Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter | Instructions for Use

One unit is 1oz.
One unit treats 1–1.5 tons (1.5–2.25 cubic yards) of material.
On average, one ton is a cube measuring 4.5’ x 4.5’ x 4.5’.

Activation

Moisten the BD Compost Starter in a flat pan or dish with just enough water to make it pasty. It will take a few minutes to get the powder moist; then it will absorb readily so that you may need to moisten it once more.
Allow the moistened Compost Starter to activate for 12–16 hours or overnight.
Dilute the resultant paste-like substance in the desired quantity of water needed to thoroughly treat each layer of your compost pile. The particular quantity of water is immaterial; use an amount sufficient to moisten the material in your pile.

Application:

Current JPI construction clarification: The layer sequence below preserves Pfeiffer’s practical method for building the pile and distributing moisture, soil, and activated Compost Starter. It is not a direction to leave manure and hay in long, isolated, unmixed bands. Mixing or feathering the ingredients together within the construction passes is often better so the materials develop together, while the activated Starter is distributed as the pile rises. Podolinsky writes, “With compost all contents should be mixed beforehand. Layering compost –when the manure layers are long humus ready, the hay layers far from it - does not work.” Construction passes remain useful; the decisive point is that manure and plant materials should not remain isolated in bands that reach very different stages of humification.

Assemble all ingredients intended for composting, observing a carbon/nitrogen ratio between 15:1 and 25:1.
Remove the soil to a depth of the shovel from the area where the pile is to be placed, setting soil aside for use in building the compost pile and for covering it later.
Begin the first layer using heavier materials such as weed or plant stalks. This allows for better drainage and air circulation through the compost pile.
Build up each layer using the following sequence up to a height of 4–5 feet:
1. 3–6 inches of straw, leaves, weeds or other vegetable matter;
2. 1 inch of hen manure or bedding from the barn—urine-saturated straw, hay, or even wood chips can be placed in this manure category;
3. 1 inch or so of topsoil. Soil with sandy texture can be somewhat thicker, while clay soil should be applied in a somewhat thinner layer.
Finally, sprinkle a little lime, which will capture nitrogen more effectively. For grass clippings and other fresh vegetation, lime is highly recommended. If the pile will have a substantial manure component, lime may be omitted.
Sprinkle or spray the activated and diluted Compost Starter on each layer as the pile is constructed. The potent bacteria, enzymes, and other beneficial organisms in the Compost Starter will multiply by the billions as the compost matures. As the compost pile rises to a height of 4–5 feet, each layer should be built slightly smaller than the one below, allowing the pile to slope inward toward the top. The top is hollowed out to catch moisture from rain and snow. The exterior of the compost heap should be covered with a skin of soil, peat, straw, or hay to prevent the pile from losing moisture from excessive sun or wind. In large-scale operations, appropriate row cover material may be used.

Why combine low-nitrogen material with richer ingredients in a compost pile?

Pfeiffer classed material below 0.7% nitrogen as slow to ferment alone while carbon is transformed toward a favorable balance and described material at 1.5% nitrogen or above as valuable to the mixture. Combine lean and richer ingredients throughout the pile so they develop together, while following JPI’s current overall 15:1–25:1 carbon-to-nitrogen direction and keeping moisture and air in balance.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, The Compost Manufacturer’s Manual (1956), printed p. 22.

Protecting a heap in hot, dry weather

For a warm, dry site, Pfeiffer recommends shade that still admits rain, wetting dry materials thoroughly while building, mixing organic matter with earth, and covering the completed heap with a breathable skin that conserves moisture without sealing it. Start with JPI’s pile base, stalk drainage and aeration, 50%+ sufficient-moisture tip, and maturity observations on this page and its BD 502–507 instructions. Pfeiffer’s deeper pit and roughly two-month examples describe the conditions he observed; use the actual site’s drainage and the compost’s maturity to guide the method.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, Bio-Dynamic Gardening and Farming, Volume 3 (1984), printed p. 26.

IMPORTANT: If the job has to be interrupted, thoroughly stir the solution before resuming. Interruption of a few hours or overnight will not reduce its effectiveness. However, letting the solution stand several days will definitely alter its quality, potency, and ultimately the results.

Tips:

For smaller applications, activate only the amount needed.
Ensure that all materials added to the pile have sufficient moisture (50%+).
Observe each material as well as the starting percentage. Keep JPI’s 50%+ sufficient-moisture direction above. Pfeiffer explains that the same 50% can still be rather dry in one compost material and soaking wet in another. Check that water has penetrated and is evenly distributed through the particular straw, stalks, manure, and other ingredients; use their structure and feel to adjust during construction and monitoring. Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, The Compost Manufacturer’s Manual (1956), printed p. 81.
For small amounts of moist kitchen scraps or table scraps, place a little dry BD Compost Starter in a pepper shaker and sprinkle it over the scraps as they leave the kitchen. For a full compost pile, use the activation and dilution method above, distributing the activated Starter through the materials as the pile is built.
Pfeiffer Compost Starter has been dried without harming its ingredients. As long as the unactivated product is kept in a dry, dark, cool place (not refrigerated), its shelf life is 9 months to 2 years, or more.

If a Starter-treated pile does not develop well

Pfeiffer describes several conditions that can interrupt a compost inoculation: inhibitory residues in the raw ingredients, an initial hot phase that dries the pile, repeated disturbance of developing organisms, or a wet, airless center. Check the materials, moisture through the pile, temperature, structure, and air; restore favorable conditions before considering re-inoculation with Starter. JPI’s current one-ounce unit covers 1.5–2.25 cubic yards, and its construction guidance calls for at least 50% starting moisture, adjusted by the actual material and its aeration. The historical large-pile size observation in Pfeiffer’s manual is not a minimum for JPI’s smaller piles.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, The Compost Manufacturer’s Manual (1956), printed p. 52 / PDF p. 53.

How do Pfeiffer’s compost phases A and B lead to finished humus?

Pfeiffer calls phase A the breakdown of organic wastes and phase B the microbial building of new organic matter in the humus state. Continue the living fermentation through both phases. JPI’s current directions mark progress toward rich-soil character with a woodsy odor, uniform dark-brown color, and the disappearance of the original texture.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, The Compost Manufacturer’s Manual (1956), printed p. 45 / PDF p. 46.

Why did Pfeiffer prefer a 16–21-day open-pile phase?

Pfeiffer explained that the later biological phase follows the first heated phase, with some nitrogen-fixing organisms needing at least nine days to develop under suitable moisture and temperature conditions. He favored 16–21 days for the development of typical soil and nitrogen-fixing organisms and settled phase-B development. Continue with JPI’s present moisture, aeration, and maturity signs before using the material.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, The Compost Manufacturer's Manual (1956), printed pp. 48–49 / PDF pp. 49–50.

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