Organic Methods for Nitrogen Fixation

The Benefits of Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria

Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in our atmosphere and is fundamental to the growth and health of all plant life. On its own as an inert gas, however, nitrogen is useless for agriculture and gardening. It must first undergo nitrogen fixation in order to become ammonia and act as a fertilizer. This process occurs naturally through lighting strikes and in the root systems of legumes. Most plants, however, rely on nitrogen fixing bacteria to provide them with the ammonia that they need to grow.

Bokashi composting remains one of the oldest and effective organic methods for rapid nitrogen fixation. For centuries, Japanese farmers have combined a carbon base with a mixture of microorganisms and covered their food waste to provide a place for nitrogen fixing bacteria to thrive. Whether you use the same methods or modern probiotic methods, you can turn your garden or farm soil into a source of nitrogen-rich compounds proven to increase yield and increase the disease resistance of your crops.

Plants have the same needs that they have had throughout their entire evolution: water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen-rich nutrients. The best methods for providing those nutrients are as old as those same needs; employ nitrogen fixing bacteria for some of the safest, fastest-acting fertilizer available.