Mycorrihza Myth

I still have the very first bag of soil I bought in the cycle somewhere and that was 4 years ago..I have used it to pot other plants of course...I have a couple of houseplants in it, a lot of marigolds, some tomatoes, strawberries, hell onions...I needed to grow more things, because if you never throw out soil, you start to accumulate it, because i don't always have some sitting when I need some to replant something...so more gets added...anyway...
When I finished my first plant in soil 2 years ago I just tore the roots all up til it was all soil again, and I took that soil and added some worm castings, assorted guanos, humus soil and then it just sat there...until I had a plant that needed to move up and I got some new soil and repotted with partially new and some old soil, to make sure the old soil wouldn't hurt it...and those plants did better than the first set in exact conditions...so I just kept doing this...all the time...at some point sand, outdoor bagged compost, compost from our compost pile, and all manner of amendments have been added, and now the soil requires very little nutes from me at all...It is good, but kind of boring...I need to get some new soil and throw out some old, just so I can play with nutes more often...usually if I try to nute now I see effects of over nute...but i can use all the carb boosters I want...they can't get enough...because of all the stuff living in the soil...saves me money, except I already have all this stuff, so now i am stuck twiddling my thumbs, but all the plants look great...about the time my soil stopped wanting me to feed it anything but carbs I started coco...it will always need me...can't work by itself...ahhahahahahaahahahaaaa

I have found efficiency through simplicity. I have found you can't beat mother nature, so I avoid commercial supplements.

OMG..I didn't read this whole thread, but this is like a thing...reusing the same soil over and over and over...DAMMIT!!! I just thought my cheapness was paying off...lol. Bullshit...damn...I hadn't even looked to see if it was a proper thing to do..I didn't have to look it up. I knew it would work because of the soil web...and that since I am using organic nutes made to start and maintain a productive soil web that there shouldn't be any ill effects from reusing the soil, but I always saw people on here saying, "don't reuse your soil it is terrible." It made me wonder if it would hurt my plant in some way, so I eased into it gradually, which is what I think has given me good results...I would never part with the soil I have right now...I don't need anymore...and I already got rid of what I needed to to be able to have room to try to get some coco going.. and once I get the hang of the coco then I can do some wicked awesome side by side comparisons...but right now i am just all newberrific with it..give me a month...lol. i don't think anything will beat my soil that I just water...or give a carb booster every once in awhile...It is beautiful soil...and smells great and soil-y...but we'll see...maybe? Aw hell who cares...I feel better about reuse of my soil, although I know when composting it is a good idea to break things into smaller pieces, much like chewing your food vs. swallowing it whole...you can swallow it whole and it will still mostly digest, but you won't get as much from it, and it will just sit there and slow everything down while it is slowly digested...so I always tear the roots up really well just with my hands when I add my amendments...which as I mentioned have been everything under the sun...lol. I think I even compost my laundry fluff...I haven't really just sat and pondered the state of my soil...I have actually been kinda off put with no nutes being needed...but now that I think about it is pretty freaking awesome...unless I try to add nutes...then it is not so awesome...lol.

I think it is fun to feel like a chemist... pouring and measuring and checking and what not...I don't even have to pH my water anymore...until recently I had to check things like that...and now everything is more than happily going on without me...I can see a spot for everytime I tried to do anything...so I just carb boost water now... I was using molasses, but then I got sent a free sample of botanicare's Sweet and I had to go get some...it really changes the smell and even the taste of some strains..I have a fuel tasting strain that I don't like the taste of, although I like the high, and love love love the way it grows...but if I use the sweet it smells stronger, which is a + and a - for obvious reasons...anyway beyond that the berry flavored sweet really adds a fruity flavor that cancels the fuely taste and smell...and the buds are stickier and for this I also say is both a + and a - . Sticky buds are harder to trim, and they make everything sticky...can't touch the plant then touch a piece of paper...it is like tree sap...just like tree sap it wipes right off with lotion..anyway...
I could use molasses, but I prefer the sweet...it is easier to use and smells better and the molasses never made a difference with the plant in the way of taste, smell and stickiness...

missnu said:

I have never added mycorrhiza, but I know that they are in there, because every once in awhile if the soil in my pots stays undisturbed for a while I will start to see mycelium forming on the top of the soil......lol.

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Nice feed back on ur soil.......i think those mycelium could be any number of fungi species....It's a good sign tho.

Can we get a pic of the Mycelium? What do they do?

And can I start cultures on old roots? i.e. soil from previous grow and then mixed in the your new soil to cook, >>>populating cultures ??? maybe don't wanna add to soil until maybe after it is has "cooked"?? this is obvi with you favorite fungi product......and isn;t the soil from your previous grow fill with shit anyway, like little colonies on the perlite and the hummus balls?

How Fast do fungi colonies grow on roots, is this a week thing a rapid oyea thing ?

Rrog

Bummer!! I agree that plants have a lot more control than we think. The constant desire to use bottled ferts, measure runoff pH, TDS, etc are all unnecessary hold-overs from chem hydro days.​

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This statement hits it right on the head. WOW! Danks for all the intelligent and well cited info all contributors. Once we get over the control everything mindset and appreciate the beauty (and cost effectiveness) of natural biotic systems it seems the plants respond very well. Its the magic of exudate biochemistry that the plant FULLY understands and modern science is only just starting to investigate. OUR microbial support system; priceless yet free to those who respect life at many scales. Thanks again for helping me learn more about how my roots perceive their surrounding environment. +rep to all

Originally Posted by Hemlock
I read a article about this and it said that endo and ecto are great but get killed when we use high P. Says ya need to take leap of faith and the fungi finish the plant.

I doing this now, got a bunch that have not been hit with any high P and I'm gonna just continue to feed the fungi and let them finish on there own..

Sounds like a fun experiment, plants dont need a lot of phosphates anyways, phosphate products bring in heavy metals and other unhealthy crap......Myco role in field applications is were it shines, lower fertilizer and water use is key for our planet. For us maybe it makes us healtier!

vvvvvvquotevvvvvv http://www.integralhydro.com/advancednutrients.html

Here’s a couple more examples of organic guano products that are sold in the US.
BAT GUANO 0-7-0
Arsenic 11.7000
Cadmium 7.6000mg/kg
Cobalt 12.6000
Zinc 1637.0000
Lead 1.2000
BAT GUANO NATURAL ORGANIC PHOSPHATE FERTILIZER 0-7-0
Arsenic 13.3000
Cadmium 10.0000mg/kg
Lead 1.2000
Selenium 5.5000

Author’s note: Heavy metal contaminants in organic fertilizers become more problematic when you consider that kelp and other organic components used in formulation (e.g. fish by-product) contain high levels of Cd. Burger J et al, studied Alaria nana kelp in Alaskan waters and found it contained high levels of cadmium, lead and selenium.( Research investigating heavy metals in aquatic food chains has yielded similar findings.(9)


Other Heavy Metal Contaminants

Arsenic (As)
The chemistry of arsenic leads to multiple chemical species that differ in
toxicity. (10)
Arsenic uptake and translocation occurs more readily in high phosphorous environments.(11) However, research conducted in 2001 – 2002 indicates LOW arsenic uptake by Cannabis sativa in both hydroponic and soil settings (tissue analysis equals <0.1mg/kg As in all instances).


One issue frequently overlooked by organic enthusiasts is the prevalence of excess arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, mercury, copper, and zinc in organic soil. Soil ecologists and environmentalists—and, to some extent, the concerned public—have known for more than a century that the synthetic pesticides of conventional farming leave heavy metals in the ground but the fact that you'll find the same toxins in organic soil and composts has been largely obscured from the public.
Organic Phosphate Sources
Let’s have a look at an organic phosphate (phosphorous) source and compare the Cd numbers against non-organic fertilizers. .
Bat Guano
TYPICAL ANALYSIS

Civa mg/kg 4, 8
Lead mg/kg 39, 6
Chromium mg/kg 29, 1
Zinc mg/kg 255, 1
Nickel mg/kg 26, 2
Cadmium mg/kg 3
Copper mg/kg 979, 8
Total phosphorus g/kg 5
Total nitrogen % 8, 1
Total organic Matter % 64, 7
Salinity % 0, 35
Electrical conductivity mS/cm 13, 8
Humidity % 8, 7
pH - 2, 09

Looking at this analysis we have 3mg/kg of Cd (vey low by guano standards) – which puts us on track with non-organic sources of phosphate fertilizers – or at least at first glance. However, our non-organic phosphate fertilizer has 51.5% (515g/kg) elemental P while our organic phosphate fertilizer has 5% (50g/kg) of elemental P so to achieve the same levels of P in NPK %w/v we are adding much higher levels of cadmium to an organic liquid fertilizer. For instance, to achieve a 1%w/v target in a fertilizer concentrate we would use 19.4g/L of our Australian MKP product or 200g/L of bat guano giving us 10.3 times the amount of Cd in the organic solution. When you compare the numbers (the chemistry of organic vs. non-organic) things become much clearer…
Here’s



Infadel my question is if I am tryin to colonize Myco and trich should I use Bat quano? Right now I run what I think is all organic. Just teas.
I use the
Indo bat shit
Jamcian Bat shit
Sea Bird guano.
Molasses
Bone meal (non steamed domestic USA)
A Little Blood Meal

Hemlock said:

Originally Posted by Hemlock


Infadel my question is if I am tryin to colonize Myco and trich should I use Bat quano? Right now I run what I think is all organic. Just teas.
I use the
Indo bat shit


Jamcian Bat shit
Sea Bird guano.
Molasses
Bone meal (non steamed domestic USA)
A Little Blood Meal

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Yea i would cut back on the P if i was you, their is plenty in ur mix but u could use more K and some kelp/micros..... Myco go dormant with over 100ppm of P., don't like trichoderma and fertile soil.

It's like they know they're not needed.

HEY MODS. Why isn't this thread a STICKY? It has tons of great bennie info with references and many knowledgeable contributors. STICKY, STICKY, STICKY please. (i don't know how one becomes a sticky)

hey guys...i read alot of the responses....just wanted to add my 2 cents. i use ZHO from Botanicare and couldnt be more satisfied with the results. the root growth is UNREAL. what i like to do is soak a "ready grow plug" in filtered water that has some ZHO mixed in. after only a day or 2 MAX.....i have seen numerous and i do mean NUMEROUS seeds sprout up ...aggressively...with roots coming out that look like fuzz is attached to a white string (micro roots off the main root stem)

i definately recommend this product, sadly i have zero scientific data to back me up but i trust my eyes and end results enough to continue using Botanicares ZHO.

-Buzzd