How to Culture Lactobacilli (LAB) Beneficial Microorganims for Your Garden

Source: iz quotes

My mother has the habit of taking in stray cats in our neighborhood.  This resulted in more than ten cats taking residence in our home.  It was unmanageable and eventually, bad odors developed in our backyard due to cat droppings.  This pushed me to research on the best way to eliminate bad odors without leaving chemical residues in the soil.

My research introduced me to effective microorganisms, natural farming practices, wicking gardens and a lot of other good things.

In 2009, I started culturing Lactobacilli (LAB) to get rid of the bad odors at home.  After  several months of experimentation, I decided to launch Biolant beneficial microorganisms as a product. Although the business didn't take off as well as I expected, I was quite successful in eliminating bad odors!  

I have decided to share the formula/recipe I used in culturing Lactobacilli.

Here are some reminders:

• I followed CLEAN kitchen concepts in preparing and handling the ingredients and equipment.  
• For measurement, 1 liter = 1 kilo

The steps in culturing Lactobacilli can be divided into two major parts:

1. Collecting the inoculant.  
2. Multiplying and storing the Lactobacilli.

PART 1: COLLECTING LACTOBACILLI USING RICE WASH

Ingredients:

Rice        1 part
Water      2 parts

Materials:

Container for fermenting rice wash

Directions:

1. In a container, mix one part of rice and two parts water.  Thoroughly and vigorously wash the rice.  This makes the water cloudy.  
2. Transfer the cloudy water into another container with 50% to 75% head space to allow air circulation. Cover mouth of the container with cheesecloth wrapped with rubber band (or anything that will hold the cloth).  Manila paper can be used to cover the container.
3. Place the rice wash in a cool dark spot for 5-8 days. The mixture should smell mildly sour in a few days.  [At first, I left the rice wash for one week.  The smell was not mildly sour anymore but I still used it as inoculant.  It was hot and humid at that time.  It must be due to the ambient temperature.  It only takes about 3 days here in the Philippines for the rice wash to turn mildly sour.]
4. By this time, layers have formed.  Strain out the solids and you have your inoculant.

PART 2:  MULTIPLYING LACTOBACILLI USING A NUTRIENT SOLUTION

Ingredients:

Water - 10x the volume of inoculant.  Use non chlorinated water.

• If direct from the tap, I let the water sit for 24 hours before use.

Black Strap Molasses / Brown Sugar - 3% of weight of total liquid (water + inoculant).  ASSUME: 1 liter = 1 kilo.

• I use Dark Brown Sugar which is more acceptable to organic advocates.  I can't find a molasses supplier in Marikina City.  I also experimented with white sugar and it worked just fine.  

Milk (Special) - 12% of weight of total liquid (water + inoculant).

• I use Special powdered milk sold in a bakeshop supply store.  Best to inform store personnel that the milk will be used for fermentation.  The store owner recommends a more expensive powdered milk but in my case, the SPECIAL (Sp.) type was sufficient. The cheaper types had a lot of milk extenders which ruined the fermentation process.  
• Using and buying powdered milk from a bakeshop supply store is the cheapest way to make your nutrient solution as regular milk from the grocery is quite expensive.
• Branded powdered milk from the grocery contains sugar but it also works well, except for the cost. 
• You can use regular milk (liquid) or branded powdered milk from the grocery but it is very expensive.  
• The name of the store is St. Ellen's Supplies and Gen. Merchandise, "Bayan" Marikina.  This is along Shoe Avenue in Marikina City, right across Marikina Sports Center and Red Ribbon. 

Inoculant - fermented rice wash (For those who skipped it, please read Part 1)

          Here's an example computation:

          Let's assume that we have 360 mL of fermented rice wash (inoculant).  

          The weight of the ingredients are computed as follows: 

               Water - 3600mL or 3.6Liters (10x volume of inoculant)                   

                    1.  360mL x 10 = 3600mL or 3.6Liters

               Sugar - 120 grams or 3% of total liquid.  

                    1.  Get total volume of liquid.  3600mL + 360mL = 3960mL.  

                    2.  Multiply 3% to the total.  3% x 3960mL = 118.8 grams => 120 grams

               Powdered Milk (Special) - 475 grams (12% of total liquid)

                    1.  Get total volume of liquid.  3600mL + 360mL = 3960mL.  

                    2.  Multiply 12% to the total.  12% x 3960mL = 475.2 grams => 475 grams      

Directions:

1. Make your nutrient solution by dissolving the milk, sugar and water in a plastic container with a 50% to 75% head space for air circulation.  I used a 20 liter plastic bin for this mixture.  TIP:  I heated the water to about 34°C to easily dissolve the sugar and milk.  Use a wooden / plastic spatula to stir the mixture.  
2. Add the inoculant and mix well.
3. Cover the bin with several layers of cheesecloth.  
4. Let the solution ferment in a cool, dark spot for 12 to 14 days.  By the 12th day, the aroma has become really strong and ready for straining.  
5. Strain out the solids.  The yellowish liquid is your Lactobacilli (LAB).  
6. Add an equivalent amount of molasses/brown sugar to the LAB to allow long-term storage. [Six months, in my case.]
7. For storage, you can use plastic bottles similar to bottled water but you have to release gases formed to prevent a sticky explosion.  I used plastic bottles that wasn't air tight.  This allowed gases to escape but the shelf life was reduced to 6 months.  

I don't have pictures that come with this post but I found another site with plenty of pictures that also discusses how to culture Lactobacilli.  The pictures help in understanding and their container for storage solves the problem of gas formation. Click the link to go to the site, Confessions From The Soil.

The procedure I have shared is the product of research, experimentation and usage.  I don't have scientific proof that it works.  

The only proof that I can claim to is that the bad odors  at home, after several years of enduring it, is gone.

Vermicompost Tea: Brew Effective Micro-organisms Using Vermicompost - Part 1

VERMICOMPOST TEA (or VERMITEA) is the liquid extract from fermented vermicompost. Vermitea is an excellent organic fertilizer and pesticide. This is due to the presence of beneficial microorganisms in the tea. "The vermi teas had about one-third of the microbial activity and diversity of the solid vermicompost, volume to volume." (Arancon, et al, 2007).

Since it is in liquid form, vermitea can be used as an organic foliar fertilizer. Spraying also allows plants to benefit from the pesticidal properties of vermitea. Apart from inhibiting arthropod pests like aphids and spider mites, vermicompost tea suppresses plant diseases (ex. Pythium) and plant parasitic nematodes (ex. root knot nematodes).

Vermitea is also an excellent plant growth promoter and soil ammendment. According to soil scientists, using vermitea produces major growth differences between plants grown on soil and water and those grown on soil and vermitea. "The presence of plant growth regulators in the teas...can influence plant growth significantly independent of nutrient availability." (Arancon, et al, 2007)

Experience the benefits of vermitea by using the following recipe.

HOW TO MAKE VERMITEA

Materials Needed:

Chlorine-free water --> 20 parts
Vermicompost --> 1 part
Molasses or brown sugar --> 6/10 part
Measuring Cup (1 Liter)
powerhead pump or air pump(used to aerate aquariums)
24 liter plastic pail with lid
funnel
cheesecloth bag/used sock/pantyhose or pillowcase

Procedure:

1. Fill pail with 20 liters of chlorine-free water.
2. Add 600mL molasses or brown sugar in the water and mix well until molasses is fully diluted.
3. Attach the powerhead pump inside the pail. The outlet should be submerged just right below the water's surface. Once securely attached, switch on the powerhead.
4. Put 1 liter vermicompost in cheesecloth bag (or used sock, etc). Tie with a string. The string should be long enough to facilitate drawing out the bag from the liquid after fermentation, just like green tea!
5. Submerge the bag containing vermicompost in the water.
6. Put the lid on to prevent dust, insects, etc from contaminating the mixture.
7. Ferment the mixture for 48 hours.
After 48 Hours
8. Test the mixture for bad odors. The vermicompost tea should have a pleasant, earthy smell. We want our vermitea to be aerobic. An awful smell means that anaerobic bacteria have taken over the mixture and should be discarded directly into a drain pipe.
9. Pull out the cheesecloth bag and the power head. The remaining liquid is our vermitea, an organic foliar fertilizer and pesticide.
10. Use a funnel to transfer the liquid into a sprayer. Spray immediately. Adding mild dish-washing liquid helps the vermitea adhere to plant leaves.Do not store the liquid.

NOTES:

* The volume:volume ratios of vermicompost to water used by Arancon, et al, were: 1:5 (20%); 1:10 (10%); 1:20 (5%). I am suggesting a 5% dilution to save on solid vermicompost.

Sources:

"Vermicompost tea production and plant growth impacts" by Arancon, Edwards, Dick and Dick, www.biocycle.net, November 2007

Compost Tea Brew Recipes

Using Earthworms to Make Super Vermicompost

Pre-composting Food Wastes Using Biolant Beneficial Microorganisms

High protein food wastes like meat and dairy products produce heat that is fatal to earthworms. Oily foods, onion trimmings and citrus are also deadly to earthworms.

High protein materials must undergo a two-week thermophilic decomposition process before introduction into the bedding. This two-week thermophilic decomposition process is called pre-composting.

Pre-composting is simple. High protein materials are layered with high carbon materials and sprayed with compost accelerator, e.g. Biolant BM Concentrate*. The formula to be followed is 1 part high protein materials combined with 4 parts high carbon materials. Although less high carbon materials can be used, it should not be lower than 2 parts. Otherwise, strong odors may be produced by the pile.

Some materials high in carbon are dried tree leaves, coco coir dust and dried garden waste. When using dried tree leaves and garden waste, it is better to shred the materials first to facilitate decomposition. Shredding or chopping large kitchen waste is also preferable.

Pre-compost materials in a container like an earthen pot or rice sack for easier handling. At least two containers are needed for pre-composting. The size of the container depends on the waste generated from your kitchen.

I use two earthen pots of the same size. The pots are small enough to be filled in two weeks' time. The procedure for filling up the pots follows.

Put about two inches of shredded tree leaves at the bottom of the container. This is the first layer. Add your high protein wastes, oily foods, onion trimmings and citrus on top and spray with biolant solution (a compost accelerator). Add another layer of shredded leaves equivalent to the volume of the kitchen waste. Ensure that the leaves cover entirely the kitchen waste. Cover to prevent animals from disturbing the pot. Layer wastes and leaves daily until the pot is full.

Once the container is full, turn the materials completely making sure that the topmost and bottom layers end up in the middle of the pile. Spray with Biolant solution to maintain 40% to 60% moisture content for the entire pile. Add a thin layer of soil as the topmost layer. The pile will then heat up within 24 hours.

Allow the materials to decompose for two weeks, maintaining 40%-60% moisture content. If possible, completely turn the materials every three or four days. If not, turn the pile at least once. Always ensure that the topmost and bottom layers end up in the middle portion of the pile.

After two weeks, the volume of the materials should have been reduced by at least 20% and the temperature of the pile should have gone down. Reduction in volume indicates that the materials have undergone partial decomposition.

Spread out the materials to further lower the temperature of the pile and spray with chlorine-free water to reach 70%-90% moisture content.

The pre-composted materials can now be safely introduced to the worm bed. Spread out the materials thinly to prevent it from heating up further.

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*Biolant BM Concentrate has various uses. Some of its uses are organic deodorizer, soil conditioner, foliar spray for plants, compost accelerator and pond water treatment.

Since it is a liquid concentrate, Biolant BM should be diluted in chlorine-free water before use.

The minimum dilution rate recommended for odor control, soil conditioning, foliar spray and compost accelerator is 1 part Biolant BM Concentrate to 200 parts water. Use a fine mist sprayer OR sprinkler to apply solution.