Making Powdered Legume Innoculent From Granular?

[GoDawgs]

Every once in a while I buy innoculent for planting legumes. It's not really necessary if legumes have been grown in the spot in the prior five years or if the legumes weren't producing many nitrogen-fixing nodules. But this year I want some and usually buy Nature's Aid brand as most of the seed companies sell it. I like the powdered form which treats about 5 lbs of seed and the canister only covers a 40' row. The amount of powdered in the small pouch is more than I need but a lot less expensive than granular. It seems nobody carries the powdered kind of Nature's Aid this year, only granular.

I searched online and even the Kelo company who makes it doesn't list the powder. Only the granular in the canister and in the small pouch size that the powdered used to be in. I guess they make more money on granular. So I bought a different brand of powdered innoculent (Exceed) on Amazon for this year.

So yesterday my sister Pickles pipes up with one of those "I was just thinking..." (uh oh, what's coming?) "What if you whizzed up the granular into powder in a cheap coffee/herb whizzie that's dedicated for that and other garden uses?" Hmmmm, an interesting idea! This needs investigating.

Through more online research I was able to find the specs for both the granular and the powdered innoculent. The powdered stuff contains "200 million viable cells" of active ingredient per gram. The granular contains 100 million of the same. So with granular you get half the strength for more money. However, if they're selling just the granular, one would think that the ingredient level would be sufficient to do the job in which case the 200 million strength is overkill. Does that sound right or am I missing something?

I think the whizzed up granular from the small pouch might make sufficient powder for my needs but that experiment will have to wait until next year or the next time I want some. If any of you try this, please post your results here as I'd love to hear about it.

[bower]

I wonder if the granular is just for ease of digging it into the ground, rather than for applying to the seeds? I've never heard of that type before.
I bought some new powdered inoculant a couple of years ago, the price was ridiculous though! Using it sparingly. I pre-sprout my peas and sprinkle a bit on them before planting.

[GoDawgs]

I wonder if the granular is just for ease of digging it into the ground, rather than for applying to the seeds? I've never heard of that type before.
I bought some new powdered innoculant a couple of years ago, the price was ridiculous though! Using it sparingly. I pre-sprout my peas and sprinkle a bit on them before planting.

No, you're supposed to sprinkle it on top of the seeds in the furrow before covering the seed. It doesn't go very far. Here's what most catalogs here offer. Prices vary but prices have steadily gone up every year. The powder used to come in the small pouch but now it's granular too. With the powder, you just moisten the seeds in a container, sprinkle a bit of powder on them, shake the seeds around until coated, then plant.

https://www.superseeds.com/products/ino ... e0dd&_ss=r

I found Exceed brand of powder for $9-something and bought it but it's way more than will be used in a year so a lot will go to waste as I have no one to split the powder and cost with around here. So I thought that next year maybe I can whiz up the small pouch of granular to make my own powder. The small pouch of powder used to treat up to 5 lb of seed, still more than I plant but I could use it more heavily. This spring I'll be planting 375 row-feet of peas plus various beans and field peas.

[bower]

Well I have read that the powdered inoculant can last up to 3 years if you store it cool and dry. I'm on year two with mine, and have a lot left for next year. All I could get was a large packet of powder, and paid $18 for it iirc. So I'll be sparing it out until it is really toast. Your packet probably has an expiry date, but I've also read that that just means viability will gradually get lower as time goes by.

https://hoards.com/article-21801-3-rule ... lants.html
This says to keep the package sealed as well, to keep oxygen out, as apparently this can also reduce the viability of the microbes.

If the granular isn't a form for ease of handling, I wonder why they do it.
I would think, though, if oxygen reduces viability then whizzing the granules in a blender would not be helpful.

[GoDawgs]

Well I have read that the powdered inoculant can last up to 3 years if you store it cool and dry. I'm on year two with mine, and have a lot left for next year. All I could get was a large packet of powder, and paid $18 for it iirc. So I'll be sparing it out until it is really toast. Your packet probably has an expiry date, but I've also read that that just means viability will gradually get lower as time goes by.

Now that's interesting. Your web link is about a dairy innoculent and I'm wondering if it's for growing something that will become feed or maybe an innoculent for a product like cheese. Regardless, I would think a lot of microorganisms in general could take the same living conditions. I do realize that's a rather wide generalization and there are probably a ton of microorganisms that wouldn't live(thinking of the vagaries of trying to grow mushrooms) but it's just a passing thought.

“Producers should see that manufacturers keep the product protected from high temperatures by storing product frozen and shipping it to the farm on ice or in refrigerated trucks,” Dr. Charley notes.

Once the innoculant arrives, producers must continue to keep the product cool, preferably in a refrigerator or freezer."

Maybe freeze any excess making sure as much air as possible is squeezed out of the pouch and then wrapping the pouch tightly with plastic wrap?

If the granular isn't a form for ease of handling, I wonder why they do it.
I would think, though, if oxygen reduces viability then whizzing the granules in a blender would not be helpful.

The granular has to be more handy for some people. All they have to do is shake some into the furrow without having to wet the seed in a container,add powder, mix it well so all are coated and then get their hands dirty sowing the coated seeds. Maybe the granular far outsold the powder because of that so powder got dropped. Vendors are always fine tuning their offerings based on sales numbers.

Perhaps whizzing just what's needed into powder immediately prior to use wouldn't hurt viability too much.

[JRinPA]

I don't like the granular either. I considered the same thing with a coffee grinder. Did I ever do it? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did last year for snap and snow peas. It wasn't any special grinder, just the kitchen one that gets used for everything. Whether it worked, I don't know, the granular stuff was pretty old, from tractor supply. I have to say it was 5 years old, it was from a stash of dumpster/end of year toss out. And that was years back.

[GoDawgs]

Actually I've read that once a bed or area is innoculated, the microbes hang around and do their thing for up to about three years. I try to keep a three year rotation among the various veg families so I like to use the innoculant "just in case".