The Incredible Benefits of Adding IMO (Indigenous Microorganisms) to Your Garden

IMO is truly like gifting your garden or farm with superpowers. This is especially true when you have less-than-perfect soil conditions. The following photos taken from my own garden are a perfect example of what I mean by this:

What is IMO?

IMO stands for Indigenous Microorganisms, and its purpose is to introduce beneficial, healthy microbes into your soil from local areas where soil is already thriving.

Where to Collect IMO (Indigenous Microorganisms)

If you have a large enough piece of land, or perhaps some extra-nice neighbors with a thriving forested area, these are ideal places to collect your samples. Be sure to choose a biologically active area. Forested areas are generally a safe bet because native plants are already thriving, breaking down, and repeating the process. You will want to collect as many samples as possible from different areas over time to ensure you’re creating as much diversity in your soil as possible.

If you’re like me and trying to revive soil that has been deforested, you can still collect samples and heal your soil biology. I tend to go for hikes in places nearby and set up my collection boxes off the trails, then circle back to scoop them up at a later date.

Tips For Successful IMO Collection

The key to a successful sample collection, especially if you’re branching out to find a good area, is to stay as close to home as possible. The goal is to introduce native microbes that are accustomed to your local elements, diseases, and pests. It wouldn’t make much sense, for example, to travel to another state to collect.

One area where I have done several of my collections is about an hour away, which can present a problem when picking up the collection box. Once the box is opened, the samples are only at their peak for roughly 20 minutes before they start to degrade.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution—just bring along your supplies to harvest and pack them for storage on-site. I go much deeper into the process of collecting, processing, and storing IMO in a separate article.

For now, let’s discuss the benefits of collecting IMO in the first place:

IMO facilitates the growth of mycelium. A healthy mycelium population helps prevent soil erosion and allows plants to absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. The small white strands of mycelium produce enzymes that break down organic material and absorb its nutrients. This breakdown speeds up the decomposing process, which is especially helpful in composting. In forests, this happens naturally, creating indigenous mulch that nourishes the ecosystem. By replicating this process in your compost heap with IMO, you enhance soil health and may even reduce compost odor—sometimes entirely.

It eliminates the need for expensive, artificial fertilizers. Aside from the cost of building your own collection box (or purchasing one if you choose) and the rice, there’s no other expense if you’re doing this on a small scale for your own garden. Even on a larger farm, the cost of collecting IMO is significantly less than the expense of fertilizers, chemicals, machinery, etc., and the time spent doing all of that.

It benefits every type of soil. Have sandy soil? IMO will help create a fungal network within the soil, assisting in retaining water and nutrients, giving better access to your plants’ roots. Got heavy clay? Piece of cake! IMO introduces healthy bacteria that help break down the clay and improve its drainage quality. Either way, you’re promoting a healthier environment for beneficial worms, insects, fungi, and more.

IMO eliminates toxins from the soil. The pervasive use of fossil fuels, pesticides, and herbicides has flooded our soil with dangerous heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, nickel, and tin. These not only affect the plants growing in contaminated soil but also the people dependent on the food it produces. We are what we eat—and what we eat starts with the soil. IMO’s consume these heavy metals, which have carbon-based structures that IMO’s are attracted to. In doing so, they create conditions for other IMO’s to thrive and out-compete pathogenic organisms, reducing plant disease and promoting further fertilization.

I hope these benefits will peak your interest into exploring the path of natural farming. Stay tuned for the how-tos later in the week that will help you craft your perfect collection box, scout out your perfect collection location, and preserve your collection for use.

Happy growing!