Does it make sense to add good bacteria and myco to drain-to-waste rockwool blocks?

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
If there's a reason to buy a supplemental nutrient/additive, root system improvements have got to be near the top of everyone's list.

I use rockwool blocks in a drain-to-waste setup. I already use a liquid root supplement. Right now, I'm considering buying a myco product. Some have endo and ecto myco (inside and outside roots, respectively), others have one or the other.... And now, I'm seeing products with myco + ~probiotics. For example, https://www.soildoctorconsulting.com/shop/spectrumandmyco.

Am I looking in the right place? Would a combo of bacteria + myco be best? And should a myco product offer both endo + ecto?

-- I don't want to over-complicate things ... organic grows seem like a lot of work, perhaps I should be content with what's in the bottle?
 
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MustGro

Well-Known Member
You're using chemical nutes in your drain to waste system now, right? I don't think you will get much benefit from myco products with chemical nutes but I'm not an expert on that.
 

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
use a little pool shock and just run sterile...a gram of pool shock in a gallon of water, then use an oz of that per gallon of water you use on the plants.
Benes are great if you're growing in dirt, in any kind of soilless medium or straight dwc, they just tend to make a mess. If you have good conditions for them, you also have good conditions for all kinds of shit you do not want.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
The mycos would end up in the waste.. Keep it simple!
I was thinking about inoculating my blocks with a myco endo product (e.g., Myco Jordan (~500 ppm)) and then maybe a once/week spraying. Your point is well-taken about the drain-to-waste factor. But even in that system ... if algae can grow atop a block, why would myco necessarily wash out? In my mind, it's analogous to the difference between water-soluble vitamins (e.g., B and C) and lipid-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K); you piss/sweat out excess water-soluble vitamins but lipid-soluble vitamins build up in different parts of the body. I have no idea if this analogy works for drain-to-waste plants. Thanks for your feedback.
 
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curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
I was thinking about inoculating my blocks with a myco endo product (e.g., Myco Jordan (~500 ppm)) and then maybe a once/week spraying. Your point is well-taken about the drain-to-waste factor. But even in that system ... if algae can grow atop a block, why would myco necessarily wash out? In my mind, it's analogous to the difference between water-soluble vitamins (e.g., B and C) and lipid-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K); you piss/sweat out excess water-soluble vitamins but lipid-soluble vitamins build up in different parts of the body. I have no idea if this analogy works for drain-to-waste plants. Thanks for your feedback.
Your analogy is flawed. It really won't help you in a hydro system because, in hydro, you are feeding nutrients that don't require a microbial herd to make them available to the plant. The correct analogy here would be, "Carrying coals to Newcastle".

However they are your plants give it a whirl. I'd suggest a couple clones from the same plant run one with and one without.
Good luck
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Also, mycco takes 6 weeks to establish in soil. Dont know how it could be beneficial in your situation.
Right, that's what the folks at Boldly Grow Hydro were talking about. But they made it sound like it's the ecto Myco products with the 6-week build up time; and they said, that's why "the industry" has moved toward mostly endo-only products. I'm not sold on any of it.

But I'm not buying seeds for the next couple of years* ... so, with clones, I'd just like to make up for not having a tap root. Some strains (e.g., Grape Ape), flower so quickly (6-7 weeks), that I don't even top them (just lollipop and cut off skinny branches); others require topping and a fairly long veg to do well from clone. Whether it's myco or some insane root booster, I want it. My technique is improving but there's always something else out there that would be somewhat cost-effective.

*Exceptions: If I can ever acquire Dark Horse strains Hulkamania, Conjugal Visit, and/or Roid Rage ... though they only come in regular seeds.
 
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Medskunk

Well-Known Member
But they made it sound like it's the ecto Myco products with the 6-week build up time; and they said, that's why "the industry" has moved toward mostly endo-only products. I'm not sold on any of it.
Yeah i get you, it could just be a great buffer. I ve had zero issues on transplants with mycco. Many autos too.
 
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