Adam Jone’s Fig Tree Organic Farm in Queensland, Australia has moved to organic farming. This farm is one of the key producers of foods for the Organic Weekend Sunshine Coast markets, a famous destination for food consumers and tourists. Adam had spent a lot of his time trying a variety
You’ve probably read how important it is for your soil to have a large, diverse microbial population, but how do you know that all those microbes are good? Well to start, a healthy and optimal microbial population in your soil will always have a mixture of good and bad microbes.
This is an abridged version of Dr. Judith Fitzpatrick’s talk at last December’s Acres U.S.A. Eco-Ag conference. Article also featured in the April 2022 issue of Acres U.S.A. magazine. When a grower first goes organic, they often have one field that’s organic and, right next to it, a field that
A teaspoon of healthy soil contains billions of microbes. Microbes feed the plants, strengthen their roots, and increase their yields. A plant sends signals to attract the microbes it needs at any given moment. In chemical-free agriculture, there is a good marriage between plants and microbes. In a complex, self-regulating
An interview with the San Antonio Food Bank who is using microBIOMETER® in their Farm and Garden Program. How are you using microBIOMETER®? We are using microBIOMETER to track the soil health on our farms, gardens and compost. This test allows us to understand if we are providing an environment
Janet Atandi, a nematology PhD student in Kenya, is currently working on an assessment of banana fiber paper on soil health as part of a Wrap and Plant technology study. In brief, she is testing the long-term effect of using modified banana fiber paper to manage plant-parasitic nematodes and its
microBIOMETER® can tell you if you are increasing the nutrient value and disease resistance of your crop. A Rodale study showed greatly increased levels of the vitamins and minerals in sustainably farmed soils as opposed to mineral fertilized crops. And at Rodale, the sustainable practice yields are the same as
University study demonstrates legumes are more efficient at improving soil MBC than grasses Under the direction of Assistant Professor Denise Finney, Kylie Cherneskie, biology student at Ursinus College, conducted an experiment on the impacts of nitrogen fertilizer addition on soil microbial communities. Kylie measured microbial responses using microBIOMETER®. Click here
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
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
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
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