The Legacy of Beneficial Bacteria
How do bacteria help plants grow?
Beneficial bacteria. Even the name sounds healthy. Fortunately, the number of beneficial bacteria on our planet far outweighs the range of possibly detrimental bacteria, which means there’s more opportunities for plant life to benefit from bacteria than to suffer from it. The key is learning how to harness the power of beneficial bacteria to help plants grow bigger, better, and stronger.
When beneficial bacteria finds its way into a plant’s rhizosphere, it helps to produce a large supply of enzymes. These enzymes are used to build up and break down all kinds of organic matter which, in turn, enriches the soil. The result is a positive combination of larger yields, faster growth rates, and plants that simply look healthier. So, what’s the relationship between beneficial bacteria and bio-fertilizers, like Amplify? To understand this, it’s necessary to take a quick look at the history of beneficial bacteria.
The history of beneficial bacteria
To begin with, it’s important to clarify that beneficial bacteria is not a modern gardening discovery. In fact, the earliest use of beneficial bacteria for cultivation purposes is documented in written records related to composting, published around 4000 years ago. These records, dating back to around 2300 B.C., are proof that gardening with compost is one of our earliest recorded agricultural practices.
Modern science builds on ancient agriculture
For the past 4000 years, scientists have explored and noted the positive effects of compost on plants. Countless studies have shown how this organic agricultural practice encourages bacteria to thrive. The living microorganisms, that grow as a result of composting, enrich a plant’s environment so that it grows bigger, faster, and more beautifully. But, over the years, the problems with composting have become quite clear.
To begin with, composting is highly demanding. It requires dedication, space, and gardening know-how. But more importantly, it’s an ancient agricultural practice that offers no organism guarantees. This is because it can be very difficult to control the bacteria that grows in a compost heap. If you can’t control the specific strains of bacteria that grow, then you can’t be sure it’s the kind of bacteria you want coming into contact with your plants’ roots. There’s no way of knowing if your compost is full of the most aggressive, powerhouse, collaborative collection of beneficial bacteria or a combination of possibly detrimental bacteria that might actually end up damaging your plant over time.
The “no guarantee” character of the traditional compost is what drove science to develop a more accurate solution. Science created the biofertilizer.
Science’s answer to composting
The foundation on which biofertilizers are developed is a specialized blend of beneficial microorganisms, supported by a food source and a number of other goodies, that enrich your plants’ rhizospheres with healthy microbial species. Just like composting, biofertilizers provide the beneficial bacteria and some organic food sources (you mix in your custom blend) to naturally produce all of your plant’s nutritional needs, but they do so in a way that is so much more accurate and efficient. Essentially, biofertilizers are a highly evolved version of the original organic compost, and one which really allows beneficial bacteria to do its magic.
The science that goes into Amplify
Amplify is a shelf-stable, speciality ferment, consisting of a full spectrum of microbes. This means that there’s a diverse colony of beneficial bacteria species, laying dormant with just enough food for activation, within each container of Amplify. It’s the science that goes into the creation of this particular biofertilizer that makes it so unique. We begin by collecting, growing, and harvesting beneficial bacteria in a controlled lab environment, under careful conditions, and with proper direction and food. From here, the broad array of healthy microbials in each container provides the micro-organic diversity that supports plants in an improved full-uptake of all their essential nutrients (macro-micro nutrient utilization): mainly nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), as well as all other secondary nutrients.
The most significant advantage of this refined, artisanal ferment, is the convenience it affords, made possible by the precision of today’s science. The dormant nature of the microbes is what keeps Amplify shelf-stable, while the diverse nature of the bacteria powerhouse is what makes it a dynamic, healthy option for your plants’ rhizospheres.
So, while there’s nothing new about the healthy nature of beneficial bacteria, there’s something quite exciting about using scientific advancement to optimize the natural habitat of the plants you want to grow. If you have any questions about the way in which Amplify is developed, feel free to contact us at any time.
