PART TWO Ch. 13 How the Soil Food Web Applies to Gardening

[Toil]

we are an interesting thumb... working as hard as we can to create an even bigger thumb. one that could squish us.

[garden5]

Toil and HG, I get your concepts, but you guys lost me in some of the details .

It looks like this answers a question I had at the beginning of this book. That is, do toms and peppers prefer funglally or bacterially dominated soils? Well, it looks like toms and other vegetables prefer a slightly more bacterial soil. Although they seem to prefer a slightly higher F:B ratio than other vegetables, I'm surprised that the toms and peppers were not more fungal. In their native climates, they are perennials and grow for years.

Perhaps there is some type of exception to this rule for these crops? A bacterial preference in mentioned for some hardwood trees when they are in their early stages. Also, some trees (old conifers) preferred twice the F:B ratio of others (maples, oaks, etc.). So, perhaps this continues on, to a lesser extent, with perenial vegetables .

HG mentioned in another thread that peppers grown in old-forest, fungally dominated soil did not do very well. But, maybe that was much more fungally dominated than what peppers prefer. I guess another way of putting it is vegetables prefer a bacterially dominated soil, but perennial vegetables to a lesser degree.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Right you are G5. Certain plants have certain preferences, and perennials like more a little more fungal than annuals (another generalization, but mostly true).

Where did toil and I lose you? The aerobic vs. anaerobic debate is really not as complicated as it seemed to be; toil just plays a mean devil's advocate. Nor am I (as toil noted) dead set against anaerobes as part of the soil food web. We both went to polar extremes to make our points, but as I noted, (and again, in general) balanced between is the best place for us to be in almost any dichotomy, be it fungal/bacterial, anaerobic/aerobic, or less filling/tastes great.

Cool?

HG

[garden5]

I didn't know what you guys meant by "EM," although after some thought, I think you were referring to ectomicorhizae.

I do see the aerobic/anaerobic balance. All those great archea are anaerobes, after all .

[rainbowgardener]

EM = effective microbes or effective micro-organisms. It's an inoculant of starter bacteria that they use for bokashi composting

EM•1®, is a liquid Microbial Inoculant product that includes three groups of naturally occurring beneficial bacteria: Yeast, Photosynthetic Bacteria, and Lactic Acid Bacteria. EM•1® works together with microbes in the area to which it is added to promote a healthy environment for beneficial microorganisms and larger forms of life
https://www.teraganix.com/

Since I have never (yet?) done bokashi, I can't tell you any more than that.

Until last month, I would have said I don't do worm composting, but now I have a worm bin, so who knows...

[garden5]

Thanks for the clarification, RBG. I know how you feel. Just a month ago I thought I wouldn't try growing in beds over a large piece of ground. Well, so much for that way of thinking . Oh, and I want to give vermicomposting a try, as well.

[Glacier Hills]

Toil and HG, I get your concepts, but you guys lost me in some of the details .

It looks like this answers a question I had at the beginning of this book. That is, do toms and peppers prefer funglally or bacterially dominated soils? Well, it looks like toms and other vegetables prefer a slightly more bacterial soil. Although they seem to prefer a slightly higher F:B ratio than other vegetables, I'm surprised that the toms and peppers were not more fungal. In their native climates, they are perennials and grow for years.

Perhaps there is some type of exception to this rule for these crops? A bacterial preference in mentioned for some hardwood trees when they are in their early stages. Also, some trees (old conifers) preferred twice the F:B ratio of others (maples, oaks, etc.). So, perhaps this continues on, to a lesser extent, with perenial vegetables .

HG mentioned in another thread that peppers grown in old-forest, fungally dominated soil did not do very well. But, maybe that was much more fungally dominated than what peppers prefer. I guess another way of putting it is vegetables prefer a bacterially dominated soil, but perennial vegetables to a lesser degree.

I think and I could be wrong here, but have read it somewhere...
The stage of growth is a factor that my be overlooked when considering weather a plant likes bacterial soil better than a fungal soil. In the early stages of growth (vegetative) most plants need the bacteria laden soil to get the most nitrogen from it while establishing the plants structure. As the plant moves toward producing fruit, the mycohizal end of the spectrum is more important as it will be providing the potassium needed to build the fruit or vegetable. As was stated earlier, we can only provide the diversity. The plant and the soil decide what end it will allow to flourish according to what the roots tell the soil it is looking for. that is my take on it.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Sounds thoroughly reasonable to me, GH.

Dr. Ingham stressed how plants change their root exudates to attract specific organisms at certain times (stress, disease, grazing, etc. could all be triggers). Stands to reason that different stages of growth could be yet another set of reasons...

HG