Feature Collection: Nitrogen Fixers

This collection includes all the plants we carry that are known to fix nitrogen in the soil. Some of these plants are more efficient than others, some produce a crop too, some are native and some are not native. 

What is a 'Nitrogen Fixer'?

In short, nitrogen fixers are sort of like plants that fertilize as they grow, which helps reduce/eliminate the need to add nitrogen to your orchard. Nitrogen inputs (eg. urea) are one of the most common fertilizers used in conventional orchards and can have adverse environmental effects.

Nitrogen fixing plants have a special relationship with bacteria that live in nodules on their roots. This bacteria takes nitrogen floating around in the air, and can transform it into a usable form for plants that is held (or 'fixed') in the soil so the plants can then uptake it. This link further explains the process.

Pictured on the right is a nitrogen fixing nodule on a dormant sea buckthorn plant. In the growing season the nodule will be pink/red in colour when the bacteria living inside is actively fixing nitrogen.