Step by Step Guide by Stoney Tark
1. You will need to have a water source, an air pump with air stone, microbe spores, molasses and to leave for a 24 hour duration. The principal behind the tea is to encourage anaerobic to multiply inside of the water.
2. Add the water source into the bucket with air stone fixed in place. Now you can add the powdered spores of bacteria into the bubbling water. Every gram contains millions of spores so add the required amount according to what you feel is enough.
3. Once the microbes are in the water, now you must feed them the black strap molasses. It must be unsulphured as sulphur kills microbes which is not what you want. The molasses are rich in carbon and sugar which is exactly what the microbes will feed off.
4. Now you have all the main ingredients in the water, the microbes will feed off the oxygen and the carbon and multiply from millions into billions. Leave the solution to bubble for a minimum of 24 hours. After a full day of the tea brewing it will have some froth on top as it is alive with microbes.
5. Drench the grow medium with the microbe tea and as the tea comes in contact with the grow medium, the beneficial bacteria will attach themselves to the plants roots as a host forming a symbiotic relationship.
Aerobic Bacteria
Aerobic bacteria live in environments where there is no oxygen present. You will find these mainly in swamps and places that do not breathe much life. They will not help the plant but cause many problems from infecting the roots to preventing the plant from growing naturally.
Anaerobic Bacteria
This is the beneficial bacteria and the one you are multiplying into billions with the aid of oxygen in the water. These are the ones that break down nutrients and make them more readily available to the plant. Symbiotic Relationship: Once the beneficial bacteria have become attached to the roots, a relationship is formed, where the microbes break down all the food and allow the plant to decide what it wants. Microbes are able to fix Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium within the grow medium, as well as play amajor role in humification.
Humification
This basically means that when things naturally decompose and break down, a state of humification is taking place. Beneficial bacteria feed off humates and this is what keeps them alive and able to convert the food for the plant so quickly. Naturally when something starts to decompose it will turn to a black and have a shiny quality about it. This is why humic acid is black and shiny. Once you have treated your plants with a microbe compost tea, your roots are now host to the billions of spores. You can also continue to add fresh tea every week to so supercharge your medium, or additionally you can try adding organic ingredients in for growing and flowering stages, such as worm castings, nettles, bat guano or seabird guano.
By Stoney Tark
Originally published in Weed World Magazine Issue 133
Thank you for sharing this very informative and beneficial article. Very informative and valuable blog post. It’s fun to read and at the same time you are learning.