Re: Fwd: Mycorrizal "fertilizers"?

**G* L* <g*@gmail.com>**

believe you mis-read.
he says find a healthy plant in nature and dig up some soil and leaf litter
(leaving the plant in place)
Geri

-- 
Geraldine Adamich Laufer M.S., APR
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On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 12:23 PM, Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp <
hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> I find it incomprehensible and irresponsible that any one would suggest
> that digging your plants from nature is the way to go. I had a hard time
> reading after that, let alone accepting his opinion.
> jems
>
>
> On Mar 22, 2013, at 11:38 AM, Nan Sterman wrote:
>
>
> This is from the San Diego CNPS listserv.  I thought you all might find it
> interesting.... the discussion about mycorrhizae continues...
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: Frank Landis <franklandis03@yahoo.com>
> > Date: May 24, 2011 8:37:00 PM PDT
> > To: cnpssd-L@ucsd.edu
> > Subject: [Cnpssd-L] Re: Mycorrizal "fertilizers"?
> >
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Speaking as someone who did his PhD on mycorrhizae...
> >
> > For native plants, the best inoculum for native plants is to go out into
> nature with a bucket and shovel, find a healthy specimen of the plant, get
> a bucketful of soil (and leaf litter), bring it back, and put it in the
> planting hole.  You actually don't need more than a couple of handsful.
> >
> > I don't recommend buying commercial mycorrhizal preparations for use on
> native plants.  The reason is that the fungi they use are ones that produce
> huge numbers of spores in the greenhouse.  I should know, because I
> cultured the same species for the same reason.  They don't necessarily work
> well in your garden, in part because fungi that invest all their resources
> in producing spores don't always produce a big body to gather lots of
> nutrients for the plant.  Conversely, species that produce big fungal
> bodies (mycelia) can be really hard to grow from spores.  That's why I
> recommend the bucket of soil approach.  Additionally, you get all the other
> good bacteria, mites, etc. that aren't mycorrhizal fungi.  There's a whole
> complex ecosystem in the soil, and the mycorrhizal fungi are only one part.
> >
> > How mycorrhizal fungi work (massively simplified): basically, the fungi
> are better than the plants at getting phosphorus (and other nutrients) out
> of the soil than most plants are, while the plants are better at producing
> sugar than the fungi are.  The plants contract out phosphorus acquisition
> to the fungus, for up to 20% of the sugar the plants get from
> photosynthesis.  As with any contracting relationship, there are
> complexities.  If the plant isn't short of phosphorus, having mycorrhizae
> can actually hurt it--this is why you don't want to inoculate plants in a
> well-fertilized garden.  In fact, well-fertilized plants will boot the
> fungi out of the roots, which is why mixing mycorrhizal spores in with
> phosphate fertilizer is a waste of time.
> >
> > In general, native plants are very efficient with their nutrients,
> meaning they don't need much fertilizer.  I think having native mycorrhizal
> fungi on the roots is a great way to go, in that you probably won't need to
> fertilize them much if at all.  However, if you're planting natives in an
> area that's already been heavily fertilized, the mycorrhizal fungi are
> unlikely to help.  In any case, I don't recommend buying the commercial
> preparations, simply because I don't think they're worth the cost.
> >
> > My 0.002 cents,
> >
> > Frank
> >
> >
>
> Director, Garden Writers Association
> hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net
> http://hoosiergardener.com
> Phone: (317) 251.3261
> P.O. Box 20310
> Indianapolis, IN 46220-0310
> Co-author, Indiana Gardener's Guide
> Author, The Visitor's Guide to American Gardens
> Great Garden Speakers
>
>
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