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At Food2Soil, we often discuss the immense benefits of soil microbes. Just as the human gut microbiome requires microbes to be at its optimum, soil also does! Food2Soil Co-founder and dietitian Josie has always been fascinated by how microbes benefit human health and how similar our gut and soil are. Both rely on microbes to increase immunity, build resilience to disease, and improve overall health and vitality.
Introduction: The Might of Microbes
We understand now through science that microbial diversity beneath the earth means above-ground rich and healthy life. If healthy life exists underground, plants and crops are less likely to be bothered by pests above the ground. As researchers have discovered, microbes feed and support the area around the roots of the plant, which is called the rhizosphere. Microbes help break down essential nutrients that plants need to grow and thrive. Plants also emit substances that feed the microbes...and we, in turn, eat the produce! Using biofertiliser can significantly increase the microbial diversity in soil, boosting its ability to support plant life and improve soil quality.
Microbes in Soil and Human Health
Where farming practices of regenerative agriculture are applied, foods not only taste better but also contain a wider variety of microbial life in and around them, to the direct advantage of the human gut. The use of organic fertiliser in these practices enables the soil to have a healthier, more varied microbial population. It's important to add biofertiliser to our gardening repertoire to increase this microbial wealth, which has a direct effect on plant health and, in turn, our health.
Microbes and Mental Health: The Surprising Connection
It doesn't stop there. Not only do microbes help our digestive and physical health, but microbes are now being connected to better emotional and mental health by research. Modern lifestyles and intensive agricultural practices have led to a reduction in our exposure to soils, to the detriment of soils, and hence the gut microbiome, degradation, and at the expense of life on Earth. In order to restore this imbalance, the use of soil ameliorants like biofertiliser can restore the microbial life of our soils to the benefit of plant growth and human health.
Research Highlight: The Benefits of Mycobacterium vaccae
It was back in 1908 that Nobel winner Elie Metchnikoff first observed that people living in a region of Bulgaria where a lot of fermented food was part of the diet lived longer. This spawned the popularity of probiotic foods with healing properties and further investigation into what we eat – and how food, health, and wellness are connected. That microbes like Mycobacterium vaccae are present in soil only strengthens the correlation between good soils and improved mental health. By enriching our soils with products like compost bin and compost accelerator, we can allow for healthier microbial populations, which are indicative of our good health as well.
The Smell of Rain: Petrichor and Microbes
Gardeners, you will love this one.
Do you know microbes are responsible for half of the chemical composition of petrichor, the wonderful soul-lifting aroma soils release after rain on Earth? It is due in part to microbial life in the soil that produces a chemical called geosmin, combined with degraded long chain fatty acids from plant leaves. It takes no decades of science to recognise that the smell of petrichor would generally have a positive impact on the mood of a gardener or farmer – particularly in Australia, with its indication of moisture to dry soils! Adding biochar soil to your garden will keep the soil moist and add structure to the soil, which will go on to enhance the yield of this mood-enhancing aroma.
Gardening and Mental Health: A Natural Prescription
Gardening, walking, or just sitting in a green area brings numerous advantages, such as less stress, anxiety, and unpleasant thoughts, and doctors are now prescribing such activities to help deal with a range of different ailments, along with factors associated with poor health like isolation and loneliness. Including organic fertiliser and compost accelerators in your gardening can further these advantages, benefiting both the microbial life in your soil and your own health.
Developing a Better World with Microbes
While nurturing, handling, and tending soils and eating produce directly from our vegetable garden, gardeners are unintentionally consuming small amounts of microbes and benefiting from the life-supporting benefits (physical and psychological) that they provide. By eating food from fertile soils enriched by soil booster and biofertiliser, we can feel great and, in the process, create a more sustainable future. Healthy soil is actually one of the components of a healthier planet, and so one of Food2Soil's primary missions is to nourish and give life back to the soil.
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Sources:
https://doi.org/10.1002/tre.857
