Comments on: Sowing Seeds and Compost http://sustainablesmallholding.org/sowing-seeds-and-compost/ Permaculture, and Sustainable practices on a Lincolnshire Smallholding Tue, 26 Apr 2016 08:13:21 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.3 By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/sowing-seeds-and-compost/#comment-7091 Wed, 21 Aug 2013 15:56:47 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=3823#comment-7091 There are similar instructions on the Rodale site.
I was not seeing good germination of rye seedlings on wet paper. They were part of a pre-spaked batch left over from planting a up bed outside. I was worried that they were somehow not viable, but then saw that the sown seeds were germinating better and faster than the ones on paper. I then read in Mycelium Running that the endophyte Piriformospora indica improved the germination of wheat seedlings from 57 to 95%. Having grown grains on the same bed for the two previous years, I can only guess that this fungi is responsible.
Fascinating stuff.

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By: MikeH http://sustainablesmallholding.org/sowing-seeds-and-compost/#comment-7083 Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:01:29 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=3823#comment-7083 I think that growing your own is the way to go. There are a number of instructions on the net including this UK site – http://www.sunseed.org.uk/research-archive/. It’s a bit random in the sense that it starts with starter soil. This article – http://www.gwinnettmastergardeners.com/2007/11/mycorrhizas-the-underground-internet.html, is a bit more specific.

Right now, I have four 8″ pots of oats inoculated with the Bountiful Gardens water soluble product. The idea is to let the oats winter kill and have the entire soil ball in the pot available as inoculant. For soil in the pots, I used a somewhat benign mix of peat moss, perlite, and a bit of supermarket compost which is fairly diluted, weak stuff. I’d like to know whether I’ve got mycorrhizal fungi growing in the pot so I’ll send some to a lab for testing next spring. It’s fairly easy to find a lab that will do mineral soil tests but quite a bit harder to find one that will do biological soil tests. Notwithstanding, I found one that will do a Mycorrhizal Colonization test for $42. If I get results that I’m satisfied with, then I will have removed an external dependency.

Let me know how you make out with finding a source.

Regards,
Mike

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By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/sowing-seeds-and-compost/#comment-7056 Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:09:20 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=3823#comment-7056 None of those appear in a list of edibles, but it is the best mix that I have seen so far. I had a quick look at the website. I’d love to try some. The one oz seems a bit small, but wouldn’t want to risk paying for a 1 lb jar and having it confiscated. Most of these companies won’t ship to the UK, and I’m not sure if it’s legal. I’ll take a look to see if I can find something comparable.
Thanks Mike

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By: MikeH http://sustainablesmallholding.org/sowing-seeds-and-compost/#comment-7049 Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:19:42 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=3823#comment-7049 Edible fruiting bodies? Hmmm. Are you thinking of trying to naturalize?

Here’s the content – http://fungi.com/product-detail/product/mycogrow-soluble-1-oz.html

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By: Deano Martin http://sustainablesmallholding.org/sowing-seeds-and-compost/#comment-7048 Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:04:56 +0000 http://sustainablesmallholding.org/?p=3823#comment-7048 That does look interesting. As there are plenty of mycorrhizal fungi that have edible fruiting bodies, I wonder if this mix has them in. Any chance that you could send me the list of species included, so that I can compare it with the list of edible species?
Cheers
Deano

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