Richard stated about Mulch
"Yes, and it is important to most plants in general because it keeps the surface of the soil from drying out too quickly."
Darkman replied
and that along with the nutrient benefits it gives the plant is why I mulch.
Originally posted by Darkman
"One post said that the mulch needs to have a one inch diameter."
Richard replied to the original post by Darkman
"Yes. Less than that and you are approaching the granularity of compost with does not provide enough aeration, percolation -- and provides a home for the seeds of weeds to grow in. Larger than 1 inch (say, 2 inch or larger) provides too much aeration and allows too much moisture to escape via evaporation. "
Darkman replied
I mainly use Oak tree leaves (small ones like live oaks) that break down in about a year. I mulch 4"-6" thick and I make sure I water thoroughly first. Everywhere I do this I have large quanititites of earthworms present and they make quick work of the leaves. They form a mat quickly and I have very few weeds that germinate. The ones that do pull up easily. I have never noticed any problem with aeration or moisture percolation. Recently I have used pine straw around my bananas. It breaks down faster than the leaves and water goes right through it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikevan
Endomycorrhizal fungi is important for most plants and critical for a few. Others depend on Ectomycorrhizal fungi that form sheaths on the outside of the roots but those are mostly relegated to the likes of conifers and oaks and similar.
Compost is irrelevant to the fungi - it resides on plant roots. Compost is beneficial to the overall soil health tho. It's best to put it on top of the soil and let the soil life bring it down into the soil. As for mulch, I mulch with the purpose of making on-location compost, or sheet-composting. So I prefer smaller granulation that decomposes faster and just keep piling it on as it decomposes and is taken into the soil.
If your soil is a typical suburban yard, you may or may not have a decent colonization of endomycorrhizal fungi. Most suburbs nowadays is developed from old farmlands that have been blasted with phosphorous rich fertilizers. These fertilizers shocks mycorrhizal fungus to death so these soils can be very much devoid of this fungus and you may want to consider inoculating. The typical over-fertilized lawn can be similarly devoid of mycorrhizal fungi. If you're living on fairly virgin meadows and forest land, inoculating may not be necessary.
Inoculation involves exposing the roots to spores and hyphal fragments. The best way to inoculate for certain is to use prepared inoculas like what can be obtained from Fungi Perfecti or TandJEnterprises. Direct application via holes poked in around the plant is an option. Or vectoring it in with another plant can work too - clover and alfalfa can be inoculated and planted around the tree and their roots will form a network that will facilitate hyphal strands infecting the target roots. Both methods can be used simultaniously too. Soil composition does have an effect on how quickly this happens. Thick clay soil is slower to be colonized than loose, loamy soil. |
Endomycorrhizal fungi is important for most plants and critical for a few.
Which plants are they critical for?
So I prefer smaller granulation that decomposes faster and just keep piling it on as it decomposes and is taken into the soil.
Would you suggest I chop up the leaves before I put them down and then cover them with a coarser mulch? I have considered this.
My area consists of unimproved lightly forested land at least since the 1950's. I doubt there has been any fertilizer or any other chemicals applied here. It was probably a mixture of Long Leaf Pine, Scrub Oak, some Live Oak and Turkey Oak prior to the fifties. Soil is mostly sand with whatever nutrients that resulted from natural forest litter decomposition. I would think that it would benefit from inoculation at least the areas where I plan to plant fruit trees and bananas. Would you agree with that or is there a test for Endomycorrhizal fungi?
clover and alfalfa can be inoculated and planted around the tree and their roots will form a network that will facilitate hyphal strands infecting the target roots.
If I planted the target plants early enough, I could use both methods and use the clover which would die with the heat of summer or with the covering with mulch. The clover would provide extra nutrients. Does that sound right.
Any other thoughts you may have a freshly prepared beds are welcome.
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