Category: Mycorrhizal Fungi

Carbon Garden / Citizen Science / climate change / Climate Change / Conservation / Evergreen Shrubs / Evergreen trees / Ferns / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Invasive Plants / Jamestown Island / Mycorrhizal Fungi / Native Plants / Native Trees / Permaculture / Protecting the Chesapeake / Shoreline Erosion / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Weather / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Managing Rain and Run-Off with the Right Plantings

The Elements of Life Water, light, and air fuel our lives.  We depend on them, as does every plant and animal.  Light energy powers the chemistry of photosynthesis to transform elements like carbon and hydrogen into sugars, food.  Oxygen fuels the production of life energy in every living cell.  And water fills every cell of every living creature; gives us sap and blood; powers every process of life.  There is no life, not even the tiniest microbe, without water.  ...

Conservation / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Mycorrhiza / Mycorrhizal Fungi / Soil Conservation / Water Wise / Weather / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Quick Notes: Mysteries of the Micorrhizae

What is a mycorrhiza? (my-kor-rise’-uh) A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic relationship between a plant and a network of mycelium in the soil.  Over 90% of plant species depend on mycorrhizal fungi to assist their roots in accessing water and minerals from the environment.  Mycelium extend the reach of a plants’ roots.   Why are mycorrhizae important? Fungi share in the abundance of sugars and other carbon-based phytochemicals produced by a growing plant each day.  They use carbohydrates absorbed from a...

Carbon Garden / Citizen Science / Compost / Conservation / Food Forest / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Mycorrhiza / Mycorrhizal Fungi / Permaculture / Restoration / Soil Conservation / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Mysteries of the Mycorrhizae

  “To use the world well, To be able to stop wasting it and our time in it, we need to relearn our being in it.” Ursula Le Guin   A friend and I were chatting about recipes one afternoon.  She is a talented cook and loves to feed her friends and loved ones.  I asked for the recipe for something delicious she had served, and she avoided disclosing the details.  Finally, she gently explained that among her family, no...