Question before I make a 'tea mistake'...

NewGrower2011 · Jan 31, 2019

So having read more on teas I was curious to try and make a more fungal dominant tea, but it was some quick skimming/revisiting of sites. In multiple places it seems that the 'prep work' for this would be to get some funk growing on something like barley, etc. Also I had previously used EM1 in my new worm bin so I had that incorporated indirectly as well.

So with what was on hand, quickly available I thought to try this; I placed some corn meal flour, some pearl barley and some steel milled oats into a tray along with some fresh worm casting from my new bin (hoping to have good innoculant including EM indirectly at least) along with some ancient forest, store-bought casting and some kelp meal that's been lying around for years.

I then put that concoction in the tray and mixed with some molasses and water then sat it atop a seedling mat (elevated a tad/not directly touching). After 3 days this shit is stank. I mean depths of hell stank. It did develop a nice layer of white mold growing all over the top like I see in many folks images.

So am I about to make a mistake to proceed with brewing/appling this to my girls? I think all is well but daaaamn the stank is bad. Right up there with photosynthesis plus. I hope the smell doesn't chase me out of the house once brewing - just sitting there without oxygen pumping through it was noticeably bad!

ShLUbY · Jan 31, 2019

NewGrower2011 said:
So having read more on teas I was curious to try and make a more fungal dominant tea, but it was some quick skimming/revisiting of sites. In multiple places it seems that the 'prep work' for this would be to get some funk growing on something like barley, etc. Also I had previously used EM1 in my new worm bin so I had that incorporated indirectly as well.

So with what was on hand, quickly available I thought to try this; I placed some corn meal flour, some pearl barley and some steel milled oats into a tray along with some fresh worm casting from my new bin (hoping to have good innoculant including EM indirectly at least) along with some ancient forest, store-bought casting and some kelp meal that's been lying around for years.

I then put that concoction in the tray and mixed with some molasses and water then sat it atop a seedling mat (elevated a tad/not directly touching). After 3 days this shit is stank. I mean depths of hell stank. It did develop a nice layer of white mold growing all over the top like I see in many folks images.

So am I about to make a mistake to proceed with brewing/appling this to my girls? I think all is well but daaaamn the stank is bad. Right up there with photosynthesis plus. I hope the smell doesn't chase me out of the house once brewing - just sitting there without oxygen pumping through it was noticeably bad!

if it stank that bad, i would not use it. you shouldn't have added the molasses; probably where your anaerobic stank came from. should just be compost + grains + kelp and enough water to make it moist, not wet. that should get nice and white. then you can make a tea with that, along with some fulvic acid or fish hydrolysate in the water.

NewGrower2011 · Jan 31, 2019

now, isn't EM anaerobic and desirable in that regards? That part always throws me off how in 1 hand it's desirable and in others it's not. ;-)

But yeah it's pretty funky, maybe earthy and still a little sweet. Also the ratio of molasses was probably off.

NewGrower2011 · Jan 31, 2019

Think I'll let it brew at least overnight and check the smell in the AM; Once tossed in with water/bubbling it's not quite as strong - still a bit sweet and tad earthy. I read somewhere else there were comments saying that if the sweetness went away over 24hr brew, etc the herd had consumed the food stock.

After timing things to land for a friday night watering, trying to find a way to talk myself into not throwing it out/starting over with plain old store bought castings/ancient forest... They're due for a final tea before I start letting things coast more or less with water only from here hopefully.

What's the harms/risks of a tea that has anaerobic inputs? Wouldn't the anaerobes die off once bubbling? I've got a pretty good rolling boil breaking surface so I think my dissolved levels should be good and temps in house are low 70's - maybe on the cool side for a tea even.

NewGrower2011 · Jan 31, 2019

It got tossed... ;-)

Those negative temps outside should halt any type of process in just a few minutes; Unforunately I'll have to deal with some of the crap falling in the yard instead of over the fence, don't want the dog getting into it....

ShLUbY · Jan 31, 2019

NewGrower2011 said:
now, isn't EM anaerobic and desirable in that regards? That part always throws me off how in 1 hand it's desirable and in others it's not.

But yeah it's pretty funky, maybe earthy and still a little sweet. Also the ratio of molasses was probably off.

EM1 are mostly facultative anaerobes meaning they can grow with or without oxygen (incase you didn't know). Remember this, because this is why I never understood these "anaerobic" style grows, if they were truly anaerobic, the plant would die. Roots require oxygen, without it they will suffocate. That being said, probiotics like EM1 are definitely effective, especially if one needs some diversity or a boost in populations.

yeah, do it over, ditch the molasses. wet the substrate so its just moist, but not wet. fungi will thrive, and all will be gravy

Question before I make a 'tea mistake'...

NewGrower2011

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ShLUbY

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NewGrower2011

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NewGrower2011

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NewGrower2011

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ShLUbY

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