@Phillip Greenwood Things to peak and trough based on many factors. In general, a higher fungal presence and consistent fungal dominance are correlated with higher protozoa and nematode numbers. More mature soils are dense in life, but appear more "quiet" than compost samples because the "work is done" in soil where compost will have a higher amount of microbes processing nutrition. It's hard to generalize much beyond that. Factors such as water inputs, erosion, humidity, local environment, and more will all play huge factors beyond the seasonal cycle.

@Phillip Greenwood It truly is the new terrestrial frontier. Soils from different forests are as unique, or moreso, as the plants and animals in that forest. There are broad actions we can take to move things along. We can fungal to bacterial ratio test our composts and also know what techniques help bring in fungi, while generally calculating that more fungal is likely better. But to over generalize the conditions of soil life would be possible more fallacious than generalizing the Alaskan wilderness as "the same" as the Amazon.

I don't think there's any one food mix that's ideal for all soils, because each soil has different imbalances and biological shortfalls. I try to leave away from "meals" going directly in the garden because of the oxidative stress and mineral stress pressures on microbial life that happens initially. Running these types of amendments through something like bokashi and/or worms is a great direction to look towards. Feeding these types of foods into different compost methods and doing microscope review will show when you're reaching super high levels of positive biology that are ready to go into a soil environment with those *embodied* nutrients. But even without a microscope, running mineral and food amendments through these smaller batches of compost will allow the stressors they enact to be absorbed before the soil has to take on those negative aspects of the application. Great questions!

@Jacquie Scislaw Lactic acid bacteria is one of the most common microbes in our environment. It's also very easy to get more of with a SAM brew (like MasterMix) or KNF capture method. Insanely easy. It's also one of the things we should apply the most often to help our plants and soil systems. Applying complex compost extracts? Great, but it's probably even better if you lead with a SAM first. Pest issues? SAM Plant lacking color? SAM Flies in the chicken coop? SAM Are there other things that may be necessary? Sure. But start with the cheapest, most readily available, and most relevant microbes before you decide there's a deeper issue. Nature made it easy. But that's not good for patents and proprietary solutions.

@Phillip Greenwood Agreed that we can compost with the materials we have on hand. But we can't speak with a great depth on how well it's doing without checking and testing. It very well could be excellent if we follow good compost principles, but plant response becomes our only indicator and that can be very lagging and potentially costly.

@Phillip Greenwood Sifting breaks up fungi and oxidizes the material. This can also collapse predator populations. I don't use compost for seed trays, just potting up in that context. You would have to familiarize yourself with the spil microbiology to utilize a microscope. Having a camera attached makes it possible to share video and images with others to receive feedback during the learning process. I don't think everybody needs their own microscope, but utilizing reviews from those who do have one can be highly beneficial to understanding our soil context more deeply.

@Jacquie Scislaw Yep, only 24 last night!

@Jacquie Scislaw Row cover like agribon in the fields. All the warm season seedlings are in the greenhouse.