Product Information

Better Biology — Biological Soil Amendments for SE Queensland Farmers

Rebuilding soil health starts with understanding what your soil is missing. For most SE Queensland farms, whether you're a Market Gardener in the Lockyer Valley, an Orchardist in the Glasshouse Mountains or a Pastoralist running country that's been chemically farmed for decades — what's missing is biology.

At Better Biology we produce biological soil amendments, compost extracts and liquid biological inoculants made on-site at Woodford, tested under microscopy and built specifically for SE Queensland soils. Every product we make targets the soil food web — the bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes that healthy soil depends on to cycle nutrients, build structure and grow high Brix, resilient plants without increasing input costs.

Dry Blend Amendments — Biological Soil Nutrition for SE Queensland

Who they're for: Market Gardeners, Vegetable Growers, Cut Flower Farmer, Orchardists, Graziers and landowners with degraded or chemically exhausted soil.

What they do: Our dry blend range combines targeted mineral nutrition with biological soil amendments in a single dry product applied through your existing spreader or irrigation setup. They rebuild soil mineral balance, feed soil biology and create the conditions for mycorrhizal fungi and beneficial bacteria to establish and thrive across successive seasons.

When to use them: As a foundational soil health input at the start of a season, at planting, or as part of a soil restoration program on degraded land. Dry blends are the long game, consistent application season on season compounds biological activity, reduces synthetic fertiliser dependency and improves plant health outcomes measurably over time.

Four blends. Four farming systems:

VegeSoil - intensive vegetable production, cut flowers and market gardens. Formulated for high-demand soils that are worked hard and need biological replenishment between every crop cycle.
FruitTree Blend - orchards and perennial fruit tree systems. Targets mycorrhizal colonisation, long-term soil structure and consistent Brix in tree fruit.
Pasture BioBlend - SE Queensland grazing and pasture systems. Rebuilds pasture biology, improves ground cover recovery and reduces dependence on synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.
SoilReset - degraded, compacted and chemically exhausted soils. Re-establishes the biological conditions needed for any other soil health program to work.

Available in 5kg trial bags through to 1000kg tonne bags.

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Dry Blend Application Rates

Broadcast — Pasture & Broadacre Apply 200–500kg per hectare spread evenly across the paddock. Incorporate with rainfall or light irrigation where possible. For heavily degraded or chemically exhausted soils, apply at the higher end of the rate range in the first season.

Top Dress — Horticulture & Market Garden Apply 100–200g per square metre as a top dress around the root zone. Work lightly into the surface or allow rainfall to carry biology into the soil profile. Avoid burying deeper than 5cm — biological activity is highest in the top soil layer.

In-Furrow — Vegetable & Row Crop Planting Apply 50–100g per linear metre directly into the furrow at planting. This delivers biological inoculants and mineral nutrition directly to the root zone at the most critical establishment stage.

Transplant — Seedlings & Tree Establishment Apply 50–100g per planting hole mixed into the backfill soil. For fruit trees and larger transplants, apply 200–500g per hole. Direct root contact with biological inoculants at planting significantly improves establishment, early root colonisation and transplant survival rates.

Renovation — Pasture Resowing Apply 300–500kg per hectare incorporated prior to or at seeding. For pasture renovation after chemical history or long-term degradation, combine with a liquid biological extract application at seeding for the strongest biological establishment response.

Johnson-Su Compost Extract — Full Soil Food Web in Liquid Form

Who it's for: Any SE Queensland farmer transitioning away from synthetic inputs, rebuilding soil biology after chemical history, or looking to establish mycorrhizal networks and diverse soil biology fast.

What it does: Johnson-Su compost extract is produced from our own on-site fungal-dominant bioreactors; a no-turn composting process developed by Dr David Johnson and Dr Hui-Chun Su that runs for 12 months before the compost is ready for extraction. The result is one of the most biologically diverse liquid soil inoculants available, carrying bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and actinomycetes in a single application that begins rebuilding the soil food web from day one.

This is not a fertiliser. It is a biological inoculation. Applied to soil, it introduces the full spectrum of organisms that healthy soil needs to cycle nutrients, suppress disease, build aggregate structure and reduce plant stress. Applied as a foliar, it supports plant immunity and biological activity on the leaf surface.

When to use it: At the start of a biological transition, prior to planting, after chemical application, or as a regular seasonal soil inoculation program. Broadacre and pasture systems typically apply two to four times per year. Intensive horticulture benefits from monthly application.

Available in 20L and 1000L. Made to order. Pickup at Woodford or delivered across SE Queensland.

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Worm Casting Extract — Concentrated Rhizosphere Biology

Who it's for: Market Gardeners, Orchardists, Viticulturists, Cut flower growers, Nurseries and Pasturialist and any operation where plant performance and produce quality directly affect income.

What it does: Where Johnson-Su extract rebuilds the broad soil food web, worm casting extract delivers a concentrated dose of rhizosphere-adapted biology — organisms specifically evolved to work in the immediate root zone where nutrient exchange between soil and plant takes place. Bacteria produce growth-promoting compounds including auxins, cytokinins and gibberellins. Protozoa release plant-available nitrogen precisely at the root surface. Beneficial nematodes suppress plant-parasitic species and cycle nutrients through the profile.

The result is faster and more visible than any other biological liquid product we produce. Growers report improved leaf colour, stronger stems, improved root mass, better Brix and higher fruit quality within days of application.

When to use it: At transplanting, flowering, fruit set and any high-demand growth stage where a targeted biological boost produces the greatest return. Use alongside Johnson-Su extract for a complete liquid biological program — Johnson-Su as the seasonal foundation, worm extract at the critical moments.

Available in 20L and 1000L. Made to order. Pickup at Woodford or delivered across SE Queensland.

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Liquid Extract Application Rates

Soil Drench — Pasture & Broadacre Apply 20–40 litres per hectare diluted in 100–200 litres of non-chlorinated water. Apply in late afternoon or on overcast days to protect organisms from UV exposure. Follow with rain or irrigation within 24 hours to move biology into the soil profile.

Soil Drench — Market Garden & Horticulture Apply 2–5 litres per 100 square metres diluted at 1:10 in non-chlorinated water. Apply directly to the root zone. For intensive production systems, apply monthly or at each crop establishment stage for consistent biological support.

Foliar Application Dilute at 1:20 in non-chlorinated water. Apply in early morning or late afternoon — never in direct sun or above 30°C. Do not combine with copper fungicides, synthetic pesticides or chlorinated water. These will kill the biology you are trying to apply.

Seed Treatment Dilute at 1:5 in non-chlorinated water and apply as a coat or soak prior to planting. Particularly effective for market garden transplants and broadacre seed where early rhizosphere colonisation at germination determines crop performance across the full growing season.

Compost Activation Add 10–20 litres of extract per cubic metre of compost material at the start of a new composting batch. Accelerates biological succession, establishes a diverse microbial community from the first week and improves the biological quality of the finished compost.

Soil Consultancy — A Prescription Built for Your Farm

Who it's for: SE Queensland farmers serious about changing the way they farm; Market Gardeners, Flower Farmers, Orchardists, Graziers and Broadacre producers who want a biological soil health program built around their specific soil, crop and production system.

What it does: You cannot fix what you have not measured. Our consultancy service starts with a soil assessment, biology, mineral balance and soil condition, interprets what the data means for your farming system and produces a practical prescription covering what to apply, when to apply it and what measurable outcomes to expect. No generic reports. No guesswork. A working plan built on real soil science.

When to use it: As the starting point for any serious biological transition. If you are spending money on inputs without knowing whether they are addressing the actual problem in your soil, a consultancy assessment will tell you exactly where to direct that spend for the highest return.

Conducted in-paddock by Todd, trained under Dr Elaine Ingham, Graeme Sait and Matt Powers, using soil condition systems.

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