News

In trying to think of a good way to illustrate the good effects that mycorrhizal fungi have on soil, my own experience in a garden should work. We had just moved to a new home in Camarillo, California, and the back yard that sloped downward had a relatively level area that could be transformed into a terrace about 15 feet wide by putting up a retaining wall of railroad ties. After the wall was built, I excavated the upper part of the terrace and moved that soil toward the wall, ending up with a level area. Eventually, I would build...

So...What's with this talk about soil biology, and putting microorganisms to work on plant roots, and "friendly fungi" anyway? Is this really something important for your daily lives, or just more navel-gazing science that produces ignorable fluff like the government's Food Pyramid? I don't know about you, but to me it's very reassuring to know that our eating habits are being guided by hard-working government professionals. I'm certain that we'll all be getting slimmer now that a new pyramid has been developed, especially if we follow the breakthrough advice that exercise and eating smaller amounts can lead to weight loss....

One of our dealers in Florida recently asked what we would suggest for restoring life to soils that have been damaged by years of over fertilization and chemicals. As there are probably others among you who face this same issue, here is how I replied to him... Hi Jeff - There's an old saying about when you find yourself in a hole: The first thing is to stop digging deeper. With soil that has had its biological components damaged or destroyed, the first step toward restoration is to stop adding any more chemical fertilizers. Nitrogen is usually not a lasting...

Over the years, I have managed to get on the mailing lists of several trade magazines that deal with commercial agriculture and horticulture. Nearly every issue of these magazines contains at least one article about soil management, but I rarely see any mentions of either trace elements or biological components. If you knew nothing about soil except what you read in trade journals, you would have to believe that the only role of growers is to create the proper macro chemistry for their plants. There are thousands of astute words about getting the pH and the N and the P...

Rather than describing the functions of beneficial soil organisms this month, I'd like to announce some additions to our line of mycorrhizal inoculant products. I know that many of you use or experiment with soil biology as an alternative method of growing crops, gardens, and ornamental plants, and you might be interested in these new offerings from BioOrganics, Inc. First, each of our four basic products - Endo Inoculant, Micronized Endo Inoculant, Endo Root Dip, and Endo/Ecto Landscape Inoculant - will now be available in smaller size containers. In past years our only containers have been 3-lb. jars, suitable for...