mikethewormguy

New member
As we get ready for the growing season I thought I would share an approach we have been practicing for about 20 years now. I use the term 'practicing' on purpose since we are continuing to learn new stuff, improve the practice, and remain students of Nature..

We implemented the use of compost bins in our gro-beds because we want to improve our soil in a more targeted manner with less work. We are sharing this to provide another option and perspective.

Each year we choose an area in the garden to go fallow. This is part of our bed rotation practice. Our soil improvement process has a few steps and lasts for a period of around 1.5 years per fallow bed. When we look at soil improvement we typically look at a 2 season interval of within and among grow cycle activities.

The process steps look like this.....

1. In october we choose the gro-bed to be fallow. Into this bed we dig slit trenches and bury food residue silage that we have been fermenting in 5 gallon buckets over the period to the previous November to October. We use silage additive as our source of lactic acid bacteria. We will have collected around 20 buckets of food residue silage during the 11 month period. This buried food residue silage will be in the ground for about 1.5 years before we will grow into that soil. The food residue silage contains all our coffee ground&filters, vegetable trimmings, and stuff that got moldy by oversight.

2. in the following April we move the wood pallets from last years location and re-assemble them in the fallow bed where we have previously buried the food residue silage. In the first attached picture, is a newly assembled compost bin. Much like is done in sourdough bread making, we move any of non-degraded biomass from the old compost bin location to the new compost bin location. This biomass serves as our 'starter'. Keep in mind, that before we place the old biomass starter in the new location, we broadcast wood biochar over the soil surface within the bin area. This biochar will absorb the leachate from the degrading biomass throughout the growing season.

3. in May we incorporate pretty with functional and plant marigolds in the ground all around the pallets, as well as, plant petunias in containers all along the tops of the pallets, as you can see in Picture 2.

4. throughout the rest of the growing season all vegee trimmings are thrown into the compost bins. We do not turn this biomass. We just let it degrade. The season rain sends all of the leachate from the degrading biomass into the soil.

5. At the end of the growing season, we cut all of the marigolds at the soil level and leave their roots in the soil. We throw the marigold biomass into the compost bin. We empty all of the petunia containers, plants, the roots, and growing media into the compost bins. This is the pretty secret regarding integrating the flowers into the bin process. The two flowers represent 2 addition microbial communities added to the soil underneath the compost bin in addition to the biomass degraders.

6. It is important to remember that this is a double decker solid state fermentation process layered on top of each other. The soil underneath the compost bins, where the food silage was buried before winter, is now a defacto earthworm/wee beasty bin feasting on the organics placed there 7 months previously.

7. this gro-bed compost bin will remain in place till the following April.

8. in the following april we move the bins and any undegraded biomass. Once the area has been cleared, we will turn over the soil using a shovel and rake it smooth.

8. we will allow the rake soil to breath till the end of May and then plant into it. We typically plant tomatoes as the first crop in this new soil since they are heavy feeders. For tomatoes, we plant them deep because they are advantageous rooters. By deep we mean 8-12 inches into the ground depending on the size of the transplant.

This gro-bed compost bin approach does take some work and planning but it makes time your friend. All of the goodness from degrading biomass goes into the soil over time. You 4 different microbial communities, from the food silage, degrading biomass, marigolds, and petunias, all contributing to soil resilience and health.

This gro-bed compost bin approach helps disrupts insect and weed seed cycles, as well as, improving the soil in the top 2 feet of the soil horizon.

If you have any questions than ask away. There is alot of information above. I highly recommend that folks try this idea by starting with 4 pallets on 4sf of soil. Remeber you may not do it right but you cannot do it wrong. Mother Nature can be quite helpful if you do not mind her sense of humor.

Happy Gardening.....!

Mike
 

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This is a cool idea, mikethewormguy! Thank you for sharing the step-by-step process!

Have you done any soil tests to compare the before and after of this fermenting/composting process? Among other attributes, I wonder about bacteria vs fungi ratio.

I'm curious too about the fermented food waste. Seems like a lot of work to ferment this rather than just compost it. I know you're deep into soil fertility so there must be a reason you go to the two-stage decomposition process of fermentation plus composting.

Putting the biochar beneath the compost to absorb any leachate seems like a great idea, especially if you're gardening in sandy soils -- one way to hang onto the fertility you produce!
 
Linda,

The only evaluation we have done is looking at the soil color, texture, smell, loosness, and productivity. We live in the land of clay. We are looking to coat all that great clay with organic matter.

Given that we add vermicompost, intercrop, and leave root balls in soil at season's end, we are layering on additional microbial diversity during each growing season. To add more confounding microbial variables, we also grow Almond Agaracus mushrooms with our vegetables.

Regarding the food residue silage, we have a small food residue collection vessel in the kitchen which then is emptied into a 5 gallon bucket. The 5 gallon bucket has wood chips in the bottom. We add the silage additive to the food residue to pickle the residue. When filled we seal the top with a gasketed lid and store away. This is a form of anaerobic solid state fermentation which pH stabilizes the food residue rather than fully decompost it, like in that aerobic solid state fermentation process called, composting.

We use a range of different biomass chars in our vegee production process. These chars include made from straw, bone, wood, and spent mushroom substrate(SMS). For the gro-bed compost bins we use wood biochar, as a leachate sponge. During the grow cycle, in general, we use a blend straw, bone, and SMS chars along with different rock dusts and organic materials. When plant out our garlic cloves in October we add a blend of wood char&green sand to help them sleep thru the winter and wake up in the spring. Our goal with the diversity of inputs is to set the table for Mother Nature without knowing who is coming to dinner. We do not want any of the wee beasties to go away hungry.

Mike
 
Sounds like the wee beasties have a bounteous buffet in your garden, Mike!

At the opposite end of the spectrum of how to feed wee garden beasties, 40 years ago my gardening mentor Gram shared her very simple but effective version of composting. She gardened in wide rows but not in raised beds -- it was a semi-arid region and after decades of gardening her sweet, friable soil neither ponded nor drained water too quickly. Gram said raised beds took too much work and the soil dried out quicker than growing at ground level.

In the 2 foot wide paths between the 2-3 foot wide beds, she'd make a narrow trench, about a foot deep and 18 inches wide and maybe 3 feet long. She'd lay a two foot wide plank over the trench. Each day, she'd lift the cover to put food and garden waste into the trench. Gram composted everything -- even bones, citrus, and scraps of cotton or wool clothing. She heated with wood, and added ash and charcoal to the trench regularly. She didn't try to balance green and brown materials, and she didn't turn the compost or watch temperatures or moisture levels -- it was the most fuss-free composting I ever saw. When the trench filled, she'd dig an extension on the leading end of the trench, piling the excavated soil over top the just-filled trench to create a bit of a mound. She'd move down the path like this over the course of the growing season. Next year, the beds and the paths flipflopped in locations.

Everything was always mulched with grass clippings, waste hay from the corrals, and green chop from her flowers, shrubs, and trees. I swear Gram could grow ANYTHING there, and EVERYTHING tasted twice as good coming from her garden! She did some companion planting and rotated plants into different parts of the garden each year, but other than that, she did little to baby her plants. Her's were the healthiest and most productive plants around -- it was like they were bulletproof compared to other gardens, including mine where I assiduously copied her techniques but only had a few years practice.

And whenever we wanted to go fishing, we'd go back up the composting path aways -- it was always teeming with big, juicy earthworms just right for baiting hooks to catch trout to go with Gram's luscious vegies for supper!

I think one associated thing that Gram did that made a huge difference was that she saved her own seed each year. She knew her plants, and her plants knew her soil and climate. Over the years, Gram had created a nearly closed garden system of food and fertility. It was a thing of beauty and wonder to me as a young gardener.
 
Sounds like the wee beasties have a bounteous buffet in your garden, Mike!

At the opposite end of the spectrum of how to feed wee garden beasties, 40 years ago my gardening mentor Gram shared her very simple but effective version of composting. She gardened in wide rows but not in raised beds -- it was a semi-arid region and after decades of gardening her sweet, friable soil neither ponded nor drained water too quickly. Gram said raised beds took too much work and the soil dried out quicker than growing at ground level.

In the 2 foot wide paths between the 2-3 foot wide beds, she'd make a narrow trench, about a foot deep and 18 inches wide and maybe 3 feet long. She'd lay a two foot wide plank over the trench. Each day, she'd lift the cover to put food and garden waste into the trench. Gram composted everything -- even bones, citrus, and scraps of cotton or wool clothing. She heated with wood, and added ash and charcoal to the trench regularly. She didn't try to balance green and brown materials, and she didn't turn the compost or watch temperatures or moisture levels -- it was the most fuss-free composting I ever saw. When the trench filled, she'd dig an extension on the leading end of the trench, piling the excavated soil over top the just-filled trench to create a bit of a mound. She'd move down the path like this over the course of the growing season. Next year, the beds and the paths flipflopped in locations.

Everything was always mulched with grass clippings, waste hay from the corrals, and green chop from her flowers, shrubs, and trees. I swear Gram could grow ANYTHING there, and EVERYTHING tasted twice as good coming from her garden! She did some companion planting and rotated plants into different parts of the garden each year, but other than that, she did little to baby her plants. Her's were the healthiest and most productive plants around -- it was like they were bulletproof compared to other gardens, including mine where I assiduously copied her techniques but only had a few years practice.

And whenever we wanted to go fishing, we'd go back up the composting path aways -- it was always teeming with big, juicy earthworms just right for baiting hooks to catch trout to go with Gram's luscious vegies for supper!

I think one associated thing that Gram did that made a huge difference was that she saved her own seed each year. She knew her plants, and her plants knew her soil and climate. Over the years, Gram had created a nearly closed garden system of food and fertility. It was a thing of beauty and wonder to me as a young gardener.
Linda,

Your Gram implemented an approach she could live with and worked for her. One of the many aspects of Mother Nature is , she is flexible, accepting the many different paths we take towards healthy soil and plants.

I would be curious to see what the garden holobiont that your Gram cultivated & maintained, in her garden, with her practices, which in part found its way into her family's gut. You are what you eat.

Mike
 
Here is a follow up picture of this season's compost bins in the gro-bed. The petunias are along the top in 5 inch pots. The newly plant marigolds along the bottom will eventually get 2-3 feet tall. I put down hardwood mulch down over a layer of broadcasted biochar. Finally you can see stepping stones in front of the compost bins so that we do not walk on the soil. As I mentioned before, the compost bins will remain in place till next March/April.

This is a good look for resilient soils.........
 

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This is what happens when you have 3 IBC tote frames, an empty grow bed, and a patient wife, with a sense of humor. We just finshed this install on the grow bed where we had the compost bins last year. See the picture in my first post of the compost bins with the marigolds & peonies.

We have peas, potatoes, brussel sprouts, and carrots planted out either in the ground or in containers. We also planted some margolds for color.

The 5 gallons buckets in the picture are being used to protect the newly planted vegetable transplants from the critters. I cut the bottoms from the buckets to make a plastic sleeve. The buckets will be taken away once the vegee plants get bigger.

We look forward to seeing how this experiment does over the season.
 

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