Make the Most of your Microbes

The application of beneficial microbes doesn’t have to be complicated, or involve any knowledge of brewing or chemistry. All you need is a quality microbial inoculants which are available at all grow stores and most nursery’s.

I always use three forms of inoculants. This SUPERCHARGES my medium with a vast array of microbial life. The first form is granular, used during transplanting. This product doesn’t need to be the expensive kind, the cheaper nursery store brands work fine for this  application. Sprinkle 1tblsp. of  powder at the bottom of each transplant hole.

Second is the soluble microbial inoculants. Adding it to every watering through mid flowering will build a robust colony of beneficial’s. Around the 5th week I usually take a break for a week, then re-inoculate every other week until flushing. I like to use a more expensive horticultural grade product for this application.

The trick to getting the most from your soluble microbial inoculants is to prepare it before use by aerating it. Add the soluble microbes as per package instructions to the appropriate amount of water. Then add a food source for the microbes. This can be any complex carbohydrate such as High Brix Molasses, Sucanat, or prepared products like Humboldt Honey ES. Aerating this preparation for even an hour or two before application will substantially increase your microbe colony. I like to wait 24-48hrs.

You should never try to brew microbe tea with chlorinated water. Chlorine is a bactericide which doesn’t discriminate between good and bad bacteria. You should always draw water days ahead of use to allow chlorine to evaporate, temperature to rise closer to room temperature, and allow time to be aerated.

These are steps that will enliven your water. In the same way I talk about supercharging your soil, this will SUPERCHARGE your water! Simply place an air stone attached to an aquarium style air pump into the water for 24-48hrs before using it. I always have an extra barrel of water constantly aerating. Just in case I accidentally ruin a batch when mixing ingredients.

Lastly, but certainly not least important is brewing microbe tea. It’s called A.C.T.-aerated compost tea, and it’s not as complicated to make or use as it sounds. I suggest buying a Bountea Compost Tea Brewing kit from your grow supply store. You can research it at BOUNTEA.com. Basically for a little over a hundred bucks you get everything you need to make around 500gls. of fresh microbe tea. Plus it comes with an informative DVD on how it works. This product will have the largest concentration of living microbes over any other you can buy. I suggest 2-4 applications of Bountea by mid-flowering.


A close substitute is Mayan Mycorzyme from Humboldt Nutrients. It’s a beneficial bacterial complex that you activate by aerating in water. When you activate, brew or aerate your microbes, all the same thing, you cause them to multiply. So if you leave time to brew you can choose to use less than the suggested amounts per gallon.

These three applications together will provide unparalleled beneficial coverage.

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