1. We blew air into the aerated static pile for a few weeks in fall until adding more air didn’t raise the temperature. In spring, it looked OK when we dug into it. It did have large, one square foot, clumps that were very compact and not completely broken down - still had straw bits. Also, the wood chips didn’t break down. The smell was earthy - like mushrooms. We’ve heard that turning the window row once after aeration helps to finish the material. Under the microscope, there were very few hyphae.
2. There are tiny patches of white in the aerated static pile that I point to. Often, folks confuse a white bloom of Actinobacteria or Actinomyces bacteria as fungi. These bacteria are common where the pile is going anaerobic - often near the zone where the pile transitions from dry to moist. They are harmful to health.
3. We switched the other aerated windrow to Gerry Gillespie (SPICE) after about one week of aerating it by dumping on about 5 gallons of anerobic innoculant - only need 1 quart for every 13 cubic yards. We didn’t mix in the innoculant as per Gerry’s directions. Oops. About a year later, we uncovered this pile and it still smelled bad in pockets - still anaerobic. It had one square foot clumps that were greasy and anaerobic - stinky. This trial needs to be redone.
4. A year after starting the compost, the remaining Johnson Su material that wasn’t used in the field trial was still moist and loaded with earth worms. For a time, there were good fungal hyphae counts under the microscope.
5. We used the PLFA labs from Ward labs as this is what is shown on the BEAM compost website and mentioned by Professor Johnson. Professor Johnson did say that PLFA testing was not recommended for comparing compost between two different producers. Instead, it should be used to see how well batches of compost from a given location compare.
Ward Laboratories - Phospholipid Fatty Acids (PLFA)
Note: It can take months to get your results back!
www.wardlab.com/plfa/
BEAM Test Analysis
beamcompost.com/?page_id=350