Tea Article

[VERMONSTAH]

I require a total right knee replacement at 44 yrs old due to lack of EVER going to a doctor......scraped all the miniscus out of that area and had several femoral condyle fractures earlier in life that have led to a right leg that just dont work anymore, esp at the knee joint. I had a plethora of opiates thrown my way and by a super nice pennsylvanian gardener i found a salve based from cannabis that i could use in conjunction with arnica montana that made most breakthrough pain subside enough so i could function, sans opiates........your not kidding its a wonderful plant.

 

[Microbeman]

I require a total right knee replacement at 44 yrs old due to lack of EVER going to a doctor......scraped all the miniscus out of that area and had several femoral condyle fractures earlier in life that have led to a right leg that just dont work anymore, esp at the knee joint. I had a plethora of opiates thrown my way and by a super nice pennsylvanian gardener i found a salve based from cannabis that i could use in conjunction with arnica montana that made most breakthrough pain subside enough so i could function, sans opiates........your not kidding its a wonderful plant.

Heart Leaved Arnica is quite the remedy topically on her own. She has been one of my friends since the turn of the sixties when I began exploring plants with powers. Non processed Papaver Somniferum used properly is a great reliever of pain. She has been greatly misused by people seeking riches.

 

[Vaporizzando192]

I require a total right knee replacement at 44 yrs old due to lack of EVER going to a doctor......scraped all the miniscus out of that area and had several femoral condyle fractures earlier in life that have led to a right leg that just dont work anymore, esp at the knee joint. I had a plethora of opiates thrown my way and by a super nice pennsylvanian gardener i found a salve based from cannabis that i could use in conjunction with arnica montana that made most breakthrough pain subside enough so i could function, sans opiates........your not kidding its a wonderful plant.

absolutely a wonderful plant

 

[VERMONSTAH]

Heart Leaved Arnica is quite the remedy topically on her own. She has been one of my friends since the turn of the sixties when I began exploring plants with powers. Non processed Papaver Somniferum used properly is a great reliever of pain. She has been greatly misused by people seeking riches.

I'd be interested in learning more from you in regards to non processed applications. I actually tried growing them under t-5's last year and did great until some unsavory soul stole from me. Kinda set me back in more ways then one.

 

[suntracedpath]

I'm only a fraction of the way through this Tea Article. I apologize if my question has already been asked.

I make bubble hash with trim and have used that wash water(once it's room temp). The plants love it. Should I be doing something else with/to it to make it more beneficial?
Is there any benefit skipping the wash and brewing or fermenting the trim with the intention of feeding the plant.

 

[thatonedude]

ok so I just read like 145 pages of this thread. my brain hurts now.

I have a scope already and I just built a mini microbulator. i used nothing but ewc from my worm bin and a pinch of rock dust and a few tablespoons of molasses(didn't measure just poured a little) the pump is rated at 1157 gph whatever that equates to.

I also picked up copies of "teaming with microbes" "teaming with fungi" and "teaming with nutrients"

is this good reading material? will it help me with the understanding of making good aact?

I have looked at a sample of my first batch of tea after 24 and 48 hours.

at 24 hours didn't see a whole lot other than immobile bacteria, and at 48 hrs still lots of the same but with the addition of some swimmers (sorry don't know how to identify them yet, i am assuming some are bacteria and some are protazoa) as well as several fungal strands. is this the point at which I should start using the tea?

the scope I have is a cheap AM monocular scope with 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100xoil objectives. I have 10x and 16x eye pieces. unfortunately I dropped and cracked the 10x eye piece so while its still usable the 16x provides better clarity. after a little research I found out its not that great of a scope, but it does work. I have played around with putting some black disks below the condenser to get a dark field effect at low magnifications, but for 40x and 100x i am stuck with bright field

 

[KIS]

ok so I just read like 145 pages of this thread. my brain hurts now.

I have a scope already and I just built a mini microbulator. i used nothing but ewc from my worm bin and a pinch of rock dust and a few tablespoons of molasses(didn't measure just poured a little) the pump is rated at 1157 gph whatever that equates to.

I also picked up copies of "teaming with microbes" "teaming with fungi" and "teaming with nutrients"

is this good reading material? will it help me with the understanding of making good aact?

I have looked at a sample of my first batch of tea after 24 and 48 hours.

at 24 hours didn't see a whole lot other than immobile bacteria, and at 48 hrs still lots of the same but with the addition of some swimmers (sorry don't know how to identify them yet, i am assuming some are bacteria and some are protazoa) as well as several fungal strands. is this the point at which I should start using the tea?

the scope I have is a cheap AM monocular scope with 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100xoil objectives. I have 10x and 16x eye pieces. unfortunately I dropped and cracked the 10x eye piece so while its still usable the 16x provides better clarity. after a little research I found out its not that great of a scope, but it does work. I have played around with putting some black disks below the condenser to get a dark field effect at low magnifications, but for 40x and 100x i am stuck with bright field

Those are all good books but I don't think they will help a lot in regards to making ACT. I would suggest reading the microbeorganics website or Tim Wilson's post on ACT in the logicalgardener.org forum.

48 hours is too long for an ACT in most cases in regards to maximizing diversity. Typically you want to brew at 24-36 hours. I start checking my teas around 16-18 hours and then monitor it every few hours to see how it's changing. I don't do this every time but I've done it enough with the same inputs to get an idea for how a brew is going to look and when it's ready.

Hope that helps!

 

[KIS]

I'm only a fraction of the way through this Tea Article. I apologize if my question has already been asked.

I make bubble hash with trim and have used that wash water(once it's room temp). The plants love it. Should I be doing something else with/to it to make it more beneficial?
Is there any benefit skipping the wash and brewing or fermenting the trim with the intention of feeding the plant.

Personally, I can't wrap my brain around what aspect of this would be beneficial. There might be some bacteria/archaea that is particularly adept at consuming something in that water but I'm skeptical. Best thing would be to test it with a microscope against a control and see if it makes a difference. Barring the ability to do that, I would say if you're happy with the result then keep on doing it. I haven't seen any research on this though and don't see any forthcoming based on the nature of what you're doing.

 

[Dawn Patrol]

48 hours is too long for an ACT in most cases in regards to maximizing diversity. Typically you want to brew at 24-36 hours. I start checking my teas around 16-18 hours and then monitor it every few hours to see how it's changing. I don't do this every time but I've done it enough with the same inputs to get an idea for how a brew is going to look and when it's ready.

Hope that helps!

What are your findings regarding ambient temperatures when brewing? Do colder temps slow down the process?

 

[TheLAGrizzly]

CT Guy

Fantastic article. Hopefully the moderators will make it a 'stickie'

One thing that would prove helpful perhaps is a guideline for the proper amount of air for a 1 gallon brewer and a 5 gallon brewer. Like what ratings one should look for (liters of air per minute, etc.) and the best aeration devices for those looking to put their own systems together.

Thanks for the great article and information.

BTW - any experience with the Japanese 'bokashi composting' methods?

CC

I have been using bokashi to break down my compost pile. I can now put meat waste, and other compostable material that you normally would want to keep out of your pile.

 

[Kozmo]

Meat waste... I, I just threw up in my mouth.

Much respect

 

[Orrie]

What are your findings regarding ambient temperatures when brewing? Do colder temps slow down the process?

Last paragraph in the first post has your answer. First few pages hold the gold and are worth a re-read IMO

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"In addition to these variables, other things to consider are elevation, temperature, brewing time, and water quality. All of these variables can have a significant impact on your final tea. With significant elevation, you may need to increase the brewing time, due to the lower oxygen content in the air. With high temperatures, where the water temps are 90 degrees or above, you'll want to shorten the brewing cycle and possibly cut back on the foods you're using. In cold temps., you'll want to increase the brewing cycle to give the organisms time to reproduce. In regards to water quality, different sources will have different mineral or chemical content, which will affect your final tea. In the case of chlorine or chloramines, these chemicals will need to be removed prior to adding the compost to the brewer. "



[/FONT]

 

[Guest]

Quick question in a thread that’s great but not been added to for a while.
My question is does a well made aerated tea have to smell bad to have microbes in abundance? I’m brewing in a one gallon container with a two outlet aquarium pump using EWC/Vermicompost held in a reusable metal tea ball from wallyworld. It gets nice and golden with no foam. I add a couple spoons of unsulphered molasses in the bottom of the 1 gallon pitcher using RO water. Should it smell bad? Mine doesn’t really have much if any odor.

 

[mexweed]

no, at least my brews never smell bad and I've heard bad smells can mean bad stuff is growing

my flowering brew actually smells really good, a nice earthy smell

 

[h.h.]

No stink.I’d add a stir stick to your set up. Make sure the corners are incorporated..Stir it up once or twice.

Foam comes from saponins. Soapy compounds from the plant. It really has little to do with the process.

 

[Guest]

No stink.I’d add a stir stick to your set up. Make sure the corners are incorporated..Stir it up once or twice.

Foam comes from saponins. Soapy compounds from the plant. It really has little to do with the process.

Using aquarium double outlet pump with 2 stones. No problem there.

 

[Guest]

Does anyone ever put a small amount of epsom salt in their tea while it’s bubbling?

 

[Organilush]

Does anyone ever put a small amount of epsom salt in their tea while it’s bubbling?

I'm sure someone else in this thread will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not the most savvy on biology....

....but I'm pretty certain that adding salts of any sort to the brew will potentially kill off microbes/biology in the tea or at least inhibit their growth & overall populations.

Not positive on that, but pretty sure.

I know salts in general are not good for microbes/soil biology.



.

 

[mexweed]

foods that are good sources of magnesium...like avocados and bananas...mash some up in water and aerate

 

[Hookahhead]

Salts aren’t bad in moderation. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, which can be found as naturally occurring mineral forms. It’s also used in salt water reef aquariums and in agar/nutrient broth recipes used for culturing microorganisms. Adding a pinch to your brew before starting will provide food to those organisms that use it. I use 0.33g/L for my PNSB brews. It’s important to keep in mind very little will actually make it to the plant until those nutrients are cycled back.

In other words, don’t try to correct a Mg deficiency by adding small amounts to a tea. However adding small amounts to a tea will increase the “reserve” nutrients in your biology.