In the area of living soil, compost teas are often used to introduce new soil life into the substrate. Unfortunately, compost tea is a double-edged sword. If the compost tea is made well, it offers a large amount of aerobic bacteria as well as protozoa. But this requires sufficient food for the bacteria (carbohydrates), fungi (proteins) and a high supply of oxygen. This will not work with standard aquarium pumps and air stones. Bacteria will certainly multiply, but mainly anaerobic bacteria, i.e. those that can survive without oxygen.
In addition, you should generally avoid using bubble stones. They have a very large surface area on the inside where bacteria can settle. Bubble stones cannot be cleaned sufficiently from the outside. They are simply too expensive for single use and are ecologically questionable.
Anaerobic bacteria tend to adapt their environment to their preferred conditions. If these are added to the substrate in large quantities, anaerobic conditions will develop. These, in turn, limit the growth of mycorrhizal fungi and protozoa, and plant roots also prefer aerobic conditions.
We therefore take a different approach. We use a compost extract from our organic, complete compost to inoculate our substrates.
Extraction is a simple process that takes very little time as no long brewing times are necessary. Our biologically complete compost contains all the important representatives of the soil food web. Millions of beneficial bacteria, as well as protozoa, nematodes and, above all, living mycorrhizal fungal hyphae, and other aerobic beneficial fungi that convert dead organic material into humus and contribute to soil aggregation.
We use this extract once a week to maintain the soil food chain. This ensures rapid nutrient conversion and also reduces pest pressure. If nematodes and other natural enemies of pests are present, they will not multiply excessively. Most pests and pathogens prefer anaerobic conditions and these are avoided by using compost extract.