Myth-Busters Challenge - Biota Max vs. MycoGrow - Confirmed!

[rnewste]

I had posted this on another Thread, but it should be here:

I am sure ANY product of this type will produce improved results - - the REAL question is: which one is most effective in getting the desired result. At my son's Store where he carries Oregonism XL, Biota Max, and other myco products, he tells me his customers far prefer a product by Plant Success called "Great White":



Description:

"""Great White® is the most complete mycorrhizal product on the market. The cutting edge formula contains 15 different species of mycorrhizal fungi, 19 different species of beneficial bacteria, 2 species of trichoderma, plant vitamins and glycine all in one product. Research shows that this powerful formula will ignite plant and root growth giving plants the tools they need to maximize yields. Great White's concentrated formula ensures optimum colonization of root systems by the fungi for less money. The water soluble powder makes application a snap and delivers the spores directly to the roots for immediate germination. Users should look for explosive root growth, increased yields, increased fruiting and flowering, increased nutrient and water absorption and improved transplant success. The key to healthy and vital plants starts with a vigorous root system and a vigorous root system starts with Great White!"""

He is sending me an 8 oz. jar to trial this Season, and I will evaluate it against the other myco products to see if his customers are correct (regarding tomato plants).

Retail price is about $33.00 for a 4 oz. jar.

Raybo

[Duh_Vinci]

Raybo,

I received my packets of Biotamax and Mycogrow. Quite excited! Any suggestion on application rate for small amounts? For example, tomato seedlings in 6" azalea pots? In Mycogrow, I got the water soluble version, and Biota are standard tablets...

Regards,
D

[rnewste]

Duh,

I put the Biota Max tablet in a ziploc bag, hit it with a hammer to break up in about 4 or 5 pieces. I then use one piece per application. Not real "scientific" but I then get multiple uses out of the one tablet.

The powdered MycoGrow can be portioned out relatively easily to get 3 or 4 treatments from the single package.

Perhaps Ami will have a more precise application rate for your plants.

Raybo

[Duh_Vinci]

Raybo,

How much water you mix in these each broken up pieces of Biotamax and the same thing for Mycogrow, say 4 treatments increments, how much water do you mix for each treatment?

Thanks again!

Regards,
D

[rnewste]

Duh,

If I end up with 4 pieces, I will put one quarter piece in about a gallon of water to do the soil drench. Ami does a "dip" method treatment, so I'm sure he has a better process at the seedling stage than I do.

Raybo

[Duh_Vinci]

Excellent, Raybo, thank you!

This gives me a starting point indeed! Going to harden off my container varieties starting on Sunday, finally the weather looks like it's beginning to cooperate!

Also wanted to use it as a soil drench on my 24x3 raised bed against the back of the garage, onions, garlic, chard, arugula and lettuce varieties are growing there right now, survived the frosts with the row cover on. Time to give them a "treat"ment...

Thanks again!

Regards,
D

[chalstonsc]

Duh,
There is a thread here that has Ami's preplant dip: Per gallon of water,
1/4 tablet of Biotamax
2 tsps. Actinovate
2 tsps. Mycogrow

[Duh_Vinci]

chalstonsc,

Thanks, perfect! I tried to search but ended up getting lost in many pages and threads. Planting time for containers in a week or two, main garden in 3-4, so these tips - perfect timing, since Actinovate came in as well!

Regards,
D

[rnewste]

My shipment of FloraMato fertilizer, Great White, and Oregonism XL arrived today:



Timing was great as I just brought home 8 new plants today. The Endos in Great White:



and the beneficial Bacteria:



vs. the Roots Organic Oregonism XL:



So now, I've got to figure out which plants get what treatment. Hopefully, after this year's trials I'll be able to narrow down the list significantly.

Raybo

[TerraGenics]

Roots Organics gets their raw material for their Oregonsim from Mycorrhizal Applications, Inc. in Grants Pass OR as do many other companies such as Fox Farm I believe. Pretty sure you can purchase direct from them but the volume requirement may be a bit high for the average hobby gardener. Most companies like Roots, actually Aurora Innovations, do not make anything and only repackage materials from the actual manufacturer.

For a more novel inoculant you should try Sea-Crop. I distribute the product but to large farm operations. If you want to buy some you can go to the manufacturer's www.sea-crop.com website for quarts and gallons. It contains nitrogen fixing marine bacteria, most likely Azobacter, and the typical recommendation to users is they can cut N inputs by at least 25% in their first year with results being cumulative over time.

Microp is another product that supports N fixation from the atmosphere and is an algal strain. I've been told the 'industrial' strength product is not sold in the US and Microp is a watered down version.

Something else you may want to take a look at is Biozome which is an Archaea product. Archaea are much older than bacteria on the evolutionary scale. These are extremophiles sourced from hot springs, salt pans, etc. and are probably the best mineralizers around. At least good to inoculate compost piles with. I wouldn't do that with Microp though.

[JrFisher]

Does the addition of the myo/biotics improve the taste and texture of the fruit or just increase the yields?

Originally Posted by amideutch

For my preplant dip solution I get a small bucket 1 1/2 to 2 gallon in size. Add I gallon of water and dissolve 1/4 tablet Biota Max in the water. Then add 2 teaspoons of Actinovate and 2 Teaspoons of Mycogrow soluable to the solution and mix well....

wonderful detailed instructions! now, after the pre-plant dip, what to do with the left-over Biota Max tablet and Activate and Mycogrow powders? soil-drench regularly throughout the season? or save them for next year?

thanks,

--meg

[amideutch]

wonderful detailed instructions! now, after the pre-plant dip, what to do with the left-over Biota Max tablet and Activate and Mycogrow powders? soil-drench regularly throughout the season? or save them for next year?

Biota Max and Actinovate can be used as a foliar during the course of the growing season for disease control.
MycoGrow is not only for tomatoes as it can be used on a variety of plants, vegetables and even fruit trees if you like. Ami

[Dewayne mater]

Ami - thanks for that! I feel like Dr. Frankenstein this year as I used Biota max, actinovate, mycogrow and Oregonism as a dip/drench (in various combinations in different tainers) when I planted out!

I recently used Excel G and Actinovate in combination as a foliar spray and the result seems to be some leaves dying, which I believe is a result of them already have disease and the foliar spray is attacking. I'm hoping it isn't a bad combination of sprays that causes leaf burn.

So, I'm now trying to figure out which products can be used in combination as a foliar spray and which of those would be most helpful in combination. One thing that is apparent is that disease onset is early and fierce for me this year, so I've been attacking back and want to continue to do so and maybe up the ante on disease. My typical diseases are early blight, leaf mold of some sort, and probably other pathogens I haven't identified.

So, is any combination of the following more effective when used together as a foliar spray and conversely, is any combination bad if used together?

Actinovate, Excel G, Serenade, Mycogrow, Oregonism, Daconil, and Neem oil? Maybe this should be a new topic so someone else could find it searching in the future? Anyhow, thanks for all of your outstanding insights!

[amideutch]

Dewayne, how much Exel LG are you adding to a gallon of water? Ami