No Turning Required With “Static Pile” Composting

No Turning Required With “Static Pile” Composting FARM HOME Food The hardest part of composting on a big scale is turning the pile regularly Jay Armour of Gardiner N Y says his “static pile” method of composting eliminates the need for stirring up the piles He uses inexpensive used parts and once set up the system requires very little labor Armour who raises organic vegetables and needs a regular supply of organic compost Instead of buying it he set up his own system 2 1/2 years ago Parts include a fan pvc pipe and a timer Static composting requires air blown through the pile so he started with a used squirrel cage furnace fan He used a square plastic bucket and some aluminum sheeting to funnel air from the fan to 4-in dia pvc pipe He used four 30-ft lengths of pipe connected to the cross pipe “manifold” The pipes are spaced far enough apart so that he can drive a tractor with a bucket between them to build the pile and remove the finished compost He first covers the pipes with wood chips so that when he scrapes out the compost he knows when to stop before digging into the pvc pipes “The key thing is the timer used to turn the fan on and off If the fan is running all the time the pile won’t heat up ” Armour explains He experimented with the time while monitoring the pile’s temperature To keep it at about 160 degrees he set the timer to repeatedly turn the fan on 3 min then off 20 minutes The time will vary according to the size of the pile and the material in it He uses an Autopilot Analog Recycling Time APCTART that retails for about $75 Armour adds horse manure to the compost pile in the summer and fall He leaves his dump trailer at a horse farm and picks it up when full If it’s dry he uses a water sprinkler to add moisture as he builds up the pile to about 6 ft tall To avoid the top edge from not getting warm enough he covers the pile with about 8 in of finished compost He leaves the fan on for two weeks then lets the pile rest for another two weeks The finished pile is about 25 percent smaller and ready to be used or stored under a UV-resistant semi-impermeable fabric that protects it from rain yet allows it to release steam “I used to move it when it was finished then I got wise and figured I’d just take it from there as I needed it I have two piles next to each other and move the fan back and forth ” Armour says so he has a supply of compost being made while another pile is in process “I don’t screen the compost There really isn’t any need to screen it My finished compost still looks like manure but it doesn’t smell like manure ” He has offered local workshops on static composting and often makes these suggestions: Put the fan in some kind of structure to protect it and be creative with materials you have on hand to connect the fan to the pvc pipes He plans to build a wooden unit to replace the plastic bucket for example Armour notes he has made compost in the winter but it takes longer He normally waits until spring to use horse and cattle manure gathered during the winter “This could be downsized You can scale it to whatever size you need Anyone can make compost on their homestead ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jay Armour Four Winds Farm 158 Marabac Rd Gardiner N Y 12525 ph 845 255-3088; http://users bestweb net/~fourwind/; jarmour@bestweb net

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