Make Your Own Mycorrhizae

I ran across this article on growing your own beneficial fungi to improve your soil.
Looks easy. Is it worth it?

http://www.sunseed.org.uk/page.asp?p=167

gloria125, thanks for the site. This is fascinating information.

great information thank you. I pay $50 a year for my Mycorrhizae. I hope this works. By the way. It makes a huge differance over the years. Not in the short term.

It's supposed to make a difference in the survival of newly planted trees.

the forest dept. advocates dipping the trees before planting them out bare root.

Let us know how it goes.

gloria

Well, I've use the Mycorrhizae specifically on both my magnolia grandiflora and black walnuts on the recommendation of a local arboritist. These are mature trees and not doing so well. At his suggestion, we got rid of what little grass was under them, plugged in the mycorrhizae and then mulched heavily. He said that sometimes those type of trees especially in this area seem to have problems increasing their roots systems. It may have to do with the local climate, he really did have a solid theory, he just said it was something he's observed over time.

It worked, they snapped out of their "funk" and look much healthier. I am going to use the Bokashi on them and see if that will also help improve the health of the surrounding soil.

Gloria, thank you for that link, that is very interesting.

I started using a commercial Mycorrhizae innoculant this spring for some of the plants that I have grown in the greenhouse, but the idea of preparing an inoculant from my own source really appeals. Are you going to try this process. Sounds like this is absolutely the time of year for it - and I have spare Maize and bean seeds - so I think I will set up a trap pot. I have several wild pear trees I have grown from seed that are ready for planting out in our woodland, and I think this would be great as a start for them. I think I can hold off planting until Fall - and probably give them a better start all round.

I'll keep you informed. Again thank you.

Laurie1 I haven't tried it yet. Just came across the article when I was researching something else. It is interesting that so few people know about mychorrhizae and actually use it.

I know the commercial innoculant is used by the forestry department here for planting out trees.

Yes. Please keep us informed.

About those wild pears, is the fruit good to eat?

Depends if you are a Roman soldier or not.

The fruit is very small and hard as a rock. My guess is that when there was little else to eat in terms of fresh fruit or vegetable these were pretty good. Now, when you can grow a good Bonne Cretin, or a William's Pear no one bothers. It was also used to make Perrin - like Apple based Calvados, Perrin is a Pear based brandy, extremely strong. I doubt many Roman Soldiers said no to a glass. The trees are not that elegant, but they grow tall and straight and strong - good for timber.

It isn't known whether the tree is indigenous to the UK or brought by the Romans (Pyrus Pyraster also grows on the Continental Europe) but it was a prolific tree here in England. In the 17th and 18th C it became a popular furniture timber (if you see furniture from this period marked as fruit wood it is most likely Pyrus Pyraster). Chippendale was the biggest user - it allowed for delicate fret work and extremely intricate carving - plus it took furniture away from the heavy colour, and weight, of dark oak. Pear wood, as it ages takes a golden reddish warm tone. Stunning.

The Georgian furniture industry's interest almost decimated the trees and the remaining few in England are all catalogued and number - although I doubt this one is known (which makes me think there are more than they think).

When I spotted the Pears lying in the road a few years ago I decided to start a project of growing the trees from seed and repopulating our little valley with them. I plan on asking our neighbours if they will each plant out 4 or 5 trees on their land. I have 8 ready to go on our land, and will have another 10 for next year (I have given away another 6 to near neighbours, and 2 to someone replanting a wood in Hereford). Sadly 2 years ago I had 60 seedlings coming up, and in one morning the black bird nipped the lot. We ended up with 2 late seedlings that year. This last autumn I was drying the seed over night and the mice ate every one!!!! Bl=#dy h%ll! So this year I am hoping for a bumper crop, and protecting from mice and blackbirds! Hah. But that is the nature of growing, isn't it. We are always facing crop failure.

Keep your fingers crossed - I'm hoping that the homemade innoculant will give them a good good start - and you will be the one that put me in that direction. Now, did you ever expect to be helping to save the Wild Pear Tree in England? My trees say thank you.

I would like nothing better than to have been instrumental in saving trees of any kind (except Chinaberry, which is invasive here).

Please keep us informed. I wonder if the pears could be stewed down into pear preserves. We have a variety Keiffer here that is used that way.