We’ve heard and talked about compost and compost teas. We’ve also discussed all the different ways to make your own compost and compost teas. But say that you just don’t have the time to make your own - you’d probably just hop on over to the municipal composting site, grab a truckload, and go home.  How can you tell that the compost you got is actually good quality compost? Does it matter?

Our guest, Randy Ritchie, will talk about exactly that topic and what it all means in this episode of In Search of Soil!

From working as a landscaper in his design in build business, Randy noticed the need for better, more environmentally-conscious steps in his business. Then, when he met Alan York and the biology in his compost, Randy felt the tug of working with the soil and moving on to composting.

Learn about Malibu Compost - https://www.malibucompost.com/

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In this episode of In Search of Soil:

• How and why Randy Ritchie got into the composting business (01:27 )
• The mind-blowing difference between good, high-quality compost and poor compost (03:30 )
• Why you see coarser composts in municipal yards (05:35 )
• Municipal composting, fungi, and time (07:40 )
  • Taking care of what goes into the green waste bin (09:55 )
• The problem of persistent herbicides and chemicals (10:38 )
• Which is better starting off: no compost, subpar compost, or good quality compost? (13:03 )
• Why run toxicology tests on compost? Are there other toxins apart from herbicide and pesticides? (16:43 )
• Randy’s take on manure from a conventional system as compost material (19:48 )
• Financially speaking, would it be more beneficial to get conventional manures vs. organic manures? (22:24 )
• Randy’s take on using biosolids as inputs (25:15 )
• Are all manures created equal? (27:02 )
• Salt content in compost (30:00 )
• Is compost a critical component to creating high-quality compost? (30:35 )
• Soil analysis and compost analysis in NPK values (33:33 )
• How much of a ‘fertilizer kick’ is in good compost (36:07 )
• Adding unfinished or poor-quality compost: adding more harm than good (38:30 )  
• When the compost is finished, how much of the pile is aerobic and how much just needs to cure (43:43 )
• What regulations say that compost should be (47:58 )
• A right level of moisture content in compost (50:38 )
• Cutting through the BS and figuring out if the products are as good as what it says in the bags (52:40 )
• The multitude of amendments and products and the actual need for it (57:44 )
• Doing microscope work on finished compost (01:02:20 )
• Why Randy felt that selling biodynamic compost was important (01:03:55 )
• The biodynamics and the amendment itself is what sets the product apart (01:08:50 )
• The gray area that is biodynamics and satisfying curiosity by going with what feels right (01:11:38 )
• Adding a compost tea into the product offerings (01:14:40 )
• The compost tea kits (01:20:55 )
• Potting mixes and Baby Bu’s Biodynamic Blend (01:23:30 )
• A takeaway that Randy wants the audience to take home (01:32:45 )
• “I want people to be self-sufficient.” – Randy Ritchie (01:35:05 )
• Randy’s advice for people who want to start a composting business (01:37:45 )
• Having and holding onto the conviction to charge what you need to charge for your premium product (01:40:05 )