Plant microbes can play a critical role in maintaining healthy plants through new landscape installations, transplanting, growing your own food, and any other gardening activity you are engaging in. Plant Success Organics offers carefully selective and most effective strings of bacteria and fungi to promote a healthier garden.
Plant microbes can offer a variety of benefits for your garden including:
Simply put: When your plants receive an appropriate amount of nutrients, they thrive! Using organic microbes can help support your plant nutrition goals and ensure that your garden’s general health remains intact through any changes.
A stronger root system also contributes to better nutrient absorption and a longer lifespan for your plants. Using microbes can help extend the roots of your plants to ensure that they have every possible opportunity to draw necessary nutrients from their soil.
Dehydration and underwatering are two major threats to your plants’ health. Because microbes help your plants retain moisture, they will absorb more water and use it more effectively.
Plant microbes are the perfect organic extension of your other fertilizer products. Rather than using chemical fertilizers, a microbe is an organic solution to help your garden thrive as it would in nature.
At Plant Success Organics, we strive to offer the best possible plant microbe solutions for your garden. Our wide array of microbes for gardening can cater to your specific soil type. Packed fresh for maximum optimization of colonization, you can select whether you want microbes in water-soluble or granular form.
To learn more, view our plant microbe products here or view where you can buy them in-store at your favorite gardening retailer.
Want to share the benefits of microbes with others? Check out this post in infographic form!
]]>Different types of microbes for plants, such as mycorrhizae, are vital for plant health; unfortunately, using herbicides or artificial fertilizers can kill these off. As a result, you may have to reintroduce beneficial soil bacteria to revitalize your garden.
Similar to the beneficial bacteria in your gut, beneficial soil bacteria break down nutrients so they're easily absorbed by the plants, and, they guard against harmful bacteria. Soil that is rich with beneficial bacteria produces strong, healthy plants.
If your garden is in need of a quick fix, you can purchase many different types of microbes for plants at your garden center, or order them online. The microbes will quickly get to work, colonizing your soil. However, you must ensure that the microbe product reaches the plant's roots, by either digging in a powder or, using a liquid to water it in.
For a more long-term solution, you can start a compost pile, for a ready supply of organic fertilizer. Natural compost is an excellent source of beneficial bacteria for your garden.
If your garden looks sickly, introducing beneficial, organically-grown microbes could make all the difference.
Plant Success Organics is the top supplier of organically-grown granular and water-soluble mycorrhizae in the United States.
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]]>Organic fertilizers such as manure and compost provide a wealth of nutrients to your plants. While they do tend to work slowly, they will indeed help build your soil up and fortify it for long-term plant health.
Compost is especially easy to make and one of the most effective fertilizers. Use your kitchen scraps at home to make compost and you can enjoy both the savings and the results!
By industry standards a “complete” fertilizer contains a ratio of nitrogen (N), phosphorus(P), and potassium (K). These fertilizers will have varying levels of these substances designed to produce different benefits for your plants.
Depending on the bag of NPK fertilizer, you might find one that is “balanced” where there are equal levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Others might have varying levels that are not the same across all three.
Let’s look at nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers individually:
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for your plants to grow healthy and strong. While most organic fertilizers contain nitrogen, you can also purchase bags of slow-release nitrogen fertilizers and urea nitrogen fertilizer.
If you are a produce gardener, you might be delighted to know that nitrogen-rich fertilizers can also help support healthy fruit development in your plants. It can also help young plants grow more quickly so that they can take root in the soil more effectively.
Plants need a lot of phosphorous throughout their lifecycle, and plants deficient in phosphorous have stunted growth. Work a phosphate fertilizer into your soil before planting. Seabird guano is a good, natural phosphate fertilizer.
The primary benefit that phosphorus provides is by helping your plants better process nutrients. In turn, this helps your plants grow to their fullest potential. Be sure not to leave out phosphorus from your fertilizer!
Potassium helps plants to grow strong, deep roots. It's also essential for photosynthesis and to protect against plant diseases. If your plants are deficient in potassium, the edges of leaves could turn brown or yellow or even die!
Fertilizers made from beneficial microbes and fungi, like mycorrhizae and trichoderma, are some of the most overlooked yet effective products for healthy plant growth. These living fertilizers help plant roots absorb and use vital nutrients.
In the wild, over 90% of plant species form a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizae and trichoderma fungi. When you have a healthy colony of beneficial soil microbes supporting growth, you can benefit from stronger and healthier plants!
Let’s look at these types of products in a bit more detail:
Mycorrhizae refer to the symbiotic connection between plants’ roots and beneficial fungi. In turn, this relationship helps plants grow stronger by increasing the reach of the plant’s roots, allowing for greater nutrient and water absorption.
Additionally, mycorrhizae can also help plants resist diseases and improve interactions with the surrounding soil. This symbiotic synergy results in some truly robust plants!
Trichoderma is a type of fungi found in almost every type of soil and across a variety of land environments. They are powerhouses for enzyme production and can play significant roles in preventing the growth of pathogens that could affect the healthy development of your plants.
While trichoderma is not a cure-all for plant diseases, it can control their spread. This allows you to treat your plant more efficiently and effectively by confining the problem to just part of the plant rather than the entire system.
If you are ready to experience the benefits of soil microbes in your own garden, we have what you need to get started. Plant Success Organics is the country's top supplier of plant-healthy microbe products. Check out our products here or contact us anytime to learn more.
]]>Mycorrhizae are fungi that, in the natural word, have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants and can draw in nutrients that the roots cannot do on their own, accelerating the development.
However, human activity can often disturb the natural mycorrhizae in soil, and they may have to be replenished with the use of Mycorrhizae products.
There is a wide array of benefits for plant growers in regards to making use of Mycorrhizae products. In addition to helping the plant draw in a more generous amount of nutrients and water from the soil.
Other benefits associated with the use of Mycorrhizae products include the significant role they play in the soil aggregation process and their ability to help microbial activity.
Depending on the growing conditions and practices involved and the species of the plants concerned, Mycorrhizae products offer several different benefits to both the plants and the environment, resulting in more vigorous plants, increasing crop quality and yields, and enhancing the results of fruiting and flowering.
]]>Several species of houseplants with subtropical and tropical backgrounds rely on mycorrhiza’s presence in their natural habitats. These beneficial microorganisms have played critical roles in helping most of the Earth’s plants survive and thrive in their environments.
Unlike the soil found in the wild, market variety potting soil does not feature Mycorrhizae. This results in countless houseplants requiring a lot more intensive care in terms of feeding and watering.
By using mycorrhizae, plant owners can ensure that their favorite houseplants have the ability to access essential nutrients in greater quantities. Some benefits of mycorrhizae include:
The greatest benefit of mycorrhizae is the fact that it can expand the plant’s root network and increase both its nutrient and water uptake. Essentially, your plant eats and drinks better when it has a friendly fungus helping it out!
While the use of beneficial fungi is not new, doing so indoors is a relatively new idea. Mycorrhizae can scavenge all the water and nutrients that are in any way available to them in the volume of local soil within a container, providing plant owners with a safety net in the event they are unable to fertilize or water their plants regularly.
Mycorrhizae can also assist with unlocking nutrients that can sometimes be difficult to otherwise extract from the soil. They can pull immobile nutrients such as iron and phosphorous nutrients from the ground and make them accessible to the plant.
Because mycorrhizae assist plants in better retaining nutrients and water, this can make them more robust in the face of drought. When you water your plants, more of the water is absorbed and thus the plant can survive for longer periods of time if there is a dry period.
When you move a plant from one soil to another, this can induce transplant shock. Like any living thing, a plant is a creature of habit and becomes accustomed to its soil.
When moved, a severe enough transplant shock can kill a houseplant. This can be devastating for the passionate plant owner and can leave them with more questions than answers.
By using mycorrhizae, plants can more easily acclimate to new soils. The increased amount of nutrients the beneficial microorganisms provide can help ease the transplant process.
Because a plant with mycorrhizae will absorb more water and nutrients, the fruit or vegetables they produce are tastier. Enjoy sweeter, juicier fruits and more flavored vegetables that you’ll absolutely love to eat!
It’s important to use a mycorrhizae product with organic ingredients. Unlike ones containing artificial additives, an organic supplement will most closely mimic the symbiotic relationship between plants and beneficial microorganisms found in the wild.
To start your own journey toward better plant success, check out our full line of organic mycorrhizae products.
]]>If the ground shows improvement following the addition of Mycorrhizal granules, there is a good chance that something is lacking with the soil bacteria or fungi or too low. The accumulation of these granules will give a great start to any newly planted wildflower.
Suppose planting is being done in an area that has previously been fertile or has heavily worked soil, cultivated soil, soil with a lot of herbicide or fungicide yet added, or is generally of low quality. In that case, the addition of Mycorrhizal granules is the best way to ensure the plant has the best possible start.
It is essential to use Mycorrhizal correctly, or you may do more harm to your plants than good. Products that are out of date should never be made use of, as even if they remain viable, they will degrade, meaning that more will need to be added than would otherwise have been the case.
Mycorrhizal granules can be added to the transplant hole of any plant, shrub or tree that is being planted in addition to seed beds, either in every trench directly or in the form of a general broadcast.
The use of Mycorrhizal energizes living soil.
]]>Mycorrhizal inoculant products are small fungal filaments that form a close relationship with plant roots and release enzymes that help to break down into more easily harnessed forms.
Mycorrhizal inoculants products are best used in areas where the fungi' natural occurrence has been disrupted by human activity such as chemical usage, compaction, cultivation, or topsoil erosion.
The reintroduction of these fungi via the use of Mycorrhizal inoculants products either via the soil or straight to the root of the plants is easy to accomplish.
There are also many benefits to the use of Mycorrhizal inoculants products including an increase in the ability of plants to tolerate drought, a reduction in transplant shock and the fact that the increase of nutrient uptake caused by Mycorrhizal reduces the need for further supplements.
Mycorrhizal inoculants products are available from a number of retailers and include the likes of granular products and water-soluble products. Granular products can be easily applied to new plants by sprinkling them into planting holes or having them mixed with potting soil.
Water soluble Mycorrhizal inoculants products are easy to water in and result in the instant establishment of beneficial soil microbes.
]]>Here are some quick tips for getting those new plantings off to a great start.
Check your drainage. If you know your soil has poor drainage, consider building a mound or berm to keep the roots crown above wet soil.
Plant the tree at the height it was in the nursery. This will be visible by a slight change of color in the trunk. When watering in, be sure to account for soil settling in fast draining soil by adding an inch or two to planting depth.
Prune back trees if you want to encourage low fruiting wood. You can go as low as knee height (15 – 20 inches).
Paint the trunk do prevent sunburn on delicate newly planted trees. An interior white latex diluted with 50% water should work fine.
Lastly, add mycorrhizae directly to roots. Plant Success Granular or Soluble is a fantastic choice. Granular can be sprinkled directly on the roots while the soluble can be watered-in. The beneficial mycorrhizae and bacteria colonize the root system and lessen transplant shock, water and fertilizer needs. It also enhances absorption and availability of key nutrients bound up in soils. The root system is the stomach of the plant and benefits from a robust beneficial microbe population.
]]>What is this mysterious phenomena? Fungus, that’s what. A giant web of interconnected fungus called mycorrhizae. Scientists think it is the largest single organism on earth.
Not only that but it helps feed most of the world’s ecosystems. The fungus breakdown rock and minerals and collect water in exchange for sugars from plants. A win-win for both. Those minerals are then passed through plants to animals in an ever-expanding cycle of nutrients.
In nature, more than 90 percent of plant species form a symbiotic arrangement with this beneficial soil fungi called mycorrhizae. After roots are colonized by mycorrhizae, threads or “hyphae” develop and can extend far into the surrounding soil environment.
Mycorrhizae are fundamental in helping supply the water and nutrients needed for enhancing plant vigor. In exchange, they receive essential sugars and other compounds supplied by the plant. They also release powerful compounds into the surrounding environment which can capture nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium, iron and other plant nutrients. This extraction process is particularly important in plant vigor and explains why mycorrhizal inoculations have been so successful.
It's also been discovered that a single Douglas fir tree can have as many as 50 species of mycorrhizae growing on them at a time and over 200 in its lifetime1. Even desert environments rely heavily on the fungus for water storage and drought tolerance.
Mycorrhizae are a great addition to any garden and help your plants ability to deal with stress and enhance nutrient uptake.