dray86man
Active Member
If you're like me, you enjoy adding quality "benes" to either your soil or hydroponic system, but are dismayed at the costs. For a small investment, you can set up your own bene nutrient culture system.
I typically like to add some Bacillus sp. bacteria (Subculture B by General Hydroponics) and some Mychorizzae sp. fungi (Subculture M by G.H.), and they're super easy to culture. They are cultured separately, so I have one system each for Bacillus sp. and Mychorizzae sp. For a simply culture you need:
(1) Small bucket, about 2 gallons.
(1) Functioning airstone for each bucket. The more air the better...to a point, of course.
(1) Small aquarium heater. You can pick up a pre-set compact submersible heater for about $24 at Petco and the like.
(1/3 Cup) Sugar for the benes to eat.
Add about a gallon of De-Ionized water. Gotta be D.I. water or distilled due to the chlorine in tap water. Place heater, sugar, and airstone in bucket:
Here's my dual set up for both Bacillus & Myco.
Here's a pic of the benes purchased from G.H. and the sugar.
Add about a tablespoon of each culture to the buckets after the sugar is totally dissolved. Stir well. Cover the buckets and let them grow for about 48 hours. You now have multiplied the original amount of microbes by about a bazillion, and have plenty of benes for soil or hydroponic applications.
Enjoy.
I typically like to add some Bacillus sp. bacteria (Subculture B by General Hydroponics) and some Mychorizzae sp. fungi (Subculture M by G.H.), and they're super easy to culture. They are cultured separately, so I have one system each for Bacillus sp. and Mychorizzae sp. For a simply culture you need:
(1) Small bucket, about 2 gallons.
(1) Functioning airstone for each bucket. The more air the better...to a point, of course.
(1) Small aquarium heater. You can pick up a pre-set compact submersible heater for about $24 at Petco and the like.
(1/3 Cup) Sugar for the benes to eat.
Add about a gallon of De-Ionized water. Gotta be D.I. water or distilled due to the chlorine in tap water. Place heater, sugar, and airstone in bucket:
Here's my dual set up for both Bacillus & Myco.
Here's a pic of the benes purchased from G.H. and the sugar.
Add about a tablespoon of each culture to the buckets after the sugar is totally dissolved. Stir well. Cover the buckets and let them grow for about 48 hours. You now have multiplied the original amount of microbes by about a bazillion, and have plenty of benes for soil or hydroponic applications.
Enjoy.