Microorganisms & Our Health
In Soil Health, we talked about the basics of soil health on our plants, the role that microorganisms play in keeping our plants healthy, and soluble vs insoluble fertilizers in the garden. While understanding these basics is important, knowing how to create the environments needed for microorganisms to thrive is just important if not more.
We truly need to rethink how we feed ourselves, starting at ground zero: microorganisms in the soil.
Feeding soil with water soluble nutrients is kind of like giving a candy bar to a diabetic; their blood sugar spikes, and they feel great, briefly. This quick release insulin spike can only help the diabetic to stay stabilized for so long before they need to have another candy bar or eat some real food. Feeding the soil is the same way.
By applying water soluble nutrients, we are feeding soil and microorganisms the equivalent of a candy bar. Microorganisms go on a feeding frenzy, devouring all the nutrients being fed to them. They quickly multiply and then die as the food previously given to them has since passed. Unfortunately, roughly 50% of the nutrients applied to plants in the water soluble process ends up washed out into streams, sewage, and other waterways.
Microorganisms play a vital role in the health of our plants, ferrying around nutrients, secreting antibiotics, or helping to break down the soil. To achieve healthy and productive plants, we should be more mindful of how we take care of them. Feeding microorganisms a diverse array of plant matter is one of the easiest ways to tackle this seemingly complex task.
“How do I do this?”, you may ask. Well that is the easy part.
Taking care of microorganisms is easier and cheaper than killing them. All you must do is mulch plants with a wide variety of dead and dying plant matter. This can come in the form of fresh grass clippings (chemical free), leaves (fallen or pruned), seaweed, compost, and more. This plant material will begin to be decomposed by invertebrates (such as millipedes, earth worms, enchytraeid worms, pill bugs, etc.), along with bacteria, algae, and fungi. Once mostly decomposed by these microorganisms, the microbes come in and finish the job, converting what’s left into humus and minerals.
This process takes place without much help, or monitoring. Plants take only the nutrients they need when we feed them with insoluble fertilizer. As plants grow, roots begin probing the soil, searching for nutrients and seeking to unlock them within rocks and humus. One thing humus is great at is holding nutrients for long term supply and delivery.
When you take on this simple task of supplying a variety of plant material to microorganisms that live within the soil, the whole garden thrives. With each year, as the mulch layer gets thicker and the humus builds, the population of microorganisms rises, and the plants become healthier. Garden maintenance drops as plants remain healthy, vibrant, and productive and weeding becomes an occasional occurrence instead of a constant hassle.
Transporting home yard waste, such as grass clippings and leaves, to areas that need it also allows nutrients to go back in the earth instead of ending up in a bag at a landfill. Let’s save time and money on the route to a healthy garden. Feeding the garden plant material (insoluble fertilizer) instead of commercial fertilizer (water soluble) helps to increase the amount of nutrients within the fruit of the plant.
Just like plants need nutrients to thrive, so do we.
Read more about mulching for microorganisms here.