Blog
microBIOMETER® testing for soil health and yield stability
Nature article reports that microbial biomass estimates by microBIOMETER® correlates with soil health and yield stability. The microBIOMETER® soil test was used to report microbial biomass in a recent Nature publication*. Scientists Dr. Judith Fitzpatrick and Dr. Brady Trexler of microBIOMETER® collaborated with a University of Tennessee team headed by
Soil testing at a hemp farm in Iowa
PLANT Group is a team of designers, engineers, and ecologists. The company is building systems to connect humans and nature. In the process, they are soil testing at a hemp farm in Iowa, Honeysuckle Hops & Hemp. First, through their partnership with Blue Forest Farms, the team at PLANT Group
Community gardening with microBIOMETER®
Informal science education is a key for community engagement and healthy gardening. Community gardening brings numerous benefits such as fresh produce, therapy, physical exercise, reduction in grocery bills, improvement of mood among many others. “Last weekend I had the privilege to teach community gardeners on the importance of soil testing
microBIOMETER® Soil Testing in France
The Biospheres, working through the CDA*, accompanies and trains farmers/agricultural companies in the agroecological transition based on a soil conservation approach. The group is also working on applied research projects and therefore on trials under real farming conditions in which they evaluate the impact of certain changes in practices on
microBIOMETER® in University of Michigan Research Study
Joshua Mikesell utilized microBIOMETER® in a University of Michigan Intern Student Program last fall for his 501(c)3 compost business Happy Coast. The goal of his compost business is to seek out organic waste products and develop ways to reduce and recycle these materials. In preparation for the study, Joshua created
Soil Carbon Q & A with Dr. Judy
We recently received the following questions from one of our customers and below are the responses from Dr. Fitzpatrick. Part of my research is surrounding the soil organic carbon results we attained from microBIOMETER®, and I am wondering if someone from your team could provide more information on what this
New York Times features Prolific Earth Sciences advisor/board member
Jeff Lowenfels, a valued advisor and member of our Board, was recently featured in the New York Times Sunday Magazine article, He Wrote a gardening column: He ended up documenting climate change. For 45 years Jeff has written a gardening column for the Anchorage Daily News and over this time
microBIOMETER® featured in award-winning science fair project.
Ariel White, a ninth grader at Pretty River Academy in Ontario, Canada, utilized microBIOMETER® in their science fair project titled Post Wildfire Forest Reboot Kit. The project was awarded first place at their high school and chosen to compete at the Simcoe County Regional Science Fair. At the regional fair,
Soil testing update from Brazil
We were excited to hear from our long-time customer Marcelo Chiappetta of Chiappetta Agricultural Company on how his microBIOMETER® testing has been progressing. Below is what he shared with us. “Here in southern Brazil the past 5 years we’ve been working with biological agriculture and changing the way we see and
Improving soil health and carbon content
Modern agriculture practices have led to the systematic degradation of the world’s soil and release of carbon into the environment. The effects are increased need for expensive and environmentally dangerous inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides), the loss of fertile top soil, decrease in water holding capacity of soil and dangerously
Testing bio fertilizers in Canada
Ralph Lett, head of product development at Acterra, was kind enough to share his microBIOMETER® experience with us. We love hearing the different ways our customers are using our soil test! Please contact us if you would like to share your soil testing story. “Thanks for taking an interest in
Soil carbon is a complex creature.
Soil carbon is important to soil health because it enables microbial life. Microbes are able to obtain carbon directly from plant exudates, however, much of their carbon source is from the dead plant and plant derived materials that they digest. We harvest much of the above ground matter from crops, but