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Petronius_II · February 9, 2012

"Innoculation? Sorry for the silly question, but what is that?"

The short answer to that question is, something you may really need, but probably don't.

The long version goes like this:

Inoculating, as used here, is coating the seed with a wee bit of beneficial bacteria, or adding it to the planting hole. Or maybe digging it into the soil later on.

Ideally, the roots of all plants have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria. The mycorrhizae that you may have heard about can partner up with a wide variety of crops, not just legumes. The bacteria digest various elements out of the soil and pass it on, in a more soluble form, to the roots of the plants.

(Don't ask me what good the bacteria get out of the deal; I'm more of a science writer than a scientist, so I'm often writing about things I understand rather imperfectly myself. Long story short, I'm sure the bacteria have their reasons, ya know?)

So that's why mycorrhizae are a hot item among cutting-edge gardeners these days. Depending on which species of bacteria and which species of plant, they can supply e.g. phosphorus, maybe a little manganese here and there... Good finished compost, by the time it's applied to the soil, is loaded with too many different species of bacteria to count.

However, the one element most bacteria/plant partnerships come up short on, is nitrogen, one of the most essential elements of all. No nitrogen, no protein. No protein, no growth. Mycorrhizae can often get it out of the soil, but what if the soil is scanty in nitrogen to begin with? It may become an "all the king's horses and all the king's men" kind of situation.

And that's why legumes are so special. Peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, carob and locust trees... They all have long established relationships, rather like a "joint business venture" in human affairs, with one or more kinds of bacteria. And these legume partners don't depend on taking nitrogen out of the soil. They can take it right out of the air.

I think you can figure where scientific discoveries like this could lead. In the case of legume-friendly bacteria, this stuff has been known for many years, leading to products like this:

http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=4400

and these:

https://www.superseeds.com/products....arch=inoculant

...But if you have reasonably good soil and/or supplement it with good compost, you probably don't really need it.

It tends to be a rather pricey item. Farmers really kind of need it, because if they're not using it to get that extra 10 or 20 or 30 percent out of their crop, their competitors in the next county are. For home gardeners, it depends on how big your wallet is, how good or bad your soil is, how adamant you are about wanting to get mucho mucho mucho beans and peas out of your small space... You get the picture.

February 9, 2012	#28
Petronius_II Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 7a Posts: 209	"Innoculation? Sorry for the silly question, but what is that?" The short answer to that question is, something you may really need, but probably don't. The long version goes like this: Inoculating, as used here, is coating the seed with a wee bit of beneficial bacteria, or adding it to the planting hole. Or maybe digging it into the soil later on. Ideally, the roots of all plants have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria. The mycorrhizae that you may have heard about can partner up with a wide variety of crops, not just legumes. The bacteria digest various elements out of the soil and pass it on, in a more soluble form, to the roots of the plants. (Don't ask me what good the bacteria get out of the deal; I'm more of a science writer than a scientist, so I'm often writing about things I understand rather imperfectly myself. Long story short, I'm sure the bacteria have their reasons, ya know?) So that's why mycorrhizae are a hot item among cutting-edge gardeners these days. Depending on which species of bacteria and which species of plant, they can supply e.g. phosphorus, maybe a little manganese here and there... Good finished compost, by the time it's applied to the soil, is loaded with too many different species of bacteria to count. However, the one element most bacteria/plant partnerships come up short on, is nitrogen, one of the most essential elements of all. No nitrogen, no protein. No protein, no growth. Mycorrhizae can often get it out of the soil, but what if the soil is scanty in nitrogen to begin with? It may become an "all the king's horses and all the king's men" kind of situation. And that's why legumes are so special. Peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, carob and locust trees... They all have long established relationships, rather like a "joint business venture" in human affairs, with one or more kinds of bacteria. And these legume partners don't depend on taking nitrogen out of the soil. They can take it right out of the air. I think you can figure where scientific discoveries like this could lead. In the case of legume-friendly bacteria, this stuff has been known for many years, leading to products like this: http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=4400 and these: https://www.superseeds.com/products....arch=inoculant ...But if you have reasonably good soil and/or supplement it with good compost, you probably don't really need it. It tends to be a rather pricey item. Farmers really kind of need it, because if they're not using it to get that extra 10 or 20 or 30 percent out of their crop, their competitors in the next county are. For home gardeners, it depends on how big your wallet is, how good or bad your soil is, how adamant you are about wanting to get mucho mucho mucho beans and peas out of your small space... You get the picture.