Not living in a pine forest we always added what pine needles we could muster. Recently ( the last 10 years that has increased a lot ). I sort of have belief that a mix of life is better than a narrow use of biological compost ingredients. So this would lead be assume a land rich in chicken or cow manures still would benefit from other once living things like Green sand, bone meal or granite dust for instance.
Anyway seems fungi may be a good thing to encourage in your garden but not in your toes or groin. ;))
Sort of touches on pH as mentioned in another tread I can not fine.
"Plants grown in sterile soils and growth media often perform poorly without the addition of spores or hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi to colonise the plant roots and aid in the uptake of soil mineral nutrients."
The article does raise the importance of adding mycorrhizal fungi to perennial plants grown in pots.
For very many years, I have relied on B.t.-k for lepidoptera control. Fearful of eventual resistance and of debilitation of native solitary bees, wasps, flies, and beetles, I've always been careful to buy strains with narrow and known effectiveness and applied B.t. as if it were a deadly poison, taking care to minimize "leakage" into the rest of the garden and -- for 15 years, now -- delivering remainders to an incineration facility. For the past three or four years, I have been adding a commercial blend of natural low-yield nutrients ubiquitously in my garden and using it as a compost starter primarily as a source of known varieties of mycorrhiza. For some reason, the above citation caused me to read the product's label more closely. Listed thereon, among "beneficial" bioactives, is "Bacillus thuringiensis", no variety or subvariety named. Aside from controlling regionally pestiferous beetles, for which there exists specific B.t., why on earth would someone just generically add unknown varieties of Bt to his garden soil? I know that _I_ certainly don't want to and won't continue the practice. Shame on me for not reading the label more carefully before now. The balance on-hand (some unopened) is going very away. Bt remains viable in the soil longer than in any other environment but eventually will die off. Needless to say, I must find another fungus source! The Question: Does anyone have a line on a reliable source for mycorrhiza (without the B.t., tyvm) that are believed to have a salutary effect on the culture of common garden veggies? Experienced campers only, please; I know about Google, too.
I'd guess the BT you purchased was cultivated and concentrated. We have Gypsy moths every few years and the sevin and BT folks go at it but both kill. Both kill I believe indiscriminately so good guys go too. But your question touches on pathogens in soil. I guess there are many as it is a way to transform outside to inside aka food. But the degree of toxin may depend on homogenizist (sp) balance. Living and disturbing seems to be what life does doing it reasonably well we it seems to be a work in progress. I'd try many things with the amount of interference or acts reduced and see what occurs and help it. Hard to word this but rich soil smells alive and innatly we like it.
Bacillus Thuringiensis occurs naturally and is grown in concentrations in order to be effective.
"Overall, Bt-modified crops appear to be safe for farmers and consumers.[18] The proteins produced by Bt have been used in sprays for agricultural weed control in France since 1938 and the USA since 1958 with seemingly no ill effects on the environment or human health.[19]"
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Colonization of barren soil Plants grown in sterile soils and growth media often perform poorly without the addition of spores or hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi to colonise the plant roots and aid in the uptake of soil mineral nutrients.[14]
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will exist in garden soil but may not in potting mix. It is therefore a wise practice to add it to perennials in pots.
As a side note, mycorrhizae are a good reason not to rototill or dig up your garden every year, because you just end up damaging their mycelium, besides undoing all the good work that the worms, and other burrowers have put in.
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