Westide Permaculture Gatherings

Highlights from the Biodynamic Compost Workshop

On Sunday, August 17, 2008 we had a fantastic Biodynamic Compost workshop led by Jack McAndrew.  Biodynamic compost is the premeir compost, rich in the life forces that make soil come alive.  It was a simple process.  Traditionally, it would be a mix of 1 ton cow manure (1 pickup truck load), some alfalfa hay (alfalfa roots reach down almost 40ft into the ground, mining precious minerals vital to the compost pile and your garden), kitchen scraps, some fresh compost to act as a starter, as well as a biodynamic prep that you can buy from the Josephine Porter institute in Virginia (http://www.jpibiodynamics.org/).  When we made the compost we used horse manure and available organic matter that we can find.  It all works in the long run, but the premeir compost is made with the materials described.

I forget the exact dimensions but ideally you want it somewhere near 3 ft wide, 10ft long, 3-5 ft high.  The layering process started off with some rough material (coarser leaves, small twigs), some water, manure, sprinkle of biodynamic prep, alflafa, water, manure, water, straw, water, compost, biodynamic prep, alfalfa, water, etc.  Each layer is about 2" thick, spread evenly.  As you can tell there is a lot of water involved.  The pile needs to be like a wet sponge and in our climate, that is where most people go wrong.  So make sure that pile is watered.

I am sure I missed a lot, I have added some handouts that were available at the workshop for those of you who did not get any.  They are located in the File Library section below on the left hand side.  PLEASE ADD TO ANYTHING I MAY HAVE MISSED.  THANK YOU.