The Bay Area is one of the most environmentally conscious regions in the United States. More and more residential home owners, as well as commercial properties are looking to reduce their ecological footprint as a way to promote sustainability, conserve resources, and save money. A sustainable landscape is designed to be attractive and in balance with the local climate and environment and requires minimal resource inputs. Part of the concept is to reduce waste and prevent air

If you think mycorrhizal fungal spores are small, let’s turn our microscope to 100 times magnification to see our next players. As the title eludes to, PGPRs are microscopic unicellular bacteria that colonize roots and stimulate plant growth. These are nitrogen-fixing bacteria that convert soil-bound elemental nutrients into a form that plants can use. Consider them the key-holder to your bank safe. When you need to pull money out of your safe, you have to call upon a banker

Pure mycorrhizal inoculum cultured by RTI. This test sample contains several thousand propagules per gram. Photo courtesy of Fernando Morell (Mycorrhizal Production, Research and Development Manager; Reforestation Technologies International) Ahhh, the fungus among us…. Mycorrhizal spores and hyphae are typically microscopic and invisible by the naked eye, however, if unwound and stretched out, a single cubic centimeter of hyphae may exceed the length of a football field! It i

The population of microbes that dwell in soils can be likened to a social media community like, say for instance, Facebook. You have your “friends.” You “un-friend” people or they “un-friend” you for one reason or another. You may even get booted by the network itself if you commit an atrocious enough transgression. “Invites” are sent out to be a part of a certain group or attend a specific event. You may be “following” certain people without actually interacting with them or

It was actually the first use of microbes, mostly yeasts and fungi that changed the destiny of mankind from being small tribes of hunters and gatherers that lived in caves and practiced spear-throwing, to a society of agrarian communities that realized they could grow crops and then process them to become the major components of their diet. Societies learned how to care for grains, other cereals, vines, and fruit trees through to maturity, then harvest and store what they rea

“We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” -Leonardo da Vinci “To understand the birds, you must first understand the plants. To understand the plants, you must first understand the soil.” -William H. Durry For centuries and centuries, farming was a dismal but necessary way of life for over 90% of the world’s population. Those that didn’t farm generally collected rent on the land of those did, rode horses, drank imported wines, or bec

If you think the roads are crowded on the 4th of July and the malls are unavoidable on Black Friday, think about the number of microbes present in a teaspoon of healthy soil. The number would be about 60 billion, give or take. That is almost ten single organisms for every human currently on this earth. Healthy soils, as in the words of Jeff Lowenfels, are “Teaming with Microbes.” However the key operative word is healthy. Healthy soils require certain components and capaciti

Create a more natural and durable landscape, reduce your Carbon Footprint and maintenance costs, by developing your own "Biological Orchestra." Imagine a landscape that naturally manages and sustains itself. Such landscapes are now possible using the power of the “Biological Orchestra” – a combination of microorganisms that help plants establish better, thrive in low water conditions, and remain durable and attractive longer with less maintenance. In establishing and maintain