Big bloom as inoculant for tea?

Has anyone experimented with adding Big bloom as an aact inoculant? I mean, if you were to take a cup of finished tea and use it in a new batch would it not reinoculate the new batch with the same organisms so why not the same for BB? I understand there are already thousands of individual recipes available on the internet as I have spent a few months now on the topic. I'm not however interested in what is the norm as I have found it to be simply satisfactory. I've been feeding with a mixture that includes at least one tablespoon of BB per 4 cups water in an 8 cup brewer w/ 2tbs molasses and .5 cup worm casting then diluted @ 1:11 cups water. Plants have not complained since I started over 4 weeks ago. Thanks.

Some things to keep in mind for this topic..

Compost is an aerobic, living, breathing material. It is thriving with bacteria, archaea and fungi, as well as slightly larger beasties including Protozoa, amoeba, etc, etc... Brown goop sealed in a bottle is not an aerobic, living, breathing material. Yes, there may be some bacteria and fungi present in their inactive, dormant form, but the fact that this bottle can sit sealed on a shelf for a year or more before use without "spoiling" is a clear indication that the microbes (if present) are not healthy and active. If they were, they would quickly use up all the oxygen in the head space of that bottle. Then you would start generating some really foul smells and phytotoxic compounds as the anaerobic microbes take off.

I would think of that Big Bloom more as a food source for the microbes present in your soil, and less as a source of the microbes themselves. Adding some to a brew that already includes worm castings likely won't hurt a thing, but it probably won't provide much benefit either. When it comes to compost teas, I have honestly found that simpler is better. Castings/compost, molasses, and water is a great starting point which consistently produces good AACT. From there, SMALL additions of kelp meal, alfalfa meal or fish hydrolysate can be added if you'd like.

OF COURSE don't be afraid to experiment, but what I wrote above is the consensus from folks who have dedicated their lives and careers to studying the subject. I trust them and their high powered microscopes.


Good luck!

It's funny, you brought up two points I removed in favor of a shorter opening message. The shelf life of big bloom and the guys with the microscopes - in my case microbe man and "Teaming with microbes". I presumed FF did something to keep the microbes dormant and was interested how I could achieve the same aside from refrigeration. When adding the BB to the aact the bacterial slime is present in much greater numbers and in a much shorter time frame. I'm positive there is additional microbes present and agree that they are dormant - until the ambient environment suits their biology. Yeast for example, remain inactive inside their little pouches until the environment suits them. What is your take on adding bone meal to a highly concentrated mix of these micro organisms? I understand bone meal takes a while to break down as long as three months in some cases. Much of that has to do with the bacteria in the soil correct? If those bacteria were present in higher numbers would the degradation process hasten? Say, adding a tbs of bone meal to a cup of pre brewed compost tea then adding oxygen for another 24-48 hours? I'm actually trying it right now (18 hours left) but am interested in your take? I'm thinking that the only thing that would be a problem is the length of the brew cycle and how it affects aerobic organism dominance. Heisenberg for example, says that after 3-4 days you are left with mostly protozoa.

if you check the video I posted in rols thread. Rev said big bloom is a concentrated tea. I still wouldn't trust anything in a bottle. I don't like fox farm products.

I wouldn't get caught up in how long it takes things to "break down". A chemical gardener might say "Bone meal takes three months to break down completely? That's way too long!", while an organic gardener would say "Bone meal takes three months to break down completely? Awesome! That means I don't have to add any phosphorus for at least three months!".

In organics, you WANT that slow, steady release of bioavailable phosphorus that happens as the soil microbiology breaks it down. You don't want to supply large quantities of soluble phosphorus all at once; this is detrimental to mycorrhizal fungi, among other things (they like to SEEK OUT phosphorus, not swim in it).

Just for the sake of conversation and experimentation, I think you may end up with more soluble phosphorus if you soak/bubble the bone meal in an enzyme tea/solution than a simple AACT. Seed sprouts (used to make seed sprout enzyme tea) contain phosphatase, which is one of the enzymes responsible for liberating phosphorus from insoluble material like bone meal or soft rock phosphate. AACT contains enzymes, too, but not likely in the same quantities as an enzyme solution.

Thanks. I'm trying to get an immediately available source of phosphate for the plants as there is somewhat of a deficiency starting to show with the purple/red petioles and what not. I added a tbs of bone meal per pot 4 weeks ago when I switched to flower thinking of course that the P would start to be available by the fourth week; last week I suppose it has been in small amounts but my plants are calling for more. Phosphatase sound very good. This is exactly the kind of information I can use. I'll be checking around for these seed sprouts. I'll have to remedy with the Tiger bloom I have on hand until then. eace:

There are way more microbes in a sample of healthy compost/humus than there is in a bottle of Big Bloom. There is also a greater diversity of organisms (more microbes of different kinds). One reason it is better to start a fresh batch of AACT with fresh compost/humus is that the microbial profile of the tea changes from the start of the brew to the end as microbes grow, divide and get eaten.

As for life in a bottle, well, life certainly can come in a bottle. The inside of a bottle isn't a very extreme environment in the grand scheme of things and bacteria/archaea really can survive/withstand, or even thrive in some outrageous environments. Many of the microbes you may find added to liquid and even dry/bagged plant foods are facultatively anaerobic: they can respire aerobically and produce ATP, but can also switch to fermentation or anaerobic respiration where sufficient oxygen is not present. Obligate aerobes, on the other hand, absolutely require oxygen for growth. Some micro-organisms were once thought to be obligate aerobes, such as Bacillus subtilis, but it is now known that this is not exactly the case (they too are apparently facultatively anaerobic).

Bacillus sp. bacterium are among those which are very common in nature and in plant products, used frequently as soil inoculant. The bacteria in this genus can be classified as either being obligate aerobes or facultative anaerobes. What's really interesting about these kinds of bacteria is that they are capable of going to endospore under stressful conditions, encapsulating themselves in a though shell which is highly resistant to things like temperature and chemical attack. They can stay dormant for very long periods of time, but will start to grow again once conditions are right. Other kinds of microbes have similar survival mechanisms, such as the microbial cysts formed by Azotobacter.

If you really do need a quick boost of phosphorus, it's hard to beat a guano tea.

AllenHaze said:

It's funny, you brought up two points I removed in favor of a shorter opening message. The shelf life of big bloom and the guys with the microscopes - in my case microbe man and "Teaming with microbes". I presumed FF did something to keep the microbes dormant and was interested how I could achieve the same aside from refrigeration. When adding the BB to the aact the bacterial slime is present in much greater numbers and in a much shorter time frame. I'm positive there is additional microbes present and agree that they are dormant - until the ambient environment suits their biology. Yeast for example, remain inactive inside their little pouches until the environment suits them. What is your take on adding bone meal to a highly concentrated mix of these micro organisms? I understand bone meal takes a while to break down as long as three months in some cases. Much of that has to do with the bacteria in the soil correct? If those bacteria were present in higher numbers would the degradation process hasten? Say, adding a tbs of bone meal to a cup of pre brewed compost tea then adding oxygen for another 24-48 hours? I'm actually trying it right now (18 hours left) but am interested in your take? I'm thinking that the only thing that would be a problem is the length of the brew cycle and how it affects aerobic organism dominance. Heisenberg for example, says that after 3-4 days you are left with mostly protozoa.

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When adding ingredients to an AACT, you need to keep in mind that if it isn't a foodstock that can be used by the microbes, then it really serves no purpose. Something like bone meal I suppose could be added, but is it going to further your goal of microbial multiplication? I would think not.

I checked the sediment of bone meal that I was able to collect and it was soft and degraded after about 36 hours now. I managed to get a friend of mine , who has been taking home any extra tea I've brewed for the past few months to take a sample home to try on his plants so tomorrow morning he is going to water and I'll know within 3 days or so if it had any ill effect I made sure to tell him to dilute it at half of what he normally uses them for JIC. He is experiencing a slight phosphorous deficiency and has a few plants he can experiment on as well. I was thinking, if I were to treat this concoction with chlorinated water or some other kind of disinfectant that won't A. be residual and B. effect the integrity of whatever phosphates that may or may not have become available - will that not eliminate all bacteria and leave only inorganic material in the mix? Perhaps boiling the solution instead? I have been adding molasses as well to maintain a moderate food source for the little guys.

SpicySativa said:

If you really do need a quick boost of phosphorus, it's hard to beat a guano tea.

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I picked up some guano as per your recommendations. It was either a FFHF sea food medley 10-7-7 or FF Happy Frog 0-5-0 guano with humic acid and mycos - I grabbed the 0-5-0 as I already use tiger bloom and that contains sufficient N for flower. Excited to start using the guano as up until now it has been mostly WC and coffee/banana compost with experimentation. What have you been able to gather regarding the guano tea? I'd like to mix it with the tiger bloom WDYT?

Big Bloom is all natural and I love the stuff. I use it in my compost teas from time to time with great results. Never had any issues from using it in any manor.

IME Big Bloom is a light source for inoculating teas or soil. It will spawn good levels of microbial life but takes some time. It is not concentrated with high levels of microbes right off the bat. Fresh earthworm castings contain a very high concentration of beneficial microbes, I would recommend inoculating compost teas with them over anything else. Using Big Bloom and earthworm castings(and/or compost) in combination is all good IME/IMO.

tiger bloom

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Tiger Bloom is not something I would recommend personally in a natural regimen. Its is very high is acids which plant roots are not very fond of and if my memory serves correctly it it contains a chelating agent(EDTA, a salt that is deadly to microbes). You are paddling against the current if your trying to run a all natural set up with something like Tiger Bloom.

Don't go over board with the bat guano in your teas either, to much P will cause you some headaches. 1/2-1 teaspoon per gallon of water is my maximum rate for any type of guano in compost tea.