My Myco's
 

Many folks read my posts praising the virtues of Mycorrhiza and beneficial bacteria, well I have added a new one to the stable. This year in addition to MycoGrow soluble I will be using Plant Success Soluable as well. The two are very similar and if you look at the picture of the expiration date you will get an idea of the shelf life of myco's and it also gives storage instructions. The MycoGrow runs about $6.00 an ounce compared to $4.00 for the Plant Success. Plant Success also adds Humic Acids and Seaweed Extract to the mix. Ami

Ami, I've been using the Myco grow, as you suggested. It was very reasonable and goes a long ways. I will add the Plant success product the next year. Thanks again for posting great recommendations.

Do you think the added Humic Acids and Seaweed Extract will help that much?

Ami, just curious, did you drop BiotaMax? I've never used the Plant Success but have heard of great results with it.

All I know is BioMax was EXPENSIVE.

Hmm, i've been using Rooters mycorrhizae because it super cheap.

[url]http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Juice-Rooters-Mycorrhizae-1-Pound/dp/B001GE8GY6[/url]

[QUOTE=Crandrew;348422]All I know is BioMax was EXPENSIVE.[/QUOTE]

How do you figure it's expensive?

[QUOTE=tqn626;348428]Hmm, i've been using Rooters because it super cheap.

[url]http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Juice-Rooters-Mycorrhizae-1-Pound/dp/B001GE8GY6[/url][/QUOTE]

You have to judge cost by the contents and the spore (propagule) concentration. Rooters is strictly Ecto and Endo mycorrhizae. The Ectomycorrhizae are useless for vegetable growing, but they are included in many blends for people who use them on compatible trees. They are also the least expensive of the mycorrhizae because the spores are the easiest to harvest since their fruiting bodies are mushrooms.

The Glomas species are the Endomycorrhizae. Rooters is a granular and has a spore count of 2.46 propagules/gram of each of the 3 species included. MYKOS in comparison is also a granular but a single species (Glomus intraradices) at 80 spores per gram. Other products may also have a higher spore count and even more species and are naturally more expensive on a cost/oz basis and most times contain beneficial bacteria and Trichoderma fungi.

Earth-Juice-Rooters-Mycorrhizae Ingredients:
12,510 propagules/gram – Pisolithus tinctorius
317 propagules/gram – Rhizopogon rubescens
317 propagules/gram – Rhizopogon fulvigleba
317 propagules/gram – Rhizopogon villosulus
317 propagules/gram – Rhizopogon subacarelescens
[COLOR="Red"]2.46 propagules/gram – Glomus intraradices
2.46 propagules/gram – Glomus aggregatum
2.46 propagules/gram – Glomus mosseae [/COLOR]

My high tunnel tomatoes got 2 plant success tablets each, and they are doing well.

[QUOTE]Do you think the added Humic Acids and Seaweed Extract will help that much?[/QUOTE]

Cran, don't know but we will find out. But I think it might give the seedlings a "Jump Start" when added to the dip solution along with the MycoGrow, Biota Max and Actinovate.

[QUOTE]Ami, just curious, did you drop BiotaMax?[/QUOTE]

Noooo! Biota Max and Actinovate will always be in the "Dip" mix along with the Myco's.

Things like Humic Acids and Seaweed Extract are added to the product as spore activators and food for the microbes. Some other inoculants will also have sugars added as microbe food.

I'm trialing MYCO BLAST from [URL="http://www.supremegrowers.com/"]Supreme Growers[/URL] this year, a very concentrated mix of Myco's, Bacillus and Trichoderma, also MYKOS and MYKOS WP from the Xtreme Gardening Sample Kit I bought.

Another one that I'm very tempted to try is [URL="http://www.humboldtnutrients.com/products/root-stimulants/myco-madness/"]Myco Madness[/URL] from Humboldt Nutrients

Normally I will do a soil drench adding a tablespoon of molasses to 10 liters of water to my plants a week after plant out as a microbe food and have used Microbe tea from T&J enterprises periodically during the growing season. Also BioBizz BioGrow has a sugar base that also feeds the microbes during the course of the growing season.

The folks at Fungi.com and Plant Revolution (Plant Success) have been in the business a long time and I am fully satisfied with their products.

Ami

Thanks for the information RayR.

Got a few questions for you.

What brand do you recommend?

Can Mycorrihzae expire?

Spores of fungi like mycorrihzae and trichoderma or bacteria can't be keep dormant and alive forever. Most products will claim an expiration date of 1 or 2 years without loss of viability.
Best advise there is to only buy what you need for 1 or 2 growing seasons at the most.
If one ounce of Mycogrow will cover your needs for your garden for one season, don't buy a pound.

It's hard to recommend brands since most of us have used only a limited number of them. You can go with the sellers with more established products like Ami endorses or you can try something newer to the market. I don't personally look at brands as much as I look at contents and the benefits for my particular needs. Most vendors selling mycorrihzae and trichoderma or bacterial inoculants don't actually make their own raw materials, very few companies have the facilities, the equipment or the expertise to mass produce biological inoculants on an economic scale.

How's it going with the addition of the Plant Success? Any noticeable differences from your regular myco/bacterial inoculation?

[QUOTE]How's it going with the addition of the Plant Success? Any noticeable differences from your regular myco/bacterial inoculation?[/QUOTE]

Hard to say. Here are pictures of my surrogate garden at work. First picture is the initial plant out 03 June. Next 2 piccs taken today.

Ami