What to Expect

You’ve made the right decision to make compost on your farm. Every farm operation is different, so we take a personalized approach to address the needs and desires of each operation.

  • Step 1 – Contact Us
    • Set up an initial appointment and on-farm visit. Heirloom Soil Solutions will come out to your farm to discuss the quality and quantity of inputs you have available and put a plan together for making a windrow on your farm.
  • Step 2 – Quote
    • Heirloom Soil Solutions will provide you a quote. This quote will be for all costs associated with turning the pile to completion. We want to provide a cost effective solution for capturing the nutrients on your farm.
  • Step 3 – Initial Pile Build
    • Once the quote is accepted, Heirloom Soil Solutions will schedule a pile build date. This could correspond to a barn clean-out or another convenient time for you.
    • You will build the pile to proper specification
    • Heirloom Soil Solutions will do the initial turning, temperature, and moisture readings on the scheduled date.
  • Step 4 – Pile Process
    • Farmer will monitor and report temperature and moisture with a thermometer we will provide.
    • Heirloom Soil Solutions will schedule and perform turning based on this information, usually every 3-5 days. 5 turns are usually required before the pile returns to ambient temperature. This process takes approximately 30-60 days.
  • Step 5 – Curing & Maturation
    • : Once pile has returned to ambient temperature, then it can be piled and covered. Then it should be cured for up to 6 months before being spread. The curing process increases biodiversity and helps increase the fungal biomass active in the compost.