Hi there!

I have accidentally stumbled into this discussion and as I have been asked a very similar question in a skill call 2 weeks ago, I promise to develop an overview about the theories of microbes.

In my view the choice of what you apply depends on what you have (compaction, lack of macro-nutrients, lack of trace elements; gross anaerobic situation) and where you want to go. I think that we still know far too little about the whole topic to define one method as the one and only way to go. I think that there is several ways to support soil functioning and probably 100 more to discover.

In the initial JADAM, master Cho states that insects like the crops with better nutrition even better. This is a sign, that the nutritional equilibrium had not been achieved then. Since then KNF has reached a high degree of sophistication and trace mineral solutions with “secret” recipes have been developed.

Remember from the course: Fungi have a tendency to like dry aerated environments – if you culture them in a brew, oxygen gets scarce and they have nothing to cling on, hyphae will fracture and they will be gone within half an hour. This is a reason for the tight time schedule if you just want to start fungal spores in an aerated compost tea.

Healthy leaves is a great idea, but “true” endophytes (there is no rule without exception in biology!) often begin their journey at the roots and end up even in the seeds, so there is a fair chance to catch them in other tissues.

So much for now. Best Harriet