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One common image of roots is that of rope-like things in the soil which serve to firmly anchor the plant and absorb nutrients and water. To most growers, those type of roots present a simple objective: They must be surrounded with enough fertilizer and water to keep the plant healthy, productive and/or attractive. All sorts of chemical formulas and measurements have been developed to satisfy these root needs. There are "complete" fertilizers, "balanced" fertilizers, suggested watering schedules, and so forth. Basically, you put the right amounts of food and water in the soil around plants and enjoy the good results....

One of the top uses of mycorrhizal inoculant is for landscape plantings. Most flowers and ornamental shrubs have evolved a dependence on mycorrhizae for nutrition and protection, and nursery plants rarely come with the beneficial fungi already established on the roots. For introduced plants (non-natives), the types of indigenous mycorrhizal fungi in the yard may not be the best match. A 10-cent dusting of spores in the planting hole can mean a huge difference in the survival of a valuable shrub or in the performance of flowers. A drenching of water-soluble inoculant on a bed of flower seeds or new...

It's a good time of the year. The beans, corn and new potatoes in my bio-garden are ready to be picked and transported quickly to the kitchen before any of their delectable sugars are lost. I pity people who have only tasted produce that has sat for hours or even days on store shelves - there is just no comparison. And, sadly, most of those non-gardeners have no idea what they are missing. I'll never forget the amazed look on an urban friend's face when he put the first forkful of just-picked boiled potatoes in his mouth during a dinner...

It bears repeating. Providing mycorrhizal fungi spores to plants is NOT giving them something "extra." It is NOT a miracle-plant-food-sort-of-thingy. It is NOT some sort of mystical additive. Simply put, a plant without mycorrhizae on its root system is not equipped to uptake the necessary nutrients to flourish. You can fiddle with "soil chemistry" as much as you wish, and you may have some short-term success, but if the plant has evolved a dependence on soil fungi over millions of years, that plant will not achieve its full genetic potential without the fungi. Someday, probably way down the road, it...

Most of the articles and research about soil biology focus on plant nutrition - how mycorrhizal fungi greatly boost the ability of plants to uptake nutrients. Indeed, an efficient mycorrhizal plant requires far less fertilizer. A light application of dry organic low-analysis fertilizer at planting time is typically enough feeding for a full season of annual plants. Of perhaps equal or even greater importance is the ability of biologically-active soils to hold moisture. The millions of tiny root threads of beneficial fungi extend out from their host plant roots and either separate clay platelets or bind together sand particles, depending...