Soil Microbes
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 11/17/03

My organic garden and lawn care articles are based around the statement. “Feed the soil; let the soil feed the plant”. As more research is completed, the whole concept of the previous statement becomes even more important. Beneficial microbes help fight disease organisms by competing for available food and space. Some are also predatory and actually consume “bad microbes”.

Microbes immobilize nutrients and hold them, making food available to their host plants. Others consume and release nutrients that are usable by surrounding plant life.

Active microbial masses in the soil help to build soil structure and increase its water holding capacity. These microbes are the glue that hold the soil together and cause it to be porous and able to hold moisture more efficiently while also serving as the “grease in the wheel” allowing the soil structure to work synergistically to promote and maintain soil and plant health.

In addition to the many benefits of beneficial microbes I have written about in the past, new research shows that organic practices that increase the population of beneficial microorganisms also have the ability to suppress weeds and can lessen or eliminate the use of herbicides. Adding compost, organic mulch or manure to the soil will increase the working populations of microbes. These microbes are now known to work naturally to fight against the proliferation of week growth.

As we learn more and more about the interactions of soil and plants, it becomes apparent, the chemical approaches used in the recent past are not what we need to keep our soils, our plants and in turn ourselves healthy. Go Organic!

Good gardening.