Regenerating the Diversity of Life in Soils - Webinar with Dr David Johnson 

I may be wrong but it sounds like your ultimate solution may be to get rid of people. Hmm, I hope this is not your ultimate proposition, because if it is then you must need start with yourself. You may be missing the point here. The idea is to heal the damaged soils and live in harmony with the biology on the earth and to quit killing it; which is what modern ag. has done. Yes, reintroduction of the wolf in Yellowstone has had beneficial impact on the flora and fauna, however, it was man that controlled the reintroduction and still controls the results, and it was done for mans' benefit. For example: The Yellowstone economic impact on the local economy was $647.1 million in 2018. (yellowstoneinsider.com/2019/05/25/yellowstone-economic-impact-647-1m-annually/)

it’s been 3 years, any pdf ?

He is very technical, but please come back. Research results slides start around 19:30min. They will blow your mind.

@@julieheath6335 Thanks Julie, I came back and just watched the entire video again… The importance of the principles in this presentation can not be understated!

@@julieheath6335 also, been getting into vegetable fermenting lately - all of this is incredibly symbiotic. The food we’re growing becomes part of our gut biome… and the cycle continues, fermented vegetables that are grown using the BEAM methods will also have much higher levels of beneficials to kickstart the fermentation process, and I can see this as a great way to boost gut health as we eat foods that are truly alive!

@@julieheath6335i watched the “same” presentation on different vids, so that helps to clear up some info and gain some understanding.

Have you tried feeding big blue stem hay with seed on it during the winter?

seems like cows can be trained to eat wooly croton, provided they have enough diversity to balance out their diets: onpasture.com/2015/12/21/can-cows-eat-woolly-croton/ however, if it's totally taking over a pasture, doesn't sound like cattle alone eating it will solve the problem as it might be too much for them. sorry, couldn't find much else yet

Could you use the wooly crotton as an indicator plant to gain some insight into the present state of your soils, i.e. what potential imbalance does it adress? It should give you a clue as to what direction you could try and steer your efforts in. (I hope that phrase is at least intelligible)

No you didn't miss it, it's dependent on what your soil needs based on soil test results and what you are trying to accomplish. You can go willy nilly with your seed selection but that is not cost effective because you will not know the end result, again with more soil testing.

David said its not that important as long as the pile has a somewhat similar particle size so that it is a consistent finished product. Free living Nitrogen fixers will balance the C:N ratio as the pile matures.

Great experiment. Do it!

biochar, add char to the bioreactor would probably give a very good result. the fine biochar particles can then be applied in furrow at planting … ? after all, biochar recipe still not clear.

David told me that one application should be enough to keep the diversity going long term. But you need to keep caring for the microbes through out the years. Caring for the microbes meaning, avoid heavy tillage and strong chemical/fertilizers, keep your soil covered, grow plants throughout the year to feed the microbes, and plant diverse mixes and crop rotations. At 1-2 kg's of compost per hectare its really not that expensive to just ensure the diversity with an in furrow drip or seed inoculation. You should at least aim to reinoculate for the first 2-5 years as you develop deeper and more resilient soils and hone your microbe stewardship practices.

In another video Johnson said that application depends upon the aridity of your region. You need to apply it to every crop in dry land farming. I get 55 inches of rain a year so I don't have to worry about it.

The early trials applied in the hundreds of lb/acre. Then no further applications. Later trials, like the corn, are dripping the compost extract into the furrows during seed planting. This uses approximately 2 lbs of compost into 20 gallons per acre. WAY less. On another video, Dr DJ said you add it every time you plant when using so little.

yes, that's it

I guess terry mccosker from rcs, also mentioned in this interview: www.ecofarmingdaily.com/build-soil/soil-life/soil-microbes/compost-the-promise-of-microbes/

Yup google Terry McCosker RCS

This is what I understood from other lectures: Both in soil and the (human) gut the microbiology is responsible for healthy metabolism. (from other sources: they actually relate to each other, i.e. healthy active food feeds healthy internal human biology). Bad agricultural practices and poor diets have caused local (or personal) extinction of large parts of both soil- and gut-microbiological diversity. I am no medic but I understand research shows a one on one correlation between that lack of diversity and Crohn's desease. What Johnson-Su compost can do for soils, fecal transplants can do for the gut, as a diverse and high quality biological inoculant. Apparently great (24 hour) results for Crohn's patients have been reported by actually collecting fecal matter from people with super healthy digestive systems and transplanting that matter into the patient in very small doses. I have no knowledge of the exact procedure but I take it that it would be done anally. I suggest you do your own research. I know I will, I find it rather fascinating... Greetings.

@@mourlyvold7655 yeah makes a bunch of sense consider the antibacterials that end upon fruits vegetables. Thanks for your time, good luck studying out there

@@drummerboy737 Thanks. It does make sense, doesn't it? You have yourself a good time too! btw: I'm a drummer myself, life-long conga player (it must be a virus 😜) Peace.

They capsulise the fecal matter. Take orally. Dont even think about it. If it works, who cares. I guess the donor would be screened first for diseases they may have. Fecal transplants can also help with obesity by using fecal matter from thin person. Tests on mice show they can make fat mice skinny and vice versa.

Diego Footer has done some good research on how to improve the reactor. Look at his YT channel. I don't think it matters if it freezes.

@@benthere8051 Diego has made a very practical version indeed. Wether his version is an improvement has to be seen, let's not draw conclusions here. In fact, can we call his method a Johnson-Su bioreactor if it is standing on the ground without aeration from the bottom? To be able to claim improvement one would have to provide at least the same amount and quality of research and data As David and Hui have. Diego hasn't done that, and most likely won't. Don't get me wrong: I have a great deal of respect for the man. He's curious and pretty level headed. He dares to follow his guts, challenge rigid dogmas and experiment. But he tends to be sloppy too, has a bit of an 'any way the wind blows' kind of an attitude at times. I'm totally fine with all of it, he's a great asset to the regenerative world. As long as we call a spade a spade. Dr. Johnson and his wife are very particular about their method, and rightfully so. Out of respect for their amazing work, and for the sake of scientific accuracy I would practice great caution calling any (even any succesfull) composting method a Johnson-Su bioreactor if it doesn't follow their specific instructions (as they specifically ask you to). Let alone claim anyone 'improved' upon it. They are actually inviting people to do so, but it remains a bold claim that needs back-up. After all, we're talking Ferrari level composting here... Diego made a great, practical composting container. 'The Footer Aerobic Composting Vessel'. More data is needed before we call it anything else. Peace.

@@mourlyvold7655 - Diego used the Johnson/Su guidelines of no part of the reactor being more than one foot of fresh air even though it is not on a platform.

At just after 59 minutes, she says, "Never let it freeze." She adds that freezing (mid-process) will modulate the resulting bacterial ecosystem - I assume only some will survive and thrive.

@@benthere8051 Good man, You claimed he improved the Johnson Su bioreactor. In what aspect did he do that? How do the numbers of the compost in his method compare to the 'original'? How does the biodiversity of the compost in his method compare to the 'original'? Where's the data? I think I have been clear and nuanced enough explaining how I see things. With all due respect: You made a claim, back it up! That's all, allright? Greetings.

I had the same question so I finally cut a small hole in the landscape fabric in the side of my bioreactor. I was happy to see red wigglers in the small amount of material I pulled out. So it appears that the worms aren’t so much top/bottom oriented as they are wanting to be near a surface that is exposed to air. With the bioreactor design being what it is that would then include the entire contents of the bioreactor.

@@jimlyons4972 Makes sense. You have real world experience. I am just planning to set up my first operation. Have you seen this alternative to the Johnson Bioreactor? Cheaper and bigger Bioreactor. The Huge Compost Bioreactor | MORE COMPOST, LESS WORK ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7WuXpvOIr5s.html Diego Footer should be listened to. I think he is on to something. I would appreciate your opinion. Thanks.

@@Horse237 Diego Footer has done some really good work on reactor design. He adhered to Dr. Johnson's guidelines while increasing its capacity considerably. Diego also eliminated the plastic. Agree with you entirely.

@@benthere8051 Thanks for the confirmation. I want to start an operation in the fields but I needed someone to affirm that Diego Footer's method was right. I do see why Johnson and Footer are using Red Wigglers instead of earthworms. There is no deep diving far from the surface touching the atmosphere where earthworms would be required. The whole design is there to keep the air circulating.

@@Horse237 Diego Footer's design ensured that no part of the contents of the pile was more than one foot from the atmosphere, just like Dr. Johnson's design. But Diego accomplished that in a way that greatly increased the capacity of the pile, made it easier to construct, and eliminated the plastic at the same time.