Mycorrhizal Fungi is a totally-natural organism which has been around for 500 million years but has never been needed more than it is today.
It’s an organism that naturally draws the soils nutrients to your plants, helps them through drought (or you forgetting to water!) and only needs to be used once for a lifetime of benefits (for your plants, that is).
Mycorrhizal Fungi will replenish worn out soil, save digging and make your compost and organic fertilizers work really, really efficiently.
Mycorrhizal Fungi also gives new gardens and plants – including ‘bare root’ transplants a wholly organic bio active soil in weeks rather than years – without a chemical in site.
It will enhance the plants Rhizosphere (the root zone) over 700 times during its life and enable your plants to out compete the weeds and ensure that even the heaviest clay soil releases all its good stuff directly into your plant’s systems. (Including the phosphorous and potassium essential for strong growth and beautiful flowers.)
Mycorrhizal Fungi also holds Carbon dioxide – C02 – into the soil. Soil which, for all sorts of modern reasons, is releasing over 4 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year – and that’s just from England and Wales. (One of the reasons we like Coir, Coir Pots and Biochar so much.)
How does Mycorrhizal fungi work?
The arrangement is very simple really.
Mycorrhiza’s “roots” attach themselves to the plant’s root system. These roots are called hyphae, and mycorrhiza actually means ‘fungus root’.
They are much, much better than the plant’s roots at absorbing water and all the soils essential good stuff, including trace elements. This is mainly because the fungi’s hyphae have a much bigger relative surface area and they expand much more quickly.
The fungus then ‘swaps’ all this water and essential goodies with the plant for sugars and other stuff which the fungus really loves. A real “winners all round” situation – including us natural gardeners!
This fungus is a very sensitive little soul though. It just hates the soil it lives in being dug up too much. Not liking being tossed and turned means that mycorrhiza is often very scarce in the gardens of new houses, in soil which is regularly dug deeply, or even in ground forked over regularly.
What about the 5% of the plants doesn’t Mycorrhizal fungus help?
Well, they’re a few, Brassicas, Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Heathers, but it certainly does not harm them and they really are in a minority.
What do you do?
Just sprinkle the granules, very meanly, around the pot or planting hole into which you are planting. You just need enough to cover the roots, any more is wasted.
There are full instructions on the pack,but as an idea a 360g pack will allow you enough to treat at least 72 half litre pots, just a level teaspoon in each. (That’s about 15p a plant – which will last the plant’s lifetime!)
That’s all very well we hear you cry, but how about treating plants already in the garden?
No problem.
Think of some, perhaps very small, plants that would go with it, and treat them. Then plant them around your established plant, your mycorrhiza will soon reach out to say “hello”.
(We did this with an ornamental cherry tree and some autumn crocuses.)
