I currently disperse around 20 to 25 pounds of coffee weekly on 1500 sq ft. I also disperse approx 20 lbs of compost and approx 5 pounds of corn meal. Ground corn (20 lbs monthly) will be added starting after Labor Day. I just ordered a mycorrhizal fungi product and will spray the lawn with that when it arrives. The main reason for the Mycorrhizae is I transplanted several trees/plants and only the apple tree seems unphased by the move. The peach and the bougainvillea are in total and absolute shock and have dropped every leaf. These will get a soil drench of the Mycorrhiza but I will also spray the lawn with the Mycorrhizae.

The coffee brings Trichoderma to the party, the corn meal is a mild anti fungal and the mycorrhizal fungus (endo/ecto) has its purpose. I will spray molasses around Labor Day also. Do all of these play well together? When I begin using ground corn in September, will that have a beneficial or negative effect on the Trichoderma and Mycorrhizae? When I add alfalfa in October, will that fall under the phrase “the more, the merrier”?

I am trying to get as many good guys playing well together in the soil as possible.

Thanks

K

Psssst! I'll let you in on a secret. Corn is the favorite food of Trichoderma. I can't speak for all Mycorrhizae, but bringing corn to the lawn party is like bringing beer to a Frat House overall.

Do all of these play well together?

Have you ever been to a Frat party?

andy10917 wrote:Psssst! I'll let you in on a secret. Corn is the favorite food of Trichoderma. I can't speak for all Mycorrhizae, but bring corn to the lawn party is like bringing beer to a Frat House overall.

Do all of these play well together?

Have you ever been to a Frat party?

Apparently you haven't been to some of the ones I've been to.

In this case, everybody plays well together. The tricoderma tends to hang out up top, hunting dinner and enjoying the corn--beer slides are occasionally involved. The mycorrhizoid fungi hang out at the roots, making friends with them. They're the brains, and hang out in groups. They're smart enough to form associations and share resources.

Mycorrhizoid fungi tend to be extremely specific about their associations, though, so the species for a pear tree probably won't be the same species that associates with grasses. That's not universally true, though, some have broken through the racial barriers and intermix beautifully at parties...even intermixing branches of the fungi on different species of plants.

Other fungi find their levels and their social groups.

There's only so much space, of course, and you want as much as possible taken up by helpful fungi (the sort that don't get drunk and wreck the place, then throw up on your shoes on the way out). Diversity in feeding and diversity of fungi is the way to make sure of that, and you're doing that.

andy10917 wrote:Psssst! I'll let you in on a secret. Corn is the favorite food of Trichoderma.

Awesome, this is good to hear

MorpheusPA wrote: Mycorrhizoid fungi tend to be extremely specific about their associations, though, so the species for a pear tree probably won't be the same species that associates with grasses. That's not universally true, though, some have broken through the racial barriers and intermix beautifully at parties...even intermixing branches of the fungi on different species of plants.

I thought this was the case. The company that sells the Mycorrhizoid fungi does have them specifically labeled for the types of plants including one for turf. I am only buying the tree and shrub but they did say it was OK for the lawn too.

MorpheusPA wrote:There's only so much space, of course, and you want as much as possible taken up by helpful fungi (the sort that don't get drunk and wreck the place, then throw up on your shoes on the way out). Diversity in feeding and diversity of fungi is the way to make sure of that, and you're doing that.

I have been to a one or two of those too drunk, wreck the place and lose your dinner kinda parties. I don't want that here. This needs to be a "can't we all get along" kind of party.

Thanks, I'm learning

K

Until this year, I was battling a nasty fungal problem in my lawn for the past 9 years. Dollar spot, brown patch, red thread....you name it. Used Scotts Fungal Treatment....no change. Bayer's.....same thing.

This May I bought (2) 50lb bags of corn meal from the local mill based on info found on this forum. Was about 10 bucks a bag.

I poured some corn meal in my Scotts spreader and quickly saw that it wasn't going to spread. So I called out my two little girls and we had a corn meal throwing party over my 5000 sq ft lawn. Trust me, the girls had a BLAST! We were covered head-to-toe when we finally ran out of corn meal.

Fast forward to today. Not a single hint of ANY lawn disease. Just unbelievable.

Edit to add: I did originally try cracked corn from Tractor Supply, but I think the only benefit to that was fatter birds in my neighborhood. They really went to town. That's why I switched over to the corn meal.

Greggy_D wrote:Edit to add: I did originally try cracked corn from Tractor Supply, but I think the only benefit to that was fatter birds in my neighborhood. They really went to town. That's why I switched over to the corn meal.

So I wonder if there is a difference between corn meal and crack corn. I've poured on cracked corn in the past and never saw any anti fungal benefits. Also never tried corn meal.. hmmm.

Corn meal and cracked corn should have the same general anti fungal property. What happens is some fungi come to corn to decompose it. Those fungi attract some other fungi that come to 'decompose' the previous fungi. When they are done doing that, the huge population of predatory fungi will take on the disease fungi.

It never worked for me. I tried corn two seasons before I gave up and used a fungicide. I still had a few issues after using the fungicide but at least I still have a lawn. Using nothing but organic/corn last year, I had a total loss.

It is experiences like nothing0 had that make be crazy. Last year was special for me, too in that the corn meal did not seem to work. Last year we had record rainfall in the early spring followed by normal rainfall through September and October. It was wet and seemed like I could never get ahead of the fungus. Other than last year, corn meal has worked wonders for me.

I appreciate the replies dchall. I wonder if my area is just to humid for corn to work. I'm going to put corn down in the fall and next spring again to see what happens.

I am with Nothing0 on this one. I used well over 800lbs of corn per 100sqft last year in spring and summer. I lost alot of my lawn to what I think was fungus. I just don't think it works unless you build up years of the fungi from corn. Like nothing I just can't sit around and watch it happen.

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I also have fungus problems and have had them all 6 summers since I moved here. I'm a fairly heavy corn meal user (apply 300# over 12K = 25lb / K). I usually appply April, May, June and once or twice in the Fall.

It hasn't eliminated my fungal problems but it has helped to minimize compared to some of my neighbors. We had an unbelievably wet Spring and my fungal problems were relatively minor - I've never actually lost part of my lawn to fungus like others on this board.

I attribute this to my heavy corn meal (as well as other organics) use. What's our alternative? Chemical fungicide? No way I'm doing that...2 young daughters who play in the yard every day.

I think my builder's sod is of a cultivar(s) that are not resistant to fungal attacks so it's something I'll always have to deal with.

Heavy organics combined with Serenade(?) as some have suggested may help. As for me I'll just keep piling on the corn meal and live with the fungal issues.

Thank you all for writing. I'm taking notes. As iahawkz4 said, what is the alternative? Well, coffee grounds seems to be one that the mushroom producers community has found. They avoid it like the plague because the trichoderma that grows on it kills their shrooms.