[USCC] researching Yarrow, etc

[John A. Crockett]

I confess that I was totally naïve about "Yarrow being a major biodynamic 
composting component. (and that) It is one of five herbs used to enhance 
composting. The other four are valerian, equisetum, chamomile, and stinging 
nettle"; until saw it on this list this morning.

Our compost research silo setup seems like an idea environment to research 
it, to see how those herbs affect the bio-mass of active bacteria and fungi, 
and then how plants grow / perform in the finished compost.  At a quick 
glance, the research will be energy consuming, to run the various 
combinations, concentrations, doing the assaying to quantify the population 
of active bacteria & fungi, side by side with controls, and to then do the 
plant growth research.    We'll first have to grow the herbs, and that will 
have to wait until next Spring.  Important as this research is, it is also 
going to easily tie up at least ten of our compost research silos for at 
least three months, not to mention the people resources for managing the 
compost and doing the assaying.

Are there any people following this list ready to volunteer to assist, or 
contribute to the cost of the research?

We're in the midst of a major upgrade on the aeration manifold and TempScan 
wiring for our compost research silos on the front end of our system,  The 
old system dates back to 2000, and the new system is looking much better. 
Such is life with our commitment to constant improvement.  We're getting 
ready to triple our specially modified silos for research on capturing the 
Surplus Microbial Metabolic Heat from active compost.,including 
incorporating some enhancements that have come to light as a result of the 
heat capturing research we did last winter.

It's over ten years since I did my first oxygen depletion research and 
learned that the microbes can easily crash the oxygen from 19% down to 2% in 
15 minutes.  Shortly after that we started doing cross section profile 
oxygen and CO2 monitoring of passively aerated windrows and our oxygen and 
CO2 meters quickly convinced us that passive aeration by convection is 
grossly inadequate for the oxygen needs of the microbes which we depend on 
to do the actual composting.  Then the graphs showing the results of much of 
that research, have been available to all at our www.magicsoil.com website 
since we first opened that website in May of 1998.   I wouldn't believe that 
the microbes could need over 23 times the volume of compost, in fresh air, 
every hour, unless I had personally done that research, and then replicated 
it many times.  We believe in hands on research, that, while it is 
expensive, ignorance is far more expensive, unaffordable.

Working together to create a sustainable environment,
John A. Crockett, a.k.a. Dr. Mike Robe
Mother Nature's Farms, Inc.
www.magicsoil.com
jac at magicsoil.com