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  • From: Nancy Babbitt <nbabbitt2003@adelphia.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Heating up a compost pile
  • Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2006 07:23:59 -0400

Paul,

I'm sorry. I think I was feeling defensive last night.

Here's my ideas:

If composting does not produce humus, then it's a breakdown process similar to composting that does, but obviously SOMETHING is missing in the composting process that does happen in nature (which does produce humus).

I believe that possibly more humus would be formed if we imitated nature. Laying the compost materials as a ground cover, as happens in nature.

Using finished compost as the cover would simply supply less of what was originally used as composting ingredients, therefore less for nature to use, therefore less humus.

BTW, I make/use Kombucha Tea, have you ever heard of it? Tea vinegar, the microbes produce this amazing structure right from the water, tea, sugar and air. The structure is referred to as a SCOBY (a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast). It's like mother of vinegar, it's kind of rubbery, jell-like, and quite substantial.

Kefir grains are similar to Kombucha SCOBY, but are used to ferment milk. They too, are quite substancial/durable.

Both of these cultures protect the environment they live in from decomposing by acidifying it.

Microbes are amazing in what they can produce.

I understand that humus is still a mystery to science. No one has figured out how it forms, and hardly know what it is, (broad definition), but once formed, it has keeping qualities (does not break down easily). Thinking about humus always brings my mind to the SCOBYS and Kefir grains.

Nancy




On Jul 1, 2006, at 11:42 PM, TradingPostPaul wrote:


Should I not ask why you believe uncomposted plant material would form more
humus than finished compost? I expect to have to support what I promote.
And BTW I'm here to learn just as much as anyone else, and that's why I
started this particular list.

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

Many types of jobs will cease to exist: public relations executive,
marketing directors, et cetera. I think work will be very hands-on,
and a lot of it will revolve around food production.
-- James Howard Kunstler, 2003
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 7/1/2006 at 9:42 PM Nancy Babbitt wrote:

Paul,

I'm not a scientist. Simply a home gardener with an idea. Maybe I
should not share my ideas, without proof?

Nancy
On Jul 1, 2006, at 8:44 PM, TradingPostPaul wrote:


What do you base this theory on?

---------------
tradingpost@lobo.net

Many types of jobs will cease to exist: public relations executive,
marketing directors, et cetera. I think work will be very hands-on,
and a lot of it will revolve around food production.
-- James Howard Kunstler, 2003
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 7/1/2006 at 7:14 AM Nancy Babbitt wrote:

Paul,

Is it likely then, that composting (allowing microbes to decompose
the plant material) before it's applied to the soil, can have a
negative effect on humus formation. What I mean is that if less
plant material is is present in the final compost, than before
composting, and that lesser amount is added to soil, then there is
less to potentially become humus.

Is it possible also that the anaerobes assist in the humus formation,
and they're not the ones doing the decomposing in a hot pile?

Nancy
On Jun 30, 2006, at 12:26 PM, TradingPostPaul wrote:


Let me try that again easier to read. Point being, it appears
that the
initial composting process is not humus formation; that occurs in
the soil.


paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------

from Humus - Understanding the Soil Processes
http://www.petrik.com/PUBLIC/library/ups.html#humus

The production of humus is a complex process. In general cyclic
substances
like phenol groups and also other like organic acids and vitamins
(humus is
also related to crude oil) are polymerized with help of
enzymes,like phenol
oxidase. These cyclic compounds are both from plant parts(like
lignin) and
are also produced by the microorganisms. Mostly fungi, actinomycetes
(Streptomycets) seem to be responsible for humus formation.
Aspergillus,
Pisolithus, Rhizoctonia, Streptomycets are only but a few
examples of
microorganisms actually capable of synthesizing cyclic(aromatic)
compounds
and form them into humus from non-cyclic materials.
-----------

from Humus: Still a Mystery
http://www.nofa.org/tnf/humus.php

Humus is essentially a massive storage battery containing energy
that was
originally derived from the sun. Researchers in England discovered
that an
acre (furrow slice) of soil with 4 percent organic matter contains
as much
energy as 20-25 tons of anthracite coal. Another researcher in Maine
equated the energy in that amount of organic matter to 4000
gallons of #2
fuel oil. This organic energy, which is stored as carbon compounds,
was
originally derived from the sun by autotrophic organisms such as
plants
that can extract carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide. About one
percent
of the energy from the sun that reaches plant leaves is used to
photosynthesize carbon compounds. During the plants' life much
of the
energy that is absorbed from the sun is utilized for growth, foliage
production, flowering, seed production and other functions.

About 10 percent of the absorbed energy, initially from the sun, is
left
available to a consumer, e.g. an animal that eats and digests the
plant.
Like the plant, the animal uses most of the energy it consumes for
functions such as growth and sustenance but can offer about 10
percent of
the energy it derived from plants to the next consumer in the food
chain.

Humus in the soil has more real value than money, real estate,
stocks or
bonds. Its value doesn't fluctuate; it doesn't become scarce in a
recession; it's worth can't be depleted by inflation and it can't be
stolen. It is the direct or indirect source of sustenance for all
life on
earth. It can sometimes be lost by environmental changes but more
often,
its demise is from either the apathy or the inadvertent errors of
the
steward who tends it.

Humus is a renewable resource. Its presence in the soil can be
maintained
indefinitely. Unfortunately, many agricultural and horticultural
practices
are essentially mining humus. Like other mined products, such as
coal,
minerals and oil, the natural resource can eventually be exhausted.

The popular scientific definition of humus is "A more or less
biologically
stable, dark, amorphous material formed by the microbial
decomposition of
plant and animal residues". It is difficult to visibly
differentiate humus
from organic matter in other stages of decay. Compost, well rotted
manures
and peat are not necessarily humus. However, at some hard-to- define
point,
all of these organic materials will contribute immeasurably to the
humus
content in the soil.

It is not realistic to think that one can quantify or qualify humus
production from contributions of organic matter to soil. There are
too many
factors that control its formation and existence in the soil
environment.
One can only assume that cultural practices that both minimize the
depletion and contribute to the formation of humus will maintain
the best
possible level of soil humus for each individual environment.
----------------




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