THE UNDERGROUND ADVENTURES OF SOIL’S SUPERHEROES

MIGHTY MINI

MICROBE’S TALE

Color,

Read,

Create

Learn and Explore!!!

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation Service

produced by

USDA 

Natural Resources 

Conservation Service

Story by

Ron Nichols, NRCS

Illustrations by

Cat Bailey, NRCS

technical consultant

Bianca Moebius-Clune 

Ph. D., USDA-NRCS

MIGHTY MINI MICROBE’S TALE
After all, my friends and I 

are far too small for you to 

see without a microscope. 

Plus, we live in a universe that is 

dark and hidden from view. 

But just because you can’t see 

us, doesn’t mean we are not 

important.

Wait, where are my manners? 

Allow me to introduce myself. 

I reali

ze you’ll probably never meet me.

I’m Mini, a soil microbe!

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Though by the time 

this tale is through, 

you may want to call 

me “Mighty Mini” instead.

Why would I say such a 

thing? Well, believe it or 

not, without us, you 

probably wouldn’t even 

be alive.

 

Meet the Mighty Microbe 

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Don’t believe me? Let me 

explain by telling you some 

of the mighty amazing 

things we soil microbes 

do to keep you healthy 

and alive. 

Super Soil Health Team!

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We feed the plants....

Every day, we eat the carbon that 

plants put in the ground and then 

give those plants many of the 

nutrients they need to grow big and 

strong and produce lots of healthy 

things for YOU to eat.

 

...that feed you!

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Plants love what we 

do for them so much 

that some actually ooze 

yummy things through their 

roots for us to eat and 

to keep us near their 

roots where we can give 

them lots of good things 

in return. 

Dine in or carry out?

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Some of us 

even help 

plants fight 

off pests and 

diseases so our 

plant friends can 

stay healthy.

Soil pests, be gone!!!

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We mighty 

microbes also 

produce “soil 

glue” that holds the soil 

particles together — like 

cement holding together the 

bricks of a house. That way 

we help create pore spaces 

in the soil, like rooms and 

hallways that we all live in. 

There’s also space for air 

and water in these pores. 

These pores in the soil are 

also important for when it 

rains — so water can get 

into the soil and fill up the 

spaces. It gets stored there 

for when the plants and 

creatures need water later.

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We get a lot of our 

food from plant 

roots. So by 

planting cover crops (plants 

that aren’t usually harvested), 

soil health farmers make sure 

we get fed throughout the 

year. And the roots from 

these cover crops go deep 

into the soil to create more 

spaces for water to flow into 

and be stored when the rain 

comes, too.

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Soil health farmers keep 

the ground covered 

all the time, which 

means our underground 

world is protected from 

the harsh rays of the sun. 

These covers keep our 

home just the way we like 

it — cool and moist. Oh, 

did I mention that cover 

crops shelter our homes 

and keep the wind and rain 

from carrying off the soil?

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What we do to 

keep plants 

healthy 

and happy helps them 

do what they are good 

at: Plants can use the 

energy of sunlight and 

carbon dioxide from 

the air and water from 

those pores in the 

soil and make yummy 

sugars! They also 

make oxygen that you 

and I need to breathe. 

That process is called 

photosynthesis. In a 

way, you might say 

that plants “breathe” 

in carbon dioxide and 

“breathe” out oxygen, 

which means we all 

have the air we need 

to breathe. 

The air you breathe!

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We’re small in size... ...but BIG in numbers.

What we lack in size, we 

make up for in numbers. 

Can you believe that in 

a teaspoonful of healthy soil, there 

can be as many of us as there are 

people on the whole planet?

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We soil microbes 

do so much for you 

that more and more 

farmers and ranchers are learning to 

farm in ways to help us help them...

which also helps you! That’s why I 

love soil health farmers — and you 

will too after you hear the rest of 

my tale. 

Here’s what farmers are doing 

to make our lives better 

and more productive.

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Not all farmers are soil 

health farmers, but 

more and more of 

them are farming to improve 

soil health — and the place 

where I live. Soil health 

farmers don’t treat us like 

dirt. They care for us by 

farming in ways that help 

us thrive. 

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These farmers know 

that we can help them 

make their farms 

better and help protect 

their farms from disease, 

droughts, and floods. So 

of course they take care 

of us, wouldn’t you?

 

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Do NOT Disturb!!!

Soil 

health 

farmers 

don’t plow 

our homes 

and expose 

our beautiful 

dark world 

to the harsh 

rays of 

the sun!

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MIX it up!!!

They often use 

animals and other 

carbon sources 

to feed us. So there 

are different plants and 

animals in both our 

worlds — above and 

below the ground — and 

we get a tasty, healthy, 

balanced diet.

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Here’s what’s 

Farming in 

ways that 

protect my 

friends and me 

also helps keep 

our rivers, lakes, 

oceans, and 

air clean!

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even cooler!!!

And because 

soil health 

farmers 

don’t disturb the 

soil by plowing, they 

don’t use nearly as 

much fuel to grow 

their crops either 

— which is also good 

for our planet. 

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We soil microbes 

may be small, 

but with a little 

help from our soil health 

farmers and friends, we 

can do some “mighty” 

important things for 

all the living things on 

planet Earth. 

Thank you for letting me 

tell my tale. And be sure 

to thank our soil health 

farmers for taking care 

of us all!!!

Thank you!!!

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A Note from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service... We hope you enjoyed reading and learning about 

Mighty Mini Microbe’s underground adventures 

as you colored. Although Mini and her band of 

superheroes are fictional illustrations, the story about what soil 

microbes do for us, and why we’re working with farmers to protect 

them, is based on science. 

For decades we’ve been learning about all of the wonderful things 

soil microbes do for our plants and for our planet. Today, we know 

how very important they are for us, and we also know how to help 

them thrive as farmers grow the food we need. 

But there’s still a lot to learn. Perhaps one day you will become 

a farmer, a conservationist, or a scientist who will help discover 

even more soil microbes and uncover other amazing things that our 

underground superheroes do for the soil — and for all of us.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 

In this learn-as-you-color, science-based 

adventure tale, you’ll discover how 

Mighty Mini Microbe and her 

band of superheroes (with a little help from 

 soil health farmers and friends) help take care 

of plants, people, and planet Earth. 

Teachers and students can also visit: 

to download Mighty Mini Microbes

 fun activity pages to discover and 

learn even more about Earth’s 

superheroes of the soil. 

www.nrcs.usda.gov

October 2017