Giving Your Plants An Edge With Mycorrhizae

Home growing and gardening is one industry that is booming during “lockdown” as people look to fill their time, relax, and supplement their food supplies. 

Seed sales are up, and gardening forums and websites have all seen an increase in queries for tips and best practices in the garden. 

If you’re looking for a product that can deliver incredible results, consider using mycorrhizae. 

Mycorrhizae are naturally occurring fungi that work from underneath the soil to help plants take up their nutrients, including phosphorus and nitrogen. 

Products containing mycorrhizae are widely available from garden and hydro stores in powder form and are best mixed into the medium while re-potting to give the plant roots easy access to it.

How It Works

Mycorrhizae are microscopic threads called hyphae that live in the soil and are connected within a web-like structure called a mycelium. 

Mycelium can measure miles long, even though it’s packed into a tiny area around the plant. 

Mycorrhizae connect to your plants by surrounding the outside of the roots. They also grow inside of the plant and squeezing their way in between the cell wall and membranes. 

Fun Fact 

Mycorrhizae are too small for the naked eye to see, but when they reproduce, they send spores up to the earth’s surface, which we recognize as mushrooms!

Why You Should Use It

Plants and mycorrhizae exist in a “symbiotic relationship,” where they trade food. 

Plants transport excess sugars down to the roots where it is absorbed by the mycorrhizae to sustain them. In return, plants receive water and nutrients from the mycorrhizae, encouraging healthy growth, development, and bigger yields.

Plants can take up nutrients through the roots alone, but the size of a fully grown root system is subject to limitations, meaning that there may be sections of your plant pot where the root system does not stretch far enough to reach available nutrients.

Enter Mycorrhizae

Mycorrhizae fungi are so tiny that they squeeze and push their way into places regular roots can’t go, making use of every available crumb of soil and drop of feed in the pot. This increases the surface area of the root system and allows the plants much higher access to nutrients than they could ever dream of alone.

A Final Word

Ecosystems can’t exist at all without mycorrhizae. It is an organic and readily available product that can help transform your growth and the results. 

So, next time you’re picking up some gardening supplies, why not give it a try? Your plants will thank you for it!