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soil Adding Mycorrhiza to soil...is it worth it?

Proud Marine Dad

Proud Marine Dad

Do you think adding Mycorrhiza to soil is worth it?
I was asking a knowledgable friend at work about it yesterday and he said some plants like peanuts benefit from it but for many plants it is a waste of money.
 
Well it really depends on the kind of growing your doing. If you are usng an organic soil and organic ferts then yes they are good(in my opinion) i add some to the hole i make.to pot.up seedlings(has to touch roots to work) and i add it to my compost teas and water into root zone. Just be aware chemical ferts kills them all you must either use organic ferts or re introduce them after you feed

Well it really depends on the kind of growing your doing. If you are usng an organic soil and organic ferts then yes they are good(in my opinion) i add some to the hole i make.to pot.up seedlings(has to touch roots to work) and i add it to my compost teas and water into root zone. Just be aware chemical ferts kills them all you must either use organic ferts or re introduce them after you feed
 
This seems to be the buzz topic around the forums...I saw Guru post about it when he got his care package from Xtreme Gardening, and then I remembered Jamie and PaulG talk a bunch about it. Either way, I am lookin forward to given it a shot. I just emailed XG about the care pkg, hopefully they still have a few! I figure it can't hurt if it is free...
 
It will help break down organic material and convert them to usable nutrients. If your fertilizer program is 100% synthetic then there is no need for them at all. It is not easy to keep them preforming at their best as they need the right temprature and conditions. See, in-organic fertilizer has molecules that are so small that are instantly uptaken by the microscopic holes in plants roots. Organics are simpley to big and need to be broken down by microorganisms.


So the answer is they are needed in a organic program. They are quite delicate and they perform based on the perfect conditions.


"Do you think adding Mycorrhiza to soil is worth it?"


No you just need a complete fertilizer that is synthetic with all macro and micronutrients, then it is only a matter of the right application strength to achieve superior results.

In fact, some professionals look at mycorrhiza as a bad thing. The reason is they slowly break down the structure of the media making it fine particals before you know it. Citrus growers that grow in things like pine bark media would not want that at all.
 
What is considered a chemical ferilizer? Osmocote? I used a myko and 3-3-3 fertilizer combo in my seedling pots. I assume the fertilizer in the myko is not a chemical one.
 
Osmocote is great, I really like Osmocote plus as it has Calcium and sulfur. I know slow release fertilizers are less harmful to microorganisms. You just really do not need the myko if you use osmocote. There is no "magic" that a grower can do to a plant but give it macro and micronutrients.
 
It's interesting that my co-worker said it wasn't worth using. I wonder why he thinks that?
Has there been newer findings possibly in the past several years that he was not aware of? :think:
 
MotaMike said:
It's interesting that my co-worker said it wasn't worth using. I wonder why he thinks that?
Has there been newer findings possibly in the past several years that he was not aware of? :think:
Click to expand...

Capsicum said:
It will help break down organic material and convert them to usable nutrients. If your fertilizer program is 100% synthetic then there is no need for them at all. It is not easy to keep them preforming at their best as they need the right temprature and conditions. See, in-organic fertilizer has molecules that are so small that are instantly uptaken by the microscopic holes in plants roots. Organics are simpley to BIG and need to be broken down by microorganisms.


So the answer is they are needed in a organic program. They are quite delicate and they perform based on the perfect conditions.


"Do you think adding Mycorrhiza to soil is worth it?"


No you just need a complete fertilizer that is synthetic with all macro and micronutrients, then it is only a matter of the right application strength to achieve superior results.

In fact, some professionals look at mycorrhiza as a bad thing. The reason is they slowly break down the structure of the media making it fine particals before you know it. Citrus growers that grow in things like pine bark media would not want that at all.
Click to expand...
 
I can say it makes a difference according to my informal observations.
I have never used it before, and used it with my transplants and pot ups this year.
The roots seem whiter and fuzzier than those I remember in the past seasons.
Not rigorous data, I know, but I think it does help to promote healthy root systems.
 
There are many studies out there. Google is just a click away. I'll work on getting a thread together with comparison photos and growth times, so we can have something here at THP. I welcome any and all mychorrizae in my garden :) Perhaps your co worker just didn't get the results he was expecting. Be it soil issues, his choice of nutrient sources, or what strain of myco he used. Lots of variables and reasons why your co worker could have formed said opinion. Works all the time, everytime for my peppers and mother nature.
 
"I welcome any and all mychorrizae in my garden :)"

Yes I could not say it better. When it comes to growing the in the ground, the way nature intended, I use 100% organics. In containers I use synthetics as growing in containers is much different then in the ground.
 
When you use native garden soil in massive air pruning containers, its fairly similar. Especially when you amend the garden with the same peat, compost, that go into said containers. Only difference is root zone temps at that point, and if you go lighter on the aerators in containers even temps are the same.
 
Those are cool and I see they are a good system. in smaller conventional container growing/hydroponics where your main concern is a high porosity grow media consisting of medium sized particals, The native soil has particals that are way too small for any conventional containers. For conventional containers I would look at using a larger partical sized grow medium that has high air porosity for sufficient gas exchange Like "pottingmix".
 
Pepper-Guru said:
Perhaps your co worker just didn't get the results he was expecting. Be it soil issues, his choice of nutrient sources, or what strain of myco he used. Lots of variables and reasons why your co worker could have formed said opinion. Works all the time, everytime for my peppers and mother nature.
Click to expand...

I don't know Rich I would have to ask him again. I believe he said that soil already contains it if I remember correctly so I am not sure exactly what he meant.
He does have a PhD in horticulture and his dissertation was on seeds I believe. It has been several years since he received his doctorate so I am not sure if studies have been done since then or not.
Hard to say without having time to talk to him for several minutes again but I never seem to have that time.
 
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