Jim Stiles has been experimenting with producing Johnson-Su compost at his home in St. Albans for about ten years. His initial reactors were not up to the challenges posed by Vermont’s winter - they froze, effectively ending early experiments. In response, he switched gears and created his first micro-reactor (in a sleeved 5-gallon bucket) and then six more, slightly larger reactors (in 20-gallon fabric pots), which he moved into his basement for the winter to avoid the freezing problem.

This approach mostly worked but also suffered from some shortcomings. A new generation of 5-gallon micro-reactors are currently working in his basement. The results so far include superior management of leachate (creating a valuable by-product to boot) and faster processing of feedstock.

This is a video of the VORS 2024 hands-on workshop that involved emptying and examining the contents of a reactor to assess its progress. Participants were encouraged to participate in this examination and share observations.