There's an interesting thread on ICMag about combining syth ferts with organic bennies in hydro. They run their synth ferts to make up half of their desired PPM, then use teas to get the PPMs to the final level (which is often still slightly lower than a straight synth PPM mix would be). They post pictures of their synth/organic teas brewing away with huge heads of foam, so it seems that it's definitely not killing "All" the bennies. They openly admit they have no way to measure the actual amount of bennies present in straight organic compared to synth/organic, though. One guy even lists synth products that will absolutely kill the microherd, but his list is only about 5 items and obviously incomplete.
Ok, knowing what I now know about the difficulty in measuring different organic molecules, I'm curious as to
how they're measuring ppm's (a conversion of EC) of organics in anything resembling an accurate manner. I don't disagree that mixing chem-salts with organics can be done, I disagree that the mix can be accurately, or even roughly, measured.
I innoculated my seedling mix with Xtreme Garden Myko 30, then also put a little bit of powder in the hole when I placed the seedling in the soil, as there are some microbes in these mixes that must be in contact with the roots (so I've read). Most people seem to say that using Great White/Myko in a tea is rather wasteful for this reason. I've got some GW I'm going to use when I transplant in a couple weeks, and I'm going to use Kangaroots when I water in place of Root Excel.
I'd love to hear more info on amino acids. You say the plant produces them? Soul Synthetics sells an Amino product that they suggest using with their organic line to increase yields, but I'm not sold on the science of amino acids in our type of gardening...yet. I haven't had a chance to read enough about them yet.
Have you read Teaming With Microbes? I know it's a basic primer on working with the soil food web, but they keep bringing the reader back to their basic rules, which state very clearly that annuals (of which Cannabis is one) generally prefer bacteria-dominated soils which produce N in the form of NO3, and trees, shrubs and other old-growth perennials generally prefer fungi-dominated soils that provide N in the form of NH4 (ammonium). The authors go on to state several times that veggie gardens and lawns perform better with bacteria-dominated soil food webs.
And so, when I consider the following "truisms" of growing ganja I truly question the wisdom of being stuck in the myco paradigm. I'm going to shift my paradigm, but a good microscope would really help me there.
* Worm castings and worm casting teas are AWESOME for Mary. Guess what microbes you gain when you use worm castings. That's right, bacteria.
* Folks have found that Mary LOVES aquarium water. What's aquarium water laden with? Why, the end result of nitrification, NO3! (nitrate)
* Teas made with molasses and other sugars can work wonders for Mary. What microbes do these teas encourage? Bacteria.
See the shift I'm talking about here?
I see everyone getting excited by foam, that is usually dead organisms giving up proteins. There will always be some, but it usually follows a slightly anaerobic incident, when fungii start to break down (fungii are very high in phospholipids, which is a waxy fat, which is why fungii are water proof. Phospholipids are a protein (lipid) attached to phosphorus, and we know that's what makes soaps foamy...) So foam was something I've learned to eyeball with some suspicion. Check your aeration and see if you can't get a bit more, and keep in mind certasin ingredients (
yucca extracts, saponins, nettles) can cause some foaming when they are on the brew bill. It's not the end of the world, but foam ain't always something to jump up and down about. Consider the fungii...
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=95754
Dex, lipids are fats. Proteins can be said to be comprised of amino acids.
Do a cursory search on "foam fractionation", learn what hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules are, that helps wrap the head around foaming. The other term for it is protein skimming.