Johnson Su Bioreactor: Why Your Ingredients Matter.

[@PrintrBear]

Great video , thanks for all the details man 👊 god bless

[@pattyb5653]

Your insights are valuable - the art of science.

[@youngredangus6041]

Thanks

[@pierreleroy6826]

Very interesting,thank you for thé vidéo Blessings from France

[@TheGardenerNorth]

Very interesting.

[@ronniegautrey4360]

I'm looking forward to more videos off your test runs.

[@youngredangus6041]

Thanks!

[@peaksoil]

Good stuff. Thanks!

[@godzgr8]

I would think the beginning reaction temp would be most easily controled by startinh moisture content variable. I think you are adjusting that when you shift ingrediants. Green vs brown clippings and also just the eveness of the moisture distrulibution at the start. Using the top sprayers will not moisten dry ingredients in the midlle of the reactor, especially if leaves arent shredded

[@rossdavey428]

I'm not sure that it is all that critical. Sure if you want perfection, however my experience over 4 years is that the system corrects itself over 12 months, as long as it isnt allowed to dry out too much or go anaerobic. The fact that the heat kills bacteria and fungo to start will will be ok as long as the units are put somewhere where airborne microbes can repopulate the unit. Also killing pathogens doesnt seem to be a major issue for warranting getting the heat up. I personally am not that picky about the early stages or the material used.

[@youngredangus6041]

Thanks Ross for the feedback. Where I had a lot of troubles with my first ones I wanted to be more throe on my processes. I agree that they will correct themselves over time but once I got my DNA analysis back and seen the huge difference on the results from the ones that went anaerobic to the ones that didn’t I wanted to figure out how to make compost with out it going anaerobic.

[@rossdavey428]

@@youngredangus6041 True. Better that it doesnt go anaerobic at all. Also better if you can get higher fungi population if you can.

[@Aelpha-b2k]

I am wondering about keeping moisture content and i see some drip systems and I see those deep air holes and then I see the solution to moisture control! Ollas! Clay vessels that are buried (to the neck for filling) Some are manufacturing them now but I seal two slightly different top diameter clay pots together with modelling clay and seal the bottom. material cost is 6US$ for 1300 ml olla. The dry fast when used to water soil with living plants but I bet they will keep composting materials perfectly moist if staggered as the air holes. I'm just planning to build and fill a JSBR from a tote and have watched a few YRA videos (and DF) but cannot see why, when using the bladder of ibc tote, holes aren't perforating the sides as well. is it just too much labor? I read in a comment on a different YRA video someone mentioned using charcoal inside/behind the drain. This seems like a good idea. I plan to layer the entire bottom with biochar (pyrolysed in a cone pit last year from hard/soft wood brush). This is perfect application for the larger pieces of char that get screened. it will breathe and drain readily.

[@doncook3584]

Well, city folks probably don’t have wheat straw or manure (we are green with envy…wait I guess yellow) so the carbon component mostly would come from leaves and the nitrogen from veggie scraps this time of year (November). My reactor is old trash cans with pvc 4” centers so no components are more than 12 from oxygen.

[@michelbisson6645]

very good thank you

[@VickiTMorrison]

Does anyone know approximately the volume of red wrigglers to add after it cools?

[@alfonsomunoz4424]

Yeah, when I add grass clippings to my woodchip pile it always sends up the temp within a day or two. I have a mini Johnson Su bioreactor going but I'm trying to be disciplined enough not to mess with it. It dried out on the outside because I'm in the desert and I'm trying to use only rain water. But it's still pretty damp a few inches in.

[@ross6343]

Great video Jay. Questions...are you aging that horse manure before adding to the bioreactor build? About the grass...what type and is it fresh when adding to the build? Last question involves the wood chips. Are you aging the wood chips before adding to the build and, if so, do you do any 'preparation steps' [treating] before aging the wood chips? Thanks for your time. Cheers...

[@youngredangus6041]

Wood chips are a year old Horse manure was collected by the boys anywhere from a couple of months to a year old The grass clippings are a year old Do you have any feedback with what you have been seeing?

[@ross6343]

@@youngredangus6041 Do the wood chips have mycelium on them? All of my wood chips are drenched with Wild Root Organic Mycorrhizal Inoculant [a 16 species blend] and then covered and left to sit until there's a fair amount of mycelium on them before I use the chips. Have you been able to determine the mushroom source in the #5 bioreactor? It'll be interesting what the analysis shows on #5. As to aging...it seems to me the time frames are okay before the bioreactor build. I'm convinced that the Johnson-Su bioreactor 'flips' back and forth between being aerobic vs anaerobic over the year's dwell time. Like you, I do believe the 'types' of source material along with air flow and moisture levels contribute to that aerobic vs anaerobic activity and balance. I have a 'build' about three months old made up of 50/50 compost and aged wood chips. I plan on sending extract samples to Biome Makers for analysis at the end of a year. Otherwise, I'm sticking with my worm castings extract, which I know works.

[@flatsville1]

@@ross6343 You can't see Mycorrhizal fungi with the naked eye. If you are seeing whitish fungi in your wood chips, it's most likely Saprophytic (decay) fungi, a good sign you also have Mycorrhizal with out spending a dime on multi-strains not suited to your area. The commercial myco stuff also dies shortly after being bagged & shipped even if not exposed to extremes during travel & storage.

[@ross6343]

@@flatsville1 I used the word mycelium, which can be seen with the naked eye - so can mycorrhizal fungi be seen with the naked eye if you know where to look in the root system. On the other hand, endomycorrhizal fungi can't be seen with the naked eye. I generally agree with your observation about 'commercial myco stuff' - it pays to do the research. The product I use has been well researched with documentation by Texas A&M University and has research certifications from other organizations. I conducted my 'with/without' control trials with results that told me my money would be well spent on additional product. I've been using Wild Root for nearly ten years now on my organic farm operation [used in conjunction with worm castings extract and other plant-based extract(s)] for inground planting and I won't be without the product. I've been experimenting with the Johnson-Su bioreactor scheme for about three years now with mixed results. I'm always looking for ways to enhance my soil's health. Cheers...

[@flatsville1]

@@ross6343 Mycellium is only specifically indicative of mycellium. Not any kind of indicator of Mycorrhizal innoculation....endo or ecto. (So much for all those hyping mushroom compost.) Endomycorrhiza inoculation for better soil is what most growers seek & it can't be seen with the naked eye. Kiss Organic has a good primer. From "Understanding Mycorrhizal Fungi: What you need to know."- >>>I hear people online mistake mycelium for mycorrhiza. Keep in mind they are different. Mycelium is visible with the naked eye, while endomycorrhiza is not. You need a microscope and stains to effectively see endomycorrhizal infection. Endomycorrhizal fungi do not produce fruiting bodies (mushrooms). If you see a mushroom it has no relevance to whether or not your plant has a good mycorrhizal infection

[@mirsidorov5112]

Any updates? Dr Johnson linked a video in one of his recent presentations about a giant farm having great results, the video is called "Compost on a large scale Regenerating 1000 acres with Cory Miller" they do 60% woody, branches, twigs, sawdust, as much diversity as possible, 30% alfalfa hay, and 10% high nitrogen source like manure or spent grains from breweries, and takes a year to mature. Also dairly waterings is key, cant dry out or freeze.

[@youngredangus6041]

I’ll have update soon 60% are really good Cory Miller and I are friends. I’ve interviewed him in a KZbin live Where are you from Mir?

[@mirsidorov5112]

@@youngredangus6041 O cool, cant wait, thank you very much for sharing!

[@mirsidorov5112]

@@youngredangus6041 Im from Ukraine, lived in Canada for a while, moved to a rural place in the mountains of Georgia some years ago. Starting a permaculture fruit orchard, want to do everything right, but dont have the funds to purchase Dr Elaines program, so learning bit by bit from good people like yourself.

[@TheOnlyKeyz]

I wad under the impression johnson su was cold composting. I figured the pathogens are dealt with by fungus or the small amount of bacteria over time.

[@youngredangus6041]

no it goes through the heating process

[@donlourie769]

I built several piles last summer with varying proportions of chopped leaves and grass clippings to make a mulch for my wife's garden. I used wood pallets for the bottom and sides and put in the pipes as in a regular JS pile. But the goal here was mulch in 6 weeks, not the biology I make with the JS piles over 18 months. I found that 20% grass was the most I could add to keep temps below 130F. 10% grass actually worked very well. So this year I will try again to verify. 90% chopped leaves and 10% grass clippings from my yard. When I build the pile, I layer it in with about 4 inches of leaves and 1" of grass and spray water the whole time.

[@youngredangus6041]

Thanks for the feed back

[@phillipbertrand8514]

What do you mean by chopped leaves? Passed Tru a mill or lawn mower?

[@craiglaplante9822]

Have you thought about using various hemp fibers? The blast vs. the Hurd?

[@gardenaplowboy]

How do you measure the ingredients? By weight, volume? Does the straw need to be run through a shredder first?

[@iancormie9916]

Why are you concerned about anaerobic action? Would the anaerobic action not provide the same end product? Thanks

[@Wildwwill]

My take on the matter is, with anaerobic action come bacterial dominance rather than fungal.

[@mirsidorov5112]

Anaerobic bacteria differ from aerobic. Anaerobic bacteria is deadly to plants, while aerobic is healthy.

[@jimlewis1992]

You have since modified your stance on temperatures, what are you shooting for now? I have had some heat to 145 and some only get to 120. Wondering if I should be adding more low c/n ratio materials to get it to heat up more?

[@youngredangus6041]

Hight N can lead to higher temperatures

[@coursecorrection870]

Great scientific approach. Are the qualities in volume or weight?

[@youngredangus6041]

Volume

[@jeffrydemeyer5433]

Why not just have them go hot and just add the spores after hot stage via the water?

[@mobypicks2435]

How long is it taking you to have a broken-down pile when you use wood chips?

[@michaelomalley6726]

. My understanding is that these composts do not stay hot for long meaning that all of the pathogens will not be destroyed.

[@saifabbas2510]

Please share more details of bioreactor no 5. Are you satisfied by the results ?

[@joefude3656]

Thank you for this video. I'm new to all of this and about to build my first JS bioreactor after having great luck with a Soil Food Web design. What are your thoughts on the size of the corn stalk/wood chip material? It seems like if a person processes material to a smaller size, the reaction will happen more quickly, get to a higher temperature, break down more quickly, and be more likely to go anaerobic because of the smaller air passages. I feed material into a wood chipper and what comes out is what I have to use. I'm wondering if there is any way to judge the material size and perhaps compensate for it by adding more air pipes during the build. Have you run any tests comparing material size?

[@youngredangus6041]

I havnt seen test. What are you going to use to make your extract?

[@joefude3656]

@@youngredangus6041 Thanks for asking, I haven't gotten to making the extract or tea yet. My first compost pile is still cooling down. If you are asking about my composting materials, it is a blend of wood chips, post-harvest garden greens like tomato plants, bean stalks, corn stalks, and cow manure if I need it.

[@youngredangus6041]

@@joefude3656 I think it helps if you know how you are going to make your extract. If the machine you use to extract can handle bigger materials and you can save those to start a new pile I would have a little bit bigger materials

[@that_garden_gnome]

what chipper do you use? my GARDENBEAUT S1 Wood Chipper gets clogged with certain stringy materials

[@smittys19daytona]

so that 160 temp continued to maintained even after a week or two ? you would think it would come down , at what temp do you add worms ?just read 95 could be lethal already

[@Ukepa]

wow, what a process... good video!

[@youngredangus6041]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[@ekkehartmeyer701]

Can you tell me what means for example 20 % manure and 80 % other material, does it mean in terms of weight or volume?

[@youngredangus6041]

Volume is what I go by

[@TheUxodude]

Are you dechlorinating the water? If so please explain how.

[@youngredangus6041]

I am not. We don’t have high levels of chlorine

[@colonialroofingofnorthcaro441]

Can you give us an idea of where we might could find or buy these fertilizer crates I imagine they the fertilizer people use them I don't think they just throw them away like their pallets or anything granted I guess you can build your own which is probably what I'll have to end up doing but if you got some ideas of where you can maybe purchase these or maybe something get old and in their trading out or something I don't know you would know somebody if I would imagine hopefully and if not maybe you can look into it and and tell you the followers you know where you might could look to find these things thanks a lot God bless

[@northeastworms]

I found a lot of them on Facebook marketplace

[@johnthomas5806]

is the biochar that was added to the terra prima soils in the amazon part of the reason of the breakdown of the materials added to a bioreactor?

[@youngredangus6041]

I apologize I don’t understand the question. I don’t use biochar

[@colonialroofingofnorthcaro441]

Just another question now I know you got these things so that you can I think so that you can blow air through them or something like that what about you know like stalls I don't know if that's the perfect word for it but something that you can continue to flip you know like most people when they make a compost pile you know safe for their Garden I'm obviously you're doing this for a different reason but for their Garden or something they have a power and they can flip it with their tractor or they can have a small enough when they can flip it with their hay fork or with a shovel or whatever is that any kind of good compost or is that composting lately 100% different than what you're talking about I'm just trying to find out where the lines are here this compost is it certain bio activity that you are wanting to create and in one of those situations where you flip it you know where you can turn it over and toss it up a little bit is that not achieving the same thing or is that achieve in a whole different direction I'm just trying to understand and learn more here I appreciate it appreciate it thank you

[@kaiunruh9498]

Could I use cow manure?

[@youngredangus6041]

Are you using pour on for the cattle?

[@kaiunruh9498]

I’m not a cattle guy myself. Would be getting some from my neighbor probably. So not sure what u mean by that term.

[@johnnmartens3067]

Any manure will work just got to get you nitrogen and carbon ratios right

[@Katydidit]

... however make certain those cattle are not grazing or being fed hay from fields sprayed with persistent herbicides (Aminopyralid)

[@ppacal1098]

Dude you need more nitrogen mayerial in your bins. The materials you sre showing are far too carbonnyto b

[@youngredangus6041]

Hey thanks for the feed back Have you made JS before? When I use too much N my compost goes anaerobic. If you have made them before what do you use as your material

[@ppacal1098]

@@youngredangus6041 i have a mid sized series of bins that are elevated with airflow underneath. I don't like the laziness of JS. I believe if you turn equally mixed browns and green three times over a week and half then leave alone you get a much better result. JS have not proven themselves yet.

[@youngredangus6041]

@@ppacal1098 Mine turned out to have over 600 species of fungi and bacteria The ratio was close to 1-1 We raised 200 bushel corn with it with out applying N or P I’m happy with our results I’m glad what you are doing works well for you

[@frontrangesoil]

Jay is back!

[@farmingwrenching3802]

This is so cool! This is My first time learning about bioreactors! Looking forward to more videos and possibly trying this some day!

[@_DeFiNiTeLy_Not_BrAd_]

If your pile gets to hot and your worried about the fungal life dying, could you wait until it cools down and add the fungi back in with the over the counter myco package blends? Basically like how you would grow mushrooms?

[@youngredangus6041]

Yeah I believe so. I got the opportunity to speak to Mrs Johnson and she said the heat isn’t that big of a deal. But I will say I made one just straight grass clippings and it stayed anaerobic for 3 months.