Roots and All - Gardening Podcast Episode 226: Soil Bacteria & Rhizophagy
This week, I am delighted to welcome back champion of the soil food web, Jeff Lowenfels. Jeff is the author of the Teaming With series of books which look at what goes on at a micro level in the soil beneath our feet. His new title ‘Teaming with Bacteria’ lifts the lid on new findings about how plants use and interact with bacteria and he’s here to give us the lowdown on this amazing relationship.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Solitary Bees
What We Talk About
Rhizophagy
Bacteria and endophytic bacteria
How bacteria helps make healthy soil
What bacteria does for plants and vice versa
How plants attract bacteria
How plants know when to stop letting in bacteria
Can bacteria still exist happily in the soil without a plant?
Bacteria and monocrops
Bacteria carried in seeds
Bacteria and hydroponics
Simple and practical things we can do to help the plant/bacteria relationship
Bacteria research and the future of gardening and plant growing
About Jeff Lowefels
Jeff Lowenfels is the author several of award-winning books on plants and soil, and he is the longest running garden columnist in North America. Lowenfels is a national lecturer as well as a fellow, hall of fame member, and former president of the Garden Writers of America.
Links
The Teaming with series, written by Jeff Lowenfels
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Mycorrhizal Fungi with Jeff Lowenfels