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Asked by stevespence123 ·July 4, 2023 ·19k readers

Mushroom rings

Hi Drake, Thanks for doing the great job that you do. Have binged many of your episodes of KNF office hours and am very grateful. I am working with a compacted, previously very conventionally handled 5 acres. Compacted as Fark, never buried a tyre or skimmed turf driving in 2 wd around the place. So soil test said I was low in fungi but high in organic matter at 8% from memory. So I have well crawled down the KNF rabbit hole and started liquid imo applications to the orchard with some of the nutritive applications over last summer. As winter started this year there has been 3/39 mature fruit trees (not all treated equally) with full mushroom rings at the drip line. I should say that there was barely any isolated fungus in the orchard over the preceding 4 yrs. haven’t heard this mentioned. Guessing it’s good. Just wondering your thoughts.? Cheers Steve

imo4 mushroom

From the KNF library

From the KNF library Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books · Sep 2026 · 2 sources

The library says nothing about mushroom rings at the drip line, so it cannot say whether they are a good sign. It also does not cover what causes them or what to do about them.

It does say fungi matter. One KNF study calls the presence of fungi "of vital importance for plant growth and soil fertility" (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 139).

It also sets out what each IMO stage is for:

  • IMO3 is the fungal propagation stage (Cho's Solutions, p. 11).
  • IMO4 goes on the soil as a top dress to establish a living soil foundation (Cho's Solutions, p. 11).
  • Established trees are fed IMO5 (Cho's Solutions, p. 11).

The stage you applied to the orchard matters, then. Drake would need to see your setup to say more.

Sources

  • p. 11 Cho's Solutions · “IMO3 Fungal Propagation College IMO4 or tea”
  • p. 139 Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF · “the presence of fungi and protozoa are of vital importance for plant growth and soil fertility”

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