fungal innocculations

I've followed several threads about Mycrobial / fungial innocculation of soil in the USA and people suggesting to try it in MM

I'd never heard of it ( much to many peoples amazement ) it was not something we do in the UK.

Well folks when the USA sneezes , we in the UK catch a cold a couple of years later .. This autumn almost every gardening area in shops & all the big garden centres are stacked to the gunnels with the stuff .

It's abit pricy though at £4.50 for a 2 x 2 inch trial pack and nearly £ 10 for a half pint sized bag.

I'll not be buying any though as I don't think I need it due to how I've mde my MM composts ( very high in animal dungs & beddings ) .

I'm having enough problems with 20 inch long pole beans, one pound carrots and 19 inch dia saladbowl lettuces that taste like a mouthful of heaven , to mention but a few of my very sucessful bed veg.

If any other UK / European SFG'ers decide to use it would you please keep detailed notes and post the conclusions here on site .

plantoid wrote:I've followed several threads about Mycrobial/fungial innocculation of soil in the USA and people suggesting to try it in MM

I'd never heard of it

They put mycelium, spores, or actual mushrooms in their compost?

My question: if you put sliced Crimini's in the compost, will that grow more mushrooms? - please don't laugh at me.

could you be more specific the type fungal inoculation.

or do you mean Bean Inoculant

Kind of yes ...
I was asking about " MYCORRHIZAL INOCULANT " , though there are all sorts of home made lacto cultures & " Teas " that you can brew up & put on the gardnens as well , but more specificially it is the above .
Over here they are being advertized as the be all and end all of massive root production for bigger crops .

I understand that in the USA there are crop specific ones for peas bean , fruit trees and old grannies

I imagine that you will also need to make sure you have enough plant nutrients inyour soil/compost to supply the plants for all their life as well .

plantoid you still mixing issues.
teas aka compost or manure teas are very separate issues compared to legume inoculant and MYCORRHIZAL are separate still issues.

As for mels mix legume inoculant is definitely needed. since it would not be present unless the compost had been previously been used grow beans or was made from large quantities of legume waste including the roots.

As for compost tea and manure tea you need to make them in very specific manner and dilute them correctly or you can do damage instead helping your plants.

Apparently some folk are referring to bacterial cultures that are made from made from yoghurt etc as teas so I just called them that .

For my I was asking about the fungal mycorrhizal stuff .. is it a culture that enhances fungal nodes to grow on roots or a fungus that readily attaches itself to roots and encourages zillions of finer hair roots?

As already said I won't be using any ..look in the gallery at my beans and other veg they are massive and very juicy all fed on a well made dung based compost in my MM.

I'll try and get back to the site in a day of so when I get my internet connection sorted on my own PC .. I'm using Munchkins lap top puter and it's really wierd to use for my chunky fingers , thumbs and single brain cell.

BFN

Hi Plantoid,
"Smiling Gardener" (tangentializes) but offers this good info. Apparently 2 types of Veggies generally do not form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi.
Brassicaceae family:

* broccoli
* brussels sprouts
* cabbage
* cauliflower
* collards
* kale
* mustard
* rutabaga

... and members of the Amaranthaceae family:

* beets
* swiss chard
* lamb’s quarters
* quinoa
* spinach
* purslane
* amaranth

For the rest benefited, he sprouts his seeds with "SEA-minerals & kelp"; and then rubs a bit of the mycorrhizal fungi spores on the sprouts before planting them in rich composted soil: http://www.smilinggardener.com/organic-gardening-advice/mycorrhizal-inoculant
However, it seems logical to ask: regardless of what you use, even when the fungi is able to scrounge every last Nutrient in the soil, the soil must 1st. have the 23+ minerals present, or the point is lost, right?