Effective microorganisms (short: EM) are a mixture of different yeast fungi and bacteria. They should have a positive effect on the soil and its composition, primarily in agriculture and in the home garden. The following article shows how and whether EM actually works and how you use the means.

Effective microorganisms are healthy for the soil, for the animals living in it and for all plants

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. What are effective microorganisms?
  3. discovery and development
  4. mode of action
  5. Application in the garden
  6. Do Effective Microorganisms Really Work?
  7. Manufacturing and Products
  8. frequently asked Questions
  9. What is Terra Preta and how can you make it yourself?
  10. What is Bokashi and is it actually more nutrient dense than regular compost?
  11. When and how much solution should you apply?
  12. Do effective microorganisms really help against snails?

    13. the essentials in brief

    • Effective microorganisms (abbreviated EM) are a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic yeast fungi, lactic acid bacteria and bacterial cultures.
    • EM have several benefits: they improve the soil, strengthen plants, increase crop yields and speed up composting.
    • Effective microorganisms should not only be able to be used to improve the soil, but also to improve the health of humans and animals - but this extensive effect should be viewed critically.

    What are effective microorganisms?

    The term "Effective Microorganisms" (abbreviated EM) stands for a mixture of different microorganisms with different properties. They should complement each other and feed on the metabolic products of the other microbes. The compositions of the microbial solutions differ from the various manufacturers, whereby the exact ingredients are kept secret and therefore cannot be traced.

    Basically, EM solutions contain yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and bacterial cultures that are capable of photosynthesis:

    • yeast fungi: feed primarily on sugars and other carbohydrates and oxygen, releasing antioxidants, vitamins, enzymes and acids
    • lactic acid bacteria: These bacteria are responsible for the fermentation processes typical of EM, converting starches and sugars into lactic and acetic acids.
    • photosynthetic bacteria: These bacteria provide energy and also break down toxins such as dioxin and nitrate.

    The microbes used are both aerobic (i.e. consume oxygen) and anaerobic (i.e. consume nitrogen) and thus complement each other. Eventually, the aerobic microbes produce nitrogen and the anaerobic microbes produce oxygen, so both species feed on each other.

    What are Effective Microorganisms good for?

    Effective microorganisms are supplied in a nutrient solution and are diluted with water and applied directly to the plants or garden soil. You should

    • improve the soil
    • improve plant health
    • ensure higher crop yields
    • accelerate the decomposition process during composting

    Whether the funds actually keep their full-bodied promises according to the manufacturers is another story. Some gardeners report positive effects, while others have not noticed any effects at all.

    discovery and development

    The system of effective microorganisms was developed in the 1980s by the Japanese horticulture professor Teruo Higa, whose theses can be read in the following books he wrote:

    • A revolution to save the earth. (first published in German in 1993)
    • The recovered future. (published in German in 2002)
    • Effective Microorganisms (EM). (published in German in 2005)

    The system arose from intensive research to improve the soil quality, which was to be brought back into a natural balance with the help of natural microorganisms. Today, EM is an entire branch of the economy, which is also intensively promoted outside of Japan and is mainly used in organic gardening.

    Healthy plants can only grow on healthy soil.

    mode of action

    Three different groups of microbes can be found in the soil

    Behind EM there is a whole theoretical framework of ideas, which makes the following main statement: The addition of Effective Microorganisms promotes the soil-improving activities of all microorganisms. According to the theory, the microbes can also be divided into three groups:

    • building microbes: are contained in EM solutions, are intended to promote soil life and thus ensure better soil quality
    • putrefactive and disease-causing microbes: harm the soil quality as they promote rotting processes
    • opportunistic microbes: Represents the vast majority of all soil microorganisms. Are basically neutral and support either the anabolic or putrefactive microorganisms, depending on which group is more active at the time.

    The background to this teaching is that the soil is exhausted by (conventional) agriculture and the use of pesticides and fertilizers and, from a microbial point of view, is practically "dead". The soil quality can only be significantly improved through revitalization, which is why constructive and thus life-promoting mixtures of microorganisms should be introduced.

    These do not work alone, but also encourage the neutral "follower" microorganisms to restore the soil balance and create a healthy soil environment. In addition, the harmful putrefactive bacteria are combated. As a result, the natural cycles run again and plants can grow healthily without artificial fertilizers and pesticides.

    This article shows how effective microorganisms can be used:

    youtube

    Application in the garden

    Effective microorganisms can be used not only for soil improvement, but also in the home and to support healing processes in humans and animals. This wide range of possible applications alone should make you suspicious, because no agent - especially none that was developed primarily for soil improvement - can be used as a panacea. What is positive for soil life does not necessarily have to be found in cleaning agents or on human skin.

    It is true that, for example, the skin and intestines are colonized by a large number of microorganisms that do valuable work there. However, they are not the same types of microbes, as each form performs practically different tasks. For this reason, in this section we limit ourselves to the supposedly positive effects of EM on the garden:

    EM products, which are available either as a master solution or as a finished product, are used diluted or undiluted. The solutions should be applied weekly during the vegetation period between spring and late autumn. To do this, the user should proceed as follows:

    1. Pour solution into a watering can.
    2. Top up solution with water.
    3. The exact mixing ratio depends on the specific product.
    4. Water plants and soil.

    EM not only improves the soil and strengthens the plants so that fertilizers and pesticides become superfluous, they also combat acute plant diseases. For this purpose, the user should apply the solution in a higher concentration directly to the affected plants.

    Effective microorganisms are usually diluted, but sometimes they are used pure

    The effective microorganisms strengthen the immune system of the plants and also prevent the development of moulds. They can be used not only in the garden, but also on lawns, in the greenhouse and even on indoor plants. The positive effects also include the fact that beneficial insects such as bees, bumblebees, butterflies and ladybugs are also encouraged.

    digression

    Natural crop protection from the edge of the field

    Instead of obscure microbial mixtures, you can also rely on inexpensive and easy-to-make plant manure. These provide your plants with valuable nutrients and actually strengthen their defenses - and this has even been scientifically proven and without you having to open your wallet. Supposed weeds such as tansy, wormwood, horsetail and stinging nettles are particularly effective.

    All you have to do is do the following:

    1. Gather a kilogram of fresh plant material.
    2. Chop this up carefully.
    3. Put it in a plastic bucket.
    4. Fill it up with ten liters of water.
    5. Add a handful of bedrock meal.
    6. Cover the mixture with gauze or jute.
    7. Put the container in a dark and warm place.
    8. Stir the mixture daily.

    Here, too, an effective brew is created through fermentation, which is diluted in a ratio of 1:10 and applied to plants and soil. The plants absorb the substances through the roots and experience a direct strengthening of the immune system - without any esoteric superstructure. Instead of (admittedly foul-smelling) liquid manure, you can also use a brew in which the plant material soaks in water for just one day. You don't have to dilute such a liquid - in contrast to liquid manure.

    In order to preserve nature, we should avoid using toxic chemicals in the garden as much as possible. Plant and soil protection also works in a completely natural way!

    Do Effective Microorganisms Really Work?

    The miracle effect of EM has not been scientifically supported

    In principle, it is quite good to have a healthy skepticism about Effective Microorganisms. After all, the various remedies are sold at high prices and marketed cleverly. In many forums, extremely positive "testimonials" from alleged users are widespread, but these are usually due to viral marketing - i.e. paid writers. According to these "reports of experience", Effective Microorganisms should help against anything and everything, which of course is not tenable from a scientific point of view.

    In fact, the alleged positive effects of EM solutions could not or only to a small extent be proven in various scientific studies. Instead, from the scientists' point of view, any effects on the soil are not caused by the microbes, but by the highly concentrated nutrient solution - in which the microorganisms are - to be attributed. Studies in which Effective Microorganisms were also used with distilled water showed no differences to untreated soil.

    As always with things so highly praised, don't believe everything you read. Feel free to try EM, if in doubt you have supplied your garden with an expensive fertilizer. But maybe the Effective Microorganisms will actually help you?

    digression

    Use earthworms to improve the soil

    Instead of expensive nutrient solutions, you can simply use earthworms to improve the soil. These can be purchased from specialist retailers. Put the little animals in the freshly dug and loosened bed, add fresh grass clippings and be patient.

    This video shows how soil improvement with earthworms works:

    youtube

    Manufacturing and Products

    The EM finished products consist of microorganisms that have been cultivated in a multi-stage process on the basis of sugar cane molasses. Here, the sweet molasses is broken down, and the microbes multiply. This creates a nutrient solution that contains microorganisms and is referred to as "activated EM" (short: EMa). In contrast, the so-called original solution is available as EM-1. In addition to the "good" microorganisms, such a solution also contains:

    • different enzymes
    • a mixture of vitamins
    • as well as amino acids.

    It is actually less a soil additive than a highly concentrated fertilizer whose actual effect is less due to the microorganisms it contains than to the nutrients.

    A large number of different products are now available, which are primarily sold over the Internet. A liter of solution usually costs between five and ten euros and is sufficient for an average of ten square meters of soil. Considering that the product is intended to be used weekly for most of the year, this is a fairly expensive way of feeding. In a 100 square meter garden you need ten liters of solution per week, which corresponds to an average price of 75 euros.

    In view of the highly concentrated ingredients, it is not surprising that the solutions in the vegetable garden are recommended above all for plants that consume a lot, such as tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage or broccoli. Here the users should fertilize the vegetables with 200 milliliters of solution in ten liters of water every two to four weeks.

    frequently asked Questions

    What is Terra Preta and how can you make it yourself?

    The nutrient-rich black earth, which is essential for the growth of healthy plants, is also known as "Terra Preta". This is compost soil produced with the help of effective microorganisms and activated carbon. According to a study by the Freie Universität Berlin, the carbon prevents important plant nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and nitrate from being washed out during the composting process. The finished black earth is finally worked into the garden soil. And that's how it works:

    • Layer the EM solution, vegetable charcoal and rock powder in a container with fresh kitchen and garden waste
    • only use organic and uncooked waste such as fruit and vegetable leftovers as well as plant and grass clippings
    • layer thinly and then compact

    The black earth has formed within six months and can then be easily removed from the container.

    What is Bokashi and is it actually more nutrient dense than regular compost?

    "Bokashi" is the Japanese term for "fermented organic material" and thus represents a type of compost. This is to be produced with the help of Effective Microorganisms and ultimately used as fertilizer in the garden. The starting material is ordinary, uncooked kitchen and garden waste, which is saturated with an EM solution and finally fermented. This special type of composting prevents the development of putrefaction processes, and you no longer need to turn the "compost heap". A usable fertilizer is created here after about three to four weeks. Although Bokashi is said to be much more nutritious than normal compost, this has not yet been proven in studies.

    When and how much solution should you apply?

    If you want to work with EM in your garden, you should apply the solution about four to six times a year. A warm day with temperatures between 15 and 20 °C and an overcast sky is ideal for this. The microorganisms contained in the solution are sensitive to UV rays, so sunshine is not a good idea when applying. You should allow for one liter of irrigation water with 20 milliliters of solution per square meter of floor.

    Do effective microorganisms really help against snails?

    The manufacturers of EM solutions also praise them as a tried and tested remedy against snails. The reason for this is that the ground is full of snail eggs and the animals mainly hatch when putrefaction processes occur. Effective microorganisms would prevent the putrefaction processes and this would also result in fewer snails. This is nonsense, of course: you won't have fewer snails in your garden just because you water your plants with EM. Incidentally, the same also applies to ants, which cannot be driven away with effective microorganisms: the little animals only disappear because you pour water into their burrows. Whether this contains microbes or not is basically irrelevant to the ants.

    tips

    A treatment with effective microorganisms should also help against aphids, for example on roses. To do this, spray infested or endangered plants regularly with the diluted solution during the growing season.

Category:

Vegetable garden