Projects
"Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple."
~ Bill Mollison
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Tanah Subur, Indonesia
Commercial Rice Biological Trial
Working with the staff at Tanah Subur in Central Java has been a testament to how well a biological program can be implemented into an existing commercial operation. Additonally, with very little financial investment and have industry shattering results. Growing rice conventionally in the tropics is difficult. Pest and disease pressures are high, the climate is intense and crop losses are the normal. The team at Tanah Subur are fully committed to leaving the land better than they found it and reducing runoff and erosion.
The crew at Tanah Subur were trained how to use the microscope, make a biologically complete innoculum, test the innoculum themselves, and successfully regenerate the soils on their rice farms from 9,000 miles away. Thorough training from BioTilth and an extreme attention to detail by the farmers and management has led to an ongoing relationship with new farms coming online in 2024.
Notable successes from the project:
Decreased NPK use by 50% - anything less than 8kg NPK per 500m2 is considered a crop failure before anything is actually grown. Respectable yields were obtained with zero NPK input as well in another trial.
Increased residue decomposition- we were able to shave 2 weeks off of production by entirely reducing the need to plow after a finished crop before replanting. This is a huge feat as they can have 4 harvests a year in Indonesia.
Increased Pest and Disease Resistance - Farming rice in Java is a crowded endeavor. Java is the 3rd most populated place on Earth. The clients small 1-2 Hectare plots are directly next to the neighbors plots with no buffer between the plots. This means potential conventional agrichemical drift, not to mention pests or disease is almost guaranteed if your neighbors have an issue. The pest and disease from neighboring plots migrated much slower into the biologically grown crop giving the farmers time to assess and manage the issue using an appropriate biocontrol. Usually it's a very fast downward spiral that happens so fast the farmers cannot react quick enough to have an impactful strategy to save the crop.
Increased weight per 1000 grains of wet rice - This achievement is perplexing. The official record for 1000 wet grains of rice is 27 grams. The weight of our trial was 38 grams for1000 grains of wet rice! Obviously, this trial needs to be replicated but this a great indication that we are heading in the right direction. Early data from another current trial is showing similar trends.
Decreased Seedling time - The time it takes rice seedlings in nursery trays to reach aa certain biomass to be planted out in the field via transplanter is normally 12-13 days. The seeds inoculated with compost extract were ready in 9-10 days. The soil was identical in the treatment and control. The seedlings also performed better and there was very little transplant shock. Rice seedlings, without the compost extract, would normally sit stagnant in the field and not grow the first week due to the transplant shock.The extract treated seedings would grow in the first week and look much healthier. This, along with quicker reaching sufficient biomass for transplanting significantly further reduces production time.
Soil Food Web Sonoran Desert Project
Turning Sonoran Desert "Dirt" into living soil
Theres not much worse than trying to regenerate a worn out piece of salty desert in an abandoned horse arena in one of the hottest, driest places on the planet. Extreme compaction, intense summer heat, drought, high salt content, extremely rocky ground, infested with exotic invasive weeds and very little organic matter all make for a great challenge! This project was designed to convert a corner of an abandoned horse turnout into a flourishing vegetable garden using biological and regenerative agricultural practices. Regenerative farming techniques were deployed while data was collected over the season to verify the effectiveness of the approach. Over the course of 8 months, biological soil markers improved dramatically, soil tilth improved drastically, and soil chemistry changed for the better. The full report and data are provided as a download to the right.
Photo log of project
Dead soil before biological conversion.
Living Soil after biological conversion.
8 months later. Notice the improved structure.
Marys Garden, FL
Problematic site solutions for food production.
This one acre market garden site was plagued with a bad location from the beginning and prone to flooding. The site was originally a brownfield that grew back to mostly invasive forest; Obviously NOT the best site for a market garden to supplement a raw vegan cafe. Being in a low spot in a rainy climate (50" annually) the soil was prone to waterlogged and anaerobic conditions not conducive to successful organic agriculture. Coming up with a Biological approach to combat these issues was paramount. Biotilth deployed homemade biological inoculants along with ecological design to mitigate the potential issues. Our designer worked closely with The Food Park Project and Shakti Life Kitchen on the design and Implementation.
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Alma Sunbelt Blueberries, GA
Converting large scale conventional blueberry farm over to biological production.
When margins are thin, competition is heavy and crop losses can be massive, its becoming harder and harder to remain profitable in the blueberry industry. The crew at Alma Sunbelt Blueberries have embraced biological farming wholeheartedly and are learning how to produce their own crop specific compost and how to manage their own soil biology after extensive hands-on training with Biotilth.
Milmar Dr. Food Forest, FL
Turning a 1/4 acre urban lot into a productive
food forest.
In this project, Biotilth used Permaculture principles and advanced soil biology techniques to convert a dead, totally compacted mineral sand into a thriving food forest system that gets better yearly with minimal management. The property boasts over 30 fruit trees and at least 100 species of useful, medicinal or edible plants. It's an internationally renowned urban permaculture project and a first of its kind in Northeast FL. Click on the pic to learn more and see a tour of the property.
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Botana, CO
Biological Hemp Farm Conversion
Helping the good folks at Botana come up with a program to convert their organic production fields to a Biological approach was a pleasure. With a deep connection to nature, and health, they produce a product that is top notch in the industry. Lab tests and Terpene profiles quantify this point. Biotilth trained the staff on the farm how to produce their own compost, compost tea/extract, what equipment to use, how to assess their own soil, and how to manage the crop biologically. Click on the pic to see their product line.
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