Thanks for this report Maggi, Yes, it does sound depressing because as small home gardeners we don't have the ability to do the testing for ourselves and as always, have to take on trust, the big firms and corporations who will always tell us what is to their own advantage.
There is no indication about whether the products tested were all of American origin as I suspect they were, but can't be sure of course. New Zealand firms probably have their own share of either fraudsters or incompetents (well I know they have; steel recently imported from China, for, and used to build new bridges has been found to be under strength and where already used has had to be reinforced with extra concrete (usually the other way around) while new steel has had to be ordered for the bridges yet to be built.)
I continue to use trichoderma products, always in small packets so not massively expensive and so far have every reason to believe the products are up to their claims. Newly planted clematis and those of up to three years old are all thriving, not the case BEFORE trichoderma. But I'll be writing to the manufacturers and asking for their regime for manufacture, citing the Oregon report.
We're told that "rust never sleeps." Obviously we as gardeners can not sleep either in that we need always to be aware that what seems to be fine could easily turn out to be a disaster in the making. I went to see G and S's HMS Pinafore recently and am reminded that "Things are seldom what they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream, Storks turn out to be but logs, Bulls are but inflated frogs......."
