Inoculant works if you use the right type under the right conditions. There are different types for different species of legume. Sometimes a mix of types is available I believe. However, there is uncertainty about the value of inoculant, as you can see in previous threads on this topic. Beans usually do just fine without it and the added cost is a factor if you are growing just a few beans. Also, the bacteria provided by the inoculant may be in the soil already. I no longer bother with inoculant.

Mycorrhiza is something different. I have no experience adding it to my soil. I wonder if there isn't already an ample supply of it in the soil which can propagate naturally if the soil is kept healthy with good amendments.

Both products are essentially dirt, so far as I can tell. OK, that is a simplification, I admit. :-)

Jim

Thanks Jimster! :)

Yes, they are completely different beasts. Mychorrizae are fungi and will come into the garden from natural spores, but also from compost that has been sitting in shade under a tree or shrub for a long time. Then the population will be multiplied by symbiosis with most vegetables, but reduced by brassica and beta vegetables (so rotate these with myc friendly things).

The inoculant is a bacterium. In good soil, you need it zero or one time. I bought it this year, to share with other gardeners, but of course I saw no difference. It is said to come into the garden with manure.