Footing means standing 4-6 crusted peat blocks upright against each other in small teepee shapes so air reaches every face, and clamping means building them into larger criss-crossed stacks with gaps, capped with sod or a tarp to shed rain. Footing starts around week 3, clamping around week 5, and no block should ever sit in water.
Part of Peat Harvesting
The two stacking stages of peat drying: footing the blocks upright and then building ventilated clamps.
Air And Drainage Do The Work
Drying peat is the evaporation of water from a porous block, so the aim of each stage is to expose as much surface as possible to moving air while keeping rain and ground water out. The parent calls footing the critical stage: blocks must not sit in water.
What You Need
- Crusted blocks: firm enough to stand up. If a block bends or squashes when lifted, it is not ready to foot.
- Dry, well-drained ground, or a layer of the stripped turf or brushwood under the stacks
- Sod or a tarp to cap the clamps
- Time: about 2,000 blocks per half day for footing and 3,000 per half day for stacking (parent labour table)
Method
Step 1: Foot at week 3-4. When the surface has crusted, stand 4-6 blocks upright, leaning against each other like a teepee, with their long edges down. Keep the stacks small so that air passes through them.
Step 2: Check the feet. The base should sit on dry ground; if the ground is wet, raise the stack on turf or brush.
Step 3: Re-foot if it rains. A footed block sheds rain better than a flat one, and after a wet spell, re-stand any block that has slumped.
Step 4: Clamp at week 5-8. Build larger stacks in which the blocks cross at right angles, so that every layer leaves gaps for air.
Step 5: Cap the clamp. Cover the top with sod, tarp or sheets, and leave the sides open to breathe.
Step 6: Leave until ready. Clamps can be left in place until they are carried home.
Worked Example: Footing Labour
Inputs: 5,000-8,000 blocks (a household’s year); footing rate 2,000 blocks per half day.
- 5,000 ÷ 2,000 = 2.5 half-days = 1.25 days.
- 8,000 ÷ 2,000 = 4 half-days = 2 days.
Common Mistakes
- Footing too early. Soft blocks slump and merge.
- Solid stacks with no gaps. Air cannot reach the middle.
- A tarp tied down to the ground on all sides. Moist air has no way out.
Safety
Stacks fall and bogs are soft underfoot
A tall clamp of damp blocks can topple onto the person building it: keep clamps to a height you can reach from the ground without climbing, and build them on firm, level ground. Working on soft bog ground in poor weather exposes people to cold; see Hypothermia Recognition and Rewarming.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Weather Dependency — timing around rain
- Combine with: Drying Timeline — knowing when it is ready