mighty microbes
Soil microbes
Microbes
and Organic
Gardening
also help with water
retention and disease
suppression within the
root zone.”
Outdoor gardeners growing
organically benefit from, or rely
on, the presence of soil microbes in their
gardens, many without even knowing the role these microbes
play. Every living creature requires a food/energy source to
survive and reproduce, and soil microbes feed and obtain
energy primarily from the organic matter in the soil. Luckily,
most organic fertilizers and amendments come in a form
where further decomposition is required before they will
be of any benefit to the plant. The microbes feed on this
organic matter, breaking down the complex carbon bonds
and, for lack of a better word, releasing the elemental nutrients held within the bond. However, if the soil does not contain enough organic matter for microbes to feed sufficiently,
their numbers will undoubtedly be lower and they will likely
congregate within a plant’s rhizosphere, consuming any root
exudates and dead root cells that they can.
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Maximum Yield USA | January 2015
Outdoor soil gardeners are not the
only growers that can benefit from
microbes in the soil, both outdoor
and indoor container growers can as well.
Growers who use an organic, soilless potting
mix and some form of organic fertilizer stand
to benefit greatly from the inoculation of beneficial microbes to the rooting media. Most organic
fertilizers contain small amounts of elemental nutrients
that are readily available to plant roots, but most of the nutrients will still be trapped within a carbon bond. The addition
of soil microbes to the rooting medium will help the grower
obtain a higher level of soil fertility and plant development.
Soil microbes also help with water retention and disease suppression within the root zone.
Natural evolution has embraced both competition and reliance as a way to cycle energy and nutrition throughout the
land, sea and sky. The micro-organisms in the soil and the
plants we grow are constantly involved in an often mutually
beneficial game of give and take. And it is relationships like
the ones between soil microbes and plants that helps keep
life complex and perpetual.