1002: Compost, Fungi & The Living Soil w/ Landen Schaelling - A Seed Chat.

In this July Seed Chat, Greg Peterson, Bill McDorman, and Landen Schaelling explore how compost, fungi, microbial life, and living plant roots work together to build healthier soil. Landen explains why keeping plants growing is more important for long-term soil carbon than simply adding organic matter, and why fungal-rich compost can help store the carbon plants produce. The conversation covers cover crops, composting methods, curing, moisture, carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, chop-and-drop, crimping, and compost extracts.

Our Guests: Landen Schaelling is the founder of Sacred Soil Solutions. He is focused on bringing optimal and approachable microbe inputs to gardeners and homesteaders, while also teaching farmers in the American West how to implement soil building solutions at scale.

And Bill McDorman has committed his life to community-based seed stewardship. In 1984, he started Seeds Trust High Altitude Gardens, a bioregional mail order seed company that he ran for 28 years. He authored the book Basic Seed Saving in 1994, and in 2010 Bill and his wife, Belle Starr, founded Seed School.

Key Topics

Compost and soil healthFungal-dominant compostSoil food webCover crops and living rootsRhizophagy cycleMicrobial fermentationsLiquid carbon and soil carbon storageThermophilic compostingJohnson-Su compostingBokashiCarbon-to-nitrogen ratiosChop-and-drop and crimpingCompost curing and moistureLanden Schaelling / Sacred Soil Solutions

Key Questions Answered

Why are living plants more important than simply adding compost for long-term soil improvement?

Living plants act as the soil's “income earners,” putting liquid carbon into the soil through their roots. Compost can support that system, but keeping roots in the ground is what continually feeds the soil food web.

What makes compost truly valuable?

The goal isn't simply the solid organic material. High-quality compost provides a living community of fungi and other soil food web organisms that can interact with plant roots and help store plant-derived carbon.

How can you encourage fungal growth in compost?

Landen recommends a high-carbon pile, roughly 60–70% carbon, along with consistent moisture. Chunkier wood chips can help encourage fungal activity, and the compost needs a long curing period for the microbial community to develop.