Changes

Although more experiments and probably needed, agitation is believed to be an important factor for both yeast and bacteria in general. Gentle stirring on a stir plate or orbital shaker, or frequent gentle manual agitation leads to faster growth and a higher number of organisms. Agitation keeps the microbes in solution. It also maximizes the microbes' access to nutrients and disperses waste evenly. In a non-agitated starter, the microbes are limited to the diffusion rate of nutrients, leading to a slower and more stressful growth <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1168024059892473/?comment_id=1174865305875015&reply_comment_id=1176092372418975&total_comments=1&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D Conversation with Bryan of Sui Generis Blog about starters and agitation. 11/09/2015.]</ref>. Although ''Lactobacillus'' are tolerant of oxygen and oxygen usually does not negatively affect their growth (except in the case of ''L. plantarum'', which has been shown to produce acetic acid when exposed to oxygen<ref name="microbewiki_plantarum"></ref>), it is also generally not needed (an exception to this may be ''L. brevis'', which has been shown to increase growth rates in the presence of oxygen <ref name="brevis_aeration"></ref>). Therefore, it is generally best practice to prevent aerating the starter with an airlock for ''Lactobacillus'' starters. If aeration exposure to air occurs, and the starter does not smell like it has been contaminated by the aerationexposure, then the starter can still be used.