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Grittyville, WA

I’ve watched Holland’s vids where he puts the myco under the root nodes as the plant grows. So is it bad to put it out well ahead of time... if I put it out now where the main vine will grow will it remain just as viable when the roots are growing into it a month from now? Thanks.

5/24/2018 5:05:59 AM

Grittyville, WA

I’m wanting some info about the do’s and dont’s of myco. Thanks!

5/24/2018 5:11:29 AM

Syracuse, NY

I've long been a very verbal advocate of tilling-in 5+ pounds per plant's growing area (800-1000 SF) so that it is THERE as the plant grows into it, and Joel Holland had said even in a Featured Grower Chat that he does this and he grew, as you know, the 2363. The Myco is tilled INTO the soil, may become active to a degree, and then remains dormant until a plant, ANY plant, puts out roots that it will attach to and form that symbiotic relationship we all know and love. Once the plant is dead and there is no chance of any association anymore after about 2 weeks or so, it goes dormant again...spores in the soil and such. No one has ever said they've had better results, that they've even done it or live by it, but i do. in fact, my main goal in growing AGs, aside from the sheer fun of it, is to recover the cost OF the Myco (BioGrow Endo Plus) because i am literally hooked on the idea that it is there and doing what it does to help my plants regardless. it is durable and can withstand subzero temperatures and has been around for many millions of years; i always have great plants, but not as big pumpkins as i COULD, and that is because of never burying any vines. every 'THIS YEAR', that is supposed to change, lol---my intent is to incorporate Myco into the soil and bury with that soil and also put Myco on the root areas as i go. IT IS A NETWORK! getting tired---i would till it in and then ALSO bury vines with it, but not lay it out on the surface weeks in advance.
just DO as Joel does. WHYYYYYYY would we not do as he does? eg

5/24/2018 5:52:19 AM

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

I sprinkle it out in front of the plants giving it time to come out of hibernation I also put an organic fertilizer with a lot of biology in it at the root node sites when I bury so I guess I do both ways ...

5/24/2018 9:38:50 AM

Grittyville, WA

Thanks. I think evenly distributing it in the soil will give the most bang for the buck. Gave it some thought I think I will till it in evenly... I think this will be easier and more economical than digging holes under each node. Joel has more free time than me... I don’t think I’ll even be pruning tertiaries. Thanks guys.

5/25/2018 5:50:43 AM

Syracuse, NY

you'll still wanna bury those leaf nodes---my thinking is that (mounding) gets the ball rolling/roots starting downward and even without Myco AT the leaf nodes, once a root hits the Soil's Myco that's already there, BOING! or, you do not have to dig holes---just sprinkle some at the base of each leaf and put one shovelful of dirt on one side and one on the other, cozying it up and hopefully watering it in as well (all very easy for me to SAY, huh? LOL---) MY problem is one of plant accessibility---i need 2 get more walking boards---i hate stepping on the soil between vines TO do VB; if i did complete vine-burying myself on ONE plant, just ONE, i'd have that ONE 1,000-pounder.
and upward from there.
wow---see this: http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=260098

i wish i had an energetic & lightweight, potential little vine-burier running around, too (hint, hint)! Thank You for growing my seeds! later---eg

5/25/2018 7:45:30 AM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I do it like Big City Grower. I am using a mix of about 50% myco, a mix of Holland and Wallace products. The other 50% is a blend of Burpee, Jobes, Espoma organic ferts with different beneficial bacteria and Wallace plant booster. I mix it in the seed starting mix, in the planting hole and will mix it in the vine trenches. I only trench about 2' to 3' ahead of the vine, and extend the trench once the vine fills it up I am using Espoma Grow liquid beneficial bacteria in my water, and as the plants get bigger I will start brewing some compost tea to sprinkle along the vines.

5/25/2018 2:58:26 PM

Seems like you'd waste a lot on the weeds if you till it into the whole patch.
There's no guarantee that your entire patch is going to be filled out so it doesn't make sense to inoculate anywhere other than just ahead of the advancing vine as it grows.

5/25/2018 3:31:06 PM

It might be nice to do the whole patch if you have an unlimited Free supply.
But that stuff don't grow on trees...

5/25/2018 3:35:52 PM

Plus, the further you spread it out the less concentrated it will be & will have less chance of making contact with a root.

5/25/2018 3:48:25 PM

Syracuse, NY

All valid points and i thank you. Whatever makes each individual grower happy, and my way does it for me.
The only shots you'll never make are the ones you never take. If we were to take the expense away from a lot of things, we'd do a lot more of them without thinking twice about it. Joel grew the 2363, using Myco to his advantages of large quantity, low price and the time to use it, and grew the 2363, the second-heaviest pumpkin grown in history. Think about that. I had considered putting all of my ordered 23 pounds of Bio Grow Endo Plus into just TWO growing areas, but then i thought of all the other plants that would go without and went with VARIOUS amounts on each plant according to the importance of each. I would not have even bought any this year, but i had tilled-in massive amounts of horse and alpaca manure and had tilled each patch SEVERAL times before even applying said Myco, so, it was almost NECESSARY to incorporate it into those areas, just like in a construction zone where the soil is disrupted and less than fertile. We spend hundreds, if not thousands on pumpkin SEEDS every winter and then do less that we should to make use of them to the max. I am a perfect example of this in my lack of vine-burying; at least, the Myco is there already, for when I get around to making use of it. Not even $10 a pound. $50 per 1K SF. $60 to $1,000 for a seed. Everybody, do what you want and can afford. eg

5/26/2018 4:30:52 AM

Grittyville, WA

Sounds like a good plan pumpkinpal. The myco probably does help holland get better results but he didn’t just start using it last year.

But getting particular about why Mr.Holland hit it out of the park last year and not all the previous years... (basically alwsys gets exceptional results... but the 2363 was the exception to all the others):

Theres three things that stand out. He boosted his fertilization by 30% (not sure exact number but I think he increased some foliar applications by 20-50%) and he got a great plant off a great seed. Lastly, he had better weather in the summer with higher humidity and night temps than usual... and control of the climate using a greenhouse in the fall.

Your plants will be going in tomorrow morning Eric. Doing well in their pots... the last patch is ready finally.

5/26/2018 2:40:38 PM

Grittyville, WA

Although maybe did he did mention using more of one of his myco products too. I’ll have to go look at his info sheet again before I spread any more fertilizer literally or metaphorically!

Thanks all!!!

5/26/2018 2:49:19 PM

Grittyville, WA

@_dirt_ It grows under trees... lol. Good points if the plant is a dud or gets a disease the prep $ for that patch are wasted for that year. I’m trying to save resources by focusing on the base of the plant and the main vine, which I feel will give the most return/ benefit.

5/26/2018 3:22:58 PM

stoughton WI

Some growers inoculate a cover crop and till it in ahead of the plants

5/26/2018 7:05:48 PM

Syracuse, NY

Yes, it's been said somewhere that it is good to have something growing at all times to keep the Myco busy;
How's this for a plan: i intend to keep my just-planted monsters-to-be, including a 1385 H/J, in their 8' x 8' greenhouses of Floating Row Cover until they hit the other end of 'em; in the meantime, i'll have Dutch White Clover growing between the edges of the WeedBlock fabric that Joel and i use to minimze soil erosion/insects/slugs and weeds right AT the plant, 3'W x 4'L, so there'll be 2 1/2 feet of DWC on each side of the plant. then, once they are all planted today, and the DWC is in order, sprinkled and then watered to get it going (it sprouts in 24 hrs., pretty neat!) i can see about cover-cropping the entire REST of all of my growing area(s) with pretty much GRASS seed. THEN, once THAT is about 3-5 inches high, i'll use the equivalent of Roundup to kill it all, like one big weed. the purpose of THIS is to retain a blanket of ONE type of plant that will hopefully prevent other weeds from being able to sprout and yet NOT continue to grow and therefore impede my vine-burying efforts. if any of this works and is looks neat, i'll put it in my diary, of course. i gotta get all of my PLANTS in the ground, first, though, lol----eg

5/27/2018 2:15:30 AM

Syracuse, NY

Well, I'll be damned. Oops, sorry, it's Sunday. It's OK, though because I mean well, lol.
i never knew that this window is ADJUSTABLE! Drag the little corner of it at the bottom right and see how big you can get it----no wonder i find a ton of typos
AFTER i submit a few paragraphs, lol----eg---WoWwwwwwwwwOwwwwwwww...

5/27/2018 2:21:17 AM

Grittyville, WA

That’s a really good idea. I’ve never seen anyone do that but, yes, why till in the cover crop... spray with glyphosate and leave it in place. I will have to remember to try this next year. I like this idea because the vines can grip the dead cover crop. Also there would be good soil protection and water infiltration with a dead cover crop in place. I doubt it would stop weeds as well as thick mulch... but yes perhaps there would be a lot of benefit there also. might almost be as good as thick mulch.

Most people want to break down the cover crop and ‘return the nutrients to the soil’. But the nutrients will still wash out of the dead material above the soil. The roots will decompose. And the mychorrizae can benefit from not being tilled? Again, with mychorrizae it’s hard to know for anything for sure, but I like the idea of this...

Btw—Possible to spray your roundup near a plant just block the drift spray with a piece of metal roofing or something similar. If you accidentally hit the plant wash it off immediately & thoroughly.

5/27/2018 4:17:59 AM

Syracuse, NY

yeah, the Myco should 'realize' that there is no more plant to associate with and go dormant until another live plant inhabits the area. thing is, and i have to laugh at myself for being so far behind always, there are already tiny, tiny little pairs of eye...i mean, leaves looking at me from around any of my bare soil---so, unless i hit THEM with the glyphosate, THEY'LL be coming in with my proposed greenhouse cover crop---NOT A PROBLEM---i have a plastic trash barrel that i attached a piece of Gorilla tape to the bottom of last year as a handle; i just set the barrel over the clothesbasket(s), (that i have each of them under until they each have a greenhouse) ensure it's secure and i can weed kill all i want, to within a foot of the plant, wait a few minutes and super-carefully remove, re-group and retreat/on to the next plant! no plants into the ground today - i did, however, mark out where they are to go on Wednesday, lol---they are all for orange-only, like the #20 (Prizewinner X 689.5 Sandercock). unhhh! later---eg

5/27/2018 11:26:54 PM

Central Illinois

I believe if weeds get into the myco first the pumpkins roots will get as much or more benefit from it, that's why people inoculate they spring cover crop.

5/28/2018 9:04:56 AM

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

I did use a couple hundred pounds of myco last year I mean after all virgin soil needs a lot of myco.....yes you read correctly a couple hundred pounds ... no ten pound bags here 50 pound buckets is what I like

5/28/2018 9:33:32 AM

Grittyville, WA

Lol no one pound bags:)?

5/29/2018 2:14:21 AM

Grittyville, WA

I wont be hitting 2k... even if i applied that much...

Thanks... Not a pro. Maybe 1k using...FAR less than 1 lb.

5/29/2018 2:24:55 AM

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

Lol I know a guy who knows another guy...

5/30/2018 1:40:57 AM

Syracuse, NY

The likelihood of any pumpkin root being attached to by any spore/granule/hyphal piece, etc. is of course increased by the quantity/minimal spacing of said items, and the more there is the better, but don't judge how big you think your pumpkins are gonna be based on how much Myco you put into your patch - that's like predicting you'll lose the gunfight because you don't have a machine gun, whereas it only takes your one GOOD shot to end it...sorry about your troubles, by the way...i have 3 more plants to plant and then i can do everything ELSE that a good grower should do, like WATER them for once, lol---my 1385 H/J and 1585 W are looking OK, so i'm like (!). eg

5/30/2018 4:27:44 AM