What are mycorrhizae?

Mycorrhizae are fungi which live symbiotically on (and sometimes within) the roots of plants. It is now known that mycorrhizal fungi are true symbionts, boosting plant growth by improving drought tolerance, breaking down organic matter and releasing nutrients for the plant in return for sugars. 95% of all plants are known to form mycorrhizal associations of one sort or another, and some of these mycorrhizal fungi produce the most highly prized edible mushrooms - Chanterelles, Penny Buns and Truffles are all the fruiting bodies of mycorrhizal species.

What are the benefits of using a mycorrhizal inoculant?

There are many benefits to using a mycorrhizal inoculant. Whilst in time mycorrhizal spores will almost certainly find their way to the roots of your plants, this can take many years, especially when there are few appropriate species fruiting nearby (i.e. in an open field site). Mycorrhizal inoculant products make sure that the right spores are there from the start, meaning that they can take hold and benefit the plant in its crucial early stages of growth.

What are the benefits of using MYCOCHAR over other products?

The key benefit of using MYCOCHAR is the diversity it offers. Our product is much more diverse than most other products on the market, containing the spores of around 40 species of native mycorrhizal fungi from across many different orders of the mushroom kingdom. Every year, we hand harvest the spores used in our product from wild growing mushrooms, so the precise species count and composition will change a little from year to year
With the growing recognition of the benefits of biodiversity and polycultures, it seems only appropriate that when planting a new woodland, hedgerow or orchard, a diverse fungal ecology should go along with it. Using MYCOCHAR will ensure you have given your trees a wide selection of mycorrhizal partners from the outset. 
The other possible benefit, in the long term, is crops of edible fungi - the mix is formulated using principally the spores from edible mushrooms. Whilst nothing is certain when trying to encourage edible mycorrhizal fungi to form mushrooms (commercial attempts have largely been met with failure), inoculating young trees with spores from edible species will give you the best chances of getting perennial edible mushroom patches. Success depends on many variables, but we have had small crops of Laccaria laccata (The Deceiver) from cobnut trees inoculated just 7 months before.


How much do I need to apply to each tree?

The suggested application rate varies from 2 tablespoons for a large bare root or pot grown fruit tree to 1 teaspoon for a small bare root hedging plant. This is because when many trees are planted in close proximity, as in a hedge, then their root systems and mycorrhizal partners will quickly network together, picking up any stragglers. To apply, simply sprinkle into the planting hole, onto the bare roots of the tree, or incorporate into the soil used to backfill the planting hole. A thorough watering following planting /inoculating is always advisable.

Are there any plants not covered by your mixes?

Almost all plants will benefit from at least some of species found in MYCOCHAR, however only trees are likely to produce edible mycorrhizal fungi. Other herbaceous plants, shrubs and a few trees such as yews (Taxus spp.), are unlikely to produce edible fungi, with some notable exceptions like bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) which, unusually, has been found to associate with many ectomycorrhizal species. Apples, elms, ashes and some other fruit trees are likely only to associate with morels (Morchella spp.), as well as other endomycorrhizae which do not produce mushrooms. Nut trees (hazels, sweet chestnuts etc) and many of our native broadleaves are generally ectomycorrhizal and are good candidates for producing edible mycorrhizal fungi. A definitive list is difficult as there is much research still to be done on the precise range of mycorrhizal associations with certain tree species. Morels (Morchella spp.), for instance, have only been recently proven to be mycorrhizal and associate with apples, sycamores, ash trees, elm trees and an unknown number of other plants (including even non-woody plants, such as sunflowers, begonias and orchids). Wild apples have been cited as forming both endo and ectomycorrhizal relationships. However, even trees and plants unlikely to produce edible fungi will still benefit from association with some of the species in our product.

Which trees are best for encouraging edible mycorrhizal fungi?

Some trees are more mycorrhizal than others – the trees with the highest number of fungal associations are beech, oak (each with around 2000 associations recorded), birch and pine (with around 1600 for each). Other good species for edible mycorrhizal associations include hazel and sweet chestnut. If mycorrhizal mushrooms are your primary goal, including some Norway spruce is a good choice, as it associates with most of the best edible species and is very rapidly maturing, making it one of the contributing factors to the legendary Scandinavian mushroom season! Fungi like a good organic, humus-rich soil, and are most active in the upper layers of the soil where there is good aeration.

Can I use MYCOCHAR on already established trees?

There is no getting around the fact that mycorrhizal associations are best and easiest formed as early as possible in a tree's life – one only has to compare the vigour of young tree seedlings at the edge of a healthy forest (where there are high numbers of mycorrhizae spores in the soil) to those planted in a bare field to understand the benefits of early contact with mycorrhizae. MYCOCHAR is designed for application at planting time, but if you have trees which you are concerned aren’t doing well owing to low mycorrhizal activity, it may be worth applying some retrospectively. To do this, insert a garden fork gently into the root zone and slightly lever the soil upwards – this will create cracks and small air gaps in the soil. Remove the fork, sprinkle a little MYCOCHAR down each of the holes and wash it in with water. Heel the holes closed and repeat at various points around the tree / woodland. 

What are char fines and why use them in your product?  

Basically, char fines are simply crushed charcoal. The reason the ‘coal’ bit is dropped is because the intended use of the material isn’t as fuel. The particle size is typically from around 5mm down to dust. It makes an ideal carrier material for our product as it is lightweight, shelf stable, organic in nature and renewably sourced. Additionally, it provides a highly porous, complex surface structure for the spores to adhere to, ensuring even distribution throughout the material and convenient application to the rootzone. The air and water that occupy the pore space in the char particles then provide the ideal environment for spores to germinate and other soil biota to thrive.  We only use char that is produced from sustainably coppiced British woodland.

Is it the same as Biochar?

Yes and no. Technically, to turn plain old char into biochar, the material is deliberately exposed to certain processes to get microbial life to colonise the complex microstructure found in the charred plant material.  It is then used as a soil amendment, where it creates a stable environment for beneficial microbes, improving nutrient availability, soil structure and growing conditions generally. MYCOCHAR works in a similar way, in so far as it delivers beneficial soil organisms using char. But in our case, most of the pore space is empty and sterile, which is exactly what we want the char in our product to do - hold on to the mycorrhizal spores in a stable environment until they are delivered to the roots of a tree, and then become just another bit of benign organic matter. We have heard concerns from some people that ‘raw’, or ‘uncharged’ biochar should not be applied directly to soil as it can briefly inhibit plant growth by absorbing nutrients at first. In reality, this claim is overstated - and besides, so little of the material is added per tree that it wouldn’t make a difference at all. We have certainly never noticed any such effect in all our years of using MYCOCHAR in tree planting projects we are involved with.