Successful composting depends on understanding the microbial life within your compost pile. This is where soil testing kits become invaluable tools for gardeners and farmers alike. Modern testing technology allows you to analyze your compost’s biological activity with scientific precision, ensuring you create nutrient-rich amendments for your soil.
Understanding Compost Biology
The foundation of excellent compost lies in its microbial ecosystem. Billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms work together to break down organic matter into valuable nutrients. These microscopic workers determine whether your compost becomes a powerhouse of plant nutrition or simply decayed organic matter with limited benefits. Bacterial populations typically dominate the early stages of composting, breaking down simple compounds like sugars and proteins. As the process continues, fungal networks develop to tackle more complex materials such as cellulose and lignin. The balance between these microbial communities directly affects the quality and effectiveness of your finished compost.
The Science of Compost Testing
Traditional methods of evaluating compost quality relied heavily on visual inspection, smell tests, and temperature monitoring. While these indicators provide useful information, they cannot reveal the true biological potential of your compost. Modern soil testing kits offer scientific analysis that goes beyond surface observations. Microbial biomass testing measures the total amount of living microorganisms in your compost sample. This measurement indicates the biological activity level and helps predict how effectively the compost will benefit your soil. The fungal-to-bacterial ratio represents another critical measurement that influences how compost affects different types of plants. Vegetables and annual crops typically prefer bacterial-dominated compost, while trees, shrubs, and perennial plants benefit from fungal-dominated amendments. Understanding these ratios helps you tailor your compost for specific garden applications.
microBIOMETER® Technology Advantages
The microBIOMETER® advanced testing platform system brings quality analysis to home composters and small-scale farmers. These tools eliminate guesswork by providing quantitative data about microbial populations in compost samples. The testing process involves extracting microorganisms from compost samples and analyzing the color intensity of the solution using specialized reagents, measurement cards, and the microBIOMETER® app. Results appear within minutes, allowing you to make immediate adjustments to your composting process if needed. This standardized approach ensures reliable results that you can track over time to monitor improvements in your composting methods.
Conclusion
Regular testing throughout the composting process helps identify optimal harvest timing. Compost that appears finished may still contain high levels of bacterial activity, indicating continued decomposition. Investing in soil testing kits transforms composting from an art into a science-based practice. Understanding the microbial life in your compost empowers you to create consistently high-quality amendments that maximize plant health and soil fertility. Modern testing technology makes this level of analysis accessible to gardeners at every skill level, building confidence in composting success.
Founded in 2008, Applied Bio-Minerals, Inc. specializes in managing naturally present microbiomes using mixtures of mined minerals.
The company’s operating mode is based on observations, and a close collaboration with the customer. The holistic approach enables farmers to use microbes already present on their farm to their benefit by lowering their inputs and maximizing their revenues, all naturally. As part of the service provided to customers, the company regularly measures progress to ensure the farmer’s goals are met.
Their approach is to examine the entire living soil profile and record its evolution from a baseline set before the application of products. Among the many variables one is essential, the amount of living micro-organisms, and the ratio between bacteria and fungi, at various soil depths.
That is where microBIOMETER® comes in. They have been utilizing the microBIOMETER® soil test in their business since 2020.
“microBIOMETER® is a very convenient tool to have a quick result (in the field) on microbes and allows decisions and adjustments in conducting the field as the season progresses or from one season to the next. Microbial life might sometimes be surprisingly active in depth (here a vineyard). The importance of checking compost quality also underlines the usefulness of the microBIOMETER®” – Herve Bonin, co-founder and managing partner of Applied Bio-Minerals, Inc.
About Applied Bio-Minerals, Inc.
Data from Applied Bio-Minerals, Inc. customer in Virginia
Bio-Extractor
Over the past decades, scientific awareness and appreciation of soil microbiology in agricultural systems has dramatically expanded. Flourishing microbial communities interacting with plant root networks play a direct role in plant growth, crop nutrition, disease and pest resistance, and soil aggregate structure, leading to increased soil oxygen flow and water holding capacity. Unfortunately, many agricultural soils have depleted functioning microbial ecosystems through decades of physical and chemical disturbance. Regenerating these microbial ecosystems is crucial to refocusing agricultural production on soil, human, and environmental health.
One extremely promising method of regenerating soil biology is through the production and application of liquid compost extract. Microbially-rich compost can be produced on-farm from locally-sourced and inexpensive organic materials, through systems such as the Johnson-Su bioreactor process and / or vermicomposting. Vermicompost also includes many naturally-produced bio-stimulants, such as humic and fulvic acids. These compost products, while valuable in solid form, can be extracted into a powerful liquid biological amendment to increase their efficiency and soil infiltration, inoculating beneficial microbes directly into root zones or onto the surfaces of leaves.
In addition to being both biologically beneficial and cost-effective to produce, liquid compost extract is also extremely versatile. Microbial foods, such as blackstrap molasses, kelp, and fish hydrolysate can be added for additional stimulation. Injecting oxygen into the liquid prior to application will activate the microbes and multiply the population (this is often referred to as “compost tea”). Application systems can be tailored to desired effects, including fertigation, soil drenches, soil injections, seed soaking, and foliar sprays. Improving soil biology not only benefits crop production, but also pastures, lawns, and turf, including athletic fields. Here’s a sample operation in New York’s Hudson Valley that uses compost extract for all of the above.
At Hiwassee Products, the goal is to help make this potentially transformative process both scalable and adaptable to a wide array of situations by designing and manufacturing innovative equipment solutions. The Bio-Extractor, released for production in 2022, is the only commercially available continuous-flow compost extractor to date, able to extract at 700 gallons per hour to meet any target volume, large or small. The company will continue to release equipment in the upcoming year, focusing on continuous-flow-through (CFT) vermicomposting systems and biologically-friendly spray systems, which differ from high-pressure chemical applicators. These equipment items can be combined into one closed-loop system (potentially including a pre-composting system to make vermicomposting more efficient), or be used as components of other soil biological management systems.
This article was provided to us by Scott Hortop, a retired volunteer and now student of soil, located in the Ottawa Valley, Ontario, Canada. Scott wants to use his retirement to do one important thing for the climate.
At ONfungi we own two microBIOMETER® soil testing kits which we use to determine the fungal to bacterial ratio (F:B) of the Johnson-Su fungal dominant compost (FDC). The ONfungi group makes FDC from tree leaves.
We are excited by the potential of leaf mold to:
• Reduce agricultural dependence on external inputs• Divert leaf organics from landfills• Replenish the inventory of carbon in the soil by drawing down the carbon in the atmosphere• Grow knowledge about working with mother nature to address climate change
Our first FDC bioreactor batch was started in Spring 2018. Since then, we have put up a total of 15 batches; 8 of them in fall 2021.“It took us 3 batches before we faced the fact that we needed to know whether what we were producing was actually what we hoped it was. Our enthusiasm needed to be grounded. What is the fungal bacteria (F:B) ratio in our FDC?,” says Scott Hortop, wizard of compost for the ONfungi group. “This is why we have found the microBIOMETER® to be our most useful tool.”“Dr. David Johnson’s talks have shown us eloquently how the F:B ratio is the most meaningful indicator for soil health”, Hortop explains. “As we share our fungal dominant compost (FDC) with other users, we owe them a solid measure of what they are getting. When we and others share our FDC experiments with each other at the Chico State University Registry of Johnson-Su Bioreactors, the majority of us have been unable to report F:B ratios. This has now changed. With the microBIOMETER® we can confirm that we have the right ratio of ingredients by taking a real measure of the F:B ratio.”Its All Relative – Isn’t it the change and the direction of changes that we really need to know? Of course, it might be nice to think every microbe was identified and counted under a microscope, but that precision comes at a HUGE cost and most likely doesn’t alter the conclusion. The next thing we need to do to strengthen the microbial community.
Immediacy – When you are checking in on living microbes in soil, some of whom are reproducing and dying in a matter of minutes and others taking years, the best timing for a test is here and now. In a world rich with distraction and delay, its awesome to get a result from your testing efforts immediately.
True Cost Per Data Point – For the purpose of our bioreactors, give it a think: the modest variable costs per test, the modest labour to execute a test which is just minutes beyond the time required for sample collection, the VERY efficient and effective recording of results, and the $0 sample shipping cost.
In an ONfungi citizen science trial last summer by one of our volunteers in White Lake, Ontario, 2 sunflower seeds were planted in late June into moderately degraded farmland (microBIOMETER® F:B 0.7:1; 464 µg C/g).The control seed (left) received no soil amendments. The 2nd seed (right) was planted with 50 grams (a small handful) of Johnson-Su fungal dominant compost (microBIOMETER® F:B 1.7:1; 700 µg C/g) surrounding the seed. For 8 weeks both plants received identical, adequate watering. The 8-week photo below shows the control sunflower on the left suffering from an invasion of cucumber beetles with less than ½ the height and 1/3 the stalk width compared to the sunflower on the right with FDC at its root zone. Although beetles were observed on the FDC sunflower, some disease resistance was evident.One of ONfungi’s targets this year is to do monthly tests on completed FDC material to chart the staying power and degradation curve of finished FDC, not yet put to use and in several storage modes. We are also using the microBIOMETER® to look at carbon sequestration in lawn soils.About ONfungi; ONfungi is a happy conglomeration of active volunteer folks. Their goal is to explore, through citizen science, the use of Johnson-Su fungal dominant compost (FDC) in improving soil, storing carbon, and enhancing plant health and nutrition. Learn more at ONfungi.net
With a small R & D grant awarded from the Dutch government, Jo Ploumen of the Netherlands is using microBIOMETER® to determine fungal to bacterial ratios in vermicompost filled in a Johnson-Su Bioreactor versus residence time. Jo also uses microBIOMETER® to measure microbes and F:B ratio in select soil samples as a member of a garden club. He found the differences by method of gardening; organic vs fertilizer and bare vs covered soil to be striking!
“I like microBIOMETER® as it is a cost-effective tool with a high impact, potentially,” Jo said.
Jo’s impressive resume includes studying Chemical Technology at the Technical University of Eindhoven, employment at multinational AKZO Nobel as an R & D specialist and co-founder of Pulsed Heat BV. In 2019, Jo founded Ploumen E.S. Compost to begin research based on the findings of Dr. David Johnson. Johnson is the developer of the Johnson-Su Bioreactor which delivers a compost with very unique properties.
We are honored to have Jo as a valued customer, data collector and partner on our journey to increase awareness of soil health, regenerative practices and carbon sequestration!
Photo source: Taos News
Lyons Worm Works
Ben Rodman is a vermicomposter with a love for all things biology and horticulture. His vermicomposting operation, Lyons Worm Works, has grown from simply diverting and reclaiming their household organic wastes into a small-scale but growing community effort.
Combined with all the spent substrate from their gourmet mushroom cultivation and gardening and brewing waste, Lyons Worm Works creates high-quality, microbially dense and diverse living vermicast for regional consumers. For Ben, providing quality vermicast to customers means having objective measurements of its quality for multiple reasons: integrity and trust, quality assurance, marketing, and constant experimentation to improve his product and process.
“Experimentation and real data has always been important to me; bridging my idealism with the real world we live in and grow our food and medicine in. microBIOMETER® is giving me fast, quantitative data to assess important considerations like feedstock quality, evaluating the impacts of process changes, durability and storage for finished product, and for fine-tuning my compost tea kit recipes so customers can make high-quality aerated teas at home. Having a fast, accurate and objective way to assess my products provides me with the data needed to make informed decisions. It gives my customers and I confidence that my products are going to help them meet their goals. What a great product for the small producer like me, for whom a home lab isn’t practical and routine commercial lab testing is prohibitively costly!”
Green Country Worms is a small worm farm located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Their main focus is producing high quality worm castings. They started vermicomposting in 2008 when they received their first pound of compost worms. 12 years later they still love composting with worms and are fascinated with the worm castings they produce.
About a year ago they discovered their customers wanted proof of the quality of their product. While they could make claims about their worm castings, their customers wanted to see actual data. They periodically sent their castings to a certified lab to be tested, however, this is costly to do on a regular basis.
They love the microBIOMETER® soil test because it is affordable and it gives them a quick census of the microorganisms in their castings. They learned early on that a simple NPK soil test did not give them the data they were looking for. Being research minded they were also happy to find out that microBIOMETER® is involved in various university studies to demonstrate it’s validity and reliability as a soil testing instrument.
Green Country is currently using microBIOMETER® to compare worm castings that are produced with high quality malted barley. They feed malted barley in some of their worm bins and not in others.
Stay tuned! We will post the results of their experiment once it is complete.
