Soil Detective

06/04/2026

Join us along this series following the journey through thermophilic "hot" composting from start to finish. It takes a bit more work, but the results revitalize soils with biology that unlocks nutrients, retains water, and feeds plant health.

This is the first in a series following Josie, our 1st small batch compost pile of 2026. Come along and see how you can work with nature to revitalize soils.

Gathering & prepping "hot" compost starting materials by Soil Detective on Patreon. Join Soil Detective's community for exclusive content and updates.

06/02/2026

Day 15 of Josie's development. She cooled off after the 2nd turn last week. My back has been out of alignment so I have been unable to turn her. Today a student from my 1st 6-week compost cohort showed up today with his daughter to turn the pile! We added grass clippings and more vetch in hopes it will bring her back up to the temperatures needed to completed processing.

His daughter seemed more excited by learning about thermophilic composting than going to soccer practice.

Thank you Rob and Gracie!!!!

05/31/2026

Aloe Vera in great compost soil mix for sale. Freshly repotted. $5 - $15.

Reach out for questions or to arrange pick-up.

05/29/2026

Josie didn't return to hot internal temperature after the 2nd turn. We'll need to integrate some more green and high nitrogen materials.

I've been shooting footage for a video series following Josie's development.

However, sciatica troubles have prevented me from turning the pile and from editing.

I welcome volunteers!

05/24/2026

05/24/2026

Preparing 9 buckets of cardboard as one of many ingredients in our next compost. Scoring and breaking down to minimize getting caught up in pitchforks when we turn it.

05/24/2026

Taking inventory of starting materials for our next "hot" compost pile. We still need to gather up the remaining ingredients for this recipe.

Each compost recipe is unique to the season and what we have available. Recipes are carefully crafted to ensure a diversity of foods for microorganisms to consume turning them into soil.

Each small batch compost is analyzed under the microscope to ensure it contains the organisms that benefit the specific plants we grow.

Interested in learning more? Follow www.Youtube/

05/24/2026

Out collecting more vetch for our next compost pile. It worked well as our high nitrogen ingredient in our last pile. (It heated the pile to 132ºF in 2 days!) Cool! No $$. Reclaiming what would otherwise end up in the yard waste bin. And the mattress store where I collected this vetch outside today didn't mind the free landscaping.