North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Doreen Howard" <gardendiva@charter.net>]

Mycorrhizal fungi inoculant is expensive, so you don't want to waste money 
by scattering it on the soil.  And, it has to make contact with the plant 
roots or the seed where roots will form for an association to develop.

Don't waste your money on potting soils that have mycorrhizae, as they are 
usually stored on slabs of concrete where temperatures rise above 120F, 
which kills the spores.
Doreen Howard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert C. Mullins" <mullins@gaelicmysts.com>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 11:47 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Unsweet melons


> Can you amend soil with mycorrhizal?  Or does that only work when
> innoculating seed?
>
> Doreen Howard wrote:
> > As an ex-Texas gardener, I feel qualified to comment on clay soils
> > (gumbo) and growing melons or anything edible.  There are plenty of
> > nutrients, especially trace elements, in gumbo.  That said, they are
> > locked into molecular chains that are difficult to bust.  The cations
> > can be freed with liberal applications of compost, shredded leaves,
> > grass (not treated with herbicides) and manures.  Don't use peat or
> > sand.  You are wasting your money on peat, and sand plus gumbo just
> > creates cement.  Some of the sweetest Moon & Stars watermelons I've
> > grown were in well-amended gumbo.  I also used mycorrhizal fungi
> > inoculant to dust seeds when I planted them.  The vines were so robust
> > that they climbed into nearby peach trees, and the melons averaged 24
> > lbs. each.
> > Doreen Howard
> > Now Zone 4b, where I'm facing a heavy frost tonight.  So much for
> > melons here!
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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> --
> Robert C. Mullins M.S. IT
> GaelicMysts, Owner
> Clarksville, Ar
> Zone 8a
> http://wildcraft.gaelicmysts.com
>
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