Biofertilizers and Mycorrhizae
 

Came across this article on the web. A good read. Ami

[URL]http://www.urbancreeks.org/Biofertilizers_Mycorrhizae.pdf[/URL]

Here's another link with suppliers of Mycorrhizae included.

[URL]http://www.ipa.net/~steved/mycorrhizae.html[/URL]

And another.

[URL]http://www.reforest.com/pdf/symbios_faq_email.pdf[/URL]

Ami-Nice article-I downloaded it for study. Thanks for posting.

Ami ' can you ship the mycorrhizae in freezing temperatures without killing them ?
jim

Tell you the truth I don't know. I will ask the question and post the answer in this thread. Ami

Jim, the answer is yes. Here is what the folks at fungi.com had to say. Ami
The fungi in question are in spore/sclerotia form and are quite stable from below freezing to desert heat although for optimal shelf life they should be stored in a cool (40-60F) and dry place out of direct light.

thank you Ami

jim

grow them roots mannnn
 

i remember reading an article by those individuals growing giant pumpkins over 1,000 lbs. and the use of Mycorrhizae to stimulate more root development which enabled the plant to soak up more nutrients and water. Can't believe that now in such a short time they have gone from 1,000 lbs. to 1,600 lbs.

George

[img]http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Gallery/GalleryImg/P9280602.JPG[/img]

what we need is a great tasting 1600 lb tomato! that stores well and is pink and grows on a plant no taller than 2.5 feet tall.

Where's the photoshop master when you need one? Imagine that the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was borne using Mycorrhizae.

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I have really been looking forward to trying these products this spring but am not going to be able to. I really wanted a 1600 lb tomato:lol: OK I will settle with any tomatoes. I just woder how those poor vines supported such a big pumpkin. I can't even immagine it in my little garden:surprised:
Kat

[quote=geeboss;118732]i remember reading an article by those individuals growing giant pumpkins over 1,000 lbs. and the use of Mycorrhizae to stimulate more root development which enabled the plant to soak up more nutrients and water. Can't believe that now in such a short time they have gone from 1,000 lbs. to 1,600 lbs.

George

[IMG]http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Gallery/GalleryImg/P9280602.JPG[/IMG][/quote]

In the picture above is Joe Jutras of RI who is the current World record holder for the largest pumpkin ever grown. That pumpkin weighed 1689 pounds. I have two seeds from that pumpkin.
Both Joe Jutras and Ron Wallace who was the previous World record holder at 1502 pounds use a mycorrhizal product called Symbios Pumpkin pro.
This product is not the only reason for their succes but has played a large role in it. Equally important factors which they have focused on are superior soil biology, genetics, pest and disease control, vine training and Luck.

[quote=geeboss;118734]Where's the photoshop master when you need one? Imagine that the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was borne using Mycorrhizae.[/quote]

This past season I used a mycorrhizal fungi in my entire garden and on all vegetable plants sold during spring sales at my greenhouse. I chose a product from [URL]http://www.mycorrhizae.com/[/URL] , thier product has a higher spore count than any other I have found on the market. It was also my first year growing tomatoes for size. I beat the previous Ohio State record for heaviest tomato ever grown in Ohio at 4.48 pounds. I also had one which weighed 3.36, one at 3.17 and several over 2 pounds.

I am totally convinced that this product has given me an edge, not just in growing for size, but my entire garden seemed healthier and more productive. I also had the most incredible root systems I have ever seen.

These are the same folks that "Garden Grounds Concentrate" comes from that I have used and posted about. Ami

Kat, why aren't you able to use these products this year? Ami

...but does a BIGGER tomato result in a [B][I]tastier[/I][/B] tomato?

I grow for taste - - not absolute size. This year, I will use Actinovate rather than Myco-Grow which I used last season. While I got a lot of large (sometimes malformed) tomatoes last year, I am still not convinced that Myco-Grow enhanced the taste of my tomatoes. :?!?:

Ray

That's a tough question rnewste.
The tomatoes I didn't grow for size were extremely tasty but that could be due to variety selection, pruning and other factors rather than use of the myco product? The particular variety I had used for size is not very well known for it's flavor, but it wasn't chosen for that. Even though the myco product makes no claims to increase of flavor, I do believe that an increase in flavor is likely possible with it's use. Mycorrhizal fungi attaches itself to plant roots helping it absorb nutrients, resulting in a healthier plant. It makes sense to me that a healthier plant would produce healthier fruit, which are more likely to be flavorful. A healthier plant is a key here, if all nutrients needed by the plant are present in the soil and available, the more nutrients are also in the fruit of that plant and available to the consumer.

I have grown tomatoes for the culinary market, at one time over 600 heirloom tomato plants. Pruning was a key factor in flavor then. Focusing simple sugars to limited fruiting sites.

Duane,

What is cautioning me about Myco-Grow is that I had a number of fruit that didn't develop as they should have done. Here is a photo of Indian Stripe which ought to have been a nicely rounded tomato. Instead:

[IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh67/rnewste/IMG_5287.jpg[/IMG]

Was this caused by the Myco-Grow treatment, I can't say for sure, but it was a HUGE tomato - - but as Carolyn said: "Malformed".

So this season I will stick with Actinovate as it is showing good results on my Snow Pea trials as of today.

Ray

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Ami-Taxes; Taxes and more taxes mixed in with this stupid injury that will probably eat up all my time at work +. I [B]destroyed [/B]my right shoulder 2 years ago and it took 2 surgeries and 5 months off work. It works good now but then I just hurt the left (with alot of help) and I know that the complications I had the first time are possible this time as well. Workers comp will nowwhere near cover my salary. Can you believe I had a 6 hour fight with them on the phone today (while I was supposed to be sleeping) to try to get them to cover the vallium for the MRI on 2/5? I couldn't use my insurance because it was work related and they would not precertify it because they did not have a full 24 hours. So I am already out $12 for 2 tablets that are generics. This is the first day of coverage :no: . No telling what they will do to me when I say I want something for pain! Have I ranted enough? Seriously right now I am just hoping to get compost for the garden. At least I have alot of leaves still in my side yard that have not touched the black walnut tree in the front. Looks like these tomatoes will really come in handy if I can keep them alive this year:)
Kat
PS remember Ami you asked so I had to open the whole can of worms!:lol: Hmm good idea. Dig up worms in the neighbors yard and run off with their dog poo!

Ray, Was this a problem throughout the season on this plant? Was the problem on this variety only? Those fruit are low on the vine which leads me to believe they were set early in the season. To me this problem looks like what is called "zippering" which is said to be commonly caused by abnormally cooler temperatures during fruit set, and possibly an anther or bloom which sticks to the fruit and does not shed properly.

I have never grown the Indian Stripe variety so I can not say wether or not it is prone to zippering.

Duane,

Very good point. Yes, this was the first fruit on this Indian Stripe plant of the season. I was not aware of this "zippering" effect due to cold set conditions. Thanks for the observation. It will be interesting growing Indian Stripe again this season with Actinovate, to see if I get a similar (or different) growth pattern.

Ray

Interesting thread. I picked up some Endofine Plus yesterday which is a mycrorhizal stimulant. I am not sure if it is the same thing as what you fellows are using. It was very expensive $20.00 for a packet that makes a litre of spray.

[URL]http://www.endofine.net/docs/StrawberryBestPractices.pdf[/URL]

I'm just wondering when the best time to apply it is, how much and how many times in a season?

Thanks for the help.

Alex

Alex, I would put Endofine into the same family as Actinovate. It has one strain of fungi, Clonostachys rosea belonging to the Ascomycota family which would be classified as Ectomycorrhiza. It is particulary effective against Botrytis and as it colonizes the roots helps in nutrient uptake.
Most of the Myco products you see listed commercially and what we use to enhance plant vigor are Endomycorrhiza in the Glomeromycota division of fungi.
What is the difference between Endo and Ecto mycorrhiza? In "Endomycorrhiza" the hyphae (the threads extending from the fungus) penetrate the cell walls of the root and invaginate (turn inside out) the cell membrane. In doing this it increases the contact surface area facilitating the transfer of nutrients to the plant.The Ectomycorrhiza do not penetrate individual cells within the root but form a covering if you will forming a network within the soil and root cells. Ecto strains benefit woody plants and trees where as Endo benefit most vegetable plants which we are interested in.
As far as application, apply it when you set your plants out either as a drench or sprinkle it on the root ball sparingly assuming it's in powder form and then apply periodically during the grow phase as a foliar spray. Depending on the weather conditions will dictate how often to apply as during wet humid conditions application will be more often (1 x Week) versus dry conditions (1x-2x a month). The instructions that come with the product may be more explicit. Ami

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Thanks AMi-You have explained the difference in a matter I understood!:surprised:
Kat

I have a product that contains Trichoderma harzianum. Has anyone tried this? If so, how did it work?

RootShield and Piranha from Advanced Nutrients contain Trichoderma harzianum. clspie are you using one of these or a differant brand? Ami

I have Root Guardian, haven't used it yet. I still have months to wait before my tomato season starts.

Ami, Thank you for the great explanation. I guess the product I have will be good for my fruit trees and roses and I will have to purchase the other type for the tomatoes and peppers. What you say confirms a report by the University of Guelph in Ontario. They tested a number of products and found that Endofine had no effect on either disease resistance or on production. However, the report found another highly toxic product as being very effective against foliar disease so I was abit suspicious of the findings.

Alex

[QUOTE=amideutch;119603]As far as application, apply it when you set your plants out either as a drench or sprinkle it on the root ball sparingly assuming it's in powder form and then [b]apply periodically during the grow phase as a foliar spray[/b].[/QUOTE]
I'm a total gardening noob and took astronomy in college just to avoid biology... But if this stuff is all about improving/maximizing soil microbes beneficial to the root system, how does it work as a foliar spray?

I am going to try Espoma's bio-tone plus. It is an organic fert (4-3-3) with mychorhyzae. The manager at one of our local nurseries said it works really well.

I called Espoma, and they said one application a growing season was enough. They recommended that one should use Plant tone once a month afterwards to fertilize in order to not use any more of the more expensive fertilier. This will all be used on tomatoes.

creister,

You may also want to consider using Tomato-tone as well since it contains the micro-nutrients suited for tomatoes.

[IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh67/rnewste/IMG_4319-1.jpg[/IMG]

It is hard to find, as HD, Lowes, etc. only carry Garden-tone. I order mine 8 bags at a time from Totally Tomatoes since they charge a flat shipping rate of $5.95 - - no matter the quantity.:D

Here's the direct link:

[URL]http://www.totallytomato.com/dp.asp?P=%7BF6B5E23E%2D4061%2D41EE%2DA8EF%2D095B390A8B89%7D[/URL]

Also, their page says "4 pounds" but I think that is a typo. My last shipment were 5 pound bags - - but you may want to email them to verify.

Ray:)

Ray and others,
FYI... I was just at the garden center and they were putting out tomato tone......they lowered the weight down from 5 lbs to now 4 lbs. So if you can find the older package at 5 lbs pick it up now because once their sold the new 4 lbs. package will be its replacement. I had to do a double take. I see that Totally Tomatoes is selling the 4 lbs package now.

George

Crap on a cracker!!:evil:

That is like a 25% price increase on a per pound basis. :shock:

Ray