Cultivating mycorrhizae from cannabis plant roots?

[Bluto]

So we all know the benefits of inoculating our plants with mycorrhizae but I was wondering if, after the grow, anyone has cultivated the mycorrhizae from the roots of the harvested plant? I read an interesting article on how to cultivate local mycorrhizae and thought with all the indoor grows and use of various myco products surely it would be the same process. A cliff noted version for cultivation is as follows and assuming one has inoculated with the mycorrhizae upon initial planting and/or within the soil of course.........cut main stem at soil level and wait ten days as this will cause the fungi to produce spores. Remove root ball from pot and remove soil from root mass. Chop roots into approximately 1 cm pieces then add to soil. That's it as far as I can tell and seems pretty simple enough but I have yet to do this and am wondering if anyone has, is it really that simple, and of course, does it work effectively?

[Canuck147]

I'll just worry about phat buds. Drying curing smoking who needs to worry about what's in the roots, actually, using fabric pots there is no root ball they look like a Christmas tree upside down.

[Bluto]

Yes, I get what you're saying. I guess I'm just weird in the sense I find it fun to explore different ways of doing things. I started a worm bin last year for vermicompost and tea's and my neighbor just gave me a barrel composter he never used so obviously I'll be making my own compost now. After reading the article above I thought it would be kinda cool to cultivate my own mycorrhizae as well so I thought I'd throw it out there to see if anyone has tried it or is currently trying it.

[Canuck147]

I'd rather keep the fungus out of my grows - just not a fungi.

[WeirdWiredWolf]

That's actually a cool idea...I'm now wondering if it's possible to cultivate then use the resulting mycorrhizae with other plants (certain plants in roomie's veggie garden haven't done well and we're wondering if the rootzone is the issue).

[Bluto]

So you see where I'm going with this. Many soils contain myco and many folks add myco. According to the article you need a host plant, they call it a "bait plant", to be alive for three months. Well....seems to me wait the ten days after harvest, pull it, chop it, add it to soil, recycle it, repeat. Seems simple almost to the point I think I must be missing something.

[DoctorJohnson]

So we all know the benefits of inoculating our plants with mycorrhizae

Do we? Sorry, but I don't. Can anyone point me to some objective, scientific evidence? Like 10 clones grown with and 10 without?

[Bluto]

Do we? Sorry, but I don't. Can anyone point me to some objective, scientific evidence? Like 10 clones grown with and 10 without?

For clarification on my part, are you criticizing my statement you quoted?

[DoctorJohnson]

No. That was a real question. Do you actually have good evidence of the benefits?

[Bluto]

A quick internet search on the google machine should provide you objective, scientific evidence as to the benefits. As for your specific 10/10 or something similar regarding cannabis, I'd have to say, not that I know of but it's a terrific idea. Please understand, I'm just an amateur one plant hobbiest thats trying to go organic as possible both indoors and outside with my victory garden and the homemade soil I made for the veggies. The intent of the thread was not to persuade anyone towards the use of myco but rather for those that do use it and if they have ever tried cultivating it. Ultimately with the thought being, why buy more when I/we could just cultivate it ourselves.

[KingKush]

Bluto

Hey there, I love the fungus among us. There is a benefit to inoculating any plant, especially a fast growing plant like cannabis. Trees in Oregon would not grow so big or fast if it were not for mycorrhiza. It's the largest living organism in the world, and one of the oldest.

Outdoor cannabis gets the benefits and perhaps that is why outdoor plants grow bigger, and faster, no matter what we do indoors.

Sounds like a great idea.
Most bagged soil is not very lively but fox farm does make Strawberry Fields which is supposedly pre-innoculated and there are other manufacturers headed this direction. It will help I can guarantee it.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Yeah, i like it too, works great indoors too, l, it improves every thing in your soil, I like the idea of making it, But it's much easier to buy, but the way your talking about ,might be much
better, idk.
Try it out and let us know, and good luck.
Ps, the Ms. delta soil I use, well not just me, but all my friends, that grow, you don't even need a shovel to dig it up, you can go damn near a foot deep with just your hands, and when your loading you pots, you almost get more red wigglers, than soil, and it is super fertile, all i use is molasses,
GoodLuck! !!

[Bluto]

KingKush, D.A.A.S.69

Thank you. I'm definitely going to give it a go as I see it as a sustainable, renewable source of....well, not energy.....fungi I guess. Lol.

D.A.A.S.69

I'm going to do a search on that Ms. delta soil you refer to. Sounds like something right up my alley....heck, I already have the red wigglers.

[Paracelsus]

Don’t you just love it when people are anti-knowledge and proudly boast about their narrow mindedness and ignorance. Nothing will be decided here. I applaud your willingness to try something new and ask questions.

You are definitely on the right track. The method I am most familiar with for preserving the zone that surrounds your roots is to cut the plant at the stem and leave the roots in your no till soil bed to feed the soil as it decomposes leaving the web intact.

[Bluto]

Paracelsus . Thank you very much for the encouragement. No till is my ultimate goal but not quite there yet. This year after the season will be my first attempt outside. That's the plan anyways. Then I want to see if I can replicate the process inside. I have much more reading to do but nothing beats the actual practice of doing it. I really like what you have going on with yours.

[Paracelsus]

I didn’t want to wait until everything was perfect because it never would be. I consider this first couple rounds experiments while my system becomes established. I’m making do with what I’ve got and adapting to everything on the fly. Meanwhile my plants and I have established a relationship, I know when they’re happy and I know when they are stressed. I can see I’m already going to have temperature problems. I’m going to have to move my plants soon because I’m going to need to use the air conditioner they’re sitting right next to. I guess the next big project will be getting my lights on to the ceiling in another area. And moving the nursery into a closet. The sun hitting the windows Magnify the heat, last night with the lights off and the windows wide open I was at 77°F. The apartment building roof is right above me so that makes the apartment hotter during the summer and it holds the heat into the evening. It’s only going to get
hotter.

Your on the way too. Spend some time here. This is like a master class to read that is about four years old.
I’ve read it a couple times front to back and it is full of science and information on how to grow the no till system.

https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/no-till-gardening-revisited.1400505/

I’m growing this way to represent my ethics and values and hopefully grow a quality medicine

[Bluto]

Exactly Paracelsus. Trial and error and learn from my mistakes. Ultimately keep trying, get it to a certain point, then fine tune. I'm excited in that the learning and gaining of knowledge and experience will always continue and I'm guessing the fine tuning will never end. I get excited about encouraging and supporting a living contained ecosystem.

I popped over to that thread, got through his first post and was like WOW. This is going to be awesome. 600 pages. Gonna be a late night. Haha. I really appreciate that link, that's the kind of thing I get in to and thank you for the encouragement and support.

[GreenhouseEffect]

I like where your mind is at Bluto.
Nature has been growing strong healthy plants this way for millions of years, drive out to the California redwoods some time, and try putting your arms around one. If it was not for the symbiotic relationship that trees have with specific species of fungi, we would not have trees as we know them.

I have never heard of that specific method of inoculation before, but I'll bet it would work, even once there partner organism dies, they are still there, and why wouldn't moving some of them to a new suitable environment work?

Try leaving the roots of your existing plants in the ground after you harvest them to, as long they are reasonably healthy. Since I started doing that, I've noticed my soil improve markably. Plants store a lot of nutrients in there roots, as well as a large amount of organic matter. If you already have a healthy biosphere living in those roots, that little community continues to be there for subsequent crops.
Soil is not the same as a medium in this regard, it is actually a tiny eco system, and you are emulating nature when you grow in it. If you have all the parts there, it works great, and you grow trees!

Check out some of the Jorge Cervantes You tubes of what growers out in California have been doing with inoculated organic soil, for some inspiration.

[GreenhouseEffect]

Thanks D.A.S.S.

[Paracelsus]

Absolutely ! hit the nail on the head

[Bluto]

GreenhouseEffect. That all makes sense and very well worded. I'm now starting to think about running two indoor pots. One as a no till and the other as I have been. That will be fun to see over time, well, fun in my eyes anyways. Haha.

I have watched a couple of Jorge Cervantes videos but not recalling that one. I'll have to search them out. The most recent video I watched he visited three farms one of which quails "pruned" all their young plants. The end result was incredible. Thank you for your comments and terrific ideas!

[Paracelsus]

They call him the Wanderer

[Bluto]

Is he from the garden?

[Paracelsus]

Originally from Liverpool but yes and I put him back in with Kinky

[Paracelsus]

Excellent vid concerning A few important facts and one mans method. Light hearted too. If you like it go ahead and subscribe, is a new channel.