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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Fwd: RE: [compost] microbial master composters
  • Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:16:07 -0600


*********** BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE ***********
>From: John A. Crockett [mailto:jac@computer.net]
>Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:33 PM
>To: Compost List
>Subject: [compost] microbial master composters
>
>
>How many bacteria in active compost? Of course that depends on the
>feedstock, and management practices. For a long time I've believed that to
>improve the process management, we've got to be able to do accurate direct
>estimates of total and active bacteria and fungi. That requires a 1000X
>microscope, with Epi-Fluorescence and DIC, a significant investment, and,
>of
>course, the skills for preparing the samples, for doing the assaying.
>
>We're doing that now. A sample that we assayed last Wednesday had an
>estimated 353 billion (3.53E+11) bacteria per gram dry weight, and 10.9% of
>those were active, according to our assaying. That is 500 times what was
>in
>a sample that we looked at a week before. Turning schedule is believed to
>be a major contributor to the massive difference. This is the FIRST sample
>that we have qunantified. We look forward to building a database from
>hundreds, thousands of assays, developing "bench marks"... our own minimums
>for our operations. The sample is from food residuals composting. I would
>not expect to find this high a population in yard waste compost.
>
>The compost that the sample came from this past Wednesday was requiring
>5.66cfm of fresh air per cubic yard of compost, to hold the CO2 level down
>to 2%. We believe that our microbes can't work effectively without oxygen,
>any more than you or I could. IF we had 20% pore space, that is a complete
>change of air every 57 seconds. The research silo that the sample was
>taken
>from had only 19½" of compost in it, and vacuum to pull the air through it
>at that rate, was 0.012"wc.
>
>We're fine tuning the assaying process, procedure, and, are beginning to
>develop a database, so that we can see how management practices can cater
>to
>the productivity of our microbial master composters. One step at a time.
>
>If anyone monitoring this list knows of anyone else who has studied
>bacteria
>and fungi in active compost, we'd like to hear from you.
>
>Dr. Mike Robe
> Mother Nature's Farms, Inc.
>www.magicsoil.com
>jac@magicsoil.com
>
>
*********** END FORWARDED MESSAGE ***********




  • [Livingontheland] Fwd: RE: [compost] microbial master composters, Tradingpost, 06/16/2004

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