This spring, the Baltimore Free Farm (BFF) composting crew reached out to UNION Craft Brewing for spent grain to be used as high nitrogen for a new composting method: the biologically complete compost taught by the Soil Food Web School.

This method stems from the work of Dr. Elaine Ingham (Ph.D., Soil Microbiologist), who has dedicated over 40 years exploring and understanding the complex living system in the soil and how it interacts with the environment, plants, and animals. This type of compost is prepared under strict aerobic conditions and contains species from the entire soil food web including bacteria, fungi, protozoans, nematodes and microarthropods. During the pilot, the BFF crew will be rigorously testing for true ‘Soil Food Web“ standards and monitoring it with the use of a microscope. The advantage of this type of compost is that it does not need to be produced on a massive scale – it can be turned into compost extracts and compost teas that can serve as inoculum into the soil.

With this pilot, we hope to build bridges with other urban farms to share this innovative method. UNION Craft Brewing is happy to work with the BFF Composting crew to provide fresh spent grain for the plot project. And a shout out to all the little microbes who have a lot of work ahead!