Dr. Who
Well-Known Member
Quite true, and I really don't bother with much in the way of attempting additional myco supplementation of soils.I am well aware of how to brew a fungal compost tea, I have my own microscope as well, all soil fungus is not mycorrhizal.
I'm not arguing that fungi wont grow in a compost tea, my original point was that adding mycorrhizal inoculants (i.e. products like great white, mykos, etc.) directly to a tea is a waste and will not multiply in a brew. The fact you mention a short brewing time further proves my point. The cultivation methods used for producing mycorrhizal inoculants are entirely different than making AACT.
I use Worm castings (These do contain "that myco strain" found in the over priced and over hyped things like "Great White and Mkco's"). Worm castings do pretty well at inoculating the soil with them.
I also use good, farm sourced steer and cow manures. These increase the fungal spectrum in any fungal tea or simply mixed in the soil as I prefer.
Properly built soils, really shouldn't need to have "extra" myco's added.
Starting with a quality built soil that contains the right spectrum of myco's, fungal's and bacteria's. Do just fine in the living micro world.
Many forms of myco's do multiply in basic tea brewing, to a point. These do include the myco's that do not produce any "fruit" - that being by far the bulk of them.. In fact they don't produce active growing mycelium either.....It's all hyphae growth.
To really employ the myco strain that you speak of. You would be best served by adding them to the finished tea and apply to a soil mix before it is cooked. Still, the use of any of that type of product should be rather dubious as like I said, "A well built soil will already contain what you need".
Yet in soil-less growing. It may have it's benefit.....Root dipping and use of such expensive products call for yield comparison's to confirm it's viability as a useful product for the price spent.
As for the methods used to produce myco inoculants. That is done on a scale that we have no need to replicate. They are different then "Brewing a tea" but, Brewing short run fungal teas. Is still a form of AACT - If using aerated methods....Depending on the myco source. They will contain viable spores and hyphae of the strain you speak. While they may not reproduce and increase in counts. They do get spread about and hyphae are broken up and increase in the ability of the viability of the tea to inoculate said soil it's used on.
They are there and can be employed in soil building....So we agree on the not multiplying part.....Mine is that they are there and are viable. They simply need to be close enough to the root to contact the "bio signal" to grow and inoculate the root. From there they will spread on the root system on it's own....
Many things in the soil play on that....Direct explanations, and source's of logical explanations on that... Included in my suggested reading.
Your not, shall we say "uninformed" on the subject. I felt your statement was too broad..... Other myco's are involved...
I think we understand each other much better now....
BTW, I like your avatar pic.....