Full Transcript
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fNJIpllsZg
[00:04] why why does sometimes compost do great things
[00:08] does sometimes compost do great things for plant production and other times it
[00:10] for plant production and other times it doesn't do much at all and then other
[00:12] doesn't do much at all and then other times it actually kills
[00:14] times it actually kills the plant
[00:15] the plant and this all comes back down to the fact
[00:18] and this all comes back down to the fact that people had no clue about biology
[00:21] that people had no clue about biology they didn't understand
[00:23] they didn't understand what had to be
[00:24] what had to be in a real compost to improve
[00:28] in a real compost to improve so back in when i was working on my
[00:30] so back in when i was working on my master's degree we dabbled around with
[00:32] master's degree we dabbled around with some compost and actually made some
[00:35] some compost and actually made some compost extracts and some compost teas
[00:37] compost extracts and some compost teas at the same time and we just killed all
[00:39] at the same time and we just killed all the plants
[00:40] the plants so
[00:42] so clearly
[00:43] clearly didn't
[00:44] didn't pay attention to the proper things and
[00:47] pay attention to the proper things and so we kind of you know for my master's
[00:49] so we kind of you know for my master's degree we went on to oysters
[00:52] degree we went on to oysters and so when i got to colorado state
[00:55] and so when i got to colorado state university working in soil um starting
[00:58] university working in soil um starting to understand the biology in soil and
[01:00] to understand the biology in soil and starting to see that it was so
[01:02] starting to see that it was so critically important to differentiate
[01:05] critically important to differentiate between between aerobic conditions and anaerobic.
[01:09] aerobic conditions and anaerobic conditions when you're looking at different soils.
[01:12] when you're looking at different soils where plants just won't grow um they are just barely eeking out in existence or where the only thing growing here is weeds.
[01:22] you know just a field of oh my gosh weeds or you know cheap grass or something like that just really horrific.
[01:30] that soil had only bacteria and it was extremely compacted.
[01:36] and it was extremely compacted possibly even puddling at some time of the year.
[01:40] and you start to finally get a clue that mother nature is trying to tell you something here that when you see these conditions that that means only the horrible plants or no plants at all are going to be able to grow okay so now as you start to see fungi coming in what are the conditions now.
[01:58] we're seeing much better plant growth well and then if we now get protozoa and nematodes and microarthropods and you
[02:07] nematodes and microarthropods and you really have all this community of activity going on.
[02:13] Then you're starting to grow some of the most productive ecosystems in the planet, some of the most diverse.
[02:20] And we kept doing these kinds of transects from, you know, the edges of the swamp through up to the old growth forest and seeing that.
[02:30] Seeing that always, always where we had very poor diversity, where we had only bacteria or bacteria and a few fungi, the successional process was very dependent on what the biology was doing in the soil.
[02:45] So after enough repetition of that, we could actually start doing comparisons of what happens when you improve that biology.
[02:55] So when I did my um post-doc at the University of Georgia, we actually took a two-acre farm and split it in half.
[03:09] and split it in half it had been in conventional agriculture
[03:11] it had been in conventional agriculture up to that time
[03:12] up to that time and so one half of it stayed in
[03:14] and so one half of it stayed in conventional agriculture the other half
[03:17] conventional agriculture the other half we were going to add biology okay so how
[03:20] we were going to add biology okay so how do you add biology where do you get all
[03:22] do you add biology where do you get all of these organisms where do you grow
[03:23] of these organisms where do you grow them where do you grow the ones that
[03:26] them where do you grow the ones that exist in this habitat
[03:28] exist in this habitat so we made compost
[03:30] so we made compost so
[03:31] so we really didn't know again here we are
[03:33] we really didn't know again here we are we didn't really know what we were doing
[03:35] we didn't really know what we were doing because nobody had a book out nobody had
[03:39] because nobody had a book out nobody had ever written anything that said really
[03:41] ever written anything that said really good compost has this much bacteria in
[03:43] good compost has this much bacteria in this much fungi and this much
[03:45] this much fungi and this much and that much we didn't know for the
[03:48] and that much we didn't know for the corn sorghum sorghum soybean rotations
[03:51] corn sorghum sorghum soybean rotations that we were doing down in georgia
[03:54] what was the right amount of bacteria
[03:56] what was the right amount of bacteria fungibles for corn and did it differ
[04:00] fungibles for corn and did it differ from soybean and should it be something
[04:02] from soybean and should it be something else for sorghum
[04:04] else for sorghum so
[04:05] so did we even really have to do a rotation
[04:07] did we even really have to do a rotation system
[04:08] system did we have to do cover crops in
[04:10] did we have to do cover crops in the winter and how much is all this biology
[04:12] winter and how much is all this biology going to change when we started doing
[04:14] going to change when we started doing these things so huge research project
[04:17] these things so huge research project but the way we put the biology back into
[04:20] but the way we put the biology back into that soil
[04:21] that soil was to add organic matter that had a
[04:25] was to add organic matter that had a good number of those organisms and of
[04:26] good number of those organisms and of course that was me doing the assessments
[04:29] course that was me doing the assessments of all of those organisms in that plant
[04:31] of all of those organisms in that plant material being put back in
[04:33] material being put back in and then of course we also wanted to do
[04:35] and then of course we also wanted to do the experiment small
[04:37] the experiment small side projects where we would use
[04:39] side projects where we would use antibiotics
[04:41] antibiotics to kill
[04:44] to kill all of the bacteria there is no
[04:46] all of the bacteria there is no antibiotic on this planet that kills all
[04:49] antibiotic on this planet that kills all the bacteria so we kind of reduce the
[04:51] the bacteria so we kind of reduce the population some for a very limited
[04:54] population some for a very limited period of time or we used a fungicide to
[04:57] period of time or we used a fungicide to knock the fungi back and used a
[05:00] knock the fungi back and used a pneumaticide to kill the nematodes off
[05:02] pneumaticide to kill the nematodes off so we could at least get some clue for
[05:04] so we could at least get some clue for what the role and the function of these
[05:07] what the role and the function of these microorganisms actually were in soil so
[05:10] microorganisms actually were in soil so my husband's phd work at colorado state
[05:13] my husband's phd work at colorado state university was to use that same methodology when we're trying to grow wheat.
[05:18] what happens when you have just bacteria in the system the wheat plant dies within days.
[05:26] it dies because there's no nutrient cycling in that soil.
[05:27] well what if you have just fungi.
[05:29] fungi are these wonderful fungi is so good for for plants.
[05:34] now if all you have are fungi your plant will die in the course of a couple days.
[05:38] um how about if you have fungi and bacteria your plant will die.
[05:45] there is no nutrient cycling so what is it that causes nutrient cycling.
[05:50] um why are the bacteria and fungi on the root systems of that plant.
[05:55] um so trying to figure all of this out clearly the something in when you've got a plant something's feeding the bacteria and fudge it because they're having a happy old time growing.
[06:05] but it's not been benefiting the plants any in these sterile microcosms there were no diseases in those sterilized microcosms because
[06:15] in those sterilized microcosms because it was sterile soil.
[06:17] it was sterile soil where we had put the plant in and then.
[06:19] where we had put the plant in and then we inoculated bacteria or fungi or protozoa or nematodes or microarthropods.
[06:23] protozoa or nematodes or microarthropods and when you put single organisms in.
[06:24] and when you put single organisms in there.
[06:25] there plant can't survive.
[06:27] plant can't survive so then we started putting two two.
[06:29] so then we started putting two two different groups together so sorry the only time we got any plants growing was.
[06:35] only time we got any plants growing was if we had bacteria and protozoa.
[06:38] if we had bacteria and protozoa or if we had bacteria and bacterial feeding nematodes.
[06:42] feeding nematodes where we had fungi and fungal feeding nematodes.
[06:46] nematodes only time any of the plants survived and actually made it through to the end of the experiment.
[06:50] actually made it through to the end of the experiment so what's going on there.
[06:53] experiment so what's going on there the bacterium fungi will follow the directions of the plant.
[06:58] directions of the plant make the enzymes to pull the nutrients out of the sand the silk clay that we had in that soil.
[07:04] had in that soil pull it into the bacteria and fungi the plant never gets any of that.
[07:09] plant never gets any of that if there's no predators in the system.
[07:11] if there's no predators in the system so as soon as we add just a few protozoa.
[07:15] so as soon as we add just a few protozoa look at all these bacteria they just go.
[07:17] look at all these bacteria they just go gangbusters and pretty soon we have you know a million protozoa.
[07:22] we have 10 million protozoa per gram of the soil happily eating all of those bacteria.
[07:28] releasing nutrients that are now released in a plant available form and right at first we were just totally concentrated on nitrogen and we.
[07:37] my husband's phd work shows the increase in the amount of protein in the plus biology versus where we didn't have biology and uh just night and day differences.
[07:49] now when you get bacteria and fungi with all of their predators that's where you get the best plant growth.
[07:57] so huge discovery ecological monograph was written and it was just it's been one of the most important papers in the world of soil biology ecology because finally we started to understand how important microorganisms all that life in the soil.
[08:16] in the soil for making your plants grow now you know.
[08:19] for making your plants grow now you know when we started working again the bowel.
[08:21] when we started working again the bowel the information on the balances of the bacterium fungi protozoa nematodes came.
[08:26] bacterium fungi protozoa nematodes came in we realized that in systems where we have horrible diseases that can be in there.
[08:31] that if you don't have the right biology around those root systems then the root systems are open to the diseases and pests coming in.
[08:39] as soon as we get those root systems inoculated by all the good guy organisms.
[08:43] all the good guy organisms no disease no pests.
[08:46] then we started working on weeds showing that if we get this diversity of microorganisms in to the soil weeds are not capable of competing.
[08:58] they can't win in competition with any other higher plant.
[09:03] so the weeds are not part of that ecosystem stop having to till.
[09:07] organic farmers stop tilling but you better get the biology in that soil first because if you don't have these sets of organisms to select for.
[09:18] these sets of organisms to select for your crop species and for the understory.
[09:20] your crop species and for the understory plants you probably want to have in that system.
[09:24] then okay you're going right back to the weed system and you're gonna have to tell you the living daylights out of it.
[09:31] but organic people who can't get off the tillage they will never get out of the trap of having overwhelming wheat problems so how do you get off of that trap.
[09:43] you got to get the biology back into the soil.
[09:52] you