Soil micro-life
Who they are and what they do — Dogma approach
Living Soil is not just potting soil with some organic additions. It is an ecosystem inhabited by billions of microorganisms that work in networks, transform organic matter into available nutrients, and protect the plant from pathogens. Understanding them means understanding why the system works.
In the Supersoil / Living Soil system, the plant is not directly fed. It is placed in the conditions to feed itself through the biological mediation of the soil. Micro-life is that mediation.
1. Bacteria — the mineralizers
Bacteria are the most numerous and diverse group within soil micro-life. In one gram of healthy living substrate, there can be hundreds of millions of bacteria belonging to thousands of different species.
What they do in the system
- Mineralization: they break down complex organic matter into mineral forms available to the plant (ammoniacal nitrogen, phosphates, sulfates).
- Nitrogen fixation: some bacterial species (Rhizobium, Azotobacter) capture atmospheric nitrogen and make it available in the soil.
- Decomposition: they transform dead roots, organic residues, and amendments into stable humus.
- Protection: many bacteria produce antibiotic substances that protect the rhizosphere from pathogens.
How Dogma products support bacteria
- Supersoil 4 Components creates the ideal organic environment for bacterial multiplication.
- Pure Molasses provides immediate energy fuel for bacterial colonies.
- Ecobiobooster enhances the metabolic efficiency of the bacterial ecosystem.
2. Fungi — the connection network
Soil fungi represent one of the most fascinating and least visible elements of the Living Soil system. Their total biomass in healthy soil often exceeds that of all other microorganisms combined.
Mycorrhizal fungi — the fundamental symbiosis
Mycorrhizae are fungi that live in direct symbiosis with plant roots. Fungal hyphae penetrate root cells or wrap around them, creating a network that greatly extends the plant’s absorption capacity.
- A mycorrhizal plant has access to a soil volume 10 to 100 times greater than one without fungal symbiosis.
- Mycorrhizae transport water, phosphorus, micronutrients, and chemical signals between the plant and the soil.
- In return, the plant provides the fungus with up to 30% of the carbohydrates produced through photosynthesis.
Trichoderma — the guardians of the rhizosphere
Trichoderma are fungi antagonistic to many soil pathogens (Fusarium, Pythium, root Botrytis). They colonize the rhizosphere and create a biological barrier that significantly reduces pathogen pressure.
How Dogma products support fungi
- Root Connection directly inoculates mycorrhizae and Trichoderma into the rhizosphere at transplant.
- Supersoil 4 Components creates a stable organic matter environment ideal for mycelial development.
- Cover Crop keeps surface fungal biology active through root exudates.
3. Protozoa — the regulators
Protozoa are unicellular predatory organisms: they feed on bacteria and, through predation, regulate bacterial population density and release nutrients immobilized in bacterial biomass.
- This cycle — bacteria mineralizing, protozoa consuming bacteria, nutrients becoming available again — is one of the fundamental mechanisms of Living Soil.
- Without protozoa, a significant portion of nutrients would remain “trapped” in bacterial biomass.
4. Microfauna — the soil engineers
Microfauna refers to small multicellular organisms living in the substrate: mites, springtails, beneficial nematodes, small annelids.
Their role in the system
- They fragment organic matter, making it more accessible to bacteria and fungi.
- They create tunnels and channels in the substrate, improving aeration and drainage.
- They transport fungal spores and bacteria from one area of the substrate to another.
- They regulate populations of pathogenic nematodes through predation.
5. Why micro-life thrives in the Dogma system
A well-built Living Soil system provides micro-life with everything it needs: stable organic matter, proper moisture and oxygenation, absence of chemical disturbances, and habitat diversity.
- Stable organic matter — Supersoil 4 Components.
- Balanced moisture and oxygenation — irrigation management.
- Absence of chemical disturbance — no stress from synthetic salts.
- Habitat diversity — Cover Crop and active roots.
When micro-life is in balance, the plant has access to continuous nutrient availability, impossible to replicate with manual fertilization.
