Compost Primer Release

We're happy to announce...

(Co-creation Team: Heather Boright, Adam Cobb, and Tanja Dekker)

The first Holobiont HUB Community Primer is online, and we invite everyone to check it out, share it widely, and join our Slack Forum to provide your feedback. Here are some snapshots of the content you’ll find:

(1) A summary of active composting

We provide an overview of the key strategies for compost-making. How can we set the stage for microorganisms to transform organic materials into a POWERFUL bioamendment (that enhances holobiont and ecosystem functions)?

(2) Summary of section one (Inspirational Path)

We starting by inspiring all the COMPOST MAKERS. How can we approach the learning process with the most effective perspectives and goals?

(3) Summary of section two (Operational Path)

We provide PRACTICAL insights for active composting. How can we facilitate the natural process of decomposition so our bioamendments teem with a rich and abundant community?

Are you ready for one more?

This is the WHY behind making and using bioamendments (such as quality compost). Even if we have plants (hosts) and a favorable environment (conditions), we often need to reintroduce or reactivate microbial mutualists (allies) in order to support thriving holobionts (hosts +microbiomes).

While building this first Primer, we’ve had great discussions as a team - and with other people in the HH Community. Recently, Tanja and I had a chat about how soil is like a digestive system. If the soil is alive and active, organic materials are rapidly decomposed and transformed so that nutrients and biological resources cycle back into the system, where multitudes of microorganisms, macroorganisms, and plants are nourished and sustained.

What a story! The cycle of life, death, decay, and new life. Our human (animal) guts can transmute food into what we need to function, and healthy ‘soil guts’ can turn almost anything organic into the basic building-blocks of biology.

When your soil brims and bustles with life, that life consumes leaves, dead roots, and all manner of materials to fuel more and more activity. Watch how this season’s mulch turns into next season’s tomatoes.

This is why we compost

We (humans) can learn to be ecosystem caretakers. We can repair damaged soil and boost the resilience of our yards and gardens by creating conditions where beautiful biological communities emerge. The organisms found in amazing compost piles can restore/regenerate the land and us as well.

Want to see some evidence? Soil your undies! If you take a pair of 100% cotton underwear and put them underground, they’ll decompose. How fast they break down depends on the vibrancy of the soil gut… A very active biological community will turn those undies from bright and new to ghostly remains in a few months.

Did your undies stick around for a long time? Maybe your soil gut isn’t working too well. Time to make good compost and get those microorganisms going. If you’re just starting, the Compost Primer can help. If you’ve built 100 compost piles, there’s still something new to pick up. Enjoy.