Helen Igham is highly against anaerobic bacteria as far as I can tell while some other well respected people in the industry believe in anaerobic bacteria when feeding. Do you think a range of both provides the most diverse terpenoid profile? What does cannabis prefer, anaerobic or aerobic and how to balance the two? Thanks, do let me know if you answer the question in the show in case I miss it, cheers.
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A healthy diverse microbial population that can supply the plant with amino acids, chelated minerals, plant available hormones and much more allow the plant to divert energy elsewhere and to store energy. Some have the theory that with out strategic stress the plant has no reason to use the reserves and stored energy. A simple flush(water only for organic) and threat of death seems to be the biggest factor for annual plants finishing strong. Which anaerobic microbes are you thinking about. Most anaerobic microbes that thrive in ph less than 5.5 are usually pathogenic and bad. The reason I think some say to incorporate anaerobic microbes is that many beneficial microbes are facultative and can live in both an aerobic and anaerobic environment. When in an anaerobic environment they can outcompete the aerobic bacteria and can create a negative effect. Roots require an aerobic environment. Most beneficial anaerobic microbes seem to be decomposers and aid in breaking down organic material.
I think a lot of it is safety driven.
From what I understand, aerobic bacteria is generally much safer to handle and work with. Anaerobic bacterial species are more likely to make you sick or cause other health concerns.
Some of the most beneficial species like lacto bacillus are able to survive in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
Who are these well respected people you are seeing promoting anarobic bacteria for gardening use? I’d be curious to hear more about that.
The well respected growers are local growers I know. One of them used to make an anaerobic comfrey tea and he swore it was the best fertilizer for flowering plants known to mankind! haha
I had some comfrey tea in a sealed container that was over a year old I just used on 4 plants, they responded well but it got me thinking why would Helen Igham be so against anaerobic bacteria.
I have also been experimenting with massive sub irrigated planters for years and they always push the best yield of my best cannabis, I am pretty sure there are slightly more anaerobic bacteria in a sub-irrigated planter but that is only my gut feeling, never checked with a microscope, I would not know how to tell the difference between anaerobic and aerobic bacteria under microscope anyway… Thanks JustCoolin and Soup for the replies.
Oh I get what you mean now…. like a basic comfrey ferment type of thing. I’ve seen a few recipes like that that come from French or English gardening where you soak nettles and comfrey in a bucket of water.
I wasn’t even thinking about fermented stuff as being anaerobic, but I guess it sorta is. 🙃
Anarobic tea brewing (aka soaking stuff in a bucket of water without an air stone) can work, but you can also unintentionally brew up some really nasty critters that could make you sick.
A lot of those anaerobic recipes work by utilizing lacto bacillus, which can actually live in both anaerobic or aerobic conditions. Most of those recipes can also be brewed aerobicaly and they will turn out even better.
Tell your local gardening buddy to try making his usual recipe but add some oxygen to his brewing process. Throw some air stones in the mix. 👍
I make a tea with kelp and alfalfa and I’ll throw some comfrey in there too sometimes. I brew it in my compost tea brewer with lots of oxygen. Works great and the plants absolutely love it.
I suspect the only reason a lot of those old recipes are brewed anerobically is because the recipe came from a time before air pumps and compost tea brewers were invented. Some of those comfrey and nettle tea recipes have been around for hundreds of years.
I also suspect dr Igham promotes aerobic brewing methods because when you make them properly and use good ingredients, they work reliably and are safe to use. Anarobic recipes can go horribly wrong and turn into a bucket of disease if you aren’t careful.
Another thing to look into is Korean natural farming methods. Many of the recipes are plant based ferments sorta like what you described, except they are made a bit differently (less water, more sugar/carbs).