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the trick with micro organisms in most cases is that they're most effective when there are colonies "fighting" it out between eachother. instead of having a dominant bacteria or enzyme. you don't want anything to dominate. that's where things go wrong. when researching microbes in a lab you don't just grow the microbes, you give them challenges almost like "torture test" them by having them grow amongst other microbes and see what it does. everytime the micro organism interacts with another one that's new information to be studied. 100% of the time when a dominant culture comes in contact with another culture it starts to produce some sort of metabolites. as humans we owe a ton of research to this, but what we know so far is that if left alone to dominate the culture will geographically define itself by consuming everything in its path untill it has to fruit or create a reproductive body. this is a problem. but if presented with challenges or other micro organisms it creates secondary metabolites in forms of exudates - not a challenge as in let it dry out and see if it lives, I mean challenges in forms of other micro organisms. the exudates from competing colonies of organisms, be it bacteria, fungi or even pathogens is what builds a healthy immune system in the soil. same way a vaccine works. this might seem counterintuitive, but the concept of "good" and "bad" exists as one in nature. we just kind a labled things how we see them to make it easier for us to understand certain other aspects of our own lives, but ask yourself, how is it possible to have 100% healthy mycelium in nature thriving where Trichoderma is ever present? It's because of balanced diversity. there are wars going on under the soil between the micro organisms competing for dominance and the dead soldiers are the exudates. they're also the reason for the health in the soil. there can be no life without death. the concept of micro organism in soil, in many ways, act a lot like food in a humans gut. in the sense that if you eat a bunch of the same thing over a long period of time, even if it's healthy and good for you, rather than it helping you it will begin to become a problem for you. your immune system goes to shit if you don't keep the stuff in your gut diverse. you don't need to really understand the science behind it to understand that part. in the same sense that soil does not benefit from having a butt load of the same stuff or any of the beneficial stuff just because it's beneficial... you kinda have to get the balance right and understand the way these colonies function and what they're actually doing. they don't know what you expect of them, so you kinda have to know the only thing they trying to do is thrive. and even if it's a beneficial fungi/bacteria you don't want it to thrive, so you have to keep adding other bacteria and enzymes that all wana thrive aswell and give the "dominant" culture a run for it's money. they "fight it out" by trying to cover as much area space possible and where they cross paths or come to a stand off they battle it out and this creates the secondary metabolites, exudates and all the trace minerals. people tend to think all micro organisms act like fungal networks, where with fungal networks you want a dominant culture. but with enzymes and bacteria you want diverse cultures. and then the most important part will be moderation. seeing as this is my second SST I ever made I will hold off on the SST for about 6 months and when I do it again I'll be sure to use all different seeds than I used this time. that's the key. In the meantime I'll be doing different ferments and going for different things each time. not gona keep making the same FPJ or FFJ's have to use different stuff each time and as it's much higher in minerals I'll be using it intermittently at rates of 1 to 5ml / L of water. I am still new to all this so I hope I won't be eating my words any time soon though I got a better understanding of mycology than soil science, I am trying to tie two ends together which can cause more confusion cause not everything translates directly, but the two things can also be looked at as one whole and it's not like I am trying to do something new here. this way of gardening has been on going for the longest time. thousands of years. we're more advanced now in 2022, I hope to understand it all one day, but the learning never stops. never wana reach a point where I try to claim I know it all because that's when we stop learning anything new.

I suspect my encounter was with F. Oxysporum judging by the symptoms, but I can't be 100% sure as there are more than 100 variations of this SOB, but its THE most widely spread. The first visible signs are typically "Fusarium wilt" where you notice one branch or node or bud suddenly wilting (too late allready) but the rest of the plant looks fine, then another branch and another untill eventually the whole plant wilts and dies. In some cases you may also notice a dried out or discoloured patch on the cannabis stem/cambium/bark that looks strange....it eventually spreads. This soilbourne fungal pathogen usually enters through the roots, moves through the plant cells into the xylem where it sporulates and blocks fluid and nutrient flow, hence the wilt. It eventually spreads to the whole plant hence burning required. On my plants I did notice a red or pinkish discolourization on the roots and stems below soil level which is apparently a telltale sign. I did find this on some, but not all my plants. The cambium/bark at soil level also seperates from the stem and starts rotting.

Thanks for this @Bos Sounds very much like my suspicions. Obviously too much of anything is bad. I had similar outcome with red adzuki, mung and barley, but like you say, just a bit too much. I wanted to find out, did you inspect the roots and find an unhappy scenario there that looked to be Fusarium? At the end of the day, the most important carbohydrate going into the soil should be the root exudates. They are the most effective at releasing whatever the plant needs, via the microbiology, not only that, but it is also important for keeping microbiological colonies in check. and you only get that when plants are photosynthesizing at their peak.

Yes I agree with you that it will be beneficial in creating diversity and competition, but those sometimes and people have observed many instances of microbial collapse and that’s what I’m basically talking about, that stagnant time nothing happens in terms of plant growth because either the system is dead, or over loaded or both. also those times are usually when pathogens get the chance to take hold, you can have a massive diversity, many organism serving many purposes, but not all like the ones feeding your plants, some want to kill your plant but those are perfect dosages you got planned, and I really don’t think anything bad can happen that way.

Organic amendments or inputs are the way to go imo. SST's and FPJ's are awesome diy/grower additions for any plants, but balance and a light hand is key. My comfrey based FPJ's usually tend to be on the acidic side and will cause problems if applied undiluted. I prefer not to adjust the ph and just dilute it. My first SST's(corn,red adzuki beans) did cause problems. Initially the plants responded well, but the eff up came later. (Had to cull and burn) I suspect that the amount of available starches caused an imbalance in the soil microbiology and instead of doing good, stimulated a pathogenic Fusarium fungus outbreak due to it being prevalent in our area. The rootzone microbiology is complex, consisting of numerous organisms, some are beneficial to plants, others not so much. They keep themselves in equilibrium, but an excessive "outside" input can tip the scales in the wrong direction. Still using SST's, but much more diluted than before. Less is more.

I’m very much enjoying this full on approach. Love it bro. Look forward to seeing these plants rocket. the enzyme can be seen like that, you could also see them as organisms or bodies that carry out the life functions or processes, so they are another piece of the puzzles. they start the movement of simple compounds into more complex ones like amino and then into proteins, very important stuff. However most of this sst are energy free types of nutrient replacements so they are full amino and protein compound already, getting that dosage right is honestly the key. But I’m still yet to get that right lol The amount that comes from the initial process of seed starting is immense as you can imagine. So basically what you have are different types of more complete nitrogen compounds in action. This is the inception of life. Very many complex process taking place, so many locks become open etc. and micro nutrients just make those processes that much more efficient if they are there. Ya KNF is cool but like you said, it can go south easily. But you’ll learn how to use your nose. And if it’s even slightly offish. Chuck it. Just for me begs the question of anaerobic decomposition, I don’t know if it’s a long term solution, because of the type of microbial colonies that develope , but still don’t know enough to comment properly.

it's not that much work hahah I am planning to do way more! I want to introduce as wide a variety of different kinds of enzymes, bacteria and fungi as I can without doing something crazy. starting with the more simple stuff. I will be using the malted barley in my teas aswell, never grinded them up though. gona do that next time!

I wouldn't top or cut any branches off an auto. Let em be ^^