The secret to your yard’s success lies below the surface. That’s where invisible life thrives.

Soil is not just dirt. It is a thriving network of living things cooperating together. These little helpers break down organic material, recycle nutrients and make your plants happy. When you understand them, the way that you garden changes.

What’s Going on Down in Your Soil?

Imagine soil as a living organism. Billions of organisms are in every handful. “Each of these bacteria, fungi and other creatures have specific tasks,” she said. Each helps to maintain healthy, fertile soil.

Microorganisms drive soil’s essential functions. They decompose dead plant material. They recycle nutrients plants need. They also naturally inhibit soil-borne diseases.

Soil life is also what keeps soil fertile and plants healthy. The more diverse the microbial community, the better the overall garden. Plants grow stronger. Diseases become less problematic.

The Bacteria You Want on Your Side

Bacteria: The Rapid Recyclers

And the majority of soil bacteria flourish in well-oxygenated places. This oxygen-consuming bacteria use oxygen to decompose carbon compounds. They are workhorses of the decomposition.

Bacteria like to eat the easiest meal. Plant sugars and some other simple compounds vanish rapidly at the hands of bacteria. They reproduce fast when conditions are conducive.

Fungi: The Persistent Performers

Fungi excel at tougher jobs. They metabolize compounds that bacteria have a hard time with. Their activity with enzymes is highly proficient relative to bacteria’s. This makes them the decomposers of choice for recalcitrants.

If you will, bacteria is like the garbage guys of fresh litter. Fungi handle the stubborn stuff. They turn leaves, wood and other tough plant matter into stable soil ingredients.

Fungi are knit below the ground, entangling themselves. These links aid the movement of water and structure of the soil. This is a natural engineering that helps to nourish your Western landscape.

Actinomycetes: The Hidden Workers

These creatures take on the toughest materials. They do this by breaking down cellulose and lignins the tough fibers in wood and plants. Fungi help them with this difficult task.

Actinomycetes remain active throughout decomposition. They are great at turning tough vegetation into plant food your garden can use.

Why Decomposition Happens

Yeast and other microbes require two things from organic matter:

1. They extract energy for growth

2. They plow through carbon to build new cells

This decomposition process is everything in your soil. Without it, dead material accumulates. Without it, nutrients are sentenced to remain locked up.

Growing Soil Biology Naturally

Microbial Growth Fueled by Organic Fertilization

Microbial populations grow explosively when organic matter is added. Studies have found organic fertilization increases soil microbial biomass by 64-76 percent. That’s rapid growth from fairly simple practice changes.

Cultivation on organic farms fundamentally alters the soil’s bacterial community. It increases soil quality and crop yields. Your Western garden mirrors this biological shift.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria deserve special mention. Legumes such as beans and peas grow nodules on their roots to house rhizobia bacteria; the bacteria convert nitrogen from the air into a form that plants can use, and in return they receive sugars and a conducive place to live within the host. This relationship benefits the plant as well as your soil ecosystem.

Less Tillage, Better Microbes

Disturbing soil disrupts its networks of microbes. And so reduced tillage preserves those connections. Studies find this strategy increases microbial biomass by 32 to 41%.

Low soil disturbance retains fungal webs. Bacteria maintain their established communities. Your garden’s biological infrastructure is still there, and it thrives.

In the spring and fall, we have nice times to perform no or minimal disturbance practices. Mulching replaces aggressive tilling. Your landscape gets better without having to constantly disrupt the soil.

More Crops Lead to Wealthier Microbes

The more different kinds of crops you grow, the richer your soil’s microbial community will be.

Different plants support different microorganisms. Rotating crops brings diversity to your garden. This diversity boosts your microbial populations by between 10 percent to 47%, depending on how you approach it.

Try a combination of:

– Vegetables

– Flowers

– Flowering shrubs

All provide the soil with different compounds. Bacteria and fungi are able to adjust for this diversity. Your landscape becomes more resilient.

Perennial plants anchor biological stability. Seasonal crops add variety. Combined, they form the perfect habitat for robust microbial populations.

Composting: Accelerating Natural Processes

Compost concentrates beneficial microbes. Their main goal at Soil Not Dirt Farm is to just get very good bacteria and fungal compost balance. We want to create biodiversity and a nutrient-rich product, which is essential for most crops.

Homegrown: You can Make Everyone Needs Good Compost!

Create a pile with:

– Green materials

– Brown material

Allow bacteria and fungi to do their thing. Then you’ll have rich, dark, crumbly material in a couple of months.

For soil in your yard, work two to four inches of compost into the top six to nine inches of your soil as an amendment. As a mulch, gently break up the top two to three inches of soil and apply a three-inch layer to the surface; keep it an inch or two away from plant stems and tree trunks.

Amending soil is best done in the spring and fall. Summer suits mulching applications. We can see everything in your garden loves the extra and easily absorbs it.

Compost is especially important for shrubs and trees. In the spring and fall, lay a 3″- 4″ layer of compost in an extended band well beyond the drip-line of the canopy. Ensure the compost is at least 6″ away from stems and long trunks to avoid rot. This also helps to toughen up your woody plants in the landscape.

Mineral Fertilizers: The Minor Effects

Synthetic fertilizers have a more moderate impact on the microbial aspect of soil. This mix of chemicals does not cause growth as strongly. Over time, the overuse of chemicals may in fact decrease microbial diversity.

Your Western environment tends to favor natural solutions. Building biology is all about opting for natural routes. The long-term benefit must outweigh short-term gains from chemicals.

What Happens When You Build Soil Biology

Your Soil Transforms Dramatically

Soil quality in topsoil increased by 53 to 103 percent with organic farming. The gains on subsoil were even more dramatic: 25 to 142 percent increases. These are not gradual changes. Your soil fundamentally improves.

Soil structure improves noticeably. Organic amendments bind particles together. Water infiltration improves. Drought stress decreases. Your plants are more tolerant in Western summers.

Beneficial Bacteria Multiply

Bacterial diversity is much higher in organic systems. An increased abundance of:

– Actinobacteria

– Bacteroidetes

– Firmicutes

These bacteria actually benefit your plants.

The soil-beneficial bacteria grow in an organic way. Dynamic predator-prey interactions develop naturally. Chemical fertilizers destroy these good connections.

Your garden’s disease pressure decreases. These friendly microbes naturally exclude pathogens. No synthetic pesticides required if biology does the job.

Nutrient Cycling Improves

Through the preservation process, microorganisms unlock nutrients from organic matter:

– Simple substances are quickly decomposed by bacteria

– Complex substrates are processed by fungi over months

An example for that is the mutualistic interaction between nitrogen fixing bacteria, primarily rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi phosphate solubilizing bacteria with plants which are used by plants to take up nitrogen and phosphorus. These relationships occur as a matter of course in lively biologic soils.

Your plants have access to nutrients more quickly. Yellowing leaves become less common. Growth accelerates. Flowers bloom more abundantly.

Enhanced Benefits of Soil Microbial Biodiversity

Greater microbial diversity contributes to:

– Increased nutrient cycling

– Improved drought resilience

– Strengthened overall soil health

Your Western backdrop gets more self-reliant. Network complexity increases. Functional diversity expands. By making these changes, your soil works harder for you. Less maintenance required. Better results achieved.

Constructing Your Soil Plan

Start With What You Have

Understand your current soil.

1. Test its texture

2. Observe its structure

3. Search for earthworms and other visible life

This baseline makes it possible for you to track progress.

Western soils usually are especially distinctive. Most central Texas soils are naturally alkaline, which is great for western native plants and bad for southeast native acid-loving plants like azaleas and blueberries. Accept your soil type and work with it, not against it.

Native plants naturally support local microbes. They have co-evolved together. Your garden is a microcosm of life on earth.

Select The Practices That Fit Your Particular Situation

Organic fertilization provides the ultimate in microbial stimulation. This suits most Western homeowners.

Conservation tillage suits established historical landscapes. This diversity works for both vegetable gardens and ornamental plantings.

Choose practices you can realistically maintain. It’s better to have one good idea than several abandoned tries. Start small and expand gradually.

Mulching costs less than digging. Timing of spring and fall fit with Western weather. You get a better landscape without all the hard work.

See Your Seasonal Totals

Monitor soil quality indicators:

1. Note when pest pressure decreases

2. Document when plant vigor improves

3. Watch for increased earthworm activity

Changes accumulate slowly at first. By the second year, changes become apparent. On the third year, your soil biology changes completely. Patience pays dividends.

Crop yields tell the story. Flower abundance increases. Vegetable production rises. Now you can see this natural healthy development in the landscape before your eyes.

Keep basic records:

– Note when you added compost

– Record seasonal observations

– Track treatment dates

This information guides future decisions.

The Bigger Picture

Organic farming represents eco-functional intensification. It makes use of natural resources and processes. Agricultural productivity improves. Environmental impacts decrease simultaneously.

The approach is an outgrowth of studies spanning decades. The benefits have been substantiated in long-term field studies. Twenty years of contrasting long-term farming systems alter the coupling between the soil microbiome and its environment. This demonstrates the structural response of the soil microbiome to organic and conventional farming through 2 decades of various agricultural management regimes in long-established field experiments.

Your Western home landscape is part of this demonstrated system. You are not trying to be daring by using unfamiliar tools. You’re applying science-backed practices.

Soil bacteria build a stress legacy under organic farming. This significantly promotes growth of young seedlings in crop plants. Your plants inherit improved conditions. Resilience increases generation to generation.

Your Job in This Living System

Billions of organisms live in every handful of soil. They work tirelessly. All they demand is:

– Some organic matter

– Not too much disturbance

The plants give fertility, structure and disease suppression in return.

Soil biology building means becoming part of this community. You are not controlling nature. You are supporting it. You are helping the processes that built healthy soil for thousands of years.

Your Western scenery comes to life. It works efficiently. It produces abundantly. It supports other life. This is gardening at its optimum.

Start today:

1. Add compost this weekend

2. Plant diversity this season

3. Reduce your tilling next year

The smallest actions how begin a new life.

Your soil, and everything growing in it  will thank you for it.