julian kirby

I am not working with a microscope. I apologize for not stating more clearly that I am unsure as to the how it works part. I did state that I was making an ASSUMPTION about the relationship to fish smell and amount of non-broken down Fish & Kelp hydrolysate, should have capitalized in my previous post.
My plants like it, I love my plants, they get what they like.

When I mentioned microbial levels at certain times of brewing was what I have found while researching. I did also suggest adding the myco mix/Azos after brewing to ensure inoculation.
Your questions about water solubility are my questions too, I need to more knowledge. I Have read about uncomposted manure in a tea, but I am unsure, and would need information about the health of the animal it was from.

Plants from my local environment are alive and well in the mid 40's, well naturalized varieties anyway, and I have seen mushrooms in temperatures above freezing weather, and I am semi certain bacteria and other microorganisms, although not at peak efficiency, are alive too. Their ability to survive in cold water is questionable, which is why I added the charcoal, peat humus and azomite, to create places for spores to settle and potentially live until they get introduced to roots. As to there long term survival in water, I do not know, and I would suggest reintroduction if you feel it necessary. During the spring and summer I am highly confident that there is multiplication in spring/summer weather. I did not go into detail about my applications over the spring/summer of last year because they were pretty much what you see from what everyone else does. The winter application I felt was abnormal and worth sharing about.
The chitin eating Microorganisms survive in the ocean, lakes, rivers, aquariums . I am hopeful that they will survive in the water, and thrive on the shells.

I love that website and recommend anybody even thinking about making a Compost Tea reads it!!! All of It! SERIOUSLY. Thank you for posting it.

I agree that my choices of ingredients were costly, but when given money to spend how you want by your grandmother for your birthday, spend it on what makes you happy, and experimenting and gardening make me happy, so that mix is what happened. Gardening does not have to be expensive at all! I just wanted to do something less frivolous with my money for a change.

Matt thank you for asking questions. I am a beginner, and all knowledge that can be shared on this subject is greatly appreciated.

I applied every sunday last year after Things were planted, I Have been applying undiluted weekly to the beds all winter (composting in place). the Beds were above freezing all winter, Idk if thats normal from a few inches of plant matter and leaf mulch as it it is my 1st year composting.
Brew temperature was between 45 and 65 for each brew. I don't keep track of temperature, I'm basing it off a guess of average temperature in my garage, or the base of the basement stairs going to the garage when it was below freezing in the garage. Our basement is below the frost line and stays an average above 45 in the winter. My Temperature measurement is in Fahrenheit.

I allowed the last Tea I made to bubble for a week,I added a small amount of fish hydrolysate and molasses as the fish smell went away(every other day), I assume that is a sign of Microbial Activity(I have bubbled the hydrolysate for multiple days by itself and it still smelt fishy). The brew smelt of River water, I applied it, but things are just starting to green up, and the lawn is being slow, but it just started to green up so I'm not expecting miracles, just improvements. I am considering picking up either some High Nitrogen organic amendment (blood, manure) to see what that does to the Tea, also gonna go to a Local Seafood Restaurant and try and get their shells, I would rather not have to buy a waste product and have it shipped to me, seems strange. For those that haven't Researched, Crustacean shells are made of chitin, so are insect shells, by adding chitin to your soil, the bacteria that eat chitin get a huge food source, release enzymes and acids to digest it, and in the process create an environment that is hostile to insects. Don't overdo it though, too much chitin eating bacteria can have an adverse effect on fungal populations, so use it at the recommended application rate, I'm going to start out with half a teaspoon per gallon of water in addition to the rest of my tea ingredients.
I'm going to be applying to my neighbors maple tree as it overshadows my garden and is riddled with Powdery Mildew, I think it is the local infestor. It is a Beautiful tree, and I am hoping that a root drench with compost Tea W/ Neem will assist greatly. I will get his permission first of course, but I think he would like to see his lawn w/o a white powder on it too.

http://www.soilminerals.com/Cation_Exchange_Simplified.htm

I have made a few Bubbled Teas with Dr Earth Kelp, Dr Earth Alfalfa, Ahimsa Neem Meal, Wriggle Worm worm castings, Azomite, Stubb's Natural Charcoal Briquettes, a whole Aloe Leaf; Grandma's unsulphured Molasses, Neptune's Harvest Fish & Kelp Hydrolysate, Dyna Gro Silica Pro Tekt, Peat Humus, Extreme Gardening Azos, and Fungi Perfecti Endo/Ecto Myco mix for seedlings. EVERYTHING except the Fungi Perfecti mix and Neem Meal should be sourceable locally. I ordered the mix, and Neem meal online. ANY BRAND WILL WORK(charcoal needs to be a chemical free brand), Homemade/Gathered Sources are better.

I use: 1/8 of a cup each the kelp, alfalfa, Azomite, Neem Meal; 4 Charcoal Briquettes, soaked and broken down to powder and chunks; 2 Tablespoons of Molasses; 1 ounce of Fish & Kelp hydrolysate; 1/2 ounce of Pro Tekt; 3 cups peat humus; 1 tablespoon Azos mixed with 1 Teaspoon Myco mix,=; 1 Aloe Leaf, juiced/macerated above the bucket of water; a 5 gallon bucket; a 4 hose aquarium air pump, 2 large Cylindrical Air stones,; and 2 short rectangular air stones. The charcoal, peat humus, and Azos are my additions to the list, I personally think the Bacterium in Azos is super neat, do some research People!!!

My air stones Don't Gunk up that badly, I have the pump sitting right above the bucket, with no excess tubing, only about 3 feet between pump and stone
The original source I got my recipe from states that between hour 6 and 8 of bubbling; any water soluble hormones, and minerals will be available, also the micro organism spores begin to emerge from dormancy.
Between hours 12 and 17 the water is a Bacterially Dominated Environment.
hours 18-23 is a shift towards Fungal Dominance. Hours 24-48 are fungally Dominated.
Strain through some pantyhose before you spray so you don't clog your sprayer.
You can add the Azos and Myco mix after the brewing is done. the Dr Earth brand has Myco mix in it, I just like to have a large variety.
Compost the solids when done! they make a great compost accelerator when you're starting your pile!!!
I Made the 6 hour Tea for a Powdery Mildew Treatment for my aunt's Squash and Zucchini. I was so impressed with how healthy they became that I applied it to everything, EVEN THE LAWN!


I just added it together, and the cost for all my supplies was around 200 Dollars. the pump was 40, the bucket was 2, the stones and tubing were 8, So, 150 dollars for a Years worth of applications to lawn and garden, with leftovers. I purchased the 2.2 pound boxes of dr earth products, 30 pound bag of castings, 10 pound bag of azomite, and 32 ounce bottles of the hydrolysate and pro tekt.
You can grow your own alfalfa and dry it, collect Seaweed while fishing if it isn't prohibited, toss fish in the compost, compost Diatomaceous Earth, culture your own inoculant/get it from other sources, among other things to get the same similar, or better results, But I am just sharing my brands for anyone who wants to know specifically what I used. Also I am not affiliated with any company, I Just like being thorough.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/verm/msg042040421641.html

Dont forget you can use 5 gallon containers, cut into the side, and have more space to garden! also there is a very nice modular DIY flow through Vermicomposting bin plan on Google that uses 5 gallon buckets and is adaptable to any plastic container.

Home Depot is having a sale this weekend through next week in addition to 5 for $10 Bonnie's Brand Plants, all seed packs are buy one get one free!!!
If you take in the sale paper To Lowe's they will match the price!!! I picked up a Husky Red cherry tomato so I can Practice Taking and rooting cuttings, also I got a large variety of lettuces to increase variety. My seed hoarding addiction Was stated quite well today.

A friend posted a pic of this on FB. I thought it was amazing and wanted to share.



http://ideamensch.com/seedbomb-dispensers/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

Angelika, Plant Deep Rooted annuals like alfalfa, their roots may pull some of the debris up (I find rocks in my uncles raised bed every year and we double dig it every year), and I have read anecdotal evidence that it will grow into rock. or you could innoculate the alfalfa with mycorhizzal fungi so that there will be plenty of exudes digesting your clay/rock/dirt. inoculate as many different plants as you can with nitrogen fixing bacteria as well. Getting large amounts of organic matter into your clay is one of the best way to increase water retention. Grow plants that produce massive amounts of biomass off of your lowest quality spot, with the least amount of water needed, cut it down and either compost it or mulch it in where needed.

Do you have a worm bin? if you do spread a small amount of castings and a layer of green waste underneath your 1st layer of sheet mulch, the castings when wet release an exude that attracts other worms, kind of like an endorsement for your menu. If you don't already collect the rain water from your gutters in rain barrels, do so if you can. I have got a few rubber totes I set out on our drive way to collect rain water, I store them in the garage till needed.

Cover crops are important to keeping the soil moist.