Speed up composting with mycorrhizal Fungi?

[Steven Ellet]

TL;DR Summary

Speed up composting

I have successfully composted before,(for planting) but is there a way to speed it up, maybe with mycorrhizal? (I hope this is the right section) I live in a hot (35C-48 C or 95F-120F) dry environment and I know to keep it damp (not Dripping) and well mixed (add air)

 

[jim mcnamara]

Addition of nitrogenous material speeds up composting - protein containing waste is one way. Fish based fertilizer products are another. You also try the addition very small amounts of regular fertilizer -- the 6-0-0 kinds of that are usually applied dissolved in water - or the blue stuff like Peters.

Excess oxygen can actually slow down anaerobic organisms that do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Only after you have eliminated these kinds of issues for yourself, consider adding organisms. If it gives you the warm fuzzies to do so.

There is way too much hype surrounding their use, IMO.

Mycorcorrhizal fungi/bacteria work with living plant roots to absorb nutrients from the soil. They are sometimes added as seed treatments to crops - example soybeans. Unless you are growing plants in your compost bins, addition of fungi is not very helpful. Consider that they generally require their living plant host roots to be present. Otherwise they usually become dormant. Not very practical IMO.

This explains the addition of compost to soils, not necessarily adding fungi to compost, and how compost helps the AM's (fungi) grow better when crops are grown there. Increases yields. Note the comment about Humic acid:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00169/full