Mycorrhiza

Very important mate! Especially if growing organically. 

Growing organics needs microbes to break shit down before its available to the plant. If you're using salt based nuits they're not so important, but still good to have.

@macky

This is why I love this site can discuss and gain so much knowledge appreciate it thank you ????

What's crappenin? That's a really good question! Personally I've never innoculated (knowlingly anyways, I'm sure there is some kind in my compost... maybe..?) but from everything I have read/seen on documentaries, it's amazing, amazing stuff. It helps with proper and efficient absorbtion of nutrients, helps defend the plant from nasty pathogens/other not so nice fungi, as well as a whole suite of other benefits This is a pretty good article though if you wanna have a read (if you haven't already):

Mycorrhizae

I use it and love it. Wear a mask if u buy it in powder form as it is a fungus and not good for lungs. 

Lots of research now on these microbes. Apparently there are many different types. Orchids for example rely on their own specific mycorrhizae to grow. 

Fascinating stuff. The deceased bodies of the mycorrhizae are also a nutrient form to either the plant or other fungi/microbes. Win win  

This is the product that I now use - Root Rescue. Crazy good value.

Also, most of these products come with a large blend of different fungal strains (YES, STRAINS), but the two you definitely want are Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae. These have been shown to have an affinity with cannabis so, yeah. Do it. Bacardi cola do it do it.

Ever seen Avatar? The trees were all hooked together in a system of roots. They were sentient. Lol

I've been doing some research into ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular micorrhizal fungi. The symbiosis between the micos and the plant is amazing. It's closer to Avatar than you think.

The plant sends out hormones, one called strigolactone, as a signal to fungus that they are welcome. The ectomicos send out hyphae to pierce the root cell wall. This sets up a symbiotic relationship. The plant gives up to 20% of it's carbon to the fungi. The fungi in turn form arbuscules, the site of nutrients exchange between the fungi and the plant and supply water, macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients. It increases the growth and health of the plant.

But that's not all! The relationship results in better drought tolerance, resistance against pathogens, and a decrease in weeds. The strigolactone hormones cause premature germination of weed seeds in the mycelium, the biomass that surrounds the plant roots, causing stunted, malformed plants. They get sabotaged! How cool is that?

I am going to keep reading. I'll post the cool parts. I'll also do a drawing showing the relationship so we don't violate copyrights. Cool stuff. 

Cannot like this research enough👍👍👍👍👍👍. Thanks Artmann for the correspondence 

To add to the mycorrhiza convo I have a friend thats a bit of a Mycologist that was telling me I need to look at inoculating my bed with Stropharia rugosoannulata spawn (Winecap mushroom). This was based on research showing that they are great for companion planting in beds. They basically help with the breaking down of the mulch layer and also have many other added benefits. 

I purchased a bag of wood chips that had been inoculated with the spawn then added them to my mulch layer about 2-3 months ago. 

It seems to be working under the mulch layer if this label stick is anything to go by. 

Really interested to see how it goes over the next couple of runs. Also curious if they will fruit as they enjoy spring time warmer weather and a more sunlight than most varieties of mushroom. They are also edible 😀