North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Leslie Moyer <unschooler@lrec.org>]

> 
> This is an often way too understated key to successful horticulture - the 
> fungus is key.  My question is: do you think it's worth spending tons of $ 
> on purchasing fungal spores, where you can go into the woods (preferably 
> rocky where it wasn't farmed) and collect soil samples and introduces the 
> soil into the garden?  Then place mulch on top.

I'm sure that has a great deal of merit.  I'm planting a lot of species that 
don't naturally grow around here, though, so it's not an option for much of 
what I'm planting.  I also have a small retail nursery business, too, so I'm 
producing too many plants to make this feasible....or, rather, I'd just as 
soon not export so much of my nutrient resources off my farm.  And a little 
goes a long way....I do buy the fungi (in large quantities) without "fillers" 
of any sort, too, which is cheaper. 

I've never yet read this anywhere, but it makes sense to me that it's not 
enough to just use the fungal spores....if they don't have anything to eat 
once they establish themselves, it seems to me they'll just die out and any 
beneficial effect will die with them.  So I think it's important to use them 
in conjunction with mulches.  

I planted a new perennial flower garden last year in July, so it's not even a 
year old yet, and it looks like it has been established for many years.  I 
give the credit to mycorrhizae.  I have an anise hyssop in that bed that was 
planted late last summer as a 1-gallon perennial that is now 5' tall and 
about 3' in diameter.  Orchard trees we planted this spring have an 
incredible amount of new growth.  Very exciting!

--Leslie