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Tenzin Botsford says he’s not an expert after only two years of compost-making but he has things to share after deep diving into the process in the past 18 months.
Tenzin Botsford reaches into a compost pile in the mesophilic stage. It’s cool to the touch, and supports earthworms and a host of microorganisms.
Tenzin Botsford walks along a row of compost in various stages of the curing process. His goal is to take a livestock-bedding pack to finished compost in one year.
Prior to making its own compost, Red Door Family Farm purchased expensive commercial compost along with other organic fertilizers.
Tenzin Botsford has been running his irrigation systems 24 hours every day since mid-May due to the drought. His current compost windrow is working at a less-than-ideal moisture level of 60 percent because irrigating vegetables is prioritized.
Tenzin Botsford shows a tote of specialized compost he makes imitating the Johnson-Su bioreactor method. David C. Johnson is a molecular biologist and research scientist at the University of New Mexico. The method creates compost teeming with microorganisms.
A section of a windrow in the heating phase is too warm to touch comfortably. Tenzin Botsford said that's desirable and is part of successful compost formation.
Four cardboard air tubes are placed in a tote of compost for proper air flow, in the process of making Red Door’s version of Johnson-Su bioreactor compost. It’s essential the process be done aerobically.
The result of Tenzin Botsford’s efforts at using a modified-Jonson-Su bioreactor-compost method is a product that's fungal-dominant. Botsford meters it out at 2 pounds per acre using a paint-strainer bag while running a water hose through the mixture.
Tenzin Botsford says his long-term vision for Red Door Family Farm is to use compost to create disease-suppressant soil.
Tenzin Botsford uses compost on cover crops and also bulk spreads in the fall after crops are off for the season.
Tenzin Botsford says his goal is to have the farm he sources manure from do the initial composting phase to streamline the composting process for Red Door.
Tenzin Botsford shows different stages of compost from his windrows at Red Door Family Farm near Athens, Wisconsin, during a 'Focus on Conservatio' field day held July 19 at the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield Agricultural Research Station.
Red Door Family Farm has 180 different plantings in 2023. Tenzin Botsford explained that’s how many lines there are on the spreadsheet for this year’s vegetable production. That includes successions of certain crops like seven total broccoli plantings and 15 successions of lettuce.
Greg Galbraith
ATHENS, Wis. – Making compost from livestock manure is an important part of a soil-management plan for Tenzin and Stacey Botsford on their organic vegetable farm – Red Door Family Farm near Athens.
Greg Galbraith, a former dairy farmer, writes about the rapidly changing nature of the agricultural landscape. He has built a lifetime connection to the land and those who farm it.
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Tenzin Botsford has been running his irrigation systems 24 hours every day since mid-May due to the drought. His current compost windrow is working at a less-than-ideal moisture level of 60 percent because irrigating vegetables is prioritized.
Tenzin Botsford shows a tote of specialized compost he makes imitating the Johnson-Su bioreactor method. David C. Johnson is a molecular biologist and research scientist at the University of New Mexico. The method creates compost teeming with microorganisms.
The result of Tenzin Botsford’s efforts at using a modified-Jonson-Su bioreactor-compost method is a product that's fungal-dominant. Botsford meters it out at 2 pounds per acre using a paint-strainer bag while running a water hose through the mixture.
Tenzin Botsford shows different stages of compost from his windrows at Red Door Family Farm near Athens, Wisconsin, during a 'Focus on Conservatio' field day held July 19 at the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield Agricultural Research Station.
Red Door Family Farm has 180 different plantings in 2023. Tenzin Botsford explained that’s how many lines there are on the spreadsheet for this year’s vegetable production. That includes successions of certain crops like seven total broccoli plantings and 15 successions of lettuce.
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