The Hard Facts About Microbial Life

Having dedicated the past eighteen years to study and practical application, it is our sole intent to offer our knowledge to you in order to remove the “Hocus Pocus” and “Snake Oil” misconceptions that shadow your understanding of the micro-biology of soil fertility.

The popular Bio-Products on the market today are claimed to “fix” the soil to promote abundant, healthy plant growth. They all contain isolated cultures of specific micro-organisms that will supposedly perform this miracle. However, there is no quick fix for soil infertility and plant disease. I can assure you that any proclaimed “jeanie-in-a-bottle” Bio-Product will give you only short term improvements (or nothing at all) if they are not used in conjunction with fertility management dynamics.

The first hurdle you must jump in order to solve your problems is to stop grabbing for the “Quick-Fixes” that are flashed throughout this industry. You have to deal with the basic fact that soil cannot be fixed at a rate faster than the natural cycle of micro-biology. Everything that you do to get results has to be based on the basic principles of fertility and the time involved to heal the soil. For instance, a person suffering from malnutrition has got to learn the basics of a healthy diet in order to get well. Such a patient can devour as much food as possible, but if his biological/immune system has been destroyed, he will remain diseased until he gradually rebuilds his system through proper nutrition. Once you get this mindset in motion, the solutions to your problems are actually quite simple and the rewards our great.

First off, you must concern yourself with the microbial life of the soil . There is no deficiency of microbial life on this planet. Microbes are abundant in two primary forms - Aerobic or Anaerobic. Aerobic microbes establish themselves in healthy soils that are high in oxygen; they use the oxygen to dissolve organic matter and minerals into highly oxygenated metabolites for plant growth. They are the true Miracle Workers of the soil; they are destroyed by a lack of oxygen. Anaerobic microbes thrive in collapsed, diseased soils that have low or no oxygen circulation. They cause putrefaction, plant disease, and produce ammonia and methane gas which attracts plant-damaging insects. Anaerobic disease-causing organisms cannot live in healthy, aerobic oxygenated soils.

The type of microbial life that your soil attracts is dependent solely on the environment which you create. If you incrementally direct the minerals and paramagnetic energy toward aeration of the soil, you will have Aerobic Microbes. These microscopic Miracle Workers will descend upon your soil and happily work for free to give you healthy plant growth resistant to disease and pests. You have successfully done your job!

But, if you should fail to provide the conditions for aeration and oxygen, these Aerobic microbes won’t complain - they will just quietly die. Before you know it, the “Scabs” will rapidly crowd the soil in the form of Anaerobic Microbes. They, too, will work for free but you will have to waste money on labor and Toxic Chemical Rescue products in an effort to control the plant-damaging insect and plant disease problems that they always cause.

The next reaction to this disease dilemma will most likely be a soil pH test. Due to the fact that the soil has no oxygen at this point, you will get a low pH reading indicating high acidity. When the soil is highly acidic, it is dominated by hydrogen. At this point, the soil is basically dead because hydrogen is not a plant nutrient. In an attempt to neutralize the soil, you may typically add dolomite lime. This application only worsens the situation because dolomite lime continues to deplete oxygen from the soil due to the fact that it is excessive in Magnesium, which is an oxygen reducing agent. Aeration of the soil becomes impossible, leading to persistent disease and the ultimate destruction of the plant life.

The growing season comes to an end and you may tell yourself “So...it’s just one season...I’ll get it right next year...” The following Spring, you are eager for a fresh new shot at success. You’re all fired up! So, you get busy laying down a fresh Spring application of N-P-K fertilizer. You’ll see fabulous signs of hope with the green-up effects from nitrogen, but it doesn’t last. But that’s no problem - another blast of N-P-K will do the trick. But the second time around, you’ll need to apply more to blast the plants “Nitrogen Green.” Meanwhile, that scabby mob of Anaerobic Microbes are in their glory, multiplying into huge colonies. The N-P-K has taken your fresh, new start and turned it sour right from the start by driving oxygen out of the soil . Perfect working conditions for Anaerobic Microbes has allowed them to get an early start on the Disease Cycle of Putrefaction. During this process, these microbes transform Nitrogen into ammonia and methane gas.

Now, insects invade because they are attracted to ammonia and methane gas, and they are accompanied by various plant diseases. But that’s no problem, because you are ready for the attack with an arsenal of insecticides and fungicides. Full-blast insect and microbial annihilation is now in effect - Everything comes to a grinding halt...Temporarily the disease cycle stops, the pests flee and you are left to wait for their guaranteed return. To make matters worse, the N-P-K fertilizer dissolved more of the soil’s calcium reserves, causing it to leach away. The narrowed ratio of calcium to magnesium leaves you with soil so compact and devastated that it cracks and hardens in dry spells and water stands in puddles or runs off during wet periods. Plant roots grow near or on top of the soil looking for oxygen and are therefore highly susceptible to drought and hot weather injury.

But the soils of the Earth support healthy plants & life if you work with them (not against them). And it is Bio-Green’s mission to give you the straight facts about soil fertility. We’re not about “Hocus Pocus” and “The Quick Fix.” But, we are about helping you to get on track with the soil. We object to the one-dimensional plight of conventional N-P-K fertilization and Toxic Chemical Rescue with its an endless cycle of insect and disease control procedures. We promote the life of the soil and the people who rely on it for food and plants. Disease does not promote life. Proper fertility promotes life.

First off, you must never forget about the role oxygen plays in the arena of Aerobic and Anaerobic Microbes. With this in mind, the grower takes responsibility for creating health-promoting Aerobic soils instead of Anaerobic disease-causing soils. There is no quick way to do this - it involves a thorough understanding of building soil fertility. The old standby of using a soil pH test to correct soil imbalance must be abandoned. Although soil pH is an important factor, it only plays in your favor if you acknowledge that it is not static - it constantly changes in response to natural biological/chemical reactions. Microbial processes form acids as a by-product. However, this acidity is neutralized and oxygen is maintained by the minerals in the soil if they are in the proper balance.

Along the gradual curve of neutralizing acidity to alkalinity, the different mineral and micro-nutrients become available to plants as pH levels change. This, however, cannot occur if the minerals and nutrients are not present in the correct ratios. In this area, soils are primarily alkaline and composed of clay particles. The clay particles are negatively charged plate-like structures which have positively charged minerals bonded to them in the ratio of 40% Calcium, 48% Magnesium, 6 % Potassium, 2% Sodium and 4% Micro-Nutrients (Iron, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, etc.). Due to the close ratio of Calcium to Magnesium, these clay particles are chemically cemented together. The reason for this, is that Calcium is responsible for binding Oxygen into the soil whereas Magnesium, being a reducing agent, chemically drives Oxygen out of the soil (as well as Nitrogen). This causes chemical compaction, increased need for additional Nitrogen applications and the development of Anaerobic disease-causing organisms.

We have found that the key to correcting this chemical compaction problem is by directing the mineral makeup of the clay particles to the following ideal base saturation: 68% Calcium, 15% Magnesium, 3% Potassium , 4% Micro-Nutrients and 10% Hydrogen. By expanding the ratio between Calcium and Magnesium to 8.33/1, chemical compaction is eliminated allowing for the circulation and absorption of oxygen within the soil profile. The soil will be slightly acidic (pH 6.2 to 6.7) allowing for base exchange and Aerobic Microbial conditions are established. This physical mineral soil condition is the basic soil foundation. Add to this, organic complexed nutrients and you will grow strong- celled plants that are naturally resistant to disease and insects.

It is at this point, that Calcium comes to the forefront as “The King of Nutrients.” All conditions are now perfect for Calcium to perform the following basics of soil fertility: Calcium aids in transport and uptake of nutrients, Buffers soil toxicities, Avails itself for the production of strong plant cell walls, and in conjunction with Phosphorus, it initiates root growth below ground and highly mineralized plant growth above ground.

The conventional response to alkalinity (high pH) is the application of sulphur . This encourages Anaerobic disease organisms due to the fact that sulfur absorbs oxygen -creating an “Oxygen Sink.” Everything will begin to collapse - destroying the aeration and setting in motion The Cycle of Putrefaction played out by those disease-causing critters - Anaerobic Microbes. (Black layer in turf is a typical symptom of sulfur use.)

To promote Healthy Aerobic Soil Fertility, work with the “good guys” - your friendly neighborhood Aerobic Microbes and Bio-Green... All of our Bio-Energetic products and programs are designed to help make dynamic soil fertility possible for you. Additionally, Bio-Green also offers extensive soil testing to design custom-blended fertility programs for overcoming the most difficult soil problems.