Soil Biology - Fungi Part I : Microbes vs Fungi

What’s the difference between Microbes and Fungi?

We get this question more often than you think! Especially with new growers, or people who are new to using beneficial biology in their system. A microbe is a single-celled organism that grows by forming a colony. These colonies (even in perfect conditions for growth in a laboratory) will never grow much larger than the size of a dime. Fungi, once established, grow outward in every direction in a pattern that looks similar to a lightning strike! This outward growing arm (mycelium) can literally grow for miles! In fact, the largest organism known to mankind is a single fungal individual called Armillaria solidipes or honey fungus and measure nearly 3.5 miles across! Microbes’ strength is in their numbers, fungi’s strength is in how well established any one individual becomes and how far it reaches. So why do we need both? Can’t microbes do everything we need? We will discuss this over the coming entries.