[greentiger87]

Naysen -

The product I was referring to was Actinovate.

No worries, I have a similar personality. I know it's hard to do, but one of the most important things as far as success with culturing organisms like these is to *not* overdo the recipe. Each set of bacteria will have conditions in which they thrive. It is very easy for the hobbyist to create a growth medium that is far too rich for their purposes. Too rich media can backfire in multiple ways (I can elaborate if you want), and often promotes the dominance of contaminants. When in doubt, dilute. Do research on the specific microorganism you want to grow on Google scholar before you start experimenting. Since there's no way for you to directly test your final product, optimizing your growth media to select for what you want becomes very important.

Throwing everything but the kitchen sink in at once is *not* a good idea. Resist the urge. Trust me, I can empathize.

Bacillus species are mostly non-fastidious, meaning they don't need any special growth factors to succeed. However, they do best in aerobic conditions. They can be reliably grown on something as simple as Potato Broth (the liquid left behind when you boil unpeeled potato slices in water for a while).

Trichoderma can be grown in liquid broth, but it will struggle to compete against contaminants. Without adding antibiotics and other selection factors, you'll probably be wasting inoculant. However, Trichoderma species will grow vigorously on moist, but solid media. The growth is clearly visible as well, which is reassuring.

From what I've read, Bacillus subtilis and Trichoderma don't antagonize each other in controlled studies on agar. Combinations of Bacillus subtilis and Trichoderma complement each other when applied to the plant root syste. However, these studies were on specific strains of the subtilis species only. Since Bacillus species are used as antagonists for fungal pathogens, it's not unreasonable to think that they could outcompete Trichoderma if they were vying for the same resources.

Actinomycetes are very non-fastidious. They can thrive in very low-nutrient situations where other organisms struggle. The Actinovate strain is extremely vigorous, which is likely making up for the fact that my approach is non-ideal and non-sterile.

Adding simple carbohydrates like molasses, in non-sterile conditions, will promote the growth of undesired and potentially pathogenic bacteria in a liquid broth situation. This is a overall opinion from the my reading of the research. A very small amount of molasses might be helpful for Bacillus, but not for Trichoderma or any Actinomycete.

The majority of mycorrhizal species cannot be cultured in vitro. They need living plants to multiply. See posts above for details. Adding Great White to your tea, as expensive as it is, is a huge waste.

Frass is best thought of as an inoculant, rather than a nutrient source. Adding it along with another inoculant is overkill. Worm castings also serve as an inoculant, along with providing nutrients.

For the purpose of growing specific microorganisms, adding seaweed, humic/fulvic acids, worm castings, or frass all introduce unknown variables that are unecessary. They might still be good for plants, but not for the purpose we're talking about. Add them later.

I know this is contrary to much of the information on the web, but the research shows that Aerated Compost Tea is *not* effective as a foliar spray. The unknown composition is the main issue. Anaerobic teas of manure products and chicken litter have shown some consistent effectiveness in field trials, though there are still pathogen issues.

Aerobic teas are attractive because the smell nicer, and *feel* like you're really doing something. And of course, people can make money selling you equipment.

This is why I prefer attempting to culture single organisms if I'm going to go to the trouble of aerating my tea.
The next best thing to is to use an inoculant that you know is rich in a specific kind of organism, and then compose your media to select for them as well. For example, insect frass is known to be rich in chitin-degrading organisms as well as entomopathogenic organisms.