Composting with EM1

I received an email yesterday questioning the instructions on our label for composting.  The question was mostly about converting weight to volume in order to figure out how much EM1 to use.  I'll try to explain this here.  I've included the questions from our customer:

• "1.5 gal per cubic yard" seems to refer to using the product in a gallon of water, at least I think.

The way we came up with this calculation was to back down from a cubic yard (pretty much 1 ton or 2000lbs) of material.  We generally use 1.5 gallons of *Activated EM•1® per ton or cubic yard of waste materials.  Water is also added to reach the desired moisture levels, generally around 60-65%.

1 cubic yard = 27 cubic foot

*The 12oz bottle you bought will make roughly 3 gallons of Activated EM1.

• What does " 1oz/10lbs" refer to?  10 lbs of what? Compost?
  

Yes, it does.  Using 2,000lbs as 1 ton, you can figure out the rough weight of EM1 to use, especially if you just purchased "x" yards of manure and/or soil.
Also, a 5-gallon bucket generally holds about 25lbs of moist material (food wastes, etc.)

I would appreciate it if you could provide clear instructions on using this product in a garden compost bin. I use a 32 gallon plastic compost bin. It is now full. I add to it from time to time as needed to keep it full.

According to this calculator your bin contains 4.277777792 cubic feet.  So, you'll need 40 to 43 ounces of Activated EM•1® to treat your entire bin.

Does this help explain things?  When I used to garden, I was usually doing things on a pretty large scale for a homeowner.  I was working with cubic yards of materials.  For instance, I ordered 20 yards of cow manure and sprayed it all down with AEM•1®.  I would add leaves to it and till it in, spraying as I layered it into the ground.  

It took a few hard lessons of chickweed growing like crazy for me to learn a better method than trying to make piles that I had to turn, etc.  Instead, I dug trenches and back-filled with layered of leaves and manure and saturated each layer with AEM•1®.  When I got to the top of the trench, I flipped the soil from the hole on top and planted in it.  This process eliminated all problems with weeds and turning.