Making your own EM1,2,3 and 4

[sativaking]

So its my first time using EM1 i was just gonna buy it to save time its only for 2 plants. I saw this recipe though and wondered if this is how you make your own. If anyone has the answer a yes or no will be fine I know it could possibly be a lot to write the entire process. Thanks everyone.

Materials:
- Vegetables waste, especially beans
- Fruit skin peels (papaya, banana, rambutan, mango, etc..)
- Cheap Bran
- Brown sugar
- Rice water (the water you use to wash rice before you cook it)

Method:

- Mixed vegetable waste, fruit peels and bran. Place the instance in a bucket or container. Close and stir occasionally, leave for one week to rot and then it become EM (EM1). EM stands for Effective microorganisms that will accelerate the composting process.

- EM1 liquid waste is mixed with vegetable and fruit peels. Then keep again for a week. It will develop a new liquid called EM2.

- EM2 fluid mixed with bran, brown sugar and rice water and keep for about a week, it will become EM3.

- Lets stand for about another week without adding anything. It will be EM4.

 

[Microbeman]

No. This will contain no PNSBs the most important microbe in EM1.

 

[BusinessFactory]

No. This will contain no PNSBs the most important microbe in EM1.

What role does the purple nonsulfered bacteria play in the soil? I'm not finding too much info and a lot of it is over my head anyways.

 

[sativaking]

I dunno if microbeman will care but i learned a lot from his forum (hope its cool i post this). https://logicalgardener.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=122

 

[wasgedn]

isnt em2-4 rather a active fertilizer and em1(em-a)is the one with the most em microbes and most active em microbes...?

i did my own em-a for 1 euro a liter....but its better to go with moon-schedule and i never came under 3,6 ph....the one i buy comes with ph 3,4
EDIT when over 3,8 ph , the em is not so active anymore....thats why

 

[Illuminate]

Subd

 

[sativaking]

isnt em2-4 rather a active fertilizer and em1(em-a)is the one with the most em microbes and most active em microbes...?

i did my own em-a for 1 euro a liter....but its better to go with moon-schedule and i never came under 3,6 ph....the one i buy comes with ph 3,4
EDIT when over 3,8 ph , the em is not so active anymore....thats why

I thought there was a difference between 1,2,3 and 4 and AEM (activated effective micro organisms) still learning myself.

 

[Weird]

i read somewhere here (to give poster credit) that em-2 is

10% em-1 10% molasses to a sealed container of water I use soda bottles and let it sit in a sunny window for a month

works wonders

as per manufacturer apparently this i simply activated em-1

1 qt makes 5 gallons

works wonders the 10 is total for both em-1 and molasses

http://www.emearth.com/newpdfdocuments/How to Make Activated EM (1).pdf

How to Make Activated EM®
You can take one quart of EM•1® and turn it into 5 gallons of Activated EM®! When you purchase a
quart of EM•1®, this is a first generation of the EM® culture. Because these are living organisms, they
can reproduce into a second generation of the EM® culture. This second generation is called “Activated
EM®” or simply AEM. However, this second generation of AEM no longer has a shelf life of six months—
but has a shelf life of about 4 to 6 weeks. So be sure to activate only enough to meet your needs for that
timeframe. Also, be sure not to try to produce a third generation of AEM from a second generation. The
vitality of the microbes is diminished too severely, if this is attempted.
Activating One Gallon.
Be sure to use a strong plastic container that can be sealed airtight. Because a
fermentation process is taking place, a glass container may explode from the offgassing. Once the fer-
mentation process begins, be sure to briefly open and shut the lid to “burp” the expanding gasses. Do
this on a daily basis. When using a plastic one gallon container, there are sixteen cups per gallon. The
formula for one gallon would be: ¾ of a cup (6 oz) of EM•1®; ¾ of a cup of molasses; and the rest of the
container would be filled with water. It is recommended to use high quality purified water that has been
micro-structured by the EM
®
Ceramics. Because the molasses is thick and hard to mix, it is a good idea
to add the molasses first into the plastic container, and then add about two cups of warm water. Then
close the container and shake it well. This helps to thin the molasses down. Then add the EM•1® and the
remaining (room temperature) water. When the container is full, make sure that the lid is sealed tight.
The ideal temperature for fermenting is about 100°F. In most cases, it is difficult to maintain this
temperature at a consistent rate. So the fermentation process will be slower at normal room temper-
atures. When fermenting, it is okay to activate in a light area. When the AEM stops offgassing, then the
fermentation process is complete - then place it in a dark, cool place. The fermentation process normally
takes between 10-20 days to complete at room temperature – such as a cupboard. The completed AEM
will have a sweet-sour aroma, and should have a pH level of 3.8 or lower—if you have a pH test kit. For
activating smaller or larger quantities of EM
·
1
®
, the same procedures apply at the same ratios of 1:1:20
–which is: 1 part EM; 1 part molasses; and 20 parts water.
Items Needed for Activating EM
®
:

A clean airtight plastic bottle/a funnel/a measuring cup

1 part EM•1® or 5% of total volume

1 part Black Strap Molasses or 5% of total volume

20 parts water or 90% of total volume
How to Use Activated EM
®
.
AEM can be used interchangeably at the same ratios as the first genera-
tion of EM•1®. The only difference is that the AEM has a shorter shelf-life. Activated EM
®
is a great way
to keep the cost of applying EM
®
around the household at a very low minimum. Use the AEM for:
gar-
dening, composting, cleaning your septic and sewer lines, cleaning your clothes,
bathing your pets, odor
and mold control, making bokashi, and for a broad variety of other
household uses.
Be sure to share
these environmental-quality application ideas with friends and neighbors!
Helpful Hint:
Once the activation process is completed, place the contents of the larger container in
smaller bottles. In that the activated EM
®
is an anaerobic fermentation end-product, the shelf-life of the
AEM remains much longer when it is kept in air-tight containers. Use only what you need, one smaller
bottle at a time.

 

[Weird]

there is a long ongoing lacto bacillus thread here

lacto bacillus seems to be a big part of em-1

 

[Weird]

http://permaculturenews.org/forums/index.php?threads/dont-buy-into-making-em4-or-any-other-em.12409/

..instead make it yourself like the Permaculturalist inside of you is pining for you to do. (OK, its early, so what if I screwed up my title and its joke.)

[h=2]Make your own EM (Effective Microorganisms)[/h]

EM is a blend of beneficial microorganisms developed by Teruo Higa, a professor at the University of the Ryukyu in Japan. These microorganisms improve the health of the soil, the plants, water and humans by breaking down organic matter in the soil, fixing nitrogen from the air, and feeding and protecting plants and animals. The organisms included are primarily yeast and pro-biotic photosynthetic bacteria and lactic acid bacteria. Buying EM is quite expensive, and you actually can make yourself at very minimal cost.

In Asia, they even further process the EM into 4 types of EM (EM1, EM2, EM3 and EM4) and become much more effective and best depending what you will use the EM for. Here is simple way to make your own EM.
EM1 is the original trademark product and contains a group of bacteria primarily lactic acid bacteria (lactic acid produced in metabolism), yeast, and photosynthetic bacteria. EM1 contains only three types of microorganisms in ideal proportions.
EM2 is a mixture of more microorganisms, which is about 10 types and 80 species. Microorganisms, like many in EM1, also exist together as a consortium. The main microbes that exist in the EM2 is a photosynthetic bacteria, fungi, yeasts or molds, and so on. Made in liquid culture medium with pH 7 and stored at pH 8.5. The population of microorganisms in the solution is about 10 (9) or 1 billion cells per gram of fluid.
EM3 consists of approximately 90% of bacteria photosynthesis and the rest are of other microorganisms. EM3 was cultured and stored at pH 8.5. Microorganism population in the fluid is also about 10 (9) or 1 billion cells per gram of fluid.
EM4 consisted of 90% Lactobacillus spp. and microorganisms that produce lactic acid more. EM is made by culture in liquid medium was acidic pH of 4.5. The number of microorganisms retained the same as above, ie 1 billion per gram of fluid.
That’s the main difference between EM1, EM2, EM3, and EM4. So in principle, the differences caused by the content of microorganisms of each type of EM is. The one that mostly used in Asia to boost farming and fisheries is the EM4.
Materials:
- Vegetables waste, especially beans
- Fruit skin peels (papaya, banana, rambutan, mango, etc..)
- Cheap Bran
- Brown sugar
- Rice water (the water you use to wash rice before you cook it)
Method:
- Mixed vegetable waste, fruit peels and bran. Place the instance in a bucket or container. Close and stir occasionally, leave for one week to rot and then it become EM (EM1). EM stands for Effective microorganisms that will accelerate the composting process.
- EM1 liquid waste is mixed with vegetable and fruit peels. Then keep again for a week. It will develop a new liquid called EM2.
- EM2 fluid mixed with bran, brown sugar and rice water and keep for about a week, it will become EM3.
- Lets stand for about another week without adding anything. It will be EM4.

(Source http://boboy.net/2012/01/make-your-own-em-effective-microorganisms/ )


Now stop buying stuff, and using peak oil for the bottles, shipping, etc.


Don't get me started on the solutions for Bio-Dynamics garden preps either for they are equally easy to make.

 

[Microbeman]

I thought there was a difference between 1,2,3 and 4 and AEM (activated effective micro organisms) still learning myself.

EM1 is the mother culture of microbial consortium.
AEM = Fermented mother culture (activated em)
EM2, 3, 4, etc. = various recipes of fermentation or various versions of AEM. (that is all, nothing else)

The mistake most people make who say they make their own em1 is that it must include representatives from each group to form the consortium. The most difficult to acquire and propagate are bacteria from the PNSB (purple non-sulfur bacteria) group. They are acquired from pond mud, fish scales, pitcher plants, etc.

You may get in trouble for posting the link. That is why I PMed it to you.

 

[Microbeman]

http://permaculturenews.org/forums/index.php?threads/dont-buy-into-making-em4-or-any-other-em.12409/

Just so you know, this is highly inaccurate.

 

[sativaking]

ah! ok so 2,3,4 is always activated i get it now. thankyouthankyou

 

[Weird]

Just so you know, this is highly inaccurate.

i posted it for the differentials of the types which seems parallel to what you said unless I am missing something

making em-2 form em-1 I cannot comment on

might want to be more specific since your comment is confusing me

 

[Microbeman]

i posted it for the differentials of the types which seems parallel to what you said unless I am missing something

making em-2 form em-1 I cannot comment on

might want to be more specific since your comment is confusing me

e.g. They are not formulations with more types of microbes (although local microbes could be introduced)
ALL em HAS TO have phototrophic organisms
- they are not used nor stored over 3.8 pH
- the recipes are mostly out to lunch
etc.

 

[Microbeman]

ah! ok so 2,3,4 is always activated i get it now. thankyouthankyou

Everything you could possibly want to know is in the e-book at the link you posted.

 

[Weird]

e-book link?

 

[Microbeman]

e-book at link posted by Sativa

 

[Weird]

for the life of me I looked and never saw it

I would have referenced that source had I know it existed

 

[Microbeman]

for the life of me I looked and never saw it

I would have referenced that source had I know it existed