Mycorrhizae..can I get more bang for my $$$?

[RayR]

A resent mycorrhizae presentation by Dr. Mike Amaranthus. A lot of good information.
You can watch it on YouTube here.

[Cole_Robbie]

Speaking of getting more bang for one's buck with mycos, I think it helps to bottom-water with the same container. I try to let the plants drain a little back into that container as well. I'm hoping whatever beneficials get washed off will get another chance when the water is re-used.

[Ricky Shaw]

I got a kilo of the Mykos for $28 and can see I'm going to have plenty left over even after generously coating the roots of a hundred plus seedlings potted up to 4". I hear the product degrades quickly after the first year and becomes considerably less active. I'm wondering if I should just use up what I have when I final pot-up to fabric pouches, or save it for seedlings next year?

[Cole_Robbie]

I'd store it in the refrigerator.

[Ricky Shaw]

I've heard this helps and keep it cool and dark in the cellar, the fridge would be better. Such a leap of faith product anyway, you don't know it's not working, until it's too late to do anything about it.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw

I got a kilo of the Mykos for $28 and can see I'm going to have plenty left over even after generously coating the roots of a hundred plus seedlings potted up to 4". I hear the product degrades quickly after the first year and becomes considerably less active. I'm wondering if I should just use up what I have when I final pot-up to fabric pouches, or save it for seedlings next year?

Like Amaranthus said in the presentation, the dry inoculant will lose about 10% spore viability after the 2nd year. That's not a significant loss.

[Ricky Shaw]

Thank you for that Ray, I honestly looked at that one hour time on the lecture and skipped it for now. I do like Dr. Amaranthus estimation of so little viability loss, I've read as much as 50%. Good news.

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw

I got a kilo of the Mykos for $28 and can see I'm going to have plenty left over even after generously coating the roots of a hundred plus seedlings potted up to 4". I hear the product degrades quickly after the first year and becomes considerably less active. I'm wondering if I should just use up what I have when I final pot-up to fabric pouches, or save it for seedlings next year?

Give 'em a refresher dose once a month, that should chew up some of it.

[kurt]

The stuff does not die if you throw some of the spent medium in a suitable composter using a mother yeast mindset.I have always wondered why we saw some growths in bags of mediums(I.e. promix)when wet.Find out it was the mycos growing in the bag.So all our spent first coir/perlite/ old rootball material will go in the trenches for those corns,tobaccos and my favorites bananas.Patio containers for,papaya,figs,even small citrus can enjoy some of the spent material with the spores still alive.I am in 10b,so my almost 365/growing season helps.In those huge compost piles under those tarps in the cold Amish country farms overwintering spores are brewing for spring.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by kurt

The stuff does not die if you throw some of the spent medium in a suitable composter using a mother yeast mindset.I have always wondered why we saw some growths in bags of mediums(I.e. promix)when wet.Find out it was the mycos growing in the bag.So all our spent first coir/perlite/ old rootball material will go in the trenches for those corns,tobaccos and my favorites bananas.Patio containers for,papaya,figs,even small citrus can enjoy some of the spent material with the spores still alive.I am in 10b,so my almost 365/growing season helps.In those huge compost piles under those tarps in the cold Amish country farms overwintering spores are brewing for spring.

It's possible that there could be viable spores in the compost if old root ball material was thrown in to compost. Endomycorrhizal Fungi produce spores both outside and inside the root, but what are the chances of survival long term and what are the chances of having a viable spore find a root when rhe compost is used? Although spores can survive for years dry in a bag or container of inoculant, in the wild the worse enemy of Endomycorrhizal Fungi is fallow soil. Without living root hosts the survival rate of Endomycorrhizal Fungi is limited to so many months. Dr. Amaranthus discussed this in the video and said your best option to carry over mycorrhizae from year to year in an agricultural crop situation is to plant perennial cover crops. he mentioned clover as a good one for that. I think the chances of having any meaningful amount of viable spores in any compost is slim to none.
Also Endomycorrhizal Fungi cannot germinate in a bag of Promix, spores will not germinate unless they detect a chemical signal from a living root. Mycorrhizal plants excrete specific isofavinoids into the soil, when a spore detects the chemicals it will germinate and grow toward the source of the chemical signal—the root.
You can't see Endomycorrhizal Fungi anyway with the naked eye, they are too small, you need a microscope and a stain that reacts with their chitin cell walls to see them. If you see fungal growth in a bag of potting mix it's only a common mold colony.

[hoefarmer]

I drenched my tomatoes and peppers yesterday morning with Great White Mycorrhizae. Last night we got 1.25" of rain. Should I reapply? My soil is very sandy.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by hoefarmer

I drenched my tomatoes and peppers yesterday morning with Great White Mycorrhizae. Last night we got 1.25" of rain. Should I reapply? My soil is very sandy.

Well you're not growing in pure sand, you do have some silt, clay and organic matter in there also and your plants are at a mature fruiting stage? That's lot of rain and some spores may washed down further into the soil profile, but some would also get caught up in the root mass . There's a whole lot of bacterial and fungal spores in a gram of Great White and it doesn't take a lot to get colonization going. I wouldn't worry about it now, reapply in a week or 2 just as insurance.
I understand if this is the first time you've inoculated, but doing inoculation at seed starting or as young seedlings is a good idea. The organic glues that fungi and bacteria make will stick those sand grains together which will improve soil structure and water retention.