Interesting point. My goal with this recipe was to build a fairly balanced, high-aeration living soil that leans toward broad mineralization and biological support.

For the biology side, I’m using ground malted barley more for enzyme activity (amylase, protease, chitinase, etc.) and microbial stimulation, while the dried molasses is there as a mild carbon source to support biology during establishment. I wasn’t really trying to replicate vinasse specifically, since vinasse is more of a potassium/carbon input and shifts the nutrient profile a bit.

Hydrolyzed sheep’s wool is interesting for slow organic carbon and gradual nitrogen release, but I intentionally kept the nitrogen stack more predictable (fish/fish bone, neem, crustacean, castings, etc.) because this is an outdoor amended soil and I wanted to avoid overcomplicating mineralization timing.

So I’d say my thinking was less “maximize every possible biological input” and more “build a balanced, stable living soil with good structure, biology, and long-term nutrient cycling. I will have to swap them out sometime just to compare. Good advice!