungus is a tremendous benefit to your plants.I wouldn't stress this if I hadn't seen for myself what a difference the fungi make.Organic plants are all about fungi when flowering.If the fungi aren't present,there's just no way to push your plants to the limits of yield and quality.In fact,fungi-dominant teas are so good that they're the trick to achieving yields that border on those produced in finely tuned hydroponic environments.

Fungus takes longer to grow than bacteria.In the population race,bacteria always outgrows fungi by a large margin.Thus,when making a fungi-dominant tea,you have to give the fungi a head start.

Fungus plays a special role during flowering,delivering things such as phosphorous to the plants roots.They also breakdown secondary mineral nutrients and ammonium nitrogen available to the roots.Bacteria then convert the ammonium nitrogen to nitric nitrogen.Both varieties of nitrogen,ammonium and nitric,can be used by a cannabis plant and help it grow vigorously.

Nitric Nitrogen:Makes the plants grow shorter & wider,with closer node spacing.

Ammonium Nitrogen:Causes some stretch in the plant.

Nutrient Flexible

Teas can provide your plants with more than good bacteria.If your plant are lacking food or you encounter a problem that you need to correct,teas are an excellent vehicle for infusing your soil with nutrients.

Personally,I utilize teas mostly to provide my plants with fungi.How many nutrients you should add to you tea depends on what you already have in your particular soil (and needs of your plants).I pack my soil with tons of long-term nitrogen,phosphorous,and potassium,so I don't have to worry about the tea playing the role of nutrient provider.

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Bacteria

The only real gotcha with organic teas is aeration.You must continually aerate your organic teas.Why?There are two types of bacteria that can develop in you tea : Aerobic and Anaerobic.Anaerobic doesn't need oxygen and is nasty stuff.If you ever smell your tea and it stinks of sewer,don't use it!It means that there's anaerobic activity.A good tea that's rich in aerobic activity will smell like very rich soil (the kind that's teaming with earthworms).Anaerobic teas are bad for more reasons than the fact that they literally smell like shit.They can also manifest E. Coli and introduce things like alcohols,which can kill your plants fast.Good aeration isn't just to supply oxygen to your plant roots.It's also a catalyst that teases the microbes and protozoa out of the compost-or earthworm castings,in the case of vermicompost-without killing them.After the continuous bubbling pushes them out,they consume the nutrients and simple sugars in your tea and multiply in a big way (creating the microlife boom that will,in turn,produce a bust,wherein large numbers of microbes will die their carcasses will nourish your plants' roots).


Thou Shalt Not

There are certain varieties of compost and brewing conditions that should be avoided when brewing a batch of organic tea.

Chlorine:I've said it before and I'll say it again:Never use chlorinated water on organic soil!This obviously includes teas.But if your only source of water is chlorinated,don't freak out.Simply drop an airstone in an uncovered container of the water for 24 hours.Your chlorine problems will be gone.

Compost Leachates:This is just compost squeezed and pressed.It's not very nutrient rich.But it'slack of nutrients isn't the problem (remember,using teas as a vehicle for transporting nutrients to your plants is a supplemental benefit).The problem is anaerobic activity,which can spell death for your plants.

Compost Extracts:While these provide more nutrient value than compost leachates,they still contain anaerobic activity (the big "I'm a dumbass" move in the world of organic teas).

Violent Aeration:Aeration is your friend and the key to a potent tea that's teaming with good bacteria.But too much aeration on the scale that provides an excessive amount of agitation and turbulence to the tea-is a bad thing becuase it will actually beat the microbeasties to death!Be gentle with the teas;remember that they're teaming with microbes!

Ultraviolet/HID/Sunlight:Avoid any high intensity lights or sunlight.Instead,use "normal" house lighting,such as florescent or tungsten.However,avoid any light source near your tea brewer.Regular room lighting is fine,but-as a rule of thumb-dimmer is better.

Mother Mary's Tea Recipes

*The measurments below are for a one gallon tea bubbler.When making teas in smaller containers,simply adjust the recipe or dilute the final tea with water.

*In these recipes,brew the tea with an airstone in a one gallon container for 24 to 48 hours.When you're done brewing,strain it through a nylon stocking (for topical/sprayer applications) or a standard strainer (for normal watering applications) and cut it 50/50 using dechlorinated water.

*Fungi-dominant tea compost should be mixed together and kept very wet for three to seven days prior to brewing.Store it high in a room,near the ceiling and in the dark.The microlife and fungi populations will really bloom if you place a heating pad-set to low-below the container (shoot for 68-75 degrees fahrenheit;20-24 degrees celsius).After three days,it will be visibly booming with fungus (what I call "Santa's Beard").Put this in your tea brewer and bubble it (in place of regular compost).

*Prepare for the container to foam up and bubble over.You should place a tray under your tea bubbler and avoid any electrical or other items that may be damaged or unsafe around the bubbling water.

Vegetattive Stage Recipe

* One Gallon Water *: R/O water,rain water,distilled etc. etc.

* One Teaspoon Black Strap Molasses (unsulfured)1-0-5)*:
Be sure to use only the unsulfured variety.This is because sulfur kills microlife,especially fungus (unless it's elemental sulfur in small ratios).

* One Teaspoon liquid Alaskan Fish Fertilizer (5-1-1)*:
Fungus and bacteria both love fish ferts and go nuts reproducing when it's included.

* One Cup Earthworm Castings (vermicompost) or good outdoor compost*:
Vermicompost provides humates,enzymes,protozoa,nematodes,bacteria,fungus ,trace elements,secondary and primary nutrients.

* One Teaspoon Fox Farms Peace Of Mind All Purpose (5-5-5) *:
Food for the microlife that balances the pH of the tea (to about 6.5-7.2).

Flowering Stage Recipes

* One Teaspoon Black Strap Molasses (unsulfured) (1-0-5) *:
An excellent source of potassium during flowering;bacteria prefer these simple sugars,whereas the fungus prefer more complex sugars derived from various organic matter.

* One Teaspoon Fox Farms Peace Of Mind All Purpose (5-5-5) *:
Food for the microlife that balances the pH of the tea (to about 6.5-7.2).

* One Teaspoon High Phosphorous Bat Guano (0-4-0) *:
Fungi love this nutrient and will deliver it to the plant roots.

* One cup Earthworm Castings (vermicompost) or regular compost *:
Good balance of nutrient (trace and secondary).Also a source for microbes and beneficial elements.

* One teaspoon Maxicrop liquid or 1/2 teaspoon water soluble Maxicrop or kelp/seaweed extract (dry) *:
A fungal favorite,this is a key tea ingredient that produces a good ratio of happy fungus.It's also booming with trace elements,some nitrogen,and some potassium.

* 1/4 teaspoon Micronized (soft) Rock Phosphate *:
Fungus attach to the rock phosphate and grow on it.Also a prime source for phosphorous,magnesium & sulfur.

Fungus Dominant (halfway through flowering) Recipes

* 1/2 cup Earthworm Castings *:
See above.

* 1/2 cup Mushroom Compost *:
This is fungus waiting to happen.A rich source of fungal spores and dense organic matter that fungi like to eat.

* Two tablespoons Powdered,100% Natural rolled oats *:
Fungi love this nutrient and will deliver it to the plant roots.

* Two teaspoons Kelp Meal *:
I use kelp meal for several reasons.It's organic matter that fungi like to attach themselves to.Fungi love kelp extracts as a primary food source and the rich trace elements and potassium it introduces.

* 1/4 teaspoon Micronized (soft) Rock Phosphate *:
Fungus attach to the rock phosphate and grow on it.Also a prime source of phosphorous,magnesium and sulfur.

The earthworm castings,mushroom compost,oatmeal,and kelp meal are first mixed together and made very wet.After fungus has grown on this blend,place it in your tea bubbler for 24 hours with some additional liquid (or water soluble) kelp/seaweed extract and Micronized (soft) rock phosphate.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=61990

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Favorite snacks for Fungi

mashed potato flakes
pure "white" yogurt
skim milk powder
wheat flour
rolled oats
coffee grounds
oatmeal
molasses
malt
corn syrup
rice

humic acid
fulvic acid
seaweed / kelp
straw / hay
most "meals" (alfalfa, cottonseed)
cow and horse dung
organic soy protein powder
rock phosphate
over-ripe banana skin
soluble yucca extract

Favorite snacks for Bacteria

molasses
humic acid

???????
???????

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Piranha contains

EctoMycorrhiza:
Pt (Pisolithus)
Rhizopogon amylopogon
Rhizopogon Villosuli
Rhizopogon fulvigelba
Rhizopogon luteolus
Laccaria laccata
Laccaria bicolor
Scleroderma cepa
Scleroderma citrinum
Pisolithus tunctorius

EndoMycorrhiza:
Glomus mosseae
Glomus intraradices
Glomus clarum
Glomus monsporus
Glomus deserticola
Glomus brasilianum
Glomus aggregatum
Gigaspora margarita

Trichoderma:
Trichoderma polysporum
Trichoderma imbricatum
Trichoderma pardinum
Trichoderma zelleni
Trichoderma flavouirens
Trichoderma harzianum
Trichoderma koningii
Trichoderma viride

 

[Microbeman]

I do not have a lot of time now but briefly, it appears you are growing fuzz type mold; cannabis is endomycorrhizal and you CANNOT grow endomycorrhizal fungi in absence of living roots (except in difficultly executed lab procedures).

 

[Tactical Farmer]

I slightly remember reading about that - why do living roots (unlock) this special type ?

Wish I could ID these better - need a scope but do believe the one in this pic (grey fuzzy type) that comes on first & fast is Trichodermia (biggest enemy of mushroom growers).

Personal extensive experience - it will trash a project by overtaking psychedelic mycelia fungi.

That was on day 3 - both fungal dominate - left is with no nutes - right is with ALOT of nutes.

But now after a week the left no nute has mellowed out & the nuted ones are taking off with different types.

The far right is the bacterial dominate - its got a different look going with some blues & greens.

 

[DARC MIND]

i think most be better off starting a fungi compost (leaf mold,untreated wood,choped shrooms and or slurrys) or culture mycro fungi with Bahia grass.

I slightly remember reading about that - why do living roots (unlock) this special type ?

its a mutualistic relationship,the fungus colonizes (the host) plant roots. read the wiki on mycorrhiza or here
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=138700&highlight=trichoderma
http://www.saviskyproturf.com/28.html

 

[Amphiphile]

I do not have a lot of time now but briefly, it appears you are growing fuzz type mold; cannabis is endomycorrhizal and you CANNOT grow endomycorrhizal fungi in absence of living roots (except in difficultly executed lab procedures).

So basically if that mold that is growing on the soil is not beneficial for plants (at least MJ), would they do any damage to a plant living in that mix?

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Was aware of the underground fungal bonding relationship with tree roots.

They work together because the tree roots produce sugars the fungi love & the tree gets fed nutrients the fungi breaks down.

Natural teamwork in action.

Thats why I chose to grow multiple plants in the same tub so they can cross feed each other using this fungal soil network.

I just figured the molasses & catalyst I add filled the root sugar gap when no roots are present ?

The culture makes contact with fresh roots during transplants as its mixed into soil regularly & soil is reused.

Like I said im no scientist - ive been going crazy with this stuff for awhile now & it doesn't hurt & seems to be working very well.

Soil & teas smell great - no bad bugs or diseases - plants uptaking NPK rapidly ?

This was 1 topped plant with more bud on the stick further down & numerous sub branch buds.

Thats a first run strain under 400W over the winter in a poorly setup new room with no fresh air & other problems.

I had 6 plants crammed into a single 20 gal tub.

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Ectomycorrhizas, or EcM, are typically formed between the roots of around 10% of plant families, mostly woody plants including the birch, dipterocarp, eucalyptus, oak, pine, and rose families and fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Zygomycota. Ectomycorrhizas consist of a hyphal sheath, or mantle, covering the root tip and a hartig net of hyphae surrounding the plant cells within the root cortex. In some cases the hyphae may also penetrate the plant cells, in which case the mycorrhiza is called an ectendomycorrhiza. Outside the root, the fungal mycelium forms an extensive network within the soil and leaf litter. Nutrients can be shown to move between different plants through the fungal network (sometimes called the wood wide web). Carbon has been shown to move from birch trees into fir trees thereby promoting succession in ecosystems.

Endomycorrhiza arbuscular mycorrhiza (plural mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a type of mycorrhiza in which the fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant.my

Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AMs) are characterized by the formation of unique structures such as arbuscules and vesicles by fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota (AM fungi). AM fungi help plants to capture nutrients such as phosphorus and micronutrients from the soil. It is believed that the development of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis played a crucial role in the initial colonisation of land by plants and in the evolution of the vascular plants.
___________________________________________________________________________

So if scientific MJ research is correct then (worst case) the Ecto might not (penetrate) the roots but the Ecto will still cover the roots but in some cases Ecto will penetrate roots (like Endo) which changes them into Ectendomycorrhiza.

Well thats enough thinking for tonight - Endo powder on the roots is so yesterday - funky fungus chunks is where its at (try it).

Dont hate me for being different - Peace all - Much respect Mircob Man

Do Endo & Ecto compete for space like they do with bacteria ?

 

[DARC MIND]

no one is hating on u man, some of us have fungal compost and culture mycro fungi with grass. thats it.....
we all a bit diff with our methods and its all about sharing our experiences
thanks for all the time and work u put in this, if this is working for you great!

 

[Scrogerman]

Tagged great thread, very interesting & i know this info will help me, Thanks!

 

[Microbeman]

Just because one is not growing a mycorrhizal type fungi does not mean that these fungi are not of benefit to the microbial nutrient cycle. The cannabis plant may indeed benefit from some sorts of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. When I grew in old living soil in my indoor vertical garden bins, I had several (unknown) varieties of mushrooms growing in conjunction with cannabis. It is likely that if one uses Trichoderma spores in combination with the endomyc. spores [Glomas Mosseae; g. Intraradices; Gigaspora rosea; etc.] that this will be counter-productive as already implied by Tactical Farmer. Your experiments are interesting. It is through observation, question and hypothesis that we learn. Let me know when you are ready to get a microscope.

 

[DARC MIND]

i use to do something like this reccomended by MM and or ctguy
i used my own screened fresh casting & fall leaves; blended some oats to powder 1st,then mixed in water, molasses w/ a tsp of en/ea and moistened the fresh casting/leaf mold media with the blend.
in a few weeks things looked neat and i brewed or amended soil/compost with

 

[Phedrosbenny]

In this thread you stated that teas we make should smell like good soil.I have a tea that I have been brewing for about 5 days.It consists of earth worm castings,earth juice bloom,and grandmas unsulphured molasses.It doesnt smell like good soil.It smells like sweet stinky cheese.it doesnt have any type of growth in it.I also dont have a air stone that I can use at this time,so I have the air hose from the air pump stuck in it and it is bubbling.Do you have to have the air stone? And,is my tea still good do you think? Since it doesnt smell as you mentioned that it should.Im thinking about adding some kelp meal and compost to it..Think that would be a good idea?

Would there be anything wrong with keeping a tea going constantly and just adding ingrediants to it as you need to? I mean as long as it is bubbling constantly?

Last question..I have read where you say that once the tea or fertalizer or whatever has gone annorobic (I know I spelled that wrong..lols) it is bad.I have read that in other places and I do comply with it.But then why do people use shit or shitty ,sewage,smelling things in thier outdoor veg gardens and so on with a good result ??

 

[liquidmaco]

thanks for putting all this info up in one place tf! looks like its hoppin already

 

[DARC MIND]

phed
take a few and read these articles carefully, i think all the answers to ur compost tea questions and some are ther..
its tea time 1 & 2
http://www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com/teaarticle.shtml
http://www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com/teaarticle2.shtml
compost tea, is it all the same?
http://www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com/aactarticle.shtml

 

[jaykush]

tactical farmer you would so like making beneficial indigenous micro organisms culture aka BIM. might want to do a google search on it.

 

[Phedrosbenny]

phed
take a few and read these articles carefully, i think all the answers to ur compost tea questions and some are ther..
its tea time 1 & 2
http://www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com/teaarticle.shtml
http://www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com/teaarticle2.shtml
compost tea, is it all the same?
http://www.gardeningwithmicrobes.com/aactarticle.shtml

O.K..and Thank You.I.ll read them right now.

 

[guest2012y]

tactical farmer you would so like making beneficial indigenous micro organisms culture aka BIM. might want to do a google search on it.

Just started doing this last week. It's an addiction.
I'm finding that when looking for spots to collect my BIM's there are certain micro-climates that are more of a target. Using the "forest beneficial micro organisims" method in this article CC posted somewhere else.
http://tribes.tribe.net/effectivemicro/thread/d6b8fd03-e2c7-4650-a658-51fdf4f013ad