Healthy soil is more than a place to anchor roots — it is a living ecosystem constantly converting organic matter into plant-available nutrition. This activity continues all day and night, and when conditions are right, it supports steady growth, improved resilience, and consistent harvest quality for growers seeking higher outputs and greater efficiency. Mycorrhizal fungi and Enzymes offer powerful ways to supercharge your Living Soil Engine.
Living Soil as a Biological Engine
In living soil, plants and microbes form a partnership in the rhizosphere — the narrow zone around roots. Plants release sugars, amino acids, and organic acids through their roots, providing an energy source for microbes. In return, microbes help make nutrients available, break down organic matter into simpler compounds, and produce metabolites that can support plant health.
Roots absorb nutrients themselves as simple ions and molecules. Much of this nutrient availability comes through microbial activity, which, as a byproduct of producing these more simplistic elemental forms of nutrition, also produces biostimulant compounds such as amino acids that spur plant growth. A biologically active soil blend like GRO-DIRT is designed to provide a ready-made foundation, combining balanced mineral inputs, "clean" composted organic matter, and diverse microbial life with a structure that holds moisture and air in balance.
Mycorrhizae: Extending the Root System
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial fungi that form associations with plant roots. They extend fine hyphae into the soil, increasing the surface area for nutrient and water uptake. AMF are particularly important for accessing less mobile nutrients such as phosphorus, as well as certain micronutrients.
DARK-MATTER is formulated to deliver high-density counts of premium-quality AMF spores and propagules, from four powerful Glomus species, along with selected beneficial auxiliary microbes and a supporting carrier base that aids in retention and colonisation. It is intended for use at transplant and between growth phases, in particular, so the fungi can colonise young roots and integrate with the soil microbiology already present in systems like GRO-DIRT. While we do preinoculate our soils, it's essential to consider that many of these Mycorrhizal species grow only while in symbiosis with active root systems; therefore, top-up inoculations at transplant time are a great way to ensure you have active spores, germinating and growing with your root system continually. This significantly boosts the active counts of Mycorrhizal populations at key points in plant life, against the background inoculations present in our soils as a base.
Mycorrhizal fungi likes space to work with - to put this in engine terms, a large displacement (big block) is often preferred and can offer a good sink for all that boost.
Enzymes: Supporting Nutrient Cycling
Microbes naturally produce enzymes to break down complex organic materials into simpler forms that plants can use. Enzymes such as cellulase, protease, phosphatase, lipase, nitrogenase and chitinase all play a role in this process.
ANTI-MATTER supplies a blend of bioactive enzymes, beneficial microbes, and biostimulants intended to complement this natural breakdown, helping organic inputs become available for plant uptake more efficiently. The actual speed of breakdown will depend on factors such as temperature, moisture, and the type of material present, but the forms chosen are of very high lytic breakdown ability, and aid in direct conversion of Proteins to Amino-Acids, Fats to Fatty-Acids, Cellulose and other fibrous organic matter to Sugars and polysaccharide’s, effectively speeding up the biochemical reactions that microbes are already performing, but in a way that makes their overall job easier - including the job of Mycorrhizal fungi in DARK-MATTER.
To put it in engine terms, ANTI-MATTER > NOS 🧯
How the System Works 24/7
During the day, photosynthesis provides the plant with energy, and some of this energy is directed to the roots as exudates that feed soil microbes. Microbes respond by producing enzymes and processing organic material, releasing nutrients in forms that plants can take up. At night, plants use stored energy for growth and repair, while microbes continue their work in the rhizosphere. This creates a more consistent nutrient environment compared to intermittent high-dose feeding.
Adding Boost to the Living Soil Engine
To supercharge your living soil system:
- Foundation: Start with a biologically active base like GRO-DIRT that contains balanced minerals, composted organics, and beneficial microbiology.
- Network: At transplant, inoculate with a mycorrhizal product such as DARK-MATTER to establish beneficial fungal associations and expand nutrient access.
- Support: Use ANTI-MATTER when applying organic inputs to assist natural breakdown processes and support microbial activity.
Keep soil moisture consistent, avoid prolonged saturation, protect the surface with mulch, and limit deep disturbance to allow microbial and fungal networks to remain intact. Managed this way, the combination of GRO-DIRT, DARK-MATTER, and ANTI-MATTER can work together to maintain a biologically active environment that supports plant nutrition and health throughout the growing cycle.
