When do you introduce a fungal tea?

[midwestdensies]

I was curious what week people use fungal teas in their flower regimen.

 

[true grit]

When i get beds set up in the next round or so, i'm going to be trying to work in the fungal tea midflower with some higher guano levels. Right now im making bacterial dominant all the way through and just changing guano ratios...seems to be doing fine but i'd like to experiment with what you are referring to as well.

 

[midwestdensies]

When i get beds set up in the next round or so, i'm going to be trying to work in the fungal tea midflower with some higher guano levels. Right now im making bacterial dominant all the way through and just changing guano ratios...seems to be doing fine but i'd like to experiment with what you are referring to as well.

Grit, thanks for the response your opinion is highly valued. Im about midflower and have the compost/oats a brewin. Should be interesting as I have a couple small er totes im going to try this out on. I also wondered was this a one time application or do i reintroduce the colony again? Interesting stuff in the least. Mwd

 

[true grit]

So this is only my second or so round working with ACT's. Did do some thorough reading and found some good basic tea mixes and instructions for some a bit more in depth/bac dom/fungal dom.

Lately i've been feeding most days and giving an ACT once a week. Varying levels of guano I add from the get go. Droppin my feed back so considering doing a tea without guano early/then with guano later in the week. Also experimenting with how concentrated the tea needs to be. Def still a symbiotic relationship, so planned on introducing fungal dom tea around wk4 and playing from there (maybe do some with fungal only and some with both). Not sure how long the colony lasts but from what i read, didn't seem like a limited introduction, but something that many folks do for the last half of flower.

I'm still definitely experimenting with ACT's, and more so once i start running amended soil. I'll def post feedback as well.

 

[HydroRocks]

If your in soil, I would suggest you inoculate with bacteria at least 2 weeks before you plan to use the containers (put the plants in).....a good trick is to put air stones down at the bottom with a layer of lava rocks, or something similar, then start your soil layer on top of that, inoculate, and place in a dark warm spot for 14 to 21 days depending on environment conditions, i.e.temp, relative humidity, ect..

You can also inoculate with fungi at the same time but you want to be aware of a couple of things, certain species of fungi it turns out is not compatible with the microbes and a inter species conflict can occur...even among related fungi species.

Capulator did some additional research on this topic a while back, and you should for sure give it a read if you have not already. Good stuff and he identifies which species are "ok" and which to look out for.

Also keep in mind that certain fungi species can not come out of stasis unless actual live plant roots and the compounds that roots release back out into the soil (symbiotic relationship) are present. These certain species of fungi can not live with out the plant roots.

Other than that, giving the microbes and fungi a head start and time to populate and adjust to the soil environment before the plants go in a great idea and will usually lead to a very easy to manage and trouble free grow cycle with very positive results.

With the ACT teas, IMHO you really can not go wrong with weekly application from start to finish will usually produce amazing results in most cases, and using or needing a lot less nutrients and water over all in the process is also a bonus, and most find they produce bigger healthier plants by using less amounts of nutrients and water.

Give Cap's tri-pack a go if you have not tried them yet, very concentrated and blended accordingly. He did his homework well...:)

Take Care,
HR

 

[midwestdensies]

truegrit- Great info brother. I've been doing teas for well over a year and this is the first time with the fungal dom tea though. Caps packs with all the info people have laid in front of us for some killer results in that department. I definitely notice a difference in EVERY department one being less fungas gnats!!

I currently have a super soil I kind of cross referenced some super soil recipes and tailored my own that Im testing in some totes. The tote is fed mostly water and then a weekly tea, week 2,4,6 I hit with guano tea, fed weekly regiment tea, as well as an every other water humic, silica,kelp. They also received a little seagreen and top dress with azomite and frass. Lookin stellar for some shitty little totes sitting around the house to kind of see how things work. Its in week 5 and I was thinking the fungal tea is the ticket.

Please let me know how your trials go Im very interested. I would like to know peoples thoughts on continuing to use the act in conjunction with the fungal tea. Meaning one on one day and the other on the next.

Hydro rocks- Im well versed on caps packs and have been using them with far stellar results than the alternatives but what I'm talking about is a fungal tea. YOur referring to a bacterial dom tea what I'm questioning is a fungal tea and usage. It consists of a couple scoops of ewc compost with some baby oats on top, that is then covered and let to sit for a few days to create that fungal "beard". Then you use the normal rate per brew of that compost, brew, and use. Thanks for the reply bro.

MWD

 

[midwestdensies]

My apologies hydro rocks i re read your post and i was in the middle of something prior. My question is more if introducing week 4-5 flower is that cool? And how many apps? Im under the impression they are used more in flower because of the reasoning you explained. Thanks for te detailed response

 

[midwestdensies]

bump

 

[kushsmoker30]

not sure if this helps.
i use caps root n foliar pac's at 1 tbls per gal but i add some Root Blooms at 1 tsp a gal it has some fungi in it n it's the shit, i talked to there tea maker n he somewhat laced me up on some game. dude was the 1st person to tell bout fungi in teas, lately i've dropped the molasses n sweets n just use Bio Bizz Fish Mix at 15-20 ml/gal as the fungi feed on this processed fish rich n nutrients also sugars from some fruit work (don't know wich 1's). i get foam in 12-18 hours this way n my plants like it, a 8 oz. can retails for $45 with my 25% off ($34 b4 tax) n only 1 tps a gal it's goes a long way as it's not heavy at all so a oz gives more tsp's per oz then some other bennie i've used.

tea maker recommended not adding tea to the nutrients solution, he said the salts in nutes tend to kill off some of the fungi in the tea. it's best to hit em with tea inbetween feedings.....from what the person a Root Blooms said. i want to try Root Blooms at 1 tbls a gal n c what it does, as i'm liking the 1 tsp a gal as it is:).

 

[outwest]

Here is what I have concluded about teas through research and experience. Rather then trying to isolate specific fungi or bacteria for different parts of the grow process, brew what I refer to as 'full spectrum' teas that have a nice balance of fungi and bacteria. From there you can supplement the brew with stage specific amendments. . .meaning go easy on the N in flower, a and easy on the P in veg. Since my soils are amended and I scratch in organic ferts, teas are more like a desert with an assortment of bacteria and fungi and a VERY light dose of N or P and some K in the first few weeks of flower. You can replicate these steroidal bloom boost chem ferts with a well brewed tea applied at just the right time.

To some degree I interpret this as never do a brew the exact same way twice, but always brew. As long as you don't fuck the brew up and let it go to long and anerobic, the plants will be happy. I've probably done in the neighborhood 50-60 brews now.

I use some (but never all) of the following in my brews:

OG Biowar (formerly cap's bennies) Root, Nute, Foliar
Bountea Bioactivator
Earth Recharge Biodynamic Compost
Alaskan Humisoil
Boogie Brew
Insect Frass
Sea Green
Rootamentary
True Blooms
Kelp Meal
EWC
Bat Guano

Happy brewing!

outwest

 

[kushsmoker30]

Here is what I have concluded about teas through research and experience. Rather then trying to isolate specific fungi or bacteria for different parts of the grow process, brew what I refer to as 'full spectrum' teas that have a nice balance of fungi and bacteria. From there you can supplement the brew with stage specific amendments. . .meaning go easy on the N in flower, a and easy on the P in veg. Since my soils are amended and I scratch in organic ferts, teas are more like a desert with an assortment of bacteria and fungi and a VERY light dose of N or P and some K in the first few weeks of flower. You can replicate these steroidal bloom boost chem ferts with a well brewed tea applied at just the right time.

To some degree I interpret this as never do a brew the exact same way twice, but always brew. As long as you don't fuck the brew up and let it go to long and anerobic, the plants will be happy. I've probably done in the neighborhood 50-60 brews now.

I use some (but never all) of the following in my brews:

OG Biowar (formerly cap's bennies) Root, Nute, Foliar
Bountea Bioactivator
Earth Recharge Biodynamic Compost
Alaskan Humisoil
Boogie Brew
Insect Frass
Sea Green
Rootamentary
True Blooms
Kelp Meal
EWC
Bat Guano

Happy brewing!

outwest

try some Root Blooms, ur girls will like it. recently i've been sprinkling a tad on my root balls at transplant n i deff like what's happening.

 

[outwest]

try some Root Blooms, ur girls will like it. recently i've been sprinkling a tad on my root balls at transplant n i deff like what's happening.

Thanks. I actually don't brew with the nute pack, and use it in the fashion you describe. Definitely helps!

outwest

 

[kushsmoker30]

never tried the nute pack cap said i don't need it cuz i use coco or rockwool, i also use Root Blooms in my teas.

so how long u like to let ur tea brew for?

a few weeks back i was making teas but not using em cuz of plants not being quite ready for water/feeding so i would let it go another day or 2 so teas would brew longer like 3-4 days so i would just flush em down da toilet. i hated it my air pump would run for days n house would smell like shit n my girl would bitch, all to throw it away:mad:

 

[midwestdensies]

I think the nute pack can be used in coco, pre amended for best effect It may just be for soil but could be wrong.

Teas are usually brewed for 24-36 hours and add molasses for a longer brew to keep the bacteria happy and with food. With a higher powered pump may be able to shorten the time.

Step up that tea game kushsmoker its the only thing I've changed in my regimen for many reasons. Thanks for the rootblooms info as well.

Outwest always with some solid info as well. Thanks bud.
MWD



Thanks guys for the info really helpful.

 

[kushsmoker30]

no joke on the higher powered pump, i a nice air pump with 4 stones. i used to only use 2 stones n it would take longer to foam up, once i dropped all 4 in there it deff cut foam time down.

 

[Capulator]

Biobizz fish is the shiznit. Fungi take a while to germinate. If you get the spores in the soil they will do their thing, as the humnidity is always high there. As long as you are providing an organic food source for the microbes, everything will be dandy. Oustwest has a killer line up. I myself am currently using seagreen, frass, and the packs. I also use the bio bizz fish and molasses. I personally don't worry about a dominant tea, since in the microbial world and the rhizosphere, things have tendency to even themselves out. It's amazing what plants can do to their own rootzone via exudates.

Very different situations between soil, coco, and straight hydro. I have seen lots of fungi on a rockwool cube though. The best part is how the fungi completely chokes out any green algae, a huge plus for RW.

Hydro is the touchiest I think, which is why I have a tendency to bombard with microbes since I know a lot are probably dying. Soil to me seems more like a once and done, the plants should thrive on neglect. Always throwing shit at the soil I feel could make it harder for the plant to adjust/find a balance.

In my MPB I am crown feeding tea concentrated. Just enough to avoid runoff in the res. I also add the tea to the res to control brown algae. Not even sure if thats relevant but I already typed it.. :confused:

 

[outwest]

Funny that you would mention bio bizz fish mix. Somewhere here on the forum I learned that fish hydrolysate would get rid of the foam caused by sea green (and its good fungal food too!). So when I dilute my tea and mix in the sea green, I also toss in a tbsp of neptunes harvest 2-4-1. It's way to little to effect the nute balance, and it makes the foam go away.

outwest

 

[midwestdensies]

Great ideas guys thanks. Ive been looking for a better fish mix to use. or possibly make my own in the future.

 

[kushtrees]

For most mycorizia I've been told its best to dust the root balls at transplant instead of mix it into the media. Mycos only activate at the presence of roots so havin it mixed into coco isn't very useful at first.

You want the mycos to start forming that symbiotic relation ship with the roots right away because once they are established you usually do not need another application (maybe one more to make sure they are kicking). If you have them in coco, or any other media really, and are using chemical ferts you risk killing the mycos before they even contact the roots.

 

[kushsmoker30]

Here is what I have concluded about teas through research and experience. Rather then trying to isolate specific fungi or bacteria for different parts of the grow process, brew what I refer to as 'full spectrum' teas that have a nice balance of fungi and bacteria. From there you can supplement the brew with stage specific amendments. . .meaning go easy on the N in flower, a and easy on the P in veg. Since my soils are amended and I scratch in organic ferts, teas are more like a desert with an assortment of bacteria and fungi and a VERY light dose of N or P and some K in the first few weeks of flower. You can replicate these steroidal bloom boost chem ferts with a well brewed tea applied at just the right time.

To some degree I interpret this as never do a brew the exact same way twice, but always brew. As long as you don't fuck the brew up and let it go to long and anerobic, the plants will be happy. I've probably done in the neighborhood 50-60 brews now.

I use some (but never all) of the following in my brews:

OG Biowar (formerly cap's bennies) Root, Nute, Foliar
Bountea Bioactivator
Earth Recharge Biodynamic Compost
Alaskan Humisoil
Boogie Brew
Insect Frass
Sea Green
Rootamentary
True Blooms
Kelp Meal
EWC
Bat Guano

Happy brewing!

outwest

how u feel bout that boogie brew?
a buddy is swearing by it