This is the final part of a 3 blog set that discusses the importance of healthy soil, the need for compost at the Willits Energy Farm, and which factors lead to good compost. This blog will summarize our findings and report on the next step to addressing the needs of the site.

After examining the compost under the microscope, David, Jason, and I discussed the possibility of bringing some to the site. All of us agreed that we should probably not bring the compost made of grape pomace to the farm as it most likely contains alcohols and the presence of ciliates were a clear indicator of anaerobic conditions. Also the introduction of symphylums and springtails to the site was unthinkable. Balance is important when making compost, and a gigantic supply of one material (in this case grape pomace) does not make for a healthy end product. The gentleman who wanted to sell the compost made it clear that this was not his best batch and recommended that it might be better as mulch.

We also decided against the animal manure compost for one main reason-we were unsure of the temperatures of that the compost reached, and therefore, could not be sure that the weed seeds had been destroyed. The land at Brookside Elementary is gifted with a small weed bank. There is perennial grass that has been growing on the site, but otherwise we do not have any significant weeds in our beds. If we were to introduce this compost then we could run the risk of seeding the site with a problem that could eventually become a nightmare and more work.

After all this analysis we are back to the same problem of how to feed the soil and still intensively grow crops. Since compost is indeed a priority, I think that we must begin to treat it so. David and I fixed a broken stand pipe and we should now be able to water the compost piles that are located in the northwest corner of the site. We have amassed an abundance of biomass from clearing away the sod. Also, the warm spring weather has led to a burst of grass and clover growth along the perimeter of the fence. I can harvest the grass and clover with a push mower or a kama and use it as the nitrogen source for the compost piles. If we can keep on top of the compost situation we will end up with a bit of material to feed back into the soil after the spring vegetables.

I hope these blogs made it clear that it is important to consider the soil first as you begin or continue to grow food and energy crops. We must not simply mine the soil and we cannot extract its vitality without a cost. If we are going to grow crops intensively than we must be equally intensive about our compost processes and crop rotations. Compost is not a mere catch phrase as much as it is a means of emergency preparedness in relation to local food security. When Cuba faced an immediate scarcity of supplies resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, they lacked sufficient compost to grow crops on land that had been depleted through decades of practicing the conventional agricultural model that utilizes inorganic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. A ready supply of compost will be a great resource for any community looking to turn to local agriculture as a response to an immediate and long-term need for food. It can help boost depleted lands and sustain the vitality of rich soil. I believe that we can do a lot for our communities and the environment if we can pursue agricultural practices that make the effort to grow and sustain healthy topsoil.

Welcome to Part 2 of the blog related to the importance of maintaining healthy soil at the Willits Energy Farm. If you followed the first blog, you will know that we will eventually need to do something about compost at the site. The soil is healthy and can sustain the crops that are being grown in it; however, to grow so intensively without the addition of compost is unsustainable. I felt that the addition compost would take the pressure off the land while we continued to work to establish the crops and the desired composting system. I consulted with David Drell and Jason Bradford and we thought that it might be a good idea, in this first year, to possibly import some compost if the source is not too far away. The plan to import soil is defiantly not how we want the site to operate in the long-term, yet, the health of the soil is a first priority and this is a consideration that we cannot afford to overlook, even if it means importing some compost.

There are multiple people offering “compost for sale”, however, one needs to be careful about the quality of compost that you are buying. Some stuff that is touted as “compost” is no better than mulch, and the processes in which the organic material was created may not have been aerobic or hot enough to kill weed seeds (150°F). If the organic material was composted anaerobically, it will contain natural alcohols that can turn a plant to slime by dissolving portions of the cell walls. Finally, anaerobic compost will lack fungi and the compost will thus lack the diversity need for a healthy soil food web. If the material has the potential of causing harm instead of helping the situation we will not bring it to the site.

David and I decided to visit a farm site that as been know for creating quality compost and take samples to view under the microscope. By talking with the person who makes the compost and by looking at the types of microbes inside it we can make a fairly good assessment of whether or not we want it on the site. When we arrived to the farm there were two different compost piles to choose from. One of the compost piles had been created using grape pomace from a nearby vineyard that had been mixed with straw bedding and spoiled hay. There were earthworms in that compost and also a great deal of little white bugs. Some of the bugs were spring tails and others were symphylums. These symphylums are particularly nasty if they do not have a good deal of fungal biomass to eat. If there is no fungi the symphylums will eat plant roots!

The other pile of compost was made in windrows that had not been turned for 8-9 months. It was composed of 70% horse manure, 25% made of goat droppings, and 5% chicken manure. It looked very nice and had an earthy smell, no visible bugs.

After getting the samples home I examined them under the microscope.

Grape Pomace Compost:

The grape pomace had a diversity of organisms. Lots of bacteria and large dark strands of fungal hyphae were present (large dark fungal strands are a good thing). Unfortunately, there seemed to be a large number of ciliates, which are protozoa that thrive in anaerobic conditions. I also noticed bacterial feeding nematodes (small round worms) that feed high on the soil food web. While the fungal strands looked promising, the presence of symphylums and springtails coupled with the knowledge that some of the material might have been fermented into natural alcohols made this compost into something that we did not want to bring to the site at Brookside Elementary.

Animal Manure Compost:

The animal manure compost was bacterially dominated and had beneficial protozoa in it. Beneficial protozoa include testate amoeba and flagellates. These protozoa are important because they eat the bacteria and help cycle the nitrogen contained in the bacteria into plant available forms. I noticed some large, dark fungal strands; however this compost did not have the fungal biomass that the grape pomace compost. I did not notice any nematodes. Out of the two compost samples, I felt that this one was the best.

Grape Pomace Compost

Grape Pomace Compost (Notice it is purple)

Manure-Based Compost

Example of a Bacterial Feeding Neamatode (The Spots Toward the Tail Are Bacteria)

Example of a Fungal Strand with a Red Spore

Example of Two Cilliates (Protazoa). They Are Feeding On Bacteria

When working the land to grow food and energy crops our first priority and greatest resource is the soil. It has been said if humans take care of the soil then the sun and water will care for the plants. At the Willits Energy Farm we are developing a mini-farm template that factors in crop rotation systems, bed preparation, and a multi-faceted compost center designed to preserve and grow soil. As is evident by the abundance of earthworms that fill almost every scoop of soil, the site at Brookside Elementary has a nutrient rich soil high in organic matter. A soil analysis from December 2005 indicates that the percentage organic matter is 6% and there exists large reserves of exchangeable nutrients.

The same report shows that the soil is rich in microbial life including fungi, protozoa, and especially bacteria. Micro organisms are important aspect of the soil because they participate in the process of nutrient cycling and nutrient retention. Nutrient cycling is the conversion of organic matter and the exchangeable nutrients within the soil into plant available “foods”. Cycling occurs when bacteria and fungi decompose and metabolize organic matter in the soil. These microbes store the nutrients in their bodies (retention) and are themselves eaten in the processes and interactions within the natural food web of the soil. When a diverse set of microbes are interacting in the soil the nutrients are less susceptible to leeching out and the fungal threads and bacterial glues help form soil aggregates that resist compaction. As you might expect, healthy compost is a primary inoculum soil based micro organisms.

Given what has been said about the value of healthy soil, we have begun to plant out and seed spring annuals. These vegetables are transplanted in closely spaced sets and seeded densely in order to grow the greatest amount of food in the smallest space possible. On marginal soil this sort of approach may not produce desired yields as the plants struggle to find the nutrients in land that has been depleted or lacks the nutrient cycling provided by diverse microbial life. Although we have excellent soil to begin this project with we need to be careful not to deplete the reserves that have been stored up through the years. The Grow Biointensive method that we are pattering some of our crop spacing after admits that in order to produce large crops yields in a small space you will need to replenish the land and soil to make up for the nutrients used in the processes of growth. It is clear that we will need to amend the soil with compost after each section of annuals is finished.

Example of Intensive Planting of Onions and Lettuce

Intensive Planting of Peas, Beets, Cabbage, and Swiss Chard

I am fortunate to spend the week of February 5^th
through the 11^th taking classes at the Sustainable Studies Institute
with Dr. Elaine Ingham. The institute is based in the heart of Oregon’s agricultural research center Corvallis, Oregon. Dr. Ingham is a global pioneer in the field
of soil biology and her research has lead to possibly the most advanced studies
and understanding of compost and compost tea in the world. Dr. Ingham has been
involved in chemistry and biological research for many years and brings a
wealth of experience and knowledge to bear on topics related to the
interactions of the soil biology with trees and plants, compost and compost
tea, the recuperation of marginal lands through an understanding of the soil
biology, and the suppression of pests and diseases though the use of activated
compost tea.

In this 6 day workshop there will be a three day discussion
to the soil food web, a day on composting, a day on compost tea technology, and
a day of microscope methods. I look forward to gaining the ability to begin to
make assessments of the biology of soil and compost with the use of my new
microscope. This will help me decided which organisms may need to be selected
for as we prepare a particular plot of land as I consult with groups and community
members in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the needs of the land.

I hope to come from the class with a deeper understanding of
the interactions within the soil and to find a way of maintaining the
consistent reliable production of food that does not rely on the petrochemical
industry’s inorganic fertilizers. In a limited petroleum and natural gas
situation the use of these fertilizers will be cost prohibitive, not to mention
inherently destructive of the environment. I believe that the ability to make
quality compost and provide information about compost teas will be invaluable
in a post-petroleum context. Finally, I expect to be able to understand better
the tea that I learned about in Ecuador
and demonstrated at the Energy Farm in Vancouver
BC in the month of October.

Check out the Sustainable Studies Institute and Soil Foodweb
Inc. here to learn more:

http://soilfoodweb.com/

http://www.sustainablestudies.org/

Without
a doubt conventional agricultural practices, including the use of inorganic fertilizers,
chemical weed and pest management, and intensive tillage disrupts the life of
the soil. Organic matter is lost through tilling practices because bacteria
feed on newly available carbon and nitrogen, releasing the carbon in the plant
matter as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Applications of quick release chemical
fertilizers such as anhydrous ammonia actually dissolve organic matter and kill
soil microorganisms on contact. It takes weeks and months for bacteria and
fungi to reestablish populations after a single application of anhydrous
ammonia.

It
is important to understand that innumerable microbes participate in an
interconnected web of interactions above and below the surface to decompose
organic matter in the soil and both store it and make it available to the
plant. These microbes include bacteria, protozoa (amoeba and flagellates),
fungi, nematodes, micro arthropods, and of course earthworms. Each of these
creatures feeds on plant matter and one another, fertilizing the soil with their
wastes, consuming plant debris and even mineralizing parent matter from rocks
thereby making these nutrients available to the plant to take in from the
roots. In soils with low organic matter or soils that have been salted through
the use of inorganic fertilizers, the biology in the soil is severely disrupted
and the chain of interactions has been broken. Similarly, in areas where
pesticides have been used, non-target organisms are damaged or destroyed,
affecting the biological diversity of the soil. As mentioned above, if there is
not a complete web of biology in the soil then organic mater will be lost as
the bacteria respire. However, if we have a complete food web the process
occurs differently. Instead of losing the carbon, bacterial feeding nematodes
or amoeba consume the bacteria. As their populations increase they become new
biomass in the soil adding both structure and the ability to retain nutrients
as they become the composition of their very bodies. Nutrients become available
to plants as these organisms deposit their metabolic wastes into the area of
the roots.

If
we are to have truly sustainable agricultural practices we need to start at the
soil. An understanding of the processes and needs of the soil biology will
allow us to maintain the health and vitality of the soil while reducing the use
of inorganic fertilizers. Many sound agricultural models that have proposed the
extensive use of compost and have often touted it as the perfect addition to
the soil. Compost is rich in nutrients, humus, has a balanced pH, and is a
medium for billions of beneficial microorganisms including bacteria and fungi.
These organisms form symbiotic relationships with the root structures of the
plant (rhizosphere) and even protect the plant from weeds, disease, and harmful
microbes as established populations of competitive and beneficial biology over
compete against the “baddies”.

After
tilling the soil it is a good idea to follow up with an application of
activated compost tea. Activated compost tea uses compost as a microbial
medium, extracts the microorganisms into water, and promotes the rapid
reproduction of bacteria and fungi by feeding a nutrient mix. Then the water is
aerated for 12-24 hours (depending on the size of the brew) to make sure that
the microbes in the compost have available oxygen and remains aerobic as the
organisms reproduce. A nutrient mix acts as a food for the growing microbes and
a crucial ingredient to tea. Our selection of nutrient mix will influence the
type of organism we want to select for. For instance, if we want to feed
bacteria we emphasize sugars, a protein source, and provide extra minerals. If
we want to create an environment suitable for fungi we add more complex foods
including fish hydrolosate, soluble kelp, and protein meals such as feather
meal or whey.

Compost
tea has a very short shelf life and it is important that once you are done
brewing the tea that you spray it onto the soil within four hours. If you wait
too long, the increased population of microbes may consume all the remaining
oxygen in the mix and making the tea anaerobic, and therefore, potentially
harmful to the soil.

We
recently had the opportunity to apply compost tea to the soil following our
attempt to open the soil at Brookside Farm with walk behind rototillers. The
mix was brought down to the farm site from David Drell, who had created
excellent compost and agreed to brew the batch of tea for us. After the final
cross-cut pass was made I donned the backpack sprayer and diluted the mix to 1
part tea and 2 parts un-chlorinated brook water. I then set out to apply a soil
drench. Typically 20 gallons of tea is used for one acre if you are doing a
soil drench but since we had only about ¼ acre to cover 5 gallons was
appropriate. I simply walked in rows and sprayed the tea onto the soil. The
intention is that the microbes will begin to establish a healthy population to
our already healthy soil. Furthermore, we hope that they will assist in the
decomposition of the newly incorporated sod.

It has been a week since the initiation of the probiotic fertilizer and the batch-style biogas system at the Local Energy Farm Demonstration Project located at UBC. At present, certain aspects of daily farm upkeep rely on the work of dedicated volunteers. I considered this in the creation of the biogas digesters and attempted to make a system that was as easy to maintain as possible for the volunteer workforce.

At minimum, the biogas digesters need to be agitated once a day. In my perfect world, agitation would occur three times—once in the morning and twice during the heat of the day. Remember, agitation breaks up the hard layer of scum that tends to form on the surface of plant based substrates and it mixes the plant matter in order to allow bacteria to come into contact with new material to digest. Agitation should take about thirty seconds for each digester. A volunteer cycles the handle clockwise for about 5-10 revolutions and then counter clockwise for another 5-10 cranks. Simple!-Finished and on to the next farm task!

The probiotic fertilizer needs less frequent agitation (once a week instead of daily). The “airtight” lid is taken off the brew, a wooden oar is inserted into the mix, and the contents are mixed and churned for a minute or two. Usually this makes a lot of foam as carbon dioxide is released from the mixture. After mixing the lid is re-secured and awaits the next week.

As you consider the infrastructure and process you are going to develop on your farm try to make it use as less energy as possible for up keep and maintenance. To invest a little extra thought and energy in the planning and design phase can allow you to have multiple initiatives underway, which, once started, can continue without a lot of extra physical input.

On Saturday I finished collecting my quota of 42 KG of what I can best describe as “clover-hay”. When I talk of clover-hay I am referring to the leafy tops of the clover with sections of attached stem. Pure clover tops are estimated to have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 12:1 (pretty low). The clover-hay is estimated to be close to 15:1.

On the UBC Energy Farm we are certain that the collection and preparation of the clover for use in organic fertilizer and biogas digestion can be done without the use of petrol. It has now become a matter of finding the best means of doing this. In search of an appropriate methodology, researchers are interested in making the process easy to replicate, safe, and not impossibly labor intensive. As farm manager Mark Bomford puts it, “The goal is to find intermediate tools and methods that work at reducing a farmer’s dependence on petrol powered machines. At the same time, we also want to find ways of conserving needless physical labor and energy inputs.” So what are the intermediate tools?

I have used a push-style, human-powered, lawn mower. It cuts perfect clover tops without stems if the clover is about 5 inches tall. However, when the clover is very tall and dense the process becomes very time consuming and labor intensive, (because the mower is difficult to push). Furthermore, the quality of clover obtained is not as “pure” as only clover tops. I then tried to use a machete to cut tall dense clover and obtain clover-hay. This worked better than the mower but the process required that an individual bend over or kneel, putting strain on the legs and back. What’s more is that the clover-hay yield is low for the amount of time invested. Finally, I took a scythe to the same dense clover. BINGO! The scythe is able to cut large swaths of clover while standing in a comfortable way. When I am careful I can even go for only clover tops. I can level ten or more times as much clover in a fraction of the time.

The scythe is an example of an intermediate tool on the Energy Farm. It has a quick learning curve, is safe to use for an individual in an open field, and saves time and energy to obtain the same quality of cut clover. Further uses of the pole scythe at the Energy Farm include harvesting Flax and Canola for use in making biodiesel.

Feshly Cut Clover Hay

Mighty Scythe

Using the Scythe to Cut Clover (Dramatic Swing!)

 
Difficulty of Using Push Mower in Tall Clover

I have recently returned from a seven-month trip in South America. While in Ecuador I lived at a farm that employed an agricultural engineer. He was very calm and friendly and would answer many questions related to the farm. I was curious about a particular liquid that the farmers used to spray on mature plants, new sprouts, and freshly tilled soil. Since this was an organic permaculture farm, I was certain that they were not using industrial pesticides or fertilizers. The engineer told me that the mixture was a type of specially prepared compost tea. The preparation uses mixtures of nitrogen rich plants (legumes) and animal wastes to generate a pro-biotic organic fertilizer.

What this means is that we can expect an addition of useful nutrients and acids to the soil, but we also introduce helpful and healthy strains of bacteria. The bacteria provide the utility of adding diverse life to the soil and defending the plant from harmful competitive strains of bacteria. In short, a symbiotic relationship.

I was inspired with this information and feel that this special style of tea is worthy of a demonstration at the Vancouver Energy Farm at UBC. Yeast, molasses, sawdust, and rock phosphate powder have been gathered along with 25KG of clover. As to be expected at an organic style farm, there is an abundant amount of pre-composted material which is also going into the pro-biotic brew. The demonstration mixture will be brewed in a 55 gallon plastic barrel. After the process has finshed brewing, the final mixture will be applied at roughly a 10:1 ratio of ten parts water to one part tea.

Sawdust, Molasses, Clover, Urine, Yeast, Rock Phosphate Powder, Humus

Yeast, Molasses, Urine, Rock Phosphate

Clover for Probiotic Tea