Opening a Compost Bioreactor - One Year Later (SUCCESS OR FAIL?)

Horse manure has been composting inside the modified Johnson-Su Compost Bioreactor for a year. Let's open it up and see what it looks like. The bioreactor design video: • Designing a New Compos...
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[@stevefromthegarden1135]

I really liked your design idea and adapted it to a rectangle using pallets this past fall. Filled it with horse stall cleanout, leaves and grass clippings. (grass from collecting the leaves with the riding mower) Topped it off a 2nd time with additional leaves and manure a week later. I have a video on my channel for this with credit to Deigo and link to his design concept video.

[@mking3219]

WELL DONE Diego!

[@DK-qx3lv]

Be nice, be thankful, and do the work. Words to live by! 🙏

[@ThatStevenLouis]

Man I was waiting for this one! Your earlier videos talking about them inspired me to start one a handful of months ago

[@evilgenius97]

I love the ideas of different styles of composting

[@richards5110]

Agree with your approach to detailed analyses. People for thousands of years have been making and effectively using compost without glass let alone microscopes. As long as it isn't putrid (obviously isn't from the video footage) then it should provide a lot of benefit.

[@rafaelunplugged]

Your commitment to the experiments and keeping up with your videos is quite impressive lol. Thanks Diego

[@Warrior-In-the-Garden]

LOVE IT ! "The Diego Double Ring" thanks for the update. I like the idea of doing a new one every 6 months. Might give that a try.

[@philandhannahslittlefarm1464]

Thanks for the update. I personally feel that a static pile or windrow is much less work. I tried a JS bioreactor and found it to be very labour intensive compared to making a good ol' pile with the tractor. I'm planning a windrow that I add fresh material on one end and harvest from the other. Giving it a full year to compost.

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

Interesting experiment and observations. Thanks for sharing

[@jeshurunfarm]

Thank you dude. Respect from Africa 🇿🇦

[@rulerofthelight]

A million thankyous for what you do and sharing it.

[@rollandelliott]

awesome well done results!

[@Caseycallender]

Love the idea. Nothing is stopping you from just filling it up again untill you have more than 1/3 of a bioreactor worth of compost. I like this idea because when your out gardening, and doing things around the house you tend to accumulate alot of things that could compost but it tends to be a chore if you have to go out and turn the new stuff into the pile. This way you could just throw it in there and when you have time fill the nitrogen ring. Throw some water at it every now and than and let it work its magic..

[@borracho-joe7255]

Great info..:thanks for sharing!

[@nates2526]

Thanks for the video! I’m looking forward to your look back at the Geobin composter

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

Good to know mulching the pile helps with moisture retention, did that with mine I built recently hoping it would.

[@JohnBoys]

I built the same last fall- filled it with a mix of manures- cow, horse, goat, chicken, wood chips, rotten wood from the forest, spoiled hay, old straw- set it on the ground to allow worms to retreat during our winters -30c today- easier than my 2 traditional J-S reactors, significantly more volume. Time will tell.

[@TsmithJustin]

I've actually been waiting for this. I tried something similar right before I found your video last year. I took 4 inch pvc and drilled a bunch of holes in about 6 pipes and put those throughout the pile. I got impatient and didn't stick it out long enough. So I'm anxious to see what would've been if I didn't cut it short.

[@beamworthy4134]

Love you Diego!

[@ronniemcmaster8657]

Thanks for another great video! I agree with the not needing to do the lab/microscope thing. If you were trying to sell it, then it'd be different. I want to get a microscope and learn the biology for my own shits and giggles.

[@OrtoForesta]

Hi Diego, It's worth pointing out that the reduction in volume is caused mostly by offgassing of ammonia and CO2. Carbon in manure is more labile, whereaas in woodchip there is more recalcitrant C (which eventually becomes humus).

[@DiegoFooter]

I am not so sure about that. The two full woodchip bioreactors were combined into one reactor last year and that is now 1/2 full. Unless the carbon is going into a living body then it is going up into the sky eventually regardless of the form it started out as.

[@OrtoForesta]

@@DiegoFooter "Eventually" is the key. All carbon will go in the sky, as you say. But usually cellulose and lignin are more long-lived. Obviously by having highly fungal conditions it might be that both manure and woodchip offgass at the same rate, but in my experience when composting (traditionally, not J-S bioreactor), mulching or incorporating into the soil, manure disappears very fast and does add very little humus to the soil, whereas woody or plant-based composts or raw materials increase soil OM a lot more. Nice discussion of this in Brady-Weil's textbook in the Carbon chapter :) Keep up the good work!

[@johnjude2685]

Sir As long as the reactor has 2' walls couldn't it be any length such as length of my garden or behind garage. For now I am prefixing into my compost several months before use for the bio Mico benefits You are inspiring garden testing as we all have different garden temperature, soils,minerals and mini different garden soils Thanks for your teaching Sir

[@cacosta6294]

One of my thoughts was you should mulch above the irrigation ring ..... And there goes Diego , saying you should just mulch the top

[@frshortop]

Hi Diego - 1. It would be interesting to see any observable differences in the pile along a line from the center out to the outside circumference to show what influence, if any, proximity to the air source has. 2. The F:B ratio (fungal to bacterial) is the ultimate indictor of success. I use a $10/test Microbiometer to monitor performance of my bioreactors. 3. It looked like your pile reduced to about one third it's original volume. My bioreactors with primarily tree leaves are usually ready when I get to 45% volume. Your thoughts?

[@bonniewilson9709]

That's what I done in my back yard..everyone can and make and share with farmers..

[@funnywolffarm]

Neat stuff, as usual. Thanks. Was curious when you first set this up why you had a 2' center, rather than a 1' center with a 5' diameter. Would still have the 24' avg aeration/penetration w/ the nearly same compost payload..

[@mehmetkadoglu9077]

thanks diego. very nice video.What is the internal temperature of the compost with this system. Does it cause pest formation on the outer surfaces since there is no mixing? thanks

[@jasonknight5045]

great video diego, thanks for contributing to the work, an intresting idea i think to your work ,could be what ingredients contribute to what kinds of biology at the end product, or what method differences might get you there. i have a scope so i should get contributing :)

[@jonseals]

Because of of the fencing I had to purchase, I had enough for TWO double-ring bioreactors just like this. One was overkill for my property. The second one just takes up space. I'm going to flip the compost from the one I used into the empty one. I might even cut part of it down - so it's more of a "C" design - with better access.

[@sammcjunkin9200]

I modified his design so that it was a rectangle, open on one short end for better access and it worked great.

[@jonseals]

​@@sammcjunkin9200 That's a good idea. Thanks!

[@l0gic23]

Could probably sell it as well

[@vonries]

What I want to know is how the bioreactor with the wood chips did. Have you unwrapped either the original Sue Johnson reactor or your reactor with wood chips yet? If so please leave a link to the video.

[@angelaanderson5360]

Thank you Diego. I too have limited space so the bio would not be practical for me.

[@misterdubity3073]

To equal the initial volume of a Diego double ring 6' tall (6' outer diameter, 2' inner) a non-aerated cone would be (before shrinkage) about 10.5 feet diameter and 5.25 feet tall, for a 45 degree angle of repose. And for a 30 degree angle of repose, it would be 12.5 feet wide and 3.6 feet tall. And a J-S size (5'/1') holds 3/4 the volume of a Diego (6'/2') size.

[@l0gic23]

Wow, thanks for this information.

[@juklehto]

In Finland is one entrepreneur who has 24 hour composting system. I don't know how this work and how much it needs energy. This entrepreneur has said in one news article how she get idea for her system from Tokyo's McDonald. In Japan is used somekind fast composting system where waist is ready spread to field after 24 hours. This technique might have something good for composting and I think it good check this more what it hold in.

[@DiegoFooter]

I wonder if it is one of those systems where they grind and dry the food waste and then call it compost. I have seen a lot of those systems out there and I wouldn't consider the results to be compost. www.indiegogo.com/projects/nagual-turn-home-waste-into-fertilizer-in-1-5hrs#/

[@yellowhouse5592]

Are you sure that a lot of the height reduction wasn't due to losing fine particles through the chicken wire sides?

[@davidvankainen6711]

I thought the whole point of the JS reactor was NOT to just create "compost" but to create a sort of fungal / bacteria community of spores(?) that can be used as an inoculant of sorts into otherwise sterile soil such as tilled croplands that have been allowed to fallow/burn up in the sun. My compost pile is "easy" but don't tell the wife! She really appreciates it when I 'laboriously' hump the kitchen & coffee scraps to the pile. Yes, I do keep a garden fork right there to stir it up occasionally. 😉 but watering it in constantly would be pain. Not doing that here in MI.

[@ameeraljadie1282]

❤❤❤❤

[@marycain7424]

I have 5 acres so this seems to be a good option for me. I do wish there had been a mix of manure and vegetation so we could see how that would have fared.

[@l0gic23]

Maybe next time? Got to admit that had he done that, someone would have asked about testing just manure which is a big problem for many (not me). I guess a year ago we could have asked about a side by side test sponsored by interested viewers?

[@floriswou]

It's not about 'IF the material breaks down or not', but about WHAT is actually inside your end product. For this you would actually need a microscope and it would be great to have a biology test done on it, to see how well it has gone.

[@DiegoFooter]

Or as someone else suggested, see how the plants grow in it. If the plants grow well, then it was a success.

[@elibennett3034]

@@DiegoFooter obviously the plants have the last word, but aren't you curious to see what level of biodiversity is in your reactors?

[@LtPinback]

Diego do use palets and forget the biology factor. Worms will find a way to enter the pile no matter what. Mine is full of them and it is on a plastic palet. As for soil biology if you must do inoculate the pile with some of last year compost but I highly doubt it will even need doing for a largely manure pile.

[@davidsawyer1599]

I am with you on the worms going where they want. I don't understand the exclusion of the roots either. Isn't the point to create a habitat that encourages the biology? Is the thought that what ever roots find their way into the compost are some how bad? Granted different plants attract different organisms. Not questioning you or seeking a reply. Drilling down and echoing thoughts. OH! Great vid Diego.

[@FejerangJ]

Do you have a compost sifter?

[@DiegoFooter]

No, I don't use one now.

[@mikedonovan4434]

Sifted the reactor contents composed primarily of leaves and grass clippings. Could not be more satisfied with the perfect C-N ratio and moist, crumb structure. The compost will definitely improve the soil tilth in the garden beds.

[@markaholden]

Asked this on another video, from your podcast, one of your guests said he doesn't use horse manure because of dewormers and antibiotics used in the horses. Are you worried about these things for the compost or for your future tomatoes?

[@DiegoFooter]

No. If you look at the studies the dewormer breaks down pretty fast. The worry with manure is persistent herbicides. That takes much much longer to break down.

[@markaholden]

Thanks, I live in Amish country and could probably get my hands on plenty but this was a worry for me

[@l0gic23]

@@DiegoFooter I was thinking that horse manure could be a good free source of compost for a future property. Could you share more on the herbicide source, risk, mitigation (if any). Many thanks and best wishes

[@bobthrasher8226]

I wonder if you could convince horse stables to install a bioreactor that you could "service" - e.g. take the composted results off their hands.

[@seattleareatom]

Interesting video. No microscope view yet I see soil food web video links here and you don't believe. Hmmm

[@bonniewilson9709]

I make mine in back yard and if everyone does this use a section of your yard you can help even if it a chicken coop more

[@Humus_Farms]

Why it doesn't have clay consistency?

[@DiegoFooter]

That's just how worm castings look. That's really what this is a huge pile of worm castings. I think it's the bacterial gel that aggregates the particles giving them that wet, clay look.

[@matthewphares4588]

There’s no point in going through all this work without measuring the most important end result, which is plant growth. Also, what are you comparing your compost to? I still can’t find comparisons of the finished product of all the compost reactors you built in another video. I will say Johnson-Su showed the compost at the end of his method and it was almost like playdough. Do a video of the different reactors you built, filling each with same material, adding each to separate pots each with same species of plant and see what happens. Don’t post bits of the unfinished “experiment” wait until it is completed and then post the results. Thanks