Question
My second question in connection with your recent post re sugar watering and rses:

What is your opinion of the practice of "feeding microbes" in garden soil by sprinkling table sugar down?

I cannot seem to find a single expert who wants to make a statement about this.  I believe in organic gardening but I do not have any education on this and I am not a chemist either.  I would like to know if microbes are able to use dissolved sugar esp since you have established that this cannot be absorbed by rose roots.


Answer
Hi Carol

There are many fungal aaaociations with plant roots.  Fungi and bacteria have a tremendous ability to use carbon sources from the environment.  MAny think that these fungal associations are absolutely essential.  IN such cases, it is quite possible that sugar water could feed the fungi, and secondarily nourish the plant after the fungus has broken down the sugar into smaller molecules.

You have to be careful when providing nutrients which might favor one microbe over another.