Healthy soil is brimming with beneficial microbes, and those microbes are one of the important keys to ensuring the health of your plants. Considering the wealth of benefits, it’s no surprise that it is recommended that you do everything you can to maximize the microbial biomass in your soil. While

Kerry Trammel is the owner of The Releaf Market LLC located in Jamestown, NY. The market has been open for business since March 2019. Kerry has had a license to grow hemp in New York State since September 2019. The Releaf Market uses microBIOMETER® to test their indoor grow as well as their 2.5

With a small R & D grant awarded from the Dutch government, Jo Ploumen of the Netherlands is using microBIOMETER® to determine fungal to bacterial ratios in vermicompost filled in a Johnson-Su Bioreactor versus residence time. Jo also uses microBIOMETER® to measure microbes and F:B ratio in select soil samples as a member of

Microbial biomass (MB) is the best single indicator of soil health (Doran, 2000). Microbes feed and protect plants, build soil structure which prevents erosion, increase water holding capacity, and build soil organic matter (SOM). MB is low in any situation that is harmful to plant growth (and vice versa) and

Ben Rodman is a vermicomposter with a love for all things biology and horticulture. His vermicomposting operation, Lyons Worm Works, has grown from simply diverting and reclaiming their household organic wastes into a small-scale but growing community effort.

Microbes have a mutually beneficial relationship with the cannabis plants in their soil, and supporting microbes is one of the best ways you can support your cannabis. Microbes provide vital nutrients to the plants in their soil, along with protecting them from harmful forces.

Until now tests for microbial biomass were expensive and time consuming. microBIOMETER® costs $13.50 or less and takes 20 minutes with results read by your cell phone. Only microBIOMETER® identified soil health in a U. of Tennessee study of soil health test methods including Cornell, USDA, Alabama and other soil

Marcelo Chiappetta of Chiapeta’s Farm in Brazil shared with us how microBIOMETER® is assisting them with their soil management efforts. Their main agricultural crops are soybeans and corn. Between those crops, as they have a temperate climate during the winter months in southern Brazil, is the possibility of growing a cover crop mixture of

Soil microbes are tightly bound to and often covered in soil making them very hard to evaluate by microscopy. The special magic of microBIOMETER® is the extraction powder and whisking process that separates most of the microbes from the soil. And during the 20 minute settling time allows the soil particles to

AMF penetrate the root and establish little areas in plant root cells where they can exchange nutrients with the plant. AMF improves the nutrients available to the plant by collecting soil minerals such as phosphorous, nitrogen, magnesium and manganese through an extensive network of fine fibers (hyphae) that increase the

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) colonize 80% of crops. Their effect on plant growth can be positive, neutral or negative. It depends on many factors including the crop species and genotype, the species of AMF, and the characteristics of the soil. A low pH favors colonization of the plant by AMF

We are often asked what is a good level of microbial biomass (MB). There is no one answer. The level of MB you can reach is dependent on soil organic matter (SOM.) Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a large part of soil organic matter but SOM is a mixture of