There are billions, perhaps hundreds of billions of micro-organisms in a single handful of soil.
Micro-organisms are living organisms which are not visible to the naked eye. In gardening, micro-organisms play a very important part in the breakdown of plant and animal residue, convert it into plant nutrients, and then hold those nutrients in place to make them available to plants. This is the process by which humus is made.
In a single handful of typical garden soil, there may be millions of bacteria from thousands of different species, thousands of fungi, protozoa, microscopic nematodes, mites and micro arthropods, all living their lives and enriching the soil.
Several types of fungi include actinomycetes and micorrhizal fungus.
The copyright of the article What are Micro-Organisms? in Desert Gardens is owned by Robert Dailey. Permission to republish What are Micro-Organisms? must be granted by the author in writing.
