Johnson-Su compost (J/S) is a method that is gaining increased interest in growing contexts for its ability to rapidly inoculate existing agricultural soils and/or remediate unused soils for improved health.

The benefit of J/S compost results not so much from optimizing nutrient level, salinity or pH in the finished product, but rather by creating a highly fungal, biodiverse compost that nudges soils further up the scale of plant ecological succession.

The Johnson-Su method achieves this substantive fungal microbiology through a static, passively-aerated technique, high lignin and cellulose feedstocks, introduced vermicomposting, and a lengthy maturing window (24 months to maturity).

Contracts will be available to order from Crooked Farmz in Fall 2025 for pickup of mature Johnson-Su inoculant in Spring 2026.

Demonstration project

This work initially began as a scaled-down pilot model of the bioreactor in a backyard Earth Machine composter about 15% of the size to suit backyard farming or other urban agriculture contexts. Today, we continue to build our new bioreactors to their proper scale at CRAY@Downsview.

Contracts will be available to order from Crooked Farmz in Fall 2025 for pickup of mature Johnson-Su inoculant in Spring 2026.