Big Foot 32oz Mycorrhizae Gold

What it is

Big Foot Mycorrhizae Gold is a water-soluble powder that pairs mycorrhizal fungi with beneficial bacteria in one product. Its fungal component is a four-species blend of in-vitro endomycorrhizal spores — Glomus aggregatum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus intraradices, and Glomus mosseae, supplied at 400 endomycorrhizal propagules per gram in total (100 per gram of each species). Alongside the fungi it carries four Bacillus bacteria — Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, and Bacillus simplex, at 950,000,000 colony-forming units per gram in total. Unlike a base nutrient, it is a living partner the plant forms a symbiosis with.

Guaranteed analysis and specifications

Why choose Big Foot Mycorrhizae Gold

• A named, multi-species fungal blend. You know exactly what is in the bag — four endomycorrhizal Glomus species at a stated 400 propagules per gram, rather than an unnamed mix.
• Fungi plus bacteria in one product. It also carries four Bacillus species at 950 million CFU per gram, so a single application seeds both organism classes into the root zone.
• What Big Foot says it does. The maker positions it as a water-soluble powder that delivers the spores directly to the roots for immediate germination. That is Big Foot’s own positioning, not an independent test result.
• A real symbiosis, not a feed. Arbuscular (endo) mycorrhizae grow an extraradical hyphal network that absorbs phosphate from up to several centimetres beyond the root surface — beyond the depletion zone the root alone can reach, which is the mechanism behind delivering spores “directly to the roots.”
• Flexible application. It can be placed dry in direct root contact or dissolved into water, so it fits both transplanting and watering-in.

Best uses for Big Foot Mycorrhizae Gold

• At transplant. Because the fungus must touch roots to colonize, the maker directs applying about 1 teaspoon per clone or small plant and 1 tablespoon per larger plant, in direct root contact — transplanting is the natural moment to do that.
• Watered-in as a solution. The maker also directs mixing roughly 1 teaspoon per 2 gallons of water for a soil drench, so it can be applied without disturbing an established root ball.
• In a hydroponic reservoir or tea. The maker gives scaled reservoir rates — about 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons, up from there for larger volumes — and about 1 teaspoon per gallon of compost tea/brew.
• Host crops. As an arbuscular-mycorrhizal product it suits host plants — not the Brassicaceae (cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard), which never form arbuscular mycorrhizas.
• Alongside a feed program. It seeds the root zone rather than feeding the crop, so it runs alongside your existing nutrients — with the phosphorus caution below.

How a mycorrhizal inoculant works

An arbuscular mycorrhiza is a symbiosis between a fungus and a plant root. Once the fungus colonizes the root, it grows a network of fine hyphae out into the medium that absorbs phosphate from up to several centimetres beyond the root surface — reaching past the phosphorus-depletion zone immediately around the root. In effect the fungus extends the root system’s absorptive reach for phosphorus and water. This is the horticultural mechanism from the peer-reviewed literature; Big Foot’s “delivers the spores directly to the roots” wording describes seeding that same partnership. The four Glomus species in this blend are all endomycorrhizal (arbuscular) fungi, which is the class this mechanism applies to.

How it compares to a single-species inoculant

Mycorrhizal inoculants differ in how many organisms they carry. This table is factual — it does not claim a multi-species blend out-performs a single species; which suits your program is a grower’s judgement.

Compatibility and operating range

Big Foot does not publish a pH window, temperature range, or shelf life for Mycorrhizae Gold, so those are held below rather than guessed; the cautions given are clearly-labelled general horticultural guidance from the peer-reviewed literature.

• Root contact or dissolved: the maker directs applying it in direct root contact, or dissolved into water as a drench or reservoir dose.
• High phosphorus suppresses it: high-phosphorus fertilizer application can greatly lower the percentage of root length colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, so heavy P feeding works against colonization.
• Host plants only: some families never form arbuscular mycorrhizas — notably the Brassicaceae (cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard), so it will not colonize those crops.
• No trichoderma: unlike some blends, it does not include Trichoderma, so it is not a mycoparasitic biocontrol product.

Dosing and how to use it

Mycorrhizae Gold can be dosed dry in root contact or dissolved into water. A simple order of operations at planting:

1. At transplant, dose to plant size — about 1 teaspoon per clone or small plant, 1 tablespoon per larger plant, placed in direct root contact.
2. To water it in instead, use roughly 1 teaspoon per 2 gallons of water as a drench.
3. For hydroponics or a tea, use about 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of reservoir water, or 1 teaspoon per gallon of tea/brew.
4. Continue your normal feeding, but go easy on heavy phosphorus boosters — high-P application can greatly lower how much of the root is colonized.

Where it fits

For other options in this part of the catalogue, browse the roots additives category. General store policies are described on the about page. As a biological inoculant, what it does in your system depends on your crop, medium, and routine.