Hello.
I didn't test it, but learned about them.
Ingham's method is more about what ingredients to use for what type of crops, how to achieve a mature and active compost and how to apply it to crops. The Johnson-Su bioreactor is a device that replaces the 'turning pile' method for composting, which, to my knowledge, was not invented by Ingham. So you can actually combine both phylosophies.
Which composting method is better? The pile has lots of work but it costs nothing. The bioreactor has little to no maintenance, but it needs some investment to set up, especially the
irrigation system. About the quality I couldn't say.
In the pile, it achieves high temperatures which is perfect for killing seeds and potential pathogens, but it also risks overcooking. In the pile, any error leads to rotting microbes that are harmful to aerobic crops, the ones we like to eat.
The bioreactor has aireation pipes that prevent rotting, and it controls the speed of the composting by the water flow. However, I don't think the bioreactor achieves a similar temperature homogeneously. Probably it doesn't matter if it is enough to kill most pioneer seeds.
In a climate where rains are scarce, the Johnson-Su bioreactor has an advantage over the pile, since it is very easy to ruin a pile for not being able to water it in time.
With any composting method, you can improve the final products following these SFW advices:
- Use a high
carbon ratio for most crops, and a very high carbon ratio for
trees. That's what they call brown matter.
- Use black matter (manure,
urine) as a temperature regulator, the more black, the hotter it gets.
- Take your inputs preferably from the same place where the compost is going to be applied, to increase
local microbes. When your soil is dead, any compost will improve it, but when it is almost in good shape, using a compost made from who knows where is probably harmful. Thay may lead to a rise in microbes not adapted to the local conditions to the local ones loss.
- Wait until the compost is complety mature (no heating) but apply it quick, when microbes are still very active. The point about applying compost is to inocculate microbes, not feeding the soil.
- It can be applied using compost teas and compost extracts, that increases massively the area that can be inocculated.
- It can be further improved by feeding the mature compost to red worms, and applied as worm castings.
- Since we are adding living material to the soil, it is worth to take a few steps for making the soil well receiving: irrigating the soil first, avoiding harsh sun and temperatures, mulching (preferably living mulch), etc.
4
