Mycorrhizal Fungi Guide – Why some Fungii are good for your grow.

THE NUTRIENTS PLANTS NEED

Plants have to eat just like humans. Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium are the main nutrients they desire. Phosphorous being the most important to those wanting the best flowers and fruits.

WHAT HAPPENS IN NATURE

In their natural environment, plants communicate with each other and swap nutrients using the sub-soil mycelium layer. Think of it like wi-fi for plants! The environment balances itself out over time and plants suitable for the environment thrive while others die off. There are billions of helpful bacteria in good soil which break down the dead material and convert them to sugars.

HUMAN INTERVENTION

Humans understand what nutrients plants need but many don’t look into the why. Phosphorous = big flowers they’d say. So many people will recommend a ton of fertiliser to feed the plant without realising that the plant is like a kid. Force feed it something that it finds hard to digest without all the condiments and it’ll refuse to eat – wasting your food.

THE PROBLEM WITH PHOSPHOROUS

Phosphorous is the hardest nutrient to uptake for a plant. It needs to be broken down in order to make it readily available. Other nutrients too find it hard to make their way into the plant in a sterile setting most indoor growers prefer.

ENTER MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI

Mycorrhizal fungi are symbiotic organisms that enhance plant growth and vitality. Mycorrhizae play an important, positive role in plant physiology, mineral nutrition, water absorption and disease resistance. They’re also excellent to use during transplants as they give the plant the best possible start.

Established plants too can benefit from Mycorrhizae so long as they’re placed close to the plants rootball as they don’t travel far.

HOW MYCORRHIZAE HELP GROWERS

Imagine gaming on a dial up connection without a firewall. Those are your plants without mycorrhizal fungus. Limited amounts of nutrients and minerals going in. Bad bacteria can thrive because there are no defences.

When you add mycorrhizal fungus to your plants, you’re gifting your plant a fibre line with firewall where the fungus protects the roots and assists in the breakdown and transport of nutrients and minerals resulting in:

Greater clone success
Faster, better grows
Reducing plant pathogens
More nutritious food

PRESENTING ROOTELLA

We’ve teamed up with local suppliers who produce 100% organic mycorrhizal fungi that are suitable for NZ conditions. They come in convenient tea bag formats so you can easily place them below your roots upon transplant.