Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324

Published: 2026-05-10
Episode page
Duration: 61 min

In this episode

alfalfa

• Terry asked how to treat his alfalfa field with Mike’s Mighty Micros. 11:36

application-frequency

• Mike said spraying more frequently than recommended, like daily instead of weekly, doesn’t improve results. 49:09
• Terry asked if there’s ever a situation calling for spraying more than once a week. 19:54

application-technique

• Terry asked whether Mike’s Mighty Micros should be applied with a fine mist sprayer. 16:20

clover

• Terry’s frost-seeded clover, planted the previous fall, came back this year as the best stand of clover he’s ever had. 8:28
• How should Mike’s Mighty Micros be used to help clover as it comes up and blooms? 9:44
• Terry asked whether to apply the product as clover starts regrowing after mowing, or right before the next mowing. 10:30
• Terry asked whether there’s a point in spring when it’s too early to spray clover with Mike’s Mighty Micros. 10:53

common-mistakes

• Terry asked Mike to share common mistakes people make when using Mike’s Mighty Micros. 48:16

contact-info

• Mike clarified that the phone number listed on the Mike’s Mighty Micros website is his business line, not his personal number. 55:57
• Terry asked how listeners can reach Mike if they have more questions. 55:39

corn-soybeans

• Mike tank-mixes Mike’s Mighty Micros with herbicide, fungicide, or insecticide without any problem. 18:21
• Terry asked how Mike’s Mighty Micros should be used on corn and soybeans during post-emergent applications. 17:39

don-higgins

• Mike Mitchell said he expects Don Higgins will have a powerful testimony once his family’s current trial is over. 2:53

dosage

• Mike warned against overdosing — using more ounces per gallon than recommended does not improve results. 48:56

drone-application

• Terry asked if there’s any issue applying Mike’s Mighty Micros by drone during a drought year. 38:40

drought

• Don Higgins found that during last summer’s drought, some soybean pods developed but lacked moisture to push the bean out, so deer weren’t eating them. 35:07
• Mike said trees treated with the micros grew less than usual during last year’s severe drought but didn’t wilt like an untreated newly planted tree would. 37:07
• Terry planned to watch his food plots for drought stress and apply Mike’s Mighty Micros when needed, expecting the same approach to work on fall brassica plots. 39:55
• Terry asked whether spraying between cuttings during a drought, off the normal schedule, would harm the plant. 12:05
• Terry asked Mike to explain how Mike’s Mighty Micros helps soybeans during a drought and when to apply it. 35:32
• Terry asked at what point during a drought farmers should decide it’s time to use the product. 37:58

episode-plan

• Terry announced next week’s episode would feature another guest, or hopefully Don Higgins returning. 56:04

family-business

• Caleb, Mike’s youngest son, lives at home and runs all the shipping, assembling orders, pallets, and bottles. 53:11
• Ben, another of Mike’s sons, manages roughly 90 dealers across 16 states, handling dealer relations, invoicing, and packets. 53:23
• Ben designed and built the new Mike’s Mighty Micros website himself. 53:39
• Michael, Mike’s oldest son and a professional programmer, handles the technical side including Shopify and the website. 53:45
• Mike’s wife serves as the business’s secretary, handling all the paperwork. 54:01
• Terry asked Mike to talk about how the family business has been a blessing to him, his wife, and his kids. 53:00

farm-planning

• Terry planned to plant corn and soybeans soon, with alfalfa nearly ready for first cutting. 8:57

friendship

• Mike Mitchell has been a longtime friend of the Higgins family, including Don and Robin. 2:26

fruit-trees

• Brian taught that when planting a fruit tree, the dug-out dirt should be replaced with living timberland soil rich in necromass and biology. 5:29
• Mike backfilled two newly planted trees with timber soil and saw six to eight inches of growth, versus two to three inches on trees without it. 6:05
• For fruit tree planting, only the top three to five inches of timberland soil should be collected, since that’s the tree’s root zone. 6:40
• Terry lost one pear tree to fire blight last year among his fruit trees. 13:40
• Mike’s Mighty Micros contains sulfur, which can thin apple blooms, so it shouldn’t be sprayed until bloom is finished. 14:28
• Mike sprays his apple trees roughly every ten days with Mike’s Mighty Micros during the season. 14:49
• Mike continues spraying his apple trees until fall color change so they enter winter fully charged with nutrients for spring growth. 15:09
• Mike explained that training limbs into an open bowl shape empties the tree’s center, letting moisture escape and reducing disease risk. 44:02
• Cutting a young tree back reduces top growth so the root system can develop and strengthen in the first year. 45:04
• Removing first-year blooms redirects the tree’s energy into reproduction and top growth instead of fruit it can’t yet support. 46:38
• Terry’s neighbors had a peach tree whose limbs were all broken by a critter climbing up for the peaches, since the tree couldn’t support the added weight. 46:58
• Mike’s high-density trellised trees are allowed to bear apples in their second year, sooner than standard trees. 47:37
• Terry asked how to navigate spraying Mike’s Mighty Micros on fruit trees through spring and summer. 13:46
• Terry asked whether the micros absorb through green leaves and stop once leaves dry up. 15:28
• Terry asked whether wildlife orchard owners should wait for bloom petals to fall before spraying, then spray every mowing. 15:49
• Terry asked what Mike recommends for trimming young fruit trees before they’re strong enough to bear fruit. 43:07
• Terry asked what to do with a first-year fruit tree that’s blooming — grow apples or remove the blooms? 46:03
• Terry asked how many years growers should remove blooms before letting a young tree bear fruit. 47:08

garden

• Mike sprays his raised bed tomatoes and peppers about once a week until they get so big and bushy his wife asks him to stop. 19:06
• Terry asked whether flower and vegetable gardens need the same bloom-timing precautions as apple trees. 18:41
• Terry asked Mike for a story about using the product on a nonedible plant, like a rose bush. 20:31

gratitude

• Mike said he appreciates customers’ patience since he isn’t naturally a businessman and has had to learn to run the business as he goes. 52:32

guest-appearance

• Mike Mitchell stepped in to help create content and educate customers on the podcast while Don Higgins was taking care of his family. 2:41

humor

• Mike joked that people should just follow the instructions and not be a moron about applying the product. 51:48 (light moment)
• Terry jokingly asked whether shampooing with the product would help regrow his thinning hair. 12:54
• Terry jokingly asked what Brian’s method was for growing hair back on his balding head. 13:03

over-application

• Brian feared that letting the product reach the public without enough education would lead users to over-apply it. 20:07

prayer

• Terry recalled closing the previous episode by taking off his hat to pray for Robin, Don Higgins’s wife. 13:15

sprayer-hygiene

• Mike said a common mistake is using a sprayer contaminated with leftover glyphosate residue. 49:21
• A customer reported burning his whole clover field after using a sprayer that hadn’t been cleaned from a previous application. 49:42

turkey-hunting

• Terry visited his farm to turkey hunt with longtime friends Joe Johnson and Al Foster. 8:17

vital-force

• Mike introduced a new product called Vital Force. 26:48
• Vital Force was created because customers wanted soil-health support but didn’t want to ship or carry heavy bags of biochar. 27:17
• One Vital Force component is super concentrated — a tablespoon treats one plant, so a one-pound bottle treats about 55 plants. 27:57
• Mike recommended sprinkling a tablespoon of the Energizer into the planting hole before placing a transplant like a tomato. 28:13
• Mike tested the Energizer in his garden last year on half his plants; the treated half was noticeably better than the untreated half. 28:23
• Vital Force’s Top Line uses natural fertilizers like bat droppings, worm castings, and azomite biochar, targeting top growth after bloom. 29:17
• Vital Force’s Root Line focuses on root development, applied as a tablespoon at planting time. 29:45
• For underground plants like beets, Mike recommends using Root Line rather than Top Line at planting. 29:59
• Combining Vital Force with Mike’s Mighty Micros foliar feed produces a fully genetically expressed plant with better flavor and nutrient density. 31:09
• Terry planned to use Vital Force under his tomato plants in his home vegetable garden this year. 32:09
• Mike said his wife could never grow plants successfully until she started using micros and Vital Force, and now thrives at growing houseplants. 33:12
• Vital Force is carried by many Real World Wildlife Products dealers and can also be purchased online. 33:41
• Terry suggested that Al Foster, a dedicated gardener, would want Vital Force for his flower beds. 31:32

water-quality

• Mike recommended using distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water rather than tap water, since impurities can block nutrient uptake. 48:30
• Terry keeps a dedicated pump sprayer for fruit trees and garden plants, mixing the product with water collected from household dehumidifiers. 50:05
• Purdue University has published research showing that using cleaner water significantly improves the effectiveness of sprayed products. 50:52
• Using cleaner water lets growers cut Roundup use to half or three-quarters of normal rates, saving money. 51:01
• Terry joked about whether fluoride added to tap water is also unnecessary for plants. 51:13

website

• Mike’s son sent Terry an early link to the family’s new Mike’s Mighty Micros website before it went live. 23:37
• The new website lets customers select their plant or use type and calculates exactly how much product to mix and which jug size to buy. 25:21

Listener questions

Question: How should Mike’s Mighty Micros be used to help clover as it comes up and blooms? 9:44

• Answer: Mike recommended spraying clover about a week before cutting so the nutrients enter the plant before it’s cut, helping it reenergize and recover for regrowth. 9:51

Question: Terry asked whether to apply the product as clover starts regrowing after mowing, or right before the next mowing. 10:30

• Answer: Mike advised waiting for clover to resume growing after a cut, then spraying about fifteen days before the next cutting. 10:36

Question: Terry asked whether there’s a point in spring when it’s too early to spray clover with Mike’s Mighty Micros. 10:53

• Answer: Mike said clover can’t really be sprayed too early, though he’d avoid spraying right before cutting, aiming for at least a week before the cut. 11:10

Question: Terry asked how to treat his alfalfa field with Mike’s Mighty Micros. 11:36

• Answer: Mike recommended treating alfalfa like clover: spray about two weeks before cutting, then again two to three weeks after. 11:39

Question: Terry asked whether spraying between cuttings during a drought, off the normal schedule, would harm the plant. 12:05

• Answer: Mike said the product has no nitrogen, so it won’t burn plants — he’s tried to overdose it for years and never burned anything on his farm. 12:34

Question: Terry jokingly asked whether shampooing with the product would help regrow his thinning hair. 12:54

• Answer: Mike joked that he’s afraid shampooing with the product will not help regrow hair. 13:00

Question: Terry jokingly asked what Brian’s method was for growing hair back on his balding head. 13:03

• Answer: Mike joked that hair loss is probably a mineral deficiency, best left to a doctor rather than the product. 13:10

Question: Terry asked how to navigate spraying Mike’s Mighty Micros on fruit trees through spring and summer. 13:46

• Answer: Mike explained he doesn’t spray Mike’s Mighty Micros on apple trees until bloom petals fall and apples have formed. 13:58

Question: Terry asked whether the micros absorb through green leaves and stop once leaves dry up. 15:28

• Answer: Mike confirmed absorption stops once leaves change color, usually around October. 15:39

Question: Terry asked whether wildlife orchard owners should wait for bloom petals to fall before spraying, then spray every mowing. 15:49

• Answer: Mike said not to spray wildlife orchard trees more than about once a week to ten days, with every two weeks being ideal. 16:05

Question: Terry asked whether Mike’s Mighty Micros should be applied with a fine mist sprayer. 16:20

• Answer: Mike advised spraying until the mix runs off the leaf, ideally in the evening or morning when the leaf stays wet longer for better absorption. 16:44

Question: Terry asked how Mike’s Mighty Micros should be used on corn and soybeans during post-emergent applications. 17:39

• Answer: Mike said to apply the product during the last herbicide pass of the season on corn and beans. 17:51

Question: Terry asked whether flower and vegetable gardens need the same bloom-timing precautions as apple trees. 18:41

• Answer: Mike said tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, and flowers aren’t sensitive to sulfur like apple blooms, so they can be sprayed any time. 18:52

Question: Terry asked if there’s ever a situation calling for spraying more than once a week. 19:54

• Answer: Mike said not more than once a week. 20:03

Question: Terry asked Mike for a story about using the product on a nonedible plant, like a rose bush. 20:31

• Answer: Mike shared that his sister’s roadside rose bushes flourished with the micros, prompting neighbors to repeatedly ask what she’s using. 21:26

Question: Terry suggested that Al Foster, a dedicated gardener, would want Vital Force for his flower beds. 31:32

• Answer: Mike said Al Foster already bought micros and received a Vital Force sample to try, and plans to turkey hunt at Mike’s place soon. 31:50

Question: Terry asked Mike to explain how Mike’s Mighty Micros helps soybeans during a drought and when to apply it. 35:32

• Answer: Mike explained that when soil is too dry for a stressed bean plant to move nutrients through the roots, spraying nutrients on the leaf lets it continue its normal growth cycle. 36:17

Question: Terry asked at what point during a drought farmers should decide it’s time to use the product. 37:58

• Answer: Mike said the time to apply is when there’s no rain in the forecast and plants are starting to lay over and droop. 38:03

Question: Terry asked if there’s any issue applying Mike’s Mighty Micros by drone during a drought year. 38:40

• Answer: Mike confirmed drone application works, and new labels matching the Vital Force labels will include drone application rates. 39:14

Question: Terry asked what Mike recommends for trimming young fruit trees before they’re strong enough to bear fruit. 43:07

• Answer: Mike said he cuts young trees low to establish starter limbs, then saves three to five main limbs on each side of the trunk. 43:43

Question: Terry asked what to do with a first-year fruit tree that’s blooming — grow apples or remove the blooms? 46:03

• Answer: Mike said he would cut off every limb bearing bloom or apple on a first-year tree, letting it restart growth. 46:13

Question: Terry asked how many years growers should remove blooms before letting a young tree bear fruit. 47:08

• Answer: Mike said trees planted using Brian’s method are typically big enough to let crop at three years old. 47:18

Question: Terry asked Mike to share common mistakes people make when using Mike’s Mighty Micros. 48:16

• Answer: Mike said failures are rare, but when they happen it’s usually one of a few common mistakes: bad water, overdosing, spraying too often, or a contaminated sprayer. 48:23

Question: Terry joked about whether fluoride added to tap water is also unnecessary for plants. 51:13

• Answer: Mike confirmed fluoride in tap water would just interfere with the product’s effectiveness. 51:16

Question: Terry asked Mike to talk about how the family business has been a blessing to him, his wife, and his kids. 53:00

• Answer: Mike said all his kids are part owners of the family business, each taking on different roles. 53:08

Question: Terry asked how listeners can reach Mike if they have more questions. 55:39

• Answer: Mike said people can reach him through mike’smightymicros.com, where his phone number should also be listed. 55:45

Prayer Time

Scripture: Joshua
Theme: courage and God’s presence amid hardship
Filling in for Don, Nick Carpenter admitted praying aloud is outside his comfort zone, cited Joshua 1:9 on courage, and prayed for boldness for listeners while asking continued prayer for Don and Robin. 57:29

Mike Mitchell filled in for Don Higgins, who was tending a family hardship, and walked through Mike’s Mighty Micros and the new Vital Force product line. He explained timing for spraying clover and alfalfa around cutting, holding off on apple trees until after bloom due to sulfur’s thinning effect, and using foliar feeding to help soybeans and trees survive drought stress by letting nutrients enter through leaves when roots can’t draw from dry soil. He covered common application mistakes—contaminated sprayers, impure water, overdosing, spraying too often—and described Vital Force’s Root and Top Line uses at planting. He also detailed young fruit tree training, removing early blooms so roots establish first, and described his family’s roles running the business, including sons Caleb, Ben, and Michael and his wife’s office work. Terry shared farm updates on clover, turkey hunting, and fruit trees. Nick Carpenter led a prayer citing Joshua 1:9, asking for courage and continued support for Don and Robin.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.