Indigenous Microorganisms are the fungi, bacteria, protozoa and nematodes found in your local environment. Learning to capture, preserve, diversify, integrate, and multiply these special microbes has the potential to restore natural abundance and fertility to your land.
If you want a deeper dive on this topic check out the video below.
Learn how to make IMO for your garden by accessing our Free Resource Library below!
What are indigenous microorganisms?
Indigenous microorganisms (IMO) refer to the most robust, resilient, and adapted microbes that exist in your given geographical area.
They are location-dependent and are the microbes that have proven themselves to be able to thrive in your exact growing environment. Microorganisms adapt to specific climates, taking into account weather patterns, temperature zones, humidity, and many other factors.
Because of this,
The need for IMO?
Good soil is hard to come by these days.
Unless you are planting your garden in a forest that has not been disturbed for decades, your soil is likely contaminated, compacted, and/or microbially depleted to some degree or another. This means microbes need to be reintroduced in one way or another. While many options exist, IMO is widely considered the most powerful soil inoculant available.
“Available” is a tad misleading–let’s look at how we obtain these microbes.
Overview
In the following sections I will detail the process of IMO, stages one through four, plus two additional steps beyond. These will be brief explanations and will link to separate deep dives into how to accomplish each stage of the process.
How to Collect IMO (IMO1)
IMO1 refers to the stage of collecting indigenous microorganisms from your local environment, largely fungi and bacteria found in undisturbed forest soils.
To catch IMO we need a food source, a collection container, and a collection site. For food, grains are cooked and cooled. They are then placed in a collection container–many options exist, but I use cedar boxes with paper towel and hardware cloth coverings most often.
This filled collection container is carefully placed and left in the forest or a meadow for 2-10 days. Temperatures and collection site will dictate how long it takes for the IMOs to colonize the food source.
For a more in-depth breakdown check out this article.
Once IMO collections are removed from their sites they are then rapidly moved into the preservation stage, IMO2.
How to Preserve Your Collection (IMO2)
IMO2 is the preservation stage of your microbial culture.
After collecting the wild microbes in IMO1, mix them with brown sugar to halt further growth and make the microbes shelf-stable.
For a more in-depth breakdown check out this article.
This step preserves your collection for future use and sets the stage for further diversifying the microbes in IMO3.
Diversification of IMO (IMO3)
IMO3 is the stage where you increase the microbial diversity captured in IMO2 by expanding it onto a substrate (a growing medium for microbes) like rice bran, wheat mill run, or oats.
You’ll mix this substrate with carbon-rich material and allow the microbes to multiply under controlled heating conditions. This creates a shelf-stable inoculant that can be used to enrich compost, garden beds, or potting mixes.
For a more in-depth breakdown check out this article.
It is, as you may have guessed, also the essential ingredient in IMO4.
Integrating IMOs (IMO4)
IMO4 is the final stage of indigenous microorganism cultivation.
In this step, you introduce your cultivated forest microbes into your native garden soil, encouraging them to adapt, multiply, and form long-term symbiotic relationships with the biology already present in your land.
This is where wild meets home—and where IMOs begin transforming your soil on a deep, lasting level.
For a more in-depth breakdown check out this article.
Expanding IMO
There are two main ways we expand our IMO4. By inoculating a nitrogen-rich substance with IMO4 (makes IMO5) and by brewing aerated IMO tea (LIMO)
IMO5
IMO5 is an additional stage of indigenous microorganism cultivation.
In this step, you have the opportunity to expand your IMO4.
This allows you to cover more ground (literally) without needing to source more carbohydrate for IMO3 (costs can add up when making on a larger scale).
For a more in-depth breakdown check out this article.
LIMO
LIMO (also called Soil Treatment Solution) is a liquid microbial inoculant made by fermenting IMO4 or 5 in water.
It gives you a fast-acting, easily applied version of your solid IMO—perfect for waking up soils, activating compost piles, foliar applications, or feeding plant roots with living biology.
While IMO4/5 is shelf-stable, LIMO needs to be used immediately and is great for routine foliar applications.
For a more in-depth breakdown check out this article.
Applying IMO
IMO4 (or IMO5) is applied at 100-200 pounds per acre, or 1/4 pound per 100 square feet. In early years of application it is recommended to apply at higher amounts to get microbes established. As the soil regenerates, less is required to maintain microbial populations.
Many apply LIMO on a weekly or bi-weekly basis during the growing season. It can be diluted to help the microbes travel farther but it can also be applied undiluted without risk of burning plant foliage or root systems.
Final Thoughts
IMO cultivation is a rewarding process that is well worth the exploration.
It should also be approached with humility and patience. IMO is not something that can be easily controlled. Each stage carries with it its own challenges and frustrations. Accept the failures as learning opportunities and choose to grow from the experience.
Your soil will thank you!
Get the eBook: “A Beginner’s Guide to IMO” by accessing our Free Resource Library below!