Mycorrhizal

I was doing some research tonight and came across this site.

Mycorrhizal by Rick Maughs - Monster Plant Mix

Anyone ever use mycorrhizal fungi in their gardens? If so, how did it work?

Anyone? Thoughts on this, experiences? Gimmick? Give me something, lol.

No it is not a gimmick it is true the site that you mention though is a bit expensive for mycorrhizal fungi,you can get it a lot cheaper than that though.
Also worth mentioning is that heavy watering or high levels of nutes will just kill the fungi of again anyway so if you do buy it you'll need to bear this in mind

I know Rick Maughs he grows the trees. I have some pictures of some huge 16' plants he grew. The base of one of his plants is wider than a gallon milk jug. I use his mycorrhizal fungi along with other stuff.

I am not saying that ricks stuff is no good,just that you can get small 75g sachets of this fungi for 2.99 and ricks stuff is a 3 gallon application for 59.99.
There is a huge price difference and a lot of indoor growers will only need small amounts.
You can get 360g of mycorrhizal fungus for 10.99 from other providers which would be plenty for most indoor growers and many outdoor growers.

Plant Size Approximate Number treated by 360g rootgrowplus Cell 125-150 > 1 foot (30cm) 125-150 1-2 feet (30-60cm) 100-130 2-3 feet (60-90cm) 75-100 3-4 feet (90-120cm) 50-75 4-5 feet (120-150cm) 50-75 5-6 feet (150-180cm) 50-75 Rose 40-60
As you can see 360g is enough to treat 50-75 6 foot plants and only costs 10.99

So how exactly do you treat your plants with this fungi? Say I have small cloned cuttings that are rooted in a 16oz soda bottle with the 2" of the top cut off. And, once I treat these plants... how long do the fungi last and stay beneficial? I know natmoon mentioned about the watering and fertilizing, but say under very ideal situations.

medical.use- you know Rick personally? Just curious...if you do show some love for those monsters he grows from me. I don't have $60 to spend on his product, but if I did I would. Seems like he is very involved in the movement and just wants to profit a little from his knowledge...good idea really. I dream every night I could grow like that, lol. And I will, hopefully this coming season.

Yea Rick is a very cool guy thats all about helping others that have face health issues. Sure he makes money but he also gives stuff away and will defend the rights of any medical marijuana patient.

His organic mycorrhizal is mixed 1 TBL per gal. Then pour 1/2 cup on roots of each plant. It really does last a long time. Its recommended to used once in veg then option when buds start forming.

In the pic you can see Rick standing on the right side of the tree.

medical.use said:

Yea Rick is a very cool guy thats all about helping others that have face health issues. Sure he makes money but he also gives stuff away and will defend the rights of any medical marijuana patient.

His organic mycorrhizal is mixed 1 TBL per gal. Then pour 1/2 cup on roots of each plant. It really does last a long time. Its recommended to used once in veg then option when buds start forming.

In the pic you can see Rick standing on the right side of the tree.

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But when i look at the order page it states:
1 Rick's Monster Plant Mix- All Orders Free Shipping - Order your Mycorrhizal application with complete confidence, you won't be disappointed! You will receive a 3 Gallon application.

If this is wrong and i don't actually get 3 tablespoons for 59.99 then let us know as this is why i say it is expensive

medical.use said:

Yep for 59.99 you get 3 TBL which will innoculate 90 plants. Thats 66 cents per plant.

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That still seems fairly expensive but if as you say this guy supports people with health probs then fair shout to him and i hope he sells loads

Very interesting site ricky i wonder? I never tried that but I think I will.....

I've been learning alot about mycorrhizae recently and it really looks like some cool stuff.

Mycorrhizae is a fungus that functions in a sybiotic relationship with most other plants - scientists speculate that it is this fungus that allowed water-based plants to evolve into land based plants eons back in evolution.
Basically the fungus attaches and spreads on the roots, spreading all those fungal hairs (think molding bread) throughout the soil. These fungi absorb and process the nutirents in the soil, and pass it on to the roots of the host plant effectively increasing the nutrient absorbtion of that plant by, like, 1000

I've started using it several months ago, adding it to my used soil (which i also ammend with other goodies).

My understanding of this is, if done correctly you can innoculate the soil once, and it should spread and stay alive - a little goes a long way.

Just don't use tap water - the chlorine will kill it.

I just ordered some myself yesterday, but not from Rick because of the price otherwise I would have. I'll be trying it and will post results.

Pullin' weeds, is it working for you?

Well, I didn't order any product from Rick either.

I found a product called Bio-tone from Espoma at my local garden center. I only started with it a short time ago, so I actually don't have any cannabis harvest results to report yet, however the soil I've innoculated gets covered in the grey fuzz that I assume is the mycorrhial. Didn't see it before I started using it, so I'm guessing that's what it is.

That said, all plant's that are currently planted in it seem perfectly happy!

After reading the posts, and the material left threw links, I decided to go with Rick's product. I mean 60 bucks is not much when you talkin' thousand $ harvests. Rick makes claims,but backs it up with 180 day, 100% guaranty. I didn't notice the kelp, and Micro-nutes either in the Bio-Tone. And, with the Bio-Tone, you use monthly compared to Rick's, which is used once, and the plant can be revegged 3 times. I've ordered, and will update when it arrives, and is used.

Funny reading this thread, I just went over this stuff the other day in my microbiology class. This occurs naturally in nature. It does work, there are a few different fungi that do this, the main differences being the fungi growing in and around the root cells or the fungi actually penetrating the cell membrane.

Serotonin said:

Funny reading this thread, I just went over this stuff the other day in my microbiology class. This occurs naturally in nature. It does work, there are a few different fungi that do this, the main differences being the fungi growing in and around the root cells or the fungi actually penetrating the cell membrane.

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Which ones are better?

According to my Bio book and notes: 90% of vascular plants have these fungi on their roots- fungi acts as an extension of the root system and is even essential for some plants.

The types:

Arbuscular mycorrhiza- grows into cells of plants roots.

Ectomycorrhiza- grows around the cells.

Doesn't say which is better... I just thought it was interesting most natural plants have this. I'd probably give it a shot if I grew in soil for sure.

But what about use in hydro? I haven't read anything about it, and was wondering how the fungus would do in recirculating solution.

Yeah, I know, it seems weird to me, too.

Me asking a question ...

potroast said:

But what about use in hydro? I haven't read anything about it, and was wondering how the fungus would do in recirculating solution.

Yeah, I know, it seems weird to me, too.

Me asking a question ...

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According to Rick, he says yes it can be used in hydro and once you do, you will never go back to anything else.

"Rick's mycorrhizal inoculants are a ultra fine material containing mycorrhizal fungi that colonize roots and extend into the surrounding soil forming a essential link between plant and soil resources. Wait until you see what it does when you introduce it to your hydroponic system... If you grow with it once. You will never grow without it again."

I assume its like anything else you put in your reservoir, add enough to accommodate the amount of water and continue as normal.