do microbes breakdown organic matter if no roots

cover crop is ideal and also provide more organic matter after you clip it down , as long as the soil is moist microbes still be getting it on , also cover crop will give um what they want , far as the nitrogen statement, im confused , reason is i grow legumes to provide more organic matter for the soil when im not using it, while growing creates a lot of natural N for the plants, but when you harvest your beans the N comes with it,it doesnt just reserve much back into the soil , is that what you mean?

 

alfalfa is deep rooting and i wouldnt think in the air pots would work
id do cover crop and just mow it like grass if it tries to over grow your plants, scissors do the job and it will continue to grow

 

This might answer your question. After I chop a plant and leave everything below ground intact, the microbes and worms make quick work of the roots. Just keep the soil moist, and the soil life keeps working. The soil life doesn’t need to take cues from the plant, ie root exudates, to do it’s thing. If there is a living plant, the plant and soil life will try and work together to give each other what they need. I swear that the soil life knows immediately when the plant has been chopped. When I dump soil from freshly harvested plants in the spring, the worms will be all over the roots “working it” within a day.
The only kind of bad thing that can happen, is worms can work the soil so much without additional inputs, that the soil gets pretty muddy as it becomes mostly worm castings. If that’s the case, more aeration and fresh compost will restore things to better than original.
HTH
Cheers
Os

 

Cover crop will feed soil throw some great white or w/e u choose build a soil has good cover crop check them out

 

Soil life is complex with layers of life eating other life in ever larger sizes. Bacteria eat Viruses. Amoeba and microscopic crustaceans eat bacteria and so on and so on.

BNW

 

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Soils have a life cycle; they are born, mature and become of age. In cases, they may even "die" (disappear or get buried).

Conception
Soil formation starts by disintegrating the rock under the influence of climate. Vegetation settles and their roots further loosen the rock. Decaying plant debris produces organic acids, which further attacks the rock. Organic matter will start to accumulate and be mixed with the mineral material provided by the rock. A soil is born.

Development
Over time, rock minerals will be dissolved or transformed. Elements released from the rock will precipitate and new minerals may be formed. For example, iron will be oxidized and precipitate as iron oxides or hydroxides, giving the soil reddish or yellowish-brownish colors. Soil fauna will settle and mix (‘homogenize’) the soil. The soil will grow in depth through newly formed soil material at the bottom. The soil matures.

Ageing
Given sufficient time under stable biophysical conditions, soils will reach a steady state (equilibrium). Production of humus from decaying organic materials will equal its consumption by soil microbes, fauna and flora. Transformation of rock minerals into soil minerals will keep pace with the removal of earlier formed soil minerals. Slow surface wash of topsoil is matched by new formation of soil material from the bedrock. The soil has aged.

Life hazards
Dramatic events can interrupt the life cycle of soils. A soil may be covered suddenly by a volcanic eruption or by submergence under water. They may disappear in part or altogether by water or wind erosion.
On steep slopes the newly formed loose soil material will be removed fairly easily by runoff of rainwater or gravitational forces. Therefore, soils in mountainous regions are often shallow. On footslopes and in more level areas soil material will accumulate and this leads to deeper soils.
Further, the natural life cycle of a soil may be altered adversely by human-intervention (e.g. compaction or loss of soil organic matter). Hence the need for judicious sustainable land management (SLM) practices.
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BNW

 

Another option besides cover crops is just a good layer of mulch. Fungus will grow, and the soil will continue being alive and healthy.

 

In your scenario, mulching could be an excellent way to keep the organic matter alive and useful. Mulching essentially covering the top of your soil with more soil or non-organic material, would work. The layer of mulch is essentially speeding up the decomposition process by cutting off the oxygen supply and acting as a non-sterile medium. This will work if you have a lot of organic matter that you don’t compost on a regular basis. In your particular case, I would recommend regularly composting the organic matter. Compost is essentially rotting organic matter and will be full of microbes that will benefit your plant. It’s essentially food for these microbes. However, if you don’t have the time to compost regularly, then mulching would be a good way to keep them alive.

 

Fungi

 

I’m a mulcher.
I’ve also done the alfalfa cover crop as well. For me, the mulch is easier to deal with. But, I’m doing 5 runs a year and need the efficiency provided by mulch. The cover crops made it difficult to transplant and ended up being a sanctuary for too many of the unwanted insects.
Now I use a coupe of inches of aged wood chips, mostly cottonwood and aspen. It keeps the soil moist and the Micro life loves it!