The Holganix Blog

What does it take to become a landscape and pest control powerhouse in the Birmingham, Alabama market? For Waynes Environmental Service in Birmingham, Alabama it is a winning mix of legacy, culture and great results.

Waynes Environmental Service has been operating for over 40 years and serves 50,000+ homes and families to meet their landscape and pest control needs. “Apply monthly pest control applications for a local elementary school was our first customer,” mentions Justin Brown, the Regional Lawn Services Leader at Waynes’, “today our business serves 60,000 families and businesses.”

But despite the growth, Waynes’ has always kept its family of team members, customers and community foremost in mind. “For our company, our family of team members and customers means everything, and you can really feel that when you work here.” Waynes also gives back to the community through several charitable organizations.

According to the team… erm - family -, “Charitable work isn’t just something we do. It’s something we GET to do because of YOU.”

And, when it comes to results, “every little thing matters a lot.” For their tree and shrub services, they harness the power of Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub to nourish healthier trees, shrubs and ornamentals.

Results with Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub

According to Justin, “We started using the product in the summer of 2016.” He tested the product on Crape Myrtles suffering from sooty mold and Indian Hawthornes suffering from leaf spot. Because Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub is focused on boosting plant resilience by building healthy soil, the Crape Myrtles and Indian Hawthorns have seen drastically less disease pressure. “That test is what convinced us to implement Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub  throughout our applications,” admits Justin.

Since implementing the product in their tree and shrub program, “we’ve seen a reduction in disease stress and just an overall healthier plant. The growth, vigor and color has all improved and the plants just look fuller.” Justin also notes that if the plants are hit by some sort of stress, he has seen a much faster recovery; “they bounce back faster,” explains Justin.

The fact that Wayne’s uses Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub also helps them differentiate from their competition. “Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub is one of the first things we mention when discussing our tree and shrub applications with customers and prospects. They love the fact that it is not only organic but provides amazing results.”

“Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub has really lived up to our expectations,” says Justin. “It’s created great results, provides a leg up on the competition and the Holganix team has been great to work with.”

Want to learn more about Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub

If you want to learn more about Holganix Bio 800⁺ Tree & Shrub, be sure to watch this 25 minute video featuring an interview between Holganix’s Rob McCoy and our horticulturist, Ed Karpyn.

>>Click here to watch the video

“We are excited to announce that Chris Knapp and Erick Alpizar have been hired to manage the Midwest and Northeast regions respectively,” states Holganix National Sales Manager, Rob McCoy. As Territory Managers, Knapp and Alpizar are tasked with managing client relations in their territories. “Both Chris and Erick are industry veterans with a lot of experience to offer Holganix customers,” notes McCoy.

Chris Knapp - Territory Sales Manager for Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas

Chris Knapp has over 10 years of experience in the landscape industry. He began his career as the project lead for Blue Ribbon Lawn Care, after which he became the Branch Manager for Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Supply. Knapp has a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Oregon. According to Knapp, “I’m looking forward to helping contractors reach their sustainability, agronomic and sales goals through the use of Holganix products.”

Watch our video interview with Chris Knapp below for additional information about Chris’ background and why he is excited about joining team Holganix! If you are reading this blog via email, click here to watch his video.

Erick Alpizar - Territory Sales Manager for the Northeast

Erick Alpizar is now the Territory Manager for the Northeast Region. Alpizar brings over 30 years of experience in the landscape industry and over 10 years of experience in sustainability. He began his career in 1983 as a crew supervisor for The Brickman Group (Now known as Brightview), eventually rising through the ranks to become the Regional Manager for the Delaware Valley Region in 2006. Following his tenure with The Brickman Group, Erick became Director of Operations at Sharp’s Landscaping Inc and Director of Marketing and Sales at Elements Lawn Care. He has an Associates degree in Agriculture Science and Forestry from the Agricultural Technical Institute of Costa Rica.

Watch our video interview with Erick Alpizar below for additional information about Erick’s background and why he is excited about joining team Holganix! If you are reading this blog via email, click here to watch his video. 

Get in Touch!

As Territory Managers, Knapp and Alpizar are responsible for managing and strengthening distributor and end-user relations, educating distributor teams about Holganix products, and growing the business in their respective territories.

If you are a distributor, customer or prospect and would like to get in touch with your new territory managers, see their contact information below!

Chris Knapp

Email: Cknapp@Holganix.com

Erick Alpizar

Email: Ealpizar@Holganix.com

Summer is a tough season for all plants and turf is no exception. During the summer months, the turf is often stressed from heat, insects and diseases. Brown patches appear that look unsightly or if conditions are too hot and dry, the turf may go into dormancy as a protective measure. If one of your lawns is suffering use the below 3.5 signs below to determine if the stress is caused from too much heat or drought.

1. The “Tug” Test 

Even during a drought, established turf will still have extensive root systems. Conduct a “Tug” Test by locating a brown patch and pulling on the turf. If the turf doesn’t pull easily from the soil, chances are good that your turf is browning due to drought. If it does pull easily, insects or disease could be an issue. 

2. The Screwdriver Test

Push a screwdriver into the soil in both a brown and green turf area. If the screwdriver pushes easily in the green lawn but won’t penetrate the brown patch, the soil is dry and heat is the problem. Credit for this test goes to Bayer’s blog! 

3. Random or Uniform

When drought is a culprit, the brown patches appear randomly. If the pattern is more uniform, it could be a different underlying issue.

3.5 Early Signs

Prepare for summer stress by keeping an eye out for wilted grass blades and by checking to see if footprints remain on the grass after it is walked on. 

Heat and drought stress can be a headache for lawn and landscape contractors but once the moisture returns, established turf will recover. Depending on your region, it may take three-to-four weeks for the turf to come out of dormancy and begin to green up again; providing extra water won’t speed up the process. If you are dealing with a new, young lawn, don’t let it go into dormancy. Without the extensive root growth, the lawn may not survive dormancy without injury.

To learn more about dealing with drought and summer related stress on turf, watch our 5.5 minute video below featuring Holganix CEO, Barrett Ersek.

Just because the lawn and landscape world tends to slow down in the summer doesn’t mean your business should. Use the upcoming summer slow season to sell your services to prospects or to upsell current customers. Below are 3.5 tools to help you push lawn and landscape sales during the slow summer months.

Did you know that you can expect 10-to-30% of your current customers to sign up for tree and shrub applications? For those offering or thinking of offering tree and shrub services, this is the eBook for you. In the eBook you’ll learn:

1. How to market your tree and shrub business to current customers… including access to several marketing tools we have developed to help you get started

2. How to price out tree and shrub applications

3. What materials you will need to get started

>>Download Your eBook Here

Marketing your current flower care program (or adding one if it is not a current service) can serve as an excellent source of high margin, additional revenue from current customers. Early summer is a great time to offer any type of plant health care services (whether they be tree and shrub or flower focused) because the rising temperatures combined with rain provides a breeding ground for insects and disease. Download your Flower Marketing Box and rip off an duplicate the following from us: 

1. Content - Steal our flower information copy to include on letters to current customers, your email newsletter and/or blog.

2. Social Media - Grab our visual social media posts to help advertise your flower program to fans and followers on social media networks.

3. Video - Include our video on your website, blog, email newsletter and social media efforts, explaining why flower applications are important to the overall look of a yard.

>>Download Your Marketing Box Here

If your region tends to conduct aeration and overseeding services in the fall, begin marketing that service to current customers and prospects in the late summer. In the Aeration Marketing Box, you will find several tools to help market your aeration program to current homeowners. Plus, aeration is not only a high margin revenue stream for your business, but also by aerating the turf, you provide a better soil ecosystem for the lawn and that means your homeowners will see better results. What’s in the box?

1. Two aeration postcards

2. Letter to send to current customers touting the benefits of including an aeration service

3. Video to upload onto your website and share in your social media efforts discussing aeration applications

4. Education materials on aeration and Holganix products

>>Download Your Aeration Marketing Box Here

3.5 Summer Weather Marketing Box

We made this tool number 3.5 because it’s not a sales tool, rather it’s a customer service tool. That’s because getting your homeowners prepared for summer weather can be tough, especially since homeowners have high expectations for their landscapes and little knowledge on how to properly care for them. Utilize our Summer Weather Marketing Box to help educate summer weather landscape care to your homeowners. What’s in the box?

1. Copy to use in a blog post, email newsletter, website or as a mailer to customers

2. Social Media posts to help spread the word about your summer weather education

>>Download Your Summer Weather Marketing Box

Want to learn more about summer and turf?

Attend our upcoming webinar on the 5 Ways To Prepare Turf For Summer Heat on June 21 at 2:00 PM EDT. One of the most challenging times to maintain a healthy lawn is during the hot summer months. A combination of scorching heat and lack of rainfall coupled with the need to apply product without potentially burning turf generates a tasty headache for all lawn and landscape contractors. Attend our webinar to learn 5 tips to help you prepare for the fight against summer!

One of the most challenging times to maintain a healthy lawn is during the hot summer months. A combination of scorching heat and lack of rainfall coupled with the need to apply product without potentially burning turf, generates a nasty headache for all lawn and landscape contractors. Do you have a fertilizer program in place to deliver the results your homeowners require during the stressful summer months?

Download your region’s Holganix Soil Smart Program! The Holganix Soil Smart Program is turn-key and consists of all the products needed for a fertilization program including fertilizer, herbicides and of course, your Holganix plant probiotics.

>>Skip the rest of the article and download your program here

What is included in your Soil Smart Program during the summer months?

During the summer months, our top two goals are to provide continued green throughout the season, and to assist in summer stress recovery by incorporating (1) Holganix PB1 LTO 4-0-2, (2) Holganix Blue Sky 21-0-0 and (3) Holganix Bio 800 Lawn.

Holganix PB1 LTO 4-0-2 - Holganix PB1 LTO is a targeted plant probiotic that provides a small dose of nutrients (plant food) while also increasing the turf’s ability to uptake nutrients. Watch our 1.5 minute video on Holganix PB1 LTO below for more information. If you are reading this blog vial email, click here for the video.

Holganix Blue Sky 21-0-0 - Holganix Blue Sky is a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer which provides a steady feed of nutrients to the turf throughout the summer while minimizing burn potential. Watch our 45 second video testimonial featuring a contractor using Holganix Blue Sky during the summer months. If you are reading this blog via email. click here for the video. 

Holganix Bio 800⁺ Lawn - Holganix Lawn is an organic plant probiotic that provides an army of over 800 species of soil microbes. During the summer months, Holganix Lawn will be focused on providing stress recovery and fortifying plant strength. Watch our 1.5 minute video for additional information on Holganix Bio 800⁺ products including Holganix Lawn. If you are reading this blog via email, click here for the video.  

Download Your Soil Smart Program to Prepare for Summer

The Soil Smart Programs are:

• Turn-key and include any input needed to create a green, weed free lawn – this means herbicides, fertilizers and your Holganix plant probiotics are all included.
• Designed regionally to fit your soil and turf types.
• Reviewed by Holganix PhD agronomists.
• Provides both a quick plant response and long-term plant resilience.
• Reduces the need for chemicals so contractors are using a sustainable program.

What does your region’s Soil Smart Program look like? Click the button below to access your Soil Smart Program and start planning out your summer applications.

Lawn and landscape company owners are raving about their experience with Holganix Bio 800⁺ products. Designed to build plant strength and reduce the need for chemical inputs, Holganix Bio 800⁺ products are teeming with over 800 species of soil microbes, among other ingredients.

Over the last month, we’ve conducted several video interviews with Holganix customers to capture their thoughts on the results they are seeing in the field. Read (and watch) their interviews below as they discuss how they use three core Holganix Bio 800⁺ products: Holganix Lawn, Holganix Bloom and Holganix Tree & Shrub. If you are reading this video via email, click here to access the videos.

New South Lawn & Landscape - Charlotte, NC 

“I’ve been using Holganix Lawn for three seasons now,” says Will Dixon from New South Lawn and Landscape in Charlotte, NC. According to Will, the biggest result he has seen is reductions in chemical inputs. “We’ve reduced down to 60%,” states Will. “We’ve had a great experience with [Holganix Lawn].”

Holganix Lawn is often used by contractors as part of a Soil Smart fertilizer program, designed to reduce the use of chemicals and provide predictable green, weed-free results. Holganix Lawn increases rooting, reduces the need for chemical inputs like fertilizer and herbicides and increases plant resilience during stressful conditions. Holganix Lawn is part of the Bio 800⁺ family of products.

Download your region’s Soil Smart Program, containing Holganix Lawn, here.

Summers Maintenance - Augusta, GA

Summers Maintenance has been using Holganix Bloom for two years and reports that their flowers are the “biggest and most robust they have ever seen”. According to owner Kevin Summers, Bloom is increasing plant strength and that has led to lower pest pressure. “The healthier the plant, the less the pest wants to mess with it,” explains Kevin. “Truly, if you want to give your flowers a giant boom, I would definitely use [Holganix Bloom].”

Holganix Bloom is part of the Bio 800⁺ family of products and is designed to build stronger, more colorful flowers. Contractors often use Holganix Bloom when installing new plant material to help the plant take root and thrive in its new habitat.

SummYou can learn more about Holganix Bloom here.

Matthew Ward Landscapes - Summerville, SC 

According to Adam from Matthew Ward Landscapes, “we love using Holganix Tree & Shrub because of what it does to the soil.”  According to Adam, Summerville, South Carolina has poor clay soils and by adding the biology from Holganix Tree & Shrub to the soils, he is able to improve those conditions which improves plant performance.

Holganix Tree & Shrub is part of the Bio 800⁺ family of products and is designed to improve vigor in ornamentals, reduce the need for chemical inputs and increase the plant’s resilience to stressful conditions. Holganix Tree & Shrub is often used during installs and during maintenance applications.

You can learn more about Holganix Tree and Shrub here.

Why is social media so important for lawn care companies? Social media is a free tool your company can use to promote brand awareness, engage with customers through customer service, and can help generate new customer leads! Continue reading to see how you can maximize Facebook and other social media tools to help grow your company.

Ensuring your Facebook Page is set up properly is imperative to promote engagement. Before you even begin, make sure you are creating a “Page” as opposed to an “Account”. Facebook accounts are used by individuals while Facebook Pages are used by companies. Facebook may delete your account if you classify yourself incorrectly.

As you start to build out your page, consider these four items:

• Your Profile Picture - This is the first thing someone will notice about your Facebook Page and should be a recognizable image such as your logo. Your Profile Picture should also be 180 x 180 pixels.
• Your Cover Photo - This space should be used to show off your company’s identity in a visually appealing yet simple way. Your Cover Photo should be
• The “About Us” - This section is where you can help your page stand out from your competition and make your company shine. Be sure to fill out as much information in the “About us” as possible so customers can get a feel of your brand.
  
• The Call To Action - This is a button located in the right hand corner, beneath your cover photo. Consider making your call to action button a “Contact us” or “Call us” that allows prospects to get in touch with you directly when they have questions.  
  
  

Here are two examples of companies that have set up their Facebook Page using the above checklist.

Your company already uses marketing to gain new customers and promote your brand, don’t let these efforts go to waste. Add social media buttons to marketing pieces including email, newsletters, and print material. Also make sure you have your social media buttons linked to your website so customers can easily click to see and read more about your company.

With small or large companies, we can often find ourselves becoming “too busy” to get bogged down by the tedious work of social media. However there are ways to make sure that even in the busiest of months, you can still be posting effortlessly.

One way to do this is to schedule posts ahead of time. If you know there is a certain day or week that tends to get overwhelming, then schedule a post to get automatically sent out. You can schedule these posts weeks before, allowing you to be fresh and ready for the busiest of days!

Additionally, you can plan for success with a content calendar. A social media content calendar allows you to organize your social media activities far in advance in order to make your social media more manageable. You can download a customizable Social Media Content Calendar by Hubspot using the below link:

>>Download the the Social Media Content Calendar

4. Always Use Include Visuals in Posts

According to Hubspot, visual posts receive 2.3 times more engagement than posts without visuals and visuals account for 87% of total interactions. Whenever you are posting to your Facebook Page ensure you are incorporating an interesting visual or a video. See below for two free, easy ways to make professional grade graphics without paying for a graphic designer!

Free resources for visual posts:

• Pixabay: Free stock photo website.
• Canva: Allows you to create a visually appealing post without the help of a graphic designer. They have numerous templates to use for Twitter, Facebook and more!

5. Create Attention-Grabbing Content

Posts should only include a 1 to 3 sentence summary about the article or piece of content you are linking back to. It should also always include a visual! When using social media, your audience is scrolling through news quickly so don’t get too wordy or they may bypass your posts. Keep posts short, simple and attention-grabbing!

When you are thinking about what content you should be posting use the “rule of thirds” to help guide you!

• Education Pieces Authored By You - ⅓ of your post should be educational pieces authored by your company. For example, you may post about pests that are destroying certain plants, then link this back to a product or service you offer to combat it!
• Brag About You - ⅓ of post should be about you. This is where you can get into sales in a tasteful way! Consider posting a testimonial or a promo for this section.
• Educational Pieces By A Third Party - ⅓ of posts should be educational content by a third party.  For example you might post an alert by your State extension on a specific weed or pest that’s prevalent in your region.

6. Free Resources to Steal Today

As you begin or continue to use Facebook in your marketing, be sure you are taking advantage of these free resources.

• Social Media Content Calendar: Helps you plan out your posts.
• Canva: Creates graphics without the help of a graphic designer.
• Pixabay: Download free stock photos.
• Holganix Launch Box: This contains a bunch of already created articles, social media posts and graphics that are designed for you to use to send to your homeowners!
• The Webinar recording: If this article appealed to you, watch our webinar recording below on the subject for additional information. Be sure to set aside 17-minutes to watch the recording. If you are viewing this blog via email, click here to access the video. 

Organic isn't a fad - in fact, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA) 82% of U.S. households buy organic with millennials representing the largest group of organic buyers in America. That many not seem like a large number to you, but consider that today 25% of millennials have families and that in 10-to-15 years, that number is expected to increase to 80%.

Can you consider how these new families will affect the consumer market - whether it's groceries, cleaning products or lawn care, buying organic matters to the millennial consumer.

You can read the rest of our blog to learn more, or watch the webinar recording below for the story. If you are reading this blog via email, click here to access the webinar recording.

Today’s Disruptive Economy

Regardless of the industry, today’s economies are being disrupted. Consider how Tesla is disrupting the traditional auto-industry. Ten years ago, few took Tesla as a car manufacturing company seriously. Compare the views of Tesla from ten-years ago to today and you get a whole different story. In fact, Tesla’s market valuation exceeded century-old titan, General Motors in 2017 by $1Million Dollars. Earlier this year, reports stated that the Tesla Model S outsold the luxury flagships of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in Europe for the first time.

In the green industry, robots are starting to be disruptive and have the potential to displace labor. Last year, the manufacturers of Roomba announced a solar-powered, weed eating machine dubbed the “Tertill” for presale on Kickstarter. While the first or second model of the Tertill may not function 100%, in a few years it’s our firm belief that devices like the Tertill will be commonplace.

It’s important to pay attention to innovation in and outside of our industry in order to outcompete the competition.

The “Whole Foods” Customer

Additional innovation is happening in our industry when it comes to the technologies we have to create a beautiful, green, weed-free lawn. Biologicals like Holganix Bio 800⁺ products (Holganix Lawn, Tree & Shrub, Bloom, Agriculture and Golf) are creating disruption by offering a better way to reach results using fewer chemicals. That innovation is being disruptive because there is a need to not only be more sustainable for the environment but because the customer is demanding it.

That customer could be called the Millennial but for this presentation we are widening that demographic to include anyone who would potentially shop at a "Whole Foods"-type of grocery store. These consumers are demanding that today’s businesses use sustainable products.

According to a report by Satista, the organic product industry in the U.S. is worth 26.7 billion dollars. This translates to us in lawn care as well. The millennials are going to be our consumers and if we take a look at the trends of this group of people it is going more and more organic. 82% of U.S. households are buying organic items already and 30% of those purchasing organic do so to avoid fertilizers and pesticides. Don’t you think that diversion from fertilizers and pesticides can translate to their lawn care services as well?

Get Credit For What You Do

One way to combat the disruptive economy is through your company’s “why.”  A customer is more likely to use your product if you have a “remarkable message” on why you do what you do. If you are using Holganix products, it’s important to tell your customers and prospects that you are doing something different and get credit for the steps you are taking to meet customer demand and do good for their plants, family and the environment.

Let’s look at a few examples that are currently using the “Holganix message” of using environmentally friendly lawn care products to build a green, weed-free lawn.

UltraGreen Lawn Care

UltraGreen Lawn Care allows the “Holganix message” to do their marketing for them! In any marketing or sales piece they create, UltraGreen, ensure they include the organic, environmental message to sell their product. Because they took advantage of the Holganix message, UltraGreen grew from 0 to 7,000 customers in just four years and saw a 15-to-20% savings on material costs! 

PureGreen

According to PureGreen Lawn Care owner, Nathan Brandon, “over the last ten years, I have really noticed that more and more of my customers are requesting organic services.” He latched onto this trend and changed his messaging to focus on communicating how PureGreen is responsible for the environment and how their customers play an important role in that mission.

According to Rob McCoy, Holganix sales manager, “This is giving people a purpose beyond what their lawn care choice is, and this message has really helped sell the product!”

Tomlinson Bomberger: Lawn Care Landscape & Pest Control

When Tomlinson Bomberger decided to start using Holganix products they designed the “Soil Smart Lawn Care Program”. Each time they get a new customer or lead they offered the customer the ability to either choose the “Traditional” lawn care program or the “Soil Smart” lawn care program. The Soil Smart program was roughly 20% more expensive than their standard program but incorporated Holganix products and thereby offered a more environmentally friendly solution. According to Tomlinson Bomberger, the Soil Smart lawn care program is their fastest growing program yet!

Using Holganix Products and Want to Get Credit For What You Do?

We’ve created multiple marketing tools to help you better communicate why your lawn care program is better than the competition because you use Holganix. The Holganix Launch Box is our most popular tool - it contains a multitude of both print and digital marketing pieces to help you grow your business. Download your Holganix Launch Box by clicking on the button below.

What is Holganix?

At Holganix we want to revolutionize the way the world grows by focusing on biology as the solution to soil and plant health. We have noticed that lawn care needs a good foundation in the soil and roots to really focus on plant health and to produce a happy customer. That is why our line of products uses living biology to nurture soils and ultimately create a stronger and healthier looking lawn!

Want to learn more? Click the button below to schedule an appointment with your Holganix representative.

With the lawn care season just around the corner, UltraGreen Lawn Care based out of Little Rock, Arkansas and Michael Hatcher & Associates based out of Olive Branch, Mississippi are gearing and making sure that Holganix products are part of their program. Watch their videos below to learn why they consider Holganix product to be such an influential piece of their lawn care fertilization program. If you are reading this blog via email, click here to have access to the videos.

UltraGreen Lawn Care

Co-Founders Caleb Ault and Josh Bryan started UltraGreen Lawn Care in 2012 after working for a national lawn care company in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. Three years ago, they brought on Holganix products to help them achieve their agronomic goals, but they also have utilized the products as a marketing and sales tool to better communicate what makes UltraGreen unique. Watch the video below for their full story.

Michael Hatcher & Associates

Michael Hatcher & Associates is a full lawn and landscape service company based out of the Memphis, Tennessee area. They’ve been using Holganix Bio 800⁺ during plant and sod installations in addition to using it in their lawn fertilization program. Watch their video below to hear a snippet from Joey at Michael Hatcher & Associates.

Download Your Soil Smart Program and Begin Using Holganix Products

Interested in using Holganix products but not sure how to fit them into a lawn fertilization program? Download a copy of your region’s Soil Smart Program - a turnkey lawn fertilization program containing all the inputs needed in order to achieve a green, weed-free lawn.

We are all feeling the pressure to do more with less. Each state is talking about restricting fertilizer and phosphorus, and although these things are great for the environment it can also make it difficult to reach our needs when it comes to plant growth. What can we do to help both our plants and ourselves?

Read our blog article below for information about (1) how much fertilizer actually goes to the plant and (2) the role microbes play in fertilizer. If you’d rather dig deeper into this topic, skip the text and watch our webinar featuring Holganix President of Agriculture, David Stark Ph.D. If you're reading this blog via email, click here to watch the video.

How much fertilizer actually goes to the plant?

Did you know that only 40 to 60% of the fertilizer we apply actually goes to the plant, the remaining is lost to run off into our waterways, volatilization to the air or is tied up in the soil. This is why soil health is such an imperative piece of plant health. Functional soil is a soil embedded with organic matter and soil microbes that work together to hold onto nutrients in the soil and convert nutrients locked in the soil.

Beneficial soil microbes form symbiotic relationships with the plant. In fact, the plant will exert as much as 30% of its energy to the root zone to make food for microbes. In return those microbes not only protect the plant from stress, but also feed the plant by converting and holding nutrients in the soil.

What are the different types of soil microbes?

There are five different types of soil microbes: bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. Each of these microbe types has a different job to boost soil and plant health.

Bacteria

Bacteria is the crucial workforce of soils. They are the final stage of breaking down nutrients and releasing them to the root zone for the plant. In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization once said “Bacteria may well be the most valuable of life forms in the soil.”

Actinomycetes

Actinomycetes were once classified as fungi, and act similarly in the soil. However, some actinomycetes are predators and will harm the plant while others living in the soil can act as antibiotics for the plant.

Fungi

Like bacteria, fungi also lives in the rootzone and helps make nutrients available to plants. For example, Mycorrhizae is a fungi that facilitate water and nutrient uptake by the roots and plants to provide sugars, amino acids and other nutrients.

Protozoa

Protozoa are larger microbes that love to consume and be surrounded by bacteria. In fact, nutrients that are eaten by bacteria are released when protozoa in turn eat the bacteria.

Nematodes

Nematodes are microscopic worms that live around or inside the plant. Some nematodes are predators while others are beneficial, eating pathogenic nematodes and secreting nutrients to the plant.

Want to keep digging into soil science?

Within the natural world there exists a complex balance among soil microbes known as the soil food web. Plants, animals and microbes are all instruments in an orchestra; each plays a crucial part in the natural symphony of life. If even one of the players is out of tune, the whole soil food web suffers. However, when everything is in order, the results are beautiful.

Download our Digging into Soil Science ebook to explore: