I definitely think OG biowar is the way to go as far as added biology to the brew, but I also use compost, castings, fish hydrolisate, powdered kelp, and baseline. All at different ratios, but if you we're to narrow down conditions/recipes to better achieve different goals using your system of multiple micro brews I'd be very interested.
Also wanted to add that I think most folks will also add some compost to their brew, so this is a part of my research process. Initially I want to balance out what my additive does for OG Biowar and see that it's increasing efficacy, then I will see what it looks like when I add some fresh compost and whether or not I need to adjust.
Just for a little clarity, because I keep dancing around the topic without specifically addressing it.....
Why We Need This:
The purpose of this product comes from the realization that the bacteria we're after don't particularly like the environment we're putting them in--in fact they fucking basically hate it as much as they possibly can. They are not a fan of pure RO water, nor are they of water with veral small mineral concentrations such as are found in most tap water. They like very specific ranges of salt concentrations, very narrow pH ranges, and very narrow ranges of total ionic strength. Going above or below the ideal in either of these measures can cause, among other things:
1. Slow growth.
2. Cytolysis (literally, cells bursting from being in a hypotonic environment).
3. Total eradication for species that are outside of their livable ranges.
4. Poor metabolism (makes less of the proteins and other compounds which give them their utility).
5. Weak immunity to pathogens.
6. Selection for generations of bacteria which are more resistant to poor conditions, but not necessarily those which are most successful in optimal conditions. The closer we can get to an optimal colony in the brew, the better it will fare when it gets into the soil (in its optimal environment). In effect, the bacteria which survive the shock of the brew may be hardier--but not necessarily better for your garden.
For an analogy on 6. Imagine you plant a bunch of seeds in your garden. Now imagine you TOTALLY shit on them. Too much water, too many nutes, too much light, too much heat. Just completely murder them. Okay now imagine only one of them lives. It's hardy, right? Yes--but it might not have been the most delactable, the most oily, or the highest yielder that you planted. You'll never know if one of those others that died would've been a cup winner if you had tended to its every need like a baby.
Furthermore, every measure of quality in the plant that did live is still going to be reduced based on how badly you shit on it in the beginning of life. The same thing can, and likely is, happening with your bacteria. I think we all know that some of the most finnicky strains can be some of the best ones. Right now we're asking our bacteria to fight for survival at the beginning of a brew rather than encouraging them to proliferate.
I want to optimize the brew water/process for you in a few ways (which I'll TLDR at the bottom for clarity):
I want to remove all of the guesswork involved here. At first glance it might seem as easy as adding salt--unfortunately we have to be careful because our plants would get pissed if we started treating them with table salt weekly or daily. The reality is it's much more advanced than that. We need to get salt concentrations that the bacteria likes (of the type it likes) that the plant will also thrive with. This means keeping sodium low, but not absent, and staying away from anions/cations that are not a normal food source for the plants. It also means careful research into how much of each cation/anion the bacteria/fungi like to have around. So for instance if I'm adding twice as much phosphate as I need to I might piss off the bennies--but they'll hate me if I don't add any.
A third consideration comes up in the form of ionic strength, which is basically a measure of the total ionic content of the solution. The EC of a solution is a way of approxmating (poorly) its ionic strength--to put this in terms farmers can easily understand. We must optimize the levels of each individual ion concentration, while being sure to also consider the optimal overall ionic strength. Too high and cells dessicate, too low and they burst.
Even more complicated (and this is the reason I need to dig in and do a few months of rapid prototyping and research) is the following situation:
1. Bacteria A really likes 100mM of phosphate around, but it really hates more than 200mM.
It is diametrically opposed to having no phosphate around.
2. Bacteria A really likes 100mM of potassium around, but it really hates more than 200mM.
It is diametrically opposed to having no potassium around.
3. Bacteria A really hates LESS than 200mM of phosphate IF AND ONLY IF there are between 100mM--200mM of potassium present.
These connections can get pretty gross, and it turns out that a lot of them are pH dependent--and the tolerances will be different for each individual species. Finding optimal ranges for a wide ranges of species is going to prove to be the biggest uphill climb for this project--but I'm convinced I can have an appreciable impact on efficacy here, because we're starting from a place where we're totally shitting on the bacteria and they are still resillient enough and beneficial enough to make the whole process worth it. In a sentence, it can't get any worse by doing this--so that's a positive. What I'm most interested in finding out is how much better it can get.
The pH dependence brings me to my next focus.
This is the thing I think most brewers will be most excited about. I plan to add a 3rd layer of complexity to the above optimization problem. I want to, while keeping ion concentrations and ionic strength optimized, buffer the solution within optimal pH range for the brew. This means much more than simply popping in my product and then having your pH set for you. While it will do this, what's more important is that YOU can then adjust that pH within a given range (+/- ~1 pH unit from where it's optimized. For instance if when you add my product it gives a pH of 6.5, you will be able to adjust between 5.6-8.4 without exceeding the buffer capacity). In practice what this means is you can choose a pH and "set it and forget it". The closer you get to the edge of the buffer capacity, the less staying power the buffer has. Bacteria will also be producing acids and bases, so the pH will still drift (and the buffer could break)--however, it will drift much more slowly and bacteria will be subject to FAR less local extremes in pH (the pH of the solution will "average out" much better in presence of a buffer, even with poor circulation).
I think the above is where about 90% of the utility of this product will come in. The rest will just be a result of my hard work in optimization and removing that step for you.
The final thing I want to add, but I'm not sure if it will be economical yet, is food (ie, sugar for bacteria, protein/fat for fungi).
I want brewing with my product and OG Biowar to be this easy:
1. Water in Brewer.
2. Add my product and mix.
3. Add caps bennies per his instructions.
4. Add whatever else you want to add.
5. Walk away.
+ the added benefit of being able to choose whatever stable pH you should so desire (as different pH ranges will give you different ratios of species).
Ideally I'd also like to come out of this being able to give some guidance on what pH range will give you best results for a particular desired result.
So, TLDR, my product will ideally do the following for you:
1. Optimize salt concentrations.
2. Optimize ionic strength.
3. Buffer the solution (giving you a choice what stable pH you want to brew at--for more consistent and repeatable results).
4. Remove need for secondary food source (Like molasses. Fish hydroylsate et al will still be good for fungal brews, not looking to reinvent the wheel on that.)
Challenges:
1. I am going to be extremely hard on myself with regard to sourcing compounds. I know what is acceptable and what is not, and I won't be taking my source's word for their quality. All compounds going into this product will be tested in at least two independent facilities for common measures like heavy metal presence. This testing will continue throughout the lifetime of the product at regular intervals. I am an organic farmer and, while this methodology isn't strictly organic, I won't sell or produce something that I wouldn't use myself. If there were natural sources for these purified salts (they really need to be pure to get the buffering action I want)--I would use them, but there aren't. Nevertheless, any product coming from me will be something I would grow MY tomatoes with to feed MY family. While I do not suspect I will ever try to become "certified organic", I can offer that promise to you.
2. I am going to be open about what is going into this mix. This will leave me open to reverse engineering without any way to combat it (or to patent the mix). It's a shitty business model, but my hope is that farmers and gardeners would rather deal with a guy who's being honest and open with them than some asshole who stole his idea and doesn't give a shit about the quality--even if it might cost them a bit more. When compounds are sourced cheaper (the only way to really undercut me here), there is usually a dubious reason for it.
3. DELIVERY: Man could I ever use some insight here. I don't mean how do I ship it to you, but rather what form it should take. Is a liquid additive best, or would I be best served to offer it as a tablet? If a tablet...how in god's name am I going to produce that? What machinery is necessary, etc--and is my mix even tablet-able? Is a powder feasible? As for that last question I should know a bit better (as it falls into my field of expertise) but the reality is I'm just not up on dry mixing and how efficacious it is. I want this product to be standardized to the point that no two tablespoons are different from each other and I don't know if I can accomplish that with a powder product. I think a liquid is probably ideal--but unfortunately it probably presents the most challenges for me. It's heavier, has a shorter shelf life, takes up more space, and I know NOTHING about packaging a liquid product or what that entire process entails. I have a plan to tackle all of these problems and to find what will work for me, but any advice is appreciated TO THE MAX.
4. Testing: A lot will need to be done. I'm going to need guinea pigs, and as I've stated I'm no longer growing at my abode. A great deal of what I need to see isn't actually whether the bacteria are performing better (I know that they will). I need to be sure that my mix isn't having any adverse effects on plants, that salt buildup isn't becoming an issue (especially in coco and hydro systems). Generally, I just need to see what the practical application is like and if it ends up being worth it.
That about wraps it up dudes, thanks for tuning in!