The beneficial ecosystem beneath our feet, and how Urth products work with it.
The soil food web is the network of organisms living in healthy soil: bacteria and fungi, protozoa, nematodes, micro arthropods, worms, beetles and more.
These natural residents improve soil structure by binding clay, sand, silt, organic matter and roots together and building airways through the soil. Unrestricted movement of air and water keeps plants and the food web itself healthy. Good structure drains soil that’s too wet and holds water when it starts to dry out.
The organisms in this network eat, excrete or become food for something else, creating an efficient natural cycle.
Bacteria and fungi break down plant residues and capture nitrogen, calcium, iron, potassium and phosphorus in their bodies, which bind to soil particles instead of leaching away. Protozoa, nematodes, micro arthropods and earthworms then consume them and release those nutrients in plant-available forms.
Plants, in turn, feed bacteria and fungi through root exudates. Many of these organisms also protect plant roots from pathogens and pests.
Some organisms produce hormones plants need, or break down pollutants in the soil. Others protect plant surfaces by outcompeting disease-causing pests for food, eating them, or simply occupying the surface so pathogens cannot get in. Some alter soil conditions so disease organisms cannot thrive.
Many practices in modern agriculture have damaged these natural processes by destroying beneficial organisms in the soil and on plant surfaces. In trying to kill specific pathogens and pests with toxic chemicals, we also destroyed the protective organisms that kept them in check.
Disease-causing organisms have developed immunities to over-used chemicals and now infect crops to an even greater degree. It’s no surprise that pests and disease have become harder to control after decades of chemical assault on the organisms that once created nature’s balance.
Most Urth products affect several levels of this network; the illustration highlights each product’s main focus.
When activated, Pro Microbes provides over 10 billion soil microbes, the foundation of the soil food web. Pro Minerals increases electrical activity, and Pro Guard Foliar feeds the plant and helps mimic the signals of healthy plants to ward off pests safely and naturally.