DIY Soil Fertility – Part 4: Thermophilic Compost
What Is Thermophilic Composting? Thermophilic composting processes are set up to favor thermophilic (“heat loving”) microbes that are capable of rapidly breaking down organic matter into humus. Thermophilic composting is a way to make large quantities of quality compost in a relatively short period of time, and is typically done in meter square piles (the…
DIY Soil Fertility – Part 2: Bokashi Composting System
What Is Bokashi Composting? Bokashi is an anaerobic method of fermenting organic wastes (i.e. pickling them) – as opposed to typical aerobic thermophilic composting that decomposes organic material. Bokashi systems in this sense are more a pre-composting method, as they do not yield finished soil, but instead microbially-rich fermented food wastes that are primed for…
DIY Soil Fertility – Part 1: Vermicompost
What is vermicomposting? Vermicompost systems employ compost worms (Eisenia fetida) – a.k.a. red wigglers – to transform a wide variety of organic wastes into nutrient-rich worm castings. The worms don’t actually eat the organic material – they eat the microbes that are breaking down the organic material. Why do vermicompost? The worm castings (worm poop)…
