Unlock the Potential of Soil

Soil is not simply dirt under your feet and it may not be as visually striking as a green forest or appear as vital as fresh water, but plain-looking soil is a natural resource just as essential to sustaining life on Earth. It is alive, dynamic and vital. Soil provides nutrients, water and minerals to plants and trees, stores carbon and is home to billions of insects, small animals, bacteria and many other micro-organisms. Yet the amount of fertile soil on the planet has been diminishing at an alarming rate, compromising the ability of farmers to grow food to feed a global population. The following is an extract taken from an interview done with Graham Sait, an internationally acclaimed author & educator, highlighting the importance of compost and microbes to our soils and our lives.

“Compost reintroduces the diversity of microorganisms that ensure optimum nutrition delivery to our food. The nutrient value of our food has declined in direct correlation to the decline in soil carbon. There is a microbe behind every mineral and the higher their humus home base, the greater the nutrient density of our food.

Compost contains over 30,000 different species of organisms with many billions in a single handful. Many of these creatures are lacking in our soils. They have been seriously compromised in the extractive, chemical agriculture model. This new workforce can provide disease resilience, nutrient density, improved soil structure and most importantly, it provides food for earthworms. If we can reintroduce earthworms into our soils, then they will build humus. Earthworms can compost four times more rapidly than conventional plant decomposition in the soil. They are a critical key to fast-tracking carbon sequestration.

Compost adds stable carbon to soil but, most importantly, it is a triggering mechanism for carbon creation. It is a hugely important tool to counter global warming.

Compost is the greatest tool to create a disease resistant soil and resilient plants. This seriously reduces the need for chemical intervention, which offers a much better outcome for both animals and humans and, of course, the health of our soils and planet.

Compost, and the humus it contains, is the single most effective water management tool. A 1% increase in organic matter, generated by compost additives, dramatically improves water retention. In fact, it means that in each hectare, the soil can now hold 170,000 litres more water than was previously possible. This equates to 17 litres in a single square metre.

Compost helps detoxify soils that have been chemically contaminated. The compost carbon isolates chemical and heavy metal residues and reduces their likelihood of contaminating our food chain.

Compost can seriously increase the nutritional value of our precious food. The humus it contains is the only storage system in the soil that can stabilise and help retain all minerals. As mentioned earlier, humus also houses the microbes that deliver these minerals. However, the nutrition link does not end there. This microbial life also produces a range of nutrients, including B vitamins, that support plant life and those who consume those healthier plants.”

All soils, in any environment, depend on the right balance of microbes in order to grow healthy plants and crops and fight toxins and disease. Bacteria are responsible for almost every essential process that occurs in soils and plants, including fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere (essential to plant growth), processing nutrition for plants to absorb, fighting disease and even photosynthesis.

Efficient Microbes Pro-Soil is a microbial soil management solution containing enzymes, trace minerals, vitamins and the full range of live microbes necessary to influence and balance the soil ecology. The live microbes in Pro-Soil also support the growth of other beneficial organisms already present, bringing a natural balance back to the soil and creating a sustainable, fertile environment for the future.

Efficient Microbes Pro-Soil can help reduce composting turning costs by 50-80% and prevent anaerobic, odor-causing decay. The key to efficient composting is to have healthy decomposition constantly occurring throughout the pile. In all conditions, including low oxygen and anaerobic environments, Efficient Microbes Pro-Soil facilitates healthy decomposition and increased production of stable organic matter particles (humus).

The benefits of using Efficient Microbes Pro-Soil for composting are:

• Superior compost producing high yields of healthier, more nutritious plants.
• Dramatically reduces turning time and management costs.
• Suppresses malodors.

Other benefits of using Efficient Microbes Pro-Soil include:

• Breaks down Organic Amendments
• Increases Crop Yields and Quality
• Reduces Fertiliser Inputs
• Contains Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria
• Encourages Beneficial Microorganisms to Flourish

Click here for more information on Efficient Microbes Pro-Soil.