A Match Made in Dirt
Soil isn’t just “dirt,” it’s an amazing ecosystem of its own. Thus when choosing a soil amendment or biostimulant, we believe the best approach is to set nature loose to thrive in the way it is already designed to do.
This includes the beautiful relationship between beneficial fungi and beneficial bacteria. We discuss often about the mutually beneficial relationship between Mycorrhizae fungi and the plants it connects to. See here, here and here. (We discuss it often because many in the industry and most consumers are still early in their learning curve about what happens beneath the soil.)
Making Connections
But there’s another relationship that is equally important to plant vitality, and that’s the relationship between bacteria and fungi in the soil. Good soil is teeming with both, but often it’s up to you to introduce them.
An important way that beneficial microbes adapt to their environment and work in the soil is to exchange DNA with nearby bacteria. And it turns out that the microscopic strands of Mycorrhizae fungi (called hyphae) are the roads that connect them.
So from the practical standpoint, an educated end user may introduce beneficial bacteria into their growing medium to energize it, but the process will be longer and slower without Mycorrhizae there to provide transportation. (Meanwhile, the uneducated end user isn’t modifying their soil at all.)
Let’s call it the “hyphae highway.” Click here for a scientific discussion of the process, here for a relatable comparison, and here for a video of the highway in action.
Finish the Mix
Let’s work together on educating the supply chain and the end user on the vibrant, exciting world that’s just out of sight beneath the soil surface. And when you want to energize your soil, go all the way with bacteria plus fungi so the ecosystem has all its ingredients for vitality right from the start!