Soil Food Web Basics for Regenerative Gardens

Soil food webs form the backbone of ecosystems, from supporting crops that nourish humans to wildlife like deer and wild boars – and with hydroponics or other regenerative farming methods you can join this global effort towards more sustainable farming and reduce global warming with every crop you produce.

Plants

Regenerative gardeners take an holistic approach when planting flowers or vegetables, nurturing both the plant itself and the native soil it lives in. By adding compost, mulches, cover crops or other techniques such as feeding with organic matter like compost tea to these soils they improve structure, fertility and water retention while simultaneously increasing absorption capacity for carbon absorption and mitigating climate change.

Our interviewees have seen first-hand the benefits of this approach, such as healthier and more vibrant plants, less water use and reduced pest populations. They’ve witnessed richer soils with spongier textures that feature chocolate-colored aggregates at root levels as well as flourishing microbial communities that support healthy water, nutrient and carbon cycles.

Plants serve as the starting point for an ecosystem known as the soil food web, composed of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and arthropods that feed off of photosynthates (plant sugars) secreted from roots by plants. In exchange, these organisms perform important functions such as fixing atmospheric nitrogen into forms that plants can utilize; breaking down organic matter; aggregating soil particles for root penetration; outcompeting pathogenic microbes; or out-competing pathogenic microbes.

Regenerative gardeners aim to replicate nature by planting in diverse ways and limiting chemical inputs while celebrating biodiversity. They might employ methods like lasagna gardening or hugelkultur for layering organic materials without tilling; planting flowers that attract pollinators and birds; creating habitat for beneficial insects that help control pests; etc.

Soil Microbes

Food webs provide an overview of ecosystem interactions that support ecosystems. They show what organisms eat one another, their relationships and energy transference between organisms. In aquatic environments, food webs start with phytoplankton being consumed by small fish and invertebrates and cascading through larger fish populations and marine mammals, eventually reaching terrestrial environments through larger cacti preserving water for use by insects, birds and mammals – similar processes take place in desert food webs too!

Regenerative gardens aim to nourish soil microbes so they can feed our plants in turn, which is why compost, organic matter and perennial plants (like perennials!) are added. Furthermore, adding products like PhycoTerra which activate dormant microorganisms helps improve crop yields, enhance water retention and enhance nutrient availability – thus creating the ultimate regenerative garden.

Garden soils are home to living organisms of all kinds – earthworms, nematodes and fungi among them – all essential for good soil health. Microbes create chemical compounds and waste products which react with sand, silt, clay and organic matter to form crumbly workable soil. When gardens contain plenty of these ingredients, microbes are better equipped to provide the nutrients plants require for growth; we promote this through loosening up compacted soils so microbes thrive more readily while keeping moistened soil conditions throughout. Regenerative gardens promote healthy soil by loosening up compacted areas so microbes thrive more effectively while keeping the moisture content high;

Soil Animals

The soil food web refers to all of the living organisms present in soil – bacteria, fungi, protozoa, earthworms, springtails, arthropods and nematodes – that live there and provide various services to plants – including scavenging nutrients from the soil; fixing atmospheric nitrogen into plant-usable forms; breaking down organic matter for plant consumption and aggregating particles so roots can easily penetrate them.

Soil animals play an essential role in regenerative gardens as they help control weeds. Regenerative agriculture employs multi species cover and forage crops to enhance soil nutrition, reduce herbicide usage and create competition between weeds. Furthermore, we apply natural minerals and organic fertilizers such as worm casting extract, liquid sea minerals and molasses to boost biology while providing short term sources of carbon for plants and soil alike.

As barren soil cannot photosynthesize, we opt to let grasses/forages/cover crops flourish instead, and allow their trampling over time to release minerals from below ground and reduce chemical herbicides or tillage applications.

Regenerative agriculture / “Regen Ag” pioneers and supporters have discovered that it is possible to move away from practices which damage soil health, helping nature restore life to our land slowly without incurring huge costs as before. Although this journey takes some time, many have experienced not only healthier soil conditions but also greater enjoyment from farming overall.

Water

The soil food web is an intricate system comprised of microorganisms and macro organisms – like those you find in your worm bin and kitchen scraps – all working together to turn death’s remains back into life. For this system to remain balanced, water must be provided for microorganisms as well as plant roots in order to remain watered and function optimally.

An active soil food web supports plant health by naturally protecting it against disease and pests without resorting to toxic chemicals. Nematodes, mites, and springtails prey upon bacteria and fungi responsible for decomposing organic material into forms that plants can take up, while at the same time feeding on living roots to nourishing them and encouraging root growth compounds that will protect plants against attack.

Earthworms, the most abundant soil invertebrate, play an integral part in soil food webs by digesting organic matter and producing humus. Earthworms can be divided into three categories depending on how they consume organic matter: shredders, fungal feeders, and herbivores depending on how they feed; these categories correspond with how organic material decomposes; shredders bite through surface organic material to decrease particle size faster decomposition while fungal feeders consume any decaying matter created by other mechanisms while fungal feeders consume decaying matter produced by shredders or herbivores while fungal feeders feed on decayed matter left enlarged by shredders or herbivores whereas herbivores feed on decaying matter produced by shredders or herbivores while fungal feeders consume any decayed organic matter produced by shredders or herbivores before feeding on it causing it.

Herbivores feed on many different plants, such as crops. This feeding activity stimulates beneficial microorganisms that can attack root pests and fungi. Earthworms promote an abundance of beneficial arthropods by increasing soil aeration and moisture, transporting organic material through tunnels to their tunnels, and transporting the organic matter needed.