The Uses of Bacteria in a Garden
- Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms. A single gram of garden soil contains billions of them, while an acre may contain a ton or more. Bacteria reuse the basic elements necessary to the growth of all living things. Some bacteria perform other functions, including producing the nitrogen crucial to plant growth and development. Called nitrogen-fixing bacteria, they absorb nitrogen from decayed vegetation and change it into a form that living plants use. According to the University of Illinois Extension, bacteria are one of the four major components necessary for composting, a process that turns excess garden waste into fertilizer.
- Vegetation needs water and oxygen to break down, but bacteria actually do all the work by eating through the organic materials. This goes on in nature, as bacteria work on woodland debris or dying prairie grasses, as well garden soil as plants go through their lifecycles. It is recycling at its best as the tiny organisms change decaying organic matter into materials used by a new generation of plants.
- Some bacteria play an important role in how water moves through the soil, contributing to the absorption process. These bacteria create substances that join soil particles together in groups, which allow water to move more freely between them. This process benefits dense clay-based garden soil by improving its drainage, as many garden plants do poorly in waterlogged soil. Bacteria are also instrumental in preparing an area for the growth of other plants by processing enough organic matter for nitrogen production in new soil.
- While bacteria are present in all soil, composting is the best way to maximize their garden presence. During the composting process, bacteria generate heat, which further breaks down materials. Adding soil or finished compost to the pile adds more bacteria to the mix, speeding up the process. When compost is worked into the garden, the bacteria continue decomposing all organic matter contact. Certain types of decomposing bacteria also break down pesticides or pollutants found in garden soil and store nutrients lacking in the soil's rooting zone.