Plant and Microbe Relationships

Arman Miller and Nadjia LaFountaine will be discussing Microbe and Plant Relationships.
A few notes from the show:
Here are a couple of past webinars on this topic of nutrient density:
Nutrient Density Meter: • Can a Device Measure t...
Nutrient Density in Grass Fed Meat with Stephan can Vliet: • Nutrient Density in Gr...
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[@gerrywalsh6853]

Thank you so much and the working knowledge you have at your disposal is amazing

[@keithberns910]

You are welcome... thanks for watching!

[@Tyler-gd7yw]

what should i do for potted plants to give them some diversity? its my first year getting into gardening and its been addicting and now i have 200 1-gallon nursery bags im filling with like 30 different cash crops, but they will probably never be transplanted or up-potted unless i sell them which i never really planned on doing but yea now that ive learned a bit about how a variety of plants support each other through the mycorrhizal network, the last thing i want is for them to just sit alone in each bag their whole lifespan ive been thinking since a 1-gallon container really isnt much room to work with, i would just plant smaller plants like clovers, wheatgrass, alfalfa, chives, scallions, dill, maybe some other herbs or flowers? idk, i dont have enough experience with how most plants grow and whether they will block light for say an already 2 or 3 week old tomato plant. also how much would you want to plant? like wheatgrass for example, would a single blade of grass be ideal to provide diversity for the tomato without taking too much resources from the bag for itself? or should i be trying to cover every square inch with anything that will soak sunlight and put out exudates?

[@keithberns910]

Sure would be worth trying some of these things... The principles will work on any scale - just have to have different practices to get them implemented at small scale

[@Tyler-gd7yw]

@@keithberns910 awesome, ill just have to experiment with it and see! does nadjia have any books or any online content out there? she's a wealth of knowledge and would love to learn more from her

[@keithberns910]

@@Tyler-gd7yw She is working on getting some content on-line but I do not think has it ready quite yet

[@user-jg7zu6uu7x]

Добрый день! У меня нет этой статьи и выпуска. С уважением Константин Швайко-Тверской.

[@James-ol2fr]

Is a miniature of Haggia Sophia on his shelf in the background?

[@keithberns910]

It is a Taj Mahal replica given to me by one of our seed suppliers from India that has their operation very close to this part of India

[@James-ol2fr]

@Keith Berns Ah, yes I looked closer and realized that's what it had to be. Similarities in their structure!

[@jakekiddall5108]

I am in Australia, if i have permanent pastures, how best get the microbes in the soil? Given i dont have bare dirt or are seeding covers, each year a small part of farm will be done on rotation. Do i boom spray on? Can microbes be absorbed by plants and transported to the soil?

[@keithberns910]

Good question Jake... It depends on the product you are using but a good compost extract can effectively be used as a foliar application. Spray it on actively growing plants and they will have the ability to absorb and translocate microbes and nutrients into the plant tissue and even into the soil.

[@davidvankainen6711]

Give the ruminents permission to poop in the pasture. Don't overgraze; consider rotational grazing to keep plant growth and thus root exudates at good rates. You already have an underground biome. Keep feeding them with photosynthesis.

[@B01]

To touch on both answers, compost tea would be excellent. Most rates you'll look for 15gallons per acre, give or take 5gal or so. Desperate need would be 20-30gal per acre, or if just missing some biology then 5-10gal is generally sufficient (though microscope work to verify is ideal). Couldn't agree more regarding exudates, keep living roots and you'll keep soil living. Simple formula haha not for nothing, plants actually use 30-50% of it's entire energy, to put these exudates out! Another fun fact, specific to your question, is plants also release exudates to feed microbes from the leaves and stems as well. So by inoculating the plants above ground, this will translate to them being fed above ground, and then continuing below.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Excellent! Is it unreasonable to start promoting longer, more diverse rotations! Instead of a 10 yr CRP contract, offer an option of green manure crop in a 2-3 year fallow rotation? After, plant the crop and rotate the soil builder seeding behind the crop in rotation? Still get good wildlife benefits, and build soil biology.

[@keithberns910]

That would make a lot of sense in the right context and environment... the lack of properly managed grazing on CRP ground is a detriment to long term soil health

[@RubberDuckStyle]

👍👍👍👍👍👊

[@smallfishbigpond5047]

Does super saturated wet soil kill or damage soil organisms? Soil that stays saturated for months at a time?

[@keithberns910]

Yes, that will likely kill all of the aerobic organisms.... they will likely be replaced by anerobic ones which will not be nearly as good for plant growth

[@smallfishbigpond5047]

@@keithberns910 thank you!

[@Nightowl5454]

​@Small Fish Big Pond cereal rye does an awesome job of growing through the winter in many climates and drying out the excess moisture until you're ready to plant in the spring. Planting annual rye, cowpeas, sorghum sudan and many other species as part of a cover crop mixture in a rotation on your fields with no till will help the soil be able to drill roots deep into the soil and drain some of the excess water as well as making it more drought tolerant because of increased soil carbon.

[@smallfishbigpond5047]

@@Nightowl5454 Thanks! I do plant cereal rye and other green covers in my plots.

[@B01]

Purple wood sorrel and white clover are two low growing and very low maintenance covers! Not sure climate wise, but daikons as well!