A simple method for making your own mycorrhizal inoculum

[Weaselcracker]

Thanks Sue. I've been using powdered beneficial bacteria and fungi and brewing teas for the last six months or so. I feel like my plants are much happier. I just have to put in that bit of research and maybe get a better microscope. I would like to be able to see what's down there if possible. I took a microscope to my tea yesterday and it was super cool seeing all the various wigglers in there!
And yes I have googled the myco images but then the phone rang and my kid chopped his arm with his machete and the bunny pood on the floor, or something, anyways I got busy again and never found my way back to it.
Enough blathering. There must be more action and solid facts! I will go forth and report back with useful info if I find any.

 

[TheRoach]

How can you tell if you have mycorrhizae or not? At any point is it visible do you know? With our naked eyes I mean.

Sorry for not taking the time to address your question earlier Weaselcracker. I am glad others have graciously answered the question for me. I will elaborate on this matter below. It seems mycorrhizae are present in most natural settings, even in very poor soils.

Ok good point. I don't know why I said 'naked eyes' maybe I'm just perverted. A microscope would do fine.

I'd like to try this myco grow. I always like the idea of doing things myself. I do have some powdered commercial products. I haven't done the research yet to figure out how I'll prove to myself that my myco colony exists. I'm pretty busy so have to justify somehow to myself the time spent mixing different invisible things together to make more possibly invisible things which I then can't verify are helping. I suppose we have to go on faith sometimes. I'm happy with the bennies I'm adding to my plants now even though I can't actually prove they're helping.

I like to be able to verify the results too. I have researched into this matter and decided that I need to get some more equipment, including a microscope. I will also set up control groups using the same soil mix, sterilizing the soil in the control group to compare results. I found some info in the net you may like to check.

It's a leap of faith Weaselcracker. Most plants maintain the relationship, so if you follow Roach's instructions you'll be sure to collect them. Then it's a simple matter to increase their colony size.

Thank you Sweetsue, as you mentioned, mycorrhizae are present in most plants in their natural environment. Yes, you are right. The trick is capturing at least a bit of it and boosting the spore count by killing the host plant. The production of reproductive spores in the fungi is induced by killing the host plant and drying the soil.

Thanks Sue. I've been using powdered beneficial bacteria and fungi and brewing teas for the last six months or so. I feel like my plants are much happier. I just have to put in that bit of research and maybe get a better microscope. I would like to be able to see what's down there if possible. I took a microscope to my tea yesterday and it was super cool seeing all the various wigglers in there!

I am also looking for a good microscope. I am willing to make an investment on a good tool that will get the job done, I just need to research carefully in order to find the best return on my investment. I would also like to be able to record video and pictures while working, so I am looking for one with that option built in.

 

[TheRoach]

I think this information will come handy too:

From the web

Is Mycorrhizae Naturally in My Soil?

Mycorrhizae does occur naturally in the soil and mycorrhizal fungi has been around for millions of years. Even in very unhealthy soils one can find traces of mycorrhizal fungi. The issue facing growers when they decide whether to use commercial products is determining the amount of mycorrhizal fungi present as well as the species of the fungi. Mycorrhizae is formed when the roots of plants send out a signal that stimulates the fungi to colonize (infect) the root system. There have to be enough spores and/or propagules present in the soil to effectively colonize the roots. In addition, there may be many spores present but they may not be the correct species to initiate colonization, for example the correct species for a tomato plant under the particular conditions a grower is using.

How do I know what levels of mycorrhizae are present?
The only way to determine what levels of mycorrhizal fungi are present in your soil is to run a comprehensive soil analysis. There are a number of labs that can do this. For those who have asked the same question, I have suggested that instead of spending the money on the soil test, to try our products in a side-by-side comparison. It is likely less expensive (a trial size jar vs. the lab test) and the results should be evident within a reasonable time frame. If the plants show a marked improvement with our product, which is often the case, the mycorrhizal fungi counts or species present in the soil are not optimal. Granted, there may be times when a grower has absolutely perfect soil for every crop with high counts of the right type of fungi and thus our product will not be needed. This would be evident in the control test. It would be rare, but it is possible. The reason we add many species and have our spore counts at the levels we do is to provide the optimal product for as many growing situations as possible.


Performing a control test
For the most accurate results in a control test the following procedures should be followed:

1. If you have handled the jar of inoculant, wash your hands before setting up the tests. Just a few microscopic spores can pretty easily accidentally get where they are not supposed to be.

2. Set up all of the "control/without" plants first to avoid any chances of cross-contamination with spores on hands or tools, and be sure they are in separate water trays if the test is indoors. If the test is being conducted on garden, landscape, or farm plantings, try to maintain several feet of distance between test and control plants, as the mycorrhizal fungi hyphae can transfer from one root system to neighboring roots.

3. Flag either the "with" or "without" plants and don't rely on memory. Also, be sure to not remove your markers. In most situations, differences will be noticeable within a few weeks but longer-term differences in growth, yields and earliness of production may also be observed.

4. Greater differences between test and control plants will be seen in poorer soils or those where synthetic fertilizers have been used for many years. Such soils typically do not have any resident populations of native mycorrhizal fungi.

5. Don't skimp on inoculant. The first and most important issue is whether or not inoculations create noticeable differences. If you see good results, then you can experiment with more cost-effective smaller dosages to decide how little can be applied per plant.

6. Plants with mycorrhizae on their roots will not necessarily be taller than chemically-fertilized plants, but you should observe that they are more sturdy, with thicker trunks and shorter distances between branches. It is hard to generalize this, as the responses to biologically-active soils will differ with various plants. For turf grass, it may show better drought-resistance and for wine grapes, it may be production at an earlier age. Superior disease resistance is a common result for all plants.

 

[Young Yoda]

So is the multiplication process of growing on new host plants really necessary? If I gather a wide variety of local roots and dirt and dry it, any reason that couldn't be the inoculum?

 

[TheRoach]

Yes, spore counts would be much lower. Also the whole purpose of making the inoculum is to "capture" endomycorrhizae of different species. You can try inoculatimg with soil gathered that way, but results will be better if you follow the instructions provided. The plants in the "trap pots" where selected because they are hosts to the species of fungi we are looking for. So yes you may be able to use soil and roots as an inoculant, but it wont be nearly as good an inoculum as the one made in the trap pots.

 

[TheRoach]

Lentils and Leeks during planting.

That picture was taken a few days ago. I will post an update tomorrow with pictures of the spouted lentils and leeks!

 

[TheRoach]

An update to this tutorial. The plants in the starter soil germinated and grew to be healthy specimens very quickly. By around day 12 they were hardy enough to endure being outside. During those sunny mornings my cat found just how comfy it is to take the sun in a lentil and leek nest.
At least I have learned a lesson.
My next run of inoculum will use a different set up.
Thank you for watching.

 

[94xjjohn]

Ah the miracles of the invisible world around us. Last winter when I was desperate to get rid of my root rot and was piecing together whatever I thought were essentials for brewing tea. I finally located some Hydroguard (aka aquashield- beneficial bacteria)- only two bottles left in the country. $60 for the one liter bottle and $30+ for shipping. I ordered in March. It arrived in May. I just opened the bottle a few days ago. It was unsealed. Hmmmm....
Inside- a clear liquid that looks and smells just like water. What is this stuff?
I put the EC tester in it. Zero ppm.
Taste it- it tastes like water.
I can't think of any way to tell the difference between this $90 bottle of water and a regular bottle of water.
But the difference is - in my $90 bottle are some invisible bacteria! Extracted from genuine chicken shit! I'm not sure how many. Hopefully at least one. Maybe several. I hope these tiny critters help me with my plants. I'm not sure what to do next exactly since I can't see them or communicate with them in any way. I don't know if they even speak English.
Let's face it- I don't know if they even exist.
Maybe for an additional $900 I can get some sort of bacterial language translator/communication link installed and we can discuss this.

Hookup BlueLab with Amazon's Echo (Alexa).

 

[SweetSue]

An update to this tutorial. The plants in the starter soil germinated and grew to be healthy specimens very quickly. By around day 12 they were hardy enough to endure being outside. During those sunny mornings my cat found just how comfy it is to take the sun in a lentil and leek nest.
At least I have learned a lesson.
My next run of inoculum will use a different set up.
Thank you for watching.

I'm sorry Roach, but this has me laughing so hard I almost fell over. All that work and done in by the family cat. You'll get it next time.

 

[lilybeanz]

thanks everyone! a lot of great info in 2 pages.