Which compost system is the best?

6 different Johnson-Su-inspired Compost Bioreactor designs to make it easier to make compost. In this video, I show you six ways to make high-quality compost without turning the pile. Build the bioreactor, fill it, and then wait for compost.

Compost Bioreactor Build Videos:

Growing in Vista, CA (Zone 10a) - Elevation 397ft - Latitude 33N

Podcasts by Diego Footer:

My Online Courses:

[InformationEngineer]

Aw man! I expected you to show me results!

[seuvagem]

I made my bioreactor, inspired by your videos. It's a third world version, with no store-bought input. All made of bamboo, and ventilation can be done through bamboo split in half and with some holes, positioned along the pile inspired by the design of subway tunnels.

[dugnantz]

The best method is the one that gets you composting. Do the work. ✌🏻❤️

[OwlMoovement]

The straight-faced Zoolander moisture reference was just elegant.

[jerrycaughman]

I made one of these before I knew what they were called. Mine is on ground so no pallet with no air tubes or worms added. 8 months later when I broke into it the middle and bottom two feet were pure black gold and the worms from my yard had easily found it and made it their home. I had some massive 7-9 inch thick earth worms doing their business.

[RobsAquaponics]

🤣🤣🤣 "Dear Diego, you are wrong & here's why" 🤣🤣🤣
Got to love the social media experts.
Cheers mate.
BTW, Thanks for the recent series with Dr. Elaine. I almost bought the course recently when a discount was offered here in Oz but other bills popped up first.😒
Cheers.

[s-c..]

Diego, in the very unlikely chance you’ll read this, what are the results after two years? You’ve put a lot of effort into this then left us all hanging! It’s a pity not to update after all that work, hope everything’s going ok. 👍

[growshakephil]

I love how I played a role in the naming of the BLUE STEEL pile. This is one of my prouder lifetime achievements.

[KeithMacKayHome]

"You are wrong, and here's why..." 😂🤣 Hilarious! Thanks for advancing the art! Keep experimenting -- it helps me decide which work to go do. ;)

[davidsawyer]

Oh how I commented to soon!
The last portion was highly entertaining and educational.
I am the lazy composter. Gather various materials. Put them in a cylinder. Go have glass of tea for about a year. It takes care of itself. Feed it when necessary with more material.
Nervous/anxious folks that flit about I will never be accused of. Put the work in then put your feet up. The garden has flowers galore. The watermelons are as big as Buicks and so on and so forth. Folks are impressed. Whadda do. Whadda do to get all that?!.
Nothing.
You have put the work in the beginning. After that it's pretty much auto pilot.

[seuvagem]

for option number 4, you could dig an X in the ground, so the air can circulate, put a metal screen to prevent the material from falling into this little ditch.

[deborahgrantham]

I like it, “I’m not a scientist, but I do have eyes”. Wish people used that method on more of life.

[annestudley]

I'm so glad you have these different variations to compare and show us the results - thank you for doing that and sharing.

[stevefromthegarden]

I think it's great that you're trying all these different ways of lazy composting. In the end, time and biological activity makes compost regardless of the method used.

[AleaumeAnders]

My grandfather had a compost heap for half a century. His technique? Throw everything that his large gardens produced as side products as well as quite a bit of kitchen leftovers in one huge place.

Imagine a lot that could park a pickup, with the heap reaching 6 feet easily in fall. The heap was the prefered place for his chickens, even if I to this day have no idea how he managed to keep them from gobbling up the rhubarb and pumpkin that covered the mature side of the heap. No manual turning involved, it was just so large, that he could add new stuff on one end, while harvesting years old compost from the other end. There was also no watering involved, well except from the rain. What surely did help with keeping it from drying out (away from the sheer size) was a huge pear tree and a good sized apple tree shading it.

I'm pretty sure, the center was going anaerobic, and this heap was surely not composting nearly as quickly as a dedicated bioreactor. But that wasn't necessary. By dedicating 3-5% of his garden to this heap, he had all the compost he'd ever need, with little to no work.

[GammaSpeaks]

Great experiment with the bioreactors and also with your content delivery style. Nice comedic spin for a change... I would watch some more of that...

[The_True_]

"Moisture is the essence of wetness."

-Diego Footer

Great set of experiments, will be interesting how fast each one breaks down. I did one like your namesake magnum option minus the central channel, and in one season it looks like compost is achieved nicely. Thanks for the ideas and data, keep up the great work!

[finagill]

Dr. Johnson's wife said figure out a different way because I am tied of doing your laundry. He cam up with a method that works well for him. Assuming that it is the best method is wrong. That is why I like watching your videos where you experiment to see what effects different designs have on the compost.

[Nikkeftw]

You are hilarious :D Great show! I was just watching this because it poped up on my front screen and was already eager to learn the results. Well, lucky me, this video is one year old now! :D I hope i see some results!

[johnkm]

You can still get aeration from the bottom when your compost pile is on the ground. When you place your reactor on a pallet, you're only getting air flow from between the slats. If you lay perforated pipes flat on the ground, and then pile your organic matter on top, making sure the pipe ends are open to the outside, you'll simmulate a pallet with "soil slats" and have the best of both worlds, if it makes a difference in the first place.