What it is
SPICE (Static Pile Inoculated Compost Extension) inoculant is a low-oxygen brew that seeds the right microbe community into a no-turn compost pile. You steep a hessian "teabag" of green leaf, blood-and-bone and bran in water charged with molasses, seawater and LAB Serum, jiggle it daily for five days, then pour the liquid onto compostable material as you build the pile.
On the Nutritive Cycle: SPICE is a soil-stage input. It doesn't feed a crop directly — it steers decomposition, so your compost breaks down into stable, biologically alive humus.
When to use it
- Building a no-turn pile — apply as you lay down feedstock, before the cover goes on.
- Application rate — 1 pint per 5 cubic yards of compostable material.
- No seawater? — make your own: 1 cup sea salt to 7 quarts clean water (keep the ratio if scaling).
Materials
Base 60-gallon wheeled-kart batch (scales to a 260-gal IBC):
- Water — 100 quarts
- Fresh green leafy plants (grass, weeds, herbs, fresh seaweed) — 15–20 quarts
- Blood & bone meal — 6 pounds
- Bran — 2 pounds
- Molasses — 7–10 quarts
- Seawater — 3 quarts
- LAB Serum / EM — 60–70 quarts
- Optional: basalt dust ~7 quarts, seaweed meal
- Hessian sack + string, bin or IBC with a lid
How to make it
- Half-fill the bin with water.
- Load the teabag — green leaf, blood & bone, bran (plus basalt/seaweed if available); tie it shut and secure it inside the bin.
- Charge the water — mix in molasses, seawater and LAB Serum, then add the rest of the water.
- Activate 5 days — lid loose; each day open up and jiggle the sack at least once.
- Finish — pull the sack, bin its contents, keep the liquid. Ready to use.
Signs it worked / troubleshooting
- ✅ Good: active, sweet-molasses smell after five days of daily jiggling.
- ⚠️ Gray film (yeasts) on top after a few weeks = normal, not a problem.
- 🚫 Foul rot smell = putrefied → discard and restart.
How to store
Shaded, cool place with the lid loosely on. Use within 1–3 months.