Compost, do-it-yourself compost heap: how to prepare it correctly, methods. What is compost? Organic compost fertilizer for garden

Every knowledgeable gardener dedicates to compost special place, since the latter is the creator and source of vitality of plants and their main natural fertilizer. Plant health and future harvest directly depend on the quality and structure of the compost. If this mixture is prepared correctly, the gardener will not need to use fertilizers. This article will tell you what compost is and how to prepare it.

Compost - what is it?

Compost is an indispensable component of fertile soil in any garden and the most accessible fertilizer in every sense, which is obtained from plant residues. If prepared correctly, it will not only replenish the plant’s needs for nutrients that accelerate growth, but will also significantly improve its looseness and the way it can absorb and retain moisture.

Compost in a country house or garden is a one-of-a-kind natural organic fertilizer produced by fermentation, which is provided by earthworms and bacteria.

The production of this fertilizer takes place in compost heaps or compost bins . They can be built simply as a hole in the ground, but the best option would be a specially equipped place. This is usually a closed or open type or a box with access inside.

Sometimes gardeners are interested in what “American style” compost is. This is usually a bucket into which food waste is placed and diluted with the soil. As the mass is filled, it is transferred to a large container or poured into the main compost bin.

Conditions for compost

All organic substances that can decompose are allowed to be added to the compost heap. These include, among other things, hay and straw. You should not add fresh feces to the compost, because they are composted separately, mixed with peat and soil, for at least several years.

In order for the microorganisms that ensure fermentation to be able to process everything that is added to the compost heap, and then produce humus from it, certain conditions are created, since they require adequate nutrition to work. They receive carbon from plant waste, and they must be provided with nitrogen by appropriate additives, which are animal manure.

Cow manure is added about twenty percent of the volume of the entire heap, and less concentrated poultry manure is required. If there are difficulties with the availability of this ingredient, then it is replaced leguminous plants, young nettle or grass.

Preparation of compostane does not require such components as fertile soil saturated with microorganisms and fermentation stimulants. To create a more high-calorie composition, add fused phosphate or at the rate of six kilograms per cubic meter and potassium ( wood ash or in the amount of two kilograms per cubic meter.

When the right conditions are created and the compost bin is designed correctly, the heap heats up, accelerating the decomposition of the residues.

What compost is not made from

One of the popular hobbies among people is gardening and gardening. To successfully manage them, you must have certain skills, one of which is knowing how to prepare fertilizer for garden plants.

To obtain high-quality compost, it is important to understand what components should not be in it:

• plastics;
• fats;
• synthetic materials;
• bones;
• lard;
• meat and dairy waste.

The last three are undesirable because they smell bad and attract rodents. It is possible to add them in small quantities for quick rotting and in the very middle of the compost bin.

Remembering what compost is, you cannot make a garbage pit out of a heap by putting the following components into it:

• human feces and pet waste to avoid helminthic infections;
• rags, glossy paper, stones, bones, rubber, as they do not decompose in the compost bin;
• disinfectants and chemicals;
• food residues and waste of animal origin that cause rotting;
• plants affected by diseases and pests that must be burned;
• roots and stems with weed seeds, since they do not lose their germination during the process of overheating.

"Green" elements

The components of a compost heap can be divided into two categories:

• “green”, which contains a significant amount of nitrogen;
• “brown”, which has virtually no nitrogen, but includes a lot of fiber.

The green group includes kitchen waste, tops, bird droppings, legume hay, green leaves, squeezes, various fruits. The processes of rotting of these components occur quite quickly and occur with heating and an increase in temperature inside. For the most favorable flow, it is necessary to properly prepare the raw materials.

To make herb compost, the greens and leaves are dried before adding to the compost bin. If this is not done, then the mass in the compost heap will become compacted and will not allow air to pass through, which will lead not to rotting, but to souring, and the result will be a toxic fertilizer. Layers of greenery are also layered with dry leaves and sawdust.

Hay is an excellent basis for compost, but you need to remember that each layer of it must be covered with ready-made humus or moistened with herbal tincture for faster growth of bacteria and, therefore, speeding up the composting process. Dried hay is watered with a solution of manure, kitchen waste or water.

Kitchen scraps and fruits are mixed with brown elements, and bird droppings are diluted with water.

The “brown” component of the compost heap

The brown category includes bark, seed husks, paper, and dry leaves. Also included here are sawdust, corn cobs, straw, chaff, manure. Compost containing these components acquires the necessary porosity, since they act as leavening agents and retain air and moisture.

The processes of overheating of these components are quite long and occur without the formation of heat. As they rot, the amount of nitrogen in the compost decreases slightly. Therefore, when forming a heap, brown ingredients should act as auxiliary layers that feed bacteria. A good remedy To maintain this process, water the heap with urea in the proportion of one and a half to two kilograms per cubic meter of heap.

The most suitable manure for compost is straw or horse manure, worse - pork. When using the latter, it should be covered with straw, sawdust or husks, before laying, liming should be done in the ratio of a couple of kilograms per cubic meter of raw materials and kept until fully ripe.

Correct application of fertilizer

After the compost has matured and turned into organic fertilizer, it is important to use it correctly, for the benefit of plants. The following advice can be given to gardeners:

• With ready-made compost mixed with ash, you can dig up the trunk circles of young seedlings if they are weak and grow poorly. Mix a layer of earth about twenty centimeters.
• It is imperative to add compost under currant and gooseberry bushes, and between the rows of raspberry and strawberry bushes.
• Having previously added lime to the compost, the mixture is applied under the cabbage and cucumbers, mixing with a ten-centimeter layer of soil.
• Fertilizing the land in the fall can be done by adding unripe compost to the soil, covering these places with film for the winter so that valuable substances are not washed away by precipitation. By spring the fertilizer will ripen.

Composter dimensions

The ingredients for preparation are stacked in a certain way in the compost bin. If the laying is done correctly, the heap will not release harmful substances into the ground, and also will not annoy powerful people. pleasant smell.

Therefore, maintaining the dimensions of the compost bin is sufficient important point, otherwise a comfortable temperature and humidity regime for compost maturation will not be created. The most acceptable dimensions for a compost bin are one and a half meters wide and about a twenty meter high. The length is optional, but more than one and a half meters. A smaller pile will not be able to warm up well and will lose moisture quickly, which will slow down the ripening of the fertilizer.

It is also advisable to set up the composting site constantly in the same place. This will lead to the proliferation of the necessary microorganisms and their rapid colonization of new heaps.

How to set up a compost pyramid

Fertilizing the land in autumn has great importance for maturation good harvest. Therefore, properly organizing a composter to obtain useful organic fertilizer is the task of any gardener.

1. In a shaded area of ​​the site, select an area for the composting bed and prepare it: level it, remove extraneous roots (especially weeds).
2. Fence the area with boards, slate or shields.
3. To ensure unhindered outflow of liquid, place drainage consisting of sand, gravel, or a fine grate or mesh at the bottom.
4. Next, a layer of already matured last year's fertilizer is placed - it will become a source of bacteria for fermentation.
5. The components for the bookmark need to be crushed with a shovel.
6. The brown and green layers are laid alternately, not forgetting that the green mass should make up no more than a third of the total volume.
7. Between layers you can add a little or fermentation stimulator.
8. Closer to the top, the width of the pile should converge in a cone shape.
9. The top of the heap is covered with straw or boards (for air access).

Fertilizer ripening conditions

Gardening and vegetable gardening are quite common, but to do it successfully you need to have some knowledge, including how compost matures.

Fermentation and ripening of compost lasts from several months to a couple of years, depending on the conditions created and the preparation of the components: the volume of the heap, the size of the crushed ingredients, the fermentation mode.

It is important that the temperature inside the heap reaches sixty degrees Celsius or higher, which will speed up the process of overheating and the death of pests. No less significant is sufficient air access and humidification of the components of the pyramid.

Tips for gardeners and vegetable gardeners on setting up a compost heap

Some tips for caring for your compost pyramid:

1. With the onset of heat and drought, in the morning on a clear day, the pile must be watered abundantly with the addition of fermentation accelerators until all layers are wetted, which requires a lot of water.
2. A couple of times a season, the pile needs careful shoveling of the layers.
3. The compost heap left for the winter must be insulated - covered with humus or peat and covered with straw. Next year this “lid” will be useful for a new pile.
4. You can use compost only when it is mature, has a loose, homogeneous structure with the smell of wet earth and rotten leaves (without mold or mildew).
5. You cannot set up a compost bin in a pit to avoid rotting due to stagnant water.

The article discusses what compost is, how to properly prepare and use it. This knowledge is important for people involved in gardening, since the fertility of the land and the abundance of the harvest depend on it.

Compost is a product of the decomposition of plant residues under the influence of soil, air and moisture. This is a complete organic fertilizer, which nutrients ahead of any mineral fertilizers. It is used to feed all types of plants, improve soil characteristics, and as a layer of mulch. Compost is able to retain moisture and other nutrients in the soil, so that plants receive adequate nutrition. And most importantly, such a substrate is absolutely safe in any quantity. Its overdose is impossible in principle. Compost for the garden is the best fertilizer. Moreover, it is worth noting that compost is environmentally friendly and by adding it to the soil, we will get a harvest without exceeding nitrates and nitrites.

At any garden or summer cottage, a mass of all kinds of plant waste is collected, such as fallen leaves, plant tops, and weeded weeds. All of them are suitable for making compost. In addition to them, scraps of paper and cardboard, sawdust, wood ash, and food waste can also be sent there. Since preparing full-fledged compost usually takes 2 years, it is necessary to prepare places for several compost heaps on the site. Usually three piles are enough for constant availability finished compost.

The procedure for laying compost

1. In the prepared areas, barriers must be built so that the volume of the compost heap is at least 1 cubic meter. To do this, each site is fenced with sheets of slate, boards, and other materials. If there is nothing like that, you can make a regular wattle fence from branches. The bottom of the container is not covered with anything. In the first year, only the first hole is filled. The compost in it will be ready in 2 years.

2. Place all plant residues, weeds, food waste in the created container. For better rotting of the plant mass, it is sprinkled with a layer of earth every 20 cm. If ash is added, it should be distributed in an even layer, and not poured in a heap. A layer of green mass that is too thick will take a very long time to decompose, and if there is a lack of moisture, it may even turn into hay.

3. Layers are laid this way throughout the season. The compost should be kept as moist as possible. To do this, the pile needs to be watered periodically, especially during the summer drought. If there is long-term dry weather outside, you can cover the surface of the heap with a sheet of polyethylene or roofing felt, which will retain moisture inside the compost heap. This accelerates the decomposition of organic matter. Some gardeners recommend periodically stirring the compost contents with a pitchfork. This significantly speeds up its ripening, improving air exchange inside the compost cake.

4. In the spring of next year they begin to form the second heap, and a year later - the third. Then it will be possible to use full-fledged compost from the heap created in the first year. Ready compost has a sweetish earthy odor and Brown color. It is crumbly to the touch and more or less homogeneous in composition. Thus, you will always have ready-made compost on hand, which can be applied to any plants, trees, grapes, and simply improve the quality of the soil.

What should not be placed in the compost heap:

— Perennial weeds with roots, as well as those weeds on which seeds have already begun to form. They will not decompose gradually, but may germinate;

— Ash formed from burning coal;

— The branches on which they are located garden pests and their larvae, as well as parts of plants affected by diseases;

— Thick tree branches that will take a very long time to decompose;

- Parts of an anthill. Ants can easily take up residence in a compost heap;

— Fat, oil, liquids artificially made;

- Dairy products.

Organic farming is fundamentally different from the mass cultivation of vegetables and fruits using mineral fertilizers. Farm products are in demand, despite the higher cost, because they use safe natural fertilizers.

This technique does not deplete the soil; rather, on the contrary, it populates it with beneficial microorganisms and attracts underground inhabitants - earthworms - to the site. Together they produce substances that are the basis of fertility - humic acids.

Thanks to these substances, garden crops produce more products that are superior to others in taste and appearance, and also boasts the absence of harmful components that adversely affect human health.

What is compost and what are its benefits?

Compost is a prefabricated organic fertilizer. Under the influence of moisture and bacteria, as well as in the presence of oxygen, plant residues, bird and animal excrement are transformed into a substance that resembles soil in appearance.

In fact, it is much more nutritious than soil; its purpose is to restore lost vitamins, minerals and humates in the soil that the plants took away during the fruiting process.

Compost contains all the substances that plants need for immunity and nutrition:

• nitrogen;

• potassium;

• phosphorus;

• calcium and other trace elements - sulfur, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, boron.

During the maturation process, pathogenic flora and helminth eggs are destroyed. If the temperature in the compost is correctly adjusted, that is, in the first days it rose to 60 - 70 degrees, then the shell of weed seeds may be destroyed.

The acidity level of the compost is controlled by the inclusion of those components that significantly affect the pH. For example, you can increase acidity by adding pine needles or oak leaves, and lower with chicken or rabbit droppings. Pig manure produces very acidic compost; its levels are reduced by adding lime or dolomite flour.

Video: How to make compost with your own hands

You can increase the nutritional characteristics of the finished compost by adding ash, superphosphate, potassium sulfate or urea. Not all raw materials are rich nutritional composition, therefore, such a mixture will be useful for restoring the soil in terms of populating it with microflora, but the plants will not have enough nutrients.

The role of bacteria in soil fertility

Soil microflora helps maintain optimal chemical processes in the ground. When making some mineral fertilizers V large quantities In the soil, entire populations of bacteria disappear, leading to a chemical imbalance.

As a result, plants do not receive enough nutrients and have to be added artificially, which further aggravates the situation in the soil.

Bacteria are divided into aerobic and anaerobic. The former need oxygen, the latter use other gases for nutrition. You can compost waste using these two types of microorganisms.

In the first case, the piles are created in such a way that oxygen can enter the mixture. In the second case, it is necessary to isolate the components.

In the compost heap, microorganisms multiply and, together with fertilizer, enter the soil. There they continue their work of transforming plant residues.

The main conditions for this are humidity and the presence of organic matter to feed bacteria, as well as The right way land cultivation. Digging up the soil in this case is unnecessary work, since many bacteria die when they come into contact with air and ultraviolet radiation.

In addition to microflora, earthworms work in the soil, releasing products of their vital activity - coprolites. This is a real storehouse of humic acids. But in order for eukaryotes not to leave the site, there must be created for them suitable conditions– humidity and nutrition.

Not fertile soil dries out faster, so the worms move to wetter areas, where there is more vegetation and opportunities for reproduction. Compost provides both food and moisture to the worms.

Time to add organic matter to the soil

Fertilizing plants and soil can be done at any time of the year, but, as they say, a spoon is dear to dinner. Nitrogen fertilizers Plants need them in the spring, when they gain green mass. In case of nitrogen starvation, the shoots grow weak, and the leaves are colored light green or yellowish.

In this case, flowering may not occur, since the plant is weakened. There are many options for using compost in your garden.

Soil care in spring

Compost is applied in the spring in several ways. You can take all the prepared fertilizer out to the garden and dig it up. To save money, many gardeners add compost to each hole when planting plants.

This method is possible if the fertilizer is prepared using the aerobic method, since it is less concentrated. If the compost was prepared anaerobically, it contains more nutrients and when applied to seedlings, it must be diluted with soil so as not to damage the roots.

It is useful to combine compost with green manure. Half-decomposed plant remains serve as food a huge number bacteria in compost, which is used to fertilize the soil in the spring. At the same time, it is not necessary to dig up green manure. At spring planting most of it will end up in the soil anyway.

Autumn activities for fertilizing the soil with compost

Many people underestimate the importance of autumn soil restoration measures. But after the crops have taken all the minerals from the soil, they need to be added back in order to get a good harvest next year.

Constantly using mineral mixtures is not a solution, since the soil is depleted and all living creatures leave it. Applying compost annually helps keep the soil in working condition. You can mulch in the fall berry bushes, but many believe that it is better to dig up organic matter with the soil.

IN autumn period It will be useful to mix compost with long-lasting mineral fertilizers - bone or phosphate meal, superphosphate, potassium. Before spring, these components will have time to partially decompose and by spring the plants will receive a full range of nutrition.

If the soil has not been fertilized for a long time, then fresh manure can be combined with compost. Manure contains a lot of undecomposed organic matter, and compost contains bacteria that are ready to process this organic matter. The main condition is abundant watering, since microorganisms do not function without moisture.

Fruit trees are fertilized as follows:

• Watered trunk circle – up to 200 liters of water for an adult tree.

• Making a trench up to 40 cm deep in a circle.

• Compost is diluted with water - a third of the bucket is fertilizer, the rest is water.

• Pour the slurry into the soil and cover it with soil.

There are other ways you can use compost. If there are wounds or growths on the trunk or branch, apply a layer of compost and wrap it with rags. In spring, the bandage is removed. Beneficial bacteria destroy the fungus and the tree recovers.

Equipment for the production of organic fertilizers

The use of compost at a summer cottage begins with the construction of a pile or compost pit. Depending on how the waste will be composted, it is necessary to build a box or concrete a hole in the ground. In the first case, aerobes will work - bacteria that live in the presence of oxygen. In the second - anaerobes - inhabitants of septic tanks and deep layers of soil.

The technology for hermetically sealed composting of livestock waste is now beginning to gain momentum. They drain into a settling tank, where a solution of anaerobic bacteria is poured.

The latter process excrement and the output is nutritious sludge, which is used in the garden. He's so rich nutrients that it is added to livestock feed. This has a good effect on the digestion of farm animals and, accordingly, the amount of milk.

A by-product of such composting is methane biogas. If you have the funds and raw materials, you can completely provide your home with heat. To do this, you need to buy or make your own equipment for storing raw materials and collecting gas.

The second important tool for producing fertilizer is a fork. They are needed to shovel ripening compost to enrich it with oxygen. You need to do this often - about once a week. A shovel is inconvenient, so you'll have to get a pitchfork.

Compost recipes - raw materials and preparation method

To start the combustion process of a compost heap, you need to select the right components. They are nitrogen-containing (green) and carbon-containing (brown). The first includes:

• fresh grass;

• weeds;

• green manure;

• manure.

To the second - all dry ingredients:

• straw;

• hay;

• dry fallen leaves;

• branches;

• sawdust, bark and tree chips.

According to composting rules, for every nitrogen part there should be 3 carbon parts. If this rule is not followed, the compost will rot or take a long time to mature.

Too much nitrogen components causes souring of the raw material, which can be saved by adding dry ingredients. If the compost heap consists of carbon substances, then greens or urea are added to it, then the process resumes.

Composting leaves

On a summer cottage, where there is a lot fruit trees, you can prepare compost a month in advance from fallen leaves. It is usually done in the fall and ready-made fertilizer is obtained before the onset of cold weather. It is important to follow two rules:

• Moisten the leaves well before planting.

• Use industrial or home-made accelerators.

If you compost only leaves, without any organic nitrogen supplements, you will need to add urea to start combustion. In this case, the fertilizer will be ready in a year. With biodestructor accelerators - a month later.

If you compost oak leaves, you need to decide on a substance that will reduce the acidity of the finished fertilizer. The best option is chicken or rabbit manure, or horse manure, if you can get it cheap.

These types of organic matter have a high pH and neutralize excess acid, which can make the soil unsuitable for planting. The same goes for pine needles. Them, like oak leaves, contribute in quantity no more than 15% of the total mass.

Preparing fertilizer from manure or droppings

Cattle manure contains more nutrients - potassium, nitrogen and calcium. But there is one drawback - there is little phosphorus. In this regard, it is better to use chicken manure, if available. If not, you will have to make do with cow or pork.

Pigs are raised more often, but their feces have increased level acidity. To then use compost as fertilizer, you need to add lime, chalk or dolomite flour for deoxidation of organic matter. Otherwise, the fertilizer will be unsuitable for crop growth.

Typically, manure is combined with leaves, branches, paper, sawdust or peat, while adding soil and accelerators like Bakal EM-1 or similar preparations.

Composting technology in plastic bags

For those who don't bother making a box for the compost pile, we can advise making compost in garbage bags.

The advantage is that both aerobic and anaerobic substrates are prepared in this way. The difference is the presence or absence of air. To store raw materials, dense black bags are selected so that ultraviolet rays do not kill bacteria.

After placing the components, the bags are sealed tightly and the fertilizer is left to ripen. With the anaerobic method it will be ready in 2 years in a natural way without accelerators. With aerobic - in a year. If you transfer the bags to warm room, the process will continue continuously.

Vermicompost is the most nutritious and expensive fertilizer

The most expensive and nutritious fertilizer is the one made by earthworms. The collar for them is constructed to be sealed so that they do not crawl out. The type of eukaryotes that process organic matter most efficiently are red Californian worms.

They reproduce with amazing speed and feed a lot. The only downside is that it is a heat-loving species and the pile needs to be moved to a warm room for the winter, otherwise the entire population will die.

Worms eat everything: leaves, vegetable peelings, fruits, manure, sawdust. The principle of obtaining fertilizer is simple - the pile is half filled with waste and populated with worms. When all the organic matter is eaten, the second half is filled in. Worms crawl into the top layer for food, and the lower compost can be used as fertilizer.

Pros:

• requires three times less fertilizer compared to other types of compost;

• plants absorb the fertilizer completely in a short time, so it does not have time to be washed out by precipitation.

There are entire farms where summer residents purchase breeding material cheaply. You can order online and immediately start making fertilizer on your site.

Compost heap care

Any compost requires care, except for anaerobic compost - it matures without human intervention. To allow bacteria to multiply, the components are periodically loosened with a pitchfork. A three-chamber box is suitable for this. Ready-made fertilizer is stored in one compartment, and the other two are used to move the ripening substrate and enrich it with air.

In the summer, the compost heap must be watered regularly, but done correctly. If you pour raw materials, the microorganisms will die in water without oxygen. Watering is carried out during loosening, controlling the amount of water. Do not use chlorinated tap liquid.

If it comes from the compost heap bad smell, which means that during planting the amount of nitrogen components was exceeded, most often grass that was not previously dried. You need to treat the compost with dry straw or leaves. This must be done on time so that it does not spoil.

Biological additives in compost - buy or make yourself according to a recipe

Organic decomposition accelerators are not available in all stores. This is due to the limited shelf life of the drugs of this type. It is simply not profitable for sellers to purchase them and then sell them or give them away for free. If you manage to buy a high-quality solution, then you need to use it strictly according to the instructions. If concentrates are not on sale, you will have to prepare it yourself.

To do this you will need:

• bucket water;

• liter jar jam;

• 500 g yeast.

How to do:

• Stir jam in warm water.

• Crumble the yeast into it.

• Let it brew 2 – 3 days.

When starting a compost heap, pour out 2 liters per layer. There are other ways to prepare accelerators - using fermented milk products.

This is done quickly and easily:

• Half a pack dissolve dry yeast in glass warm water.

• Add 3 spoons Sahara.

• When it starts to ferment, add cup homemade curdled milk.

This amount is enough to spill over a compost heap. volume 1 cubic meter. Make a hole in the center and pour the mash into it. After 2 months, the compost heap is completely rotted, subject to the warm season.

If there is a greenhouse, then such a starter is poured into a bucket with concentrated slurry and placed in the center. Eye-catching carbon dioxide stimulates the growth of green parts. They especially love this procedure cucumbers and tomatoes during the period of green mass gain.

Winter compost - production technology

IN winter time You can also make compost, even in an apartment. The main thing is that it is warm and humid. It is also dark for anaerobes. Finely chopped food waste, greens from the site, soil, sawdust or straw, as well as toilet paper and cardboard.

In order for the compost heap to rot faster in winter, each layer is watered with EO preparations - any kind. If the substrate is prepared in an apartment, care must be taken to ensure that the smell does not penetrate into the living space. To do this, use a sealed barrel of 20 - 30 liters with a lid, and the drug of choice in this case will be a solution of anaerobes.

Doctor Robik No. 209 is considered the most successful for composting waste. Caring for such a pet compost pit no need. After two months, you can open and use the compost as fertilizer for indoor flowers.

If there are a lot of vegetable peelings in the container, which provide a lot of moisture, then make a hole at the bottom for the outflow of liquid and tie a bag. The container itself is placed on the grill.

In the absence of accelerators, compost does not rot in winter, since bacterial activity temporarily stops. With the onset of heat, microorganisms come to life and continue to work.

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Not inferior in its properties to manure. Compost is obtained from organic substances such as peat, manure, slurry, bird droppings, plant waste, weeds, tree branches, grass clippings, fallen leaves, paper, waste from certain industries, such as tanning, sludge Wastewater and others. To do this, organic substances are piled up, where, as a result of the activity of microorganisms, they decompose and turn into compost.

High-quality compost contains 50% water, 30% dry matter. Salts (chlorides, sulfates), which inhibit the mineralization process and slow down plant growth, are present in an amount of no more than 1 - 2%, in young compost - slightly more. The dry mass contains 1.1% nitrogen, phosphorus - 0.9%, calcium - 0.6%, potassium - 4.9%, a minimum amount of metals is allowed (tin, zinc, cadmium, mercury, copper), there are no compounds containing carbon and chlorine. Acidity level pH 6.5-7.2.

Types of compost

The name "compost" comes from the Latin compositus, which means "composite". Compost can be prepared by composing different combinations of the substances used, and the more different components, the richer and more valuable it is. There are several types of compost, for example:
- peat manure (peat - 1 part, manure - from 0.25 to 1 part)
- peat-fecal (peat - 1 part, feces - 0.5-1 hour)
- manure-earth (manure - 60%, soil - 30%)
- manure phosphorite (manure and 1-2% phosphate rock).

You can cook in the garden various options compost, including the following:
Lay a layer of peat or lay a layer of turf up to 20 cm thick. Then fill the hole layer by layer with organic materials. If the components are acidic (pine needles, sawdust), then add lime. Cover the pile with earth. Then the decomposition processes will accelerate. After five to six weeks you need to turn over the compost. We repeat shoveling several times, moistening the compost if necessary.
In the spring after pruning garden trees And berry bushes, a whole bunch of branches are collected from hedges. They can be burned to produce ash or create compost. Finely chop the branches and stack them in a pile 1 m high and a little wider. For 1 cu. m of wood, add 2 kg of urea, moisten well, cover with black film. After two months, shovel it. After another four months, the compost is ready. Use it to improve soil structure.
People receiving garden plots, do deep plowing of the top layer. Then the slabs of turf are selected, stacked and taken away from the garden, considering them to be excess waste. It would be smarter to lay these slabs in layers with manure in heaps up to a meter high and after a year, after shoveling 1-2 times, you will have wonderful compost. The thickness of the arable layer would increase and the soil structure would improve.
In autumn there are a lot of fallen leaves in the groves. They can be used to make compost, combining them with plants, grass, and straw. You can water everything with mullein and add ash. It is better to take leaves from different breeds trees. Oak, willow, and chestnut leaves are not suitable for making compost. They contain a lot of disinfectants, so they take a very long time to decompose.
When ditches are cleaned, heaps of silt are pulled from the bottom to the shore. You can make compost from it. Place a layer of silt (20 - 25 cm), cover with layers of reeds, straw, grass, hay. Sprinkle each layer with peat or soil and add lime.
"Fast" compost. Make a “chop” out of straw. Straw can be mixed with green mass. Place everything in layers in the compost bin, sprinkling with lime, moistening the layers. Cover each layer with a small amount of mature compost. Cover everything with soil and water with nettle infusion.
"Fast" compost. Horse (cow) manure or bird droppings are laid in layers 20 - 30 cm thick. Sprinkled with the same layers of compost. Everything is watered. After 2 months. compost is ready. The compost obtained by the “accelerated” method has a dark brown color. It is only partially recognizable starting materials.
Straw and hay are chopped and composted with other plant debris. You can add kitchen scraps.
Sawdust is mixed with grass and watered with mullein infusion (or slurry), this speeds up the decomposition process. You can mix sawdust with manure. Compost made from bark and sawdust improves soil structure. Lime is mixed with the bark in the proportion of 10 kg of lime per 1 m3 of bark. Sawdust is mixed with grass and watered with mullein infusion (or slurry).

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Green manure (green manure) >

How the process is underway compost maturation

If the compost is laid according to all the rules, then when it ripens, the following processes occur.
Initially, decomposition and fermentation are initiated by soil microorganisms that feed on proteins and sugars. Heat-loving bacteria and fungi start working when the temperature rises above 40 degrees. At this time, cellulose and fats decompose.
After the temperature drops to 35 degrees, fungi actively multiply in the compost heap, and gases (ammonia) are intensively formed and released. This process takes about two weeks. The resulting mass is called “raw” compost.
When the temperature drops to 20 degrees, springtails, centipedes and others appear in the “raw” compost. small insects. The result of their activity is the formation of stable humus. After some time, the compost turns black. This is “fresh compost” and smells like forest soil.
Then the ripening period begins. Earthworms are included in the work. They form humus. Mature compost contains a lot of humus and improves the properties of garden soil.

In addition to humus soil (mature compost), fresh compost can be successfully used. When it is added to the soil, beneficial microorganisms come to life. The decomposition processes that began in the compost pits continue in the beds.
Another feature of “fresh” as well as “fast” composts is the presence in them of plant hormones that enhance plant growth. The presence of fresh compost in the soil causes reactions that result in the formation of CO2. Do not let the compost completely rot and turn into soil. Use fresh compost often.
Before use, fresh compost is sifted. Non-rotted parts of plants and branches should be thrown into a new compost heap, and the small part should be used for mulching or digging.

Compost heaps, pits, compost bins

Composting is carried out in compost heaps and compost pits; compost bins are built from boards, bricks, slate and other materials; a small amount of compost is prepared in an ordinary barrel or box. There are special composters on sale for home use, which manufacture industrially.
Interesting fact! The largest and most famous compost heap is located in Royal botanical gardens Q. Every week, 100 tons of plant waste (weeds from weeding, plant tops, pruned shoots) and 20 tons of manure from the court stables are placed in it. The resulting compost is used for planting and is even sold at auctions.

How to prepare compost correctly

Prepare each compost material separately, grind it if necessary, then combine it for composting. If this is not possible, fill the compost heap gradually.
Do not compact the compost heap, as this will deprive the compost of oxygen, and instead of the smoldering process, which is usually accompanied by the pleasant smell of forest soil, you will get a rotting process with the release of the corresponding smell (methane gases, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia).
In order for the process of decomposition of organic substances to take place, it is necessary to create the necessary conditions: oxygen access; good compost moisture; availability of the required temperature. If in summer the process of decomposition of organic matter proceeds quickly, in the cool season it slows down. Therefore, in spring and autumn you can prepare a special starter: dissolve 1 packet of yeast and 300 grams of sugar in 10 liters of warm water and pour it over the compost heap or pit.
To avoid mistakes when making a compost bin, try to consider the following:
The size of the compost bin depends on the amount of waste used. The ideal dimensions of a compost heap are 1.2 x 1.5 x 1.5 (m), the volume of a compost bin is 1 cubic meter. m.
The compost heap should be placed on the soil so that microorganisms and worms can penetrate the compost and excess water can go into the ground.
In brick composters, one wall is made lower to make it convenient to take the contents for shoveling. In wooden compost bins, one side is removable.
If composting takes place in barrels or boxes, make holes in the side walls and bottom, and place branches on the bottom of the composting bin.
The height of the compost heap should not exceed 1.2 meters, and the shape should resemble a truncated pyramid or haystack. Heaps cannot be made high, as air will not penetrate inside.
At the top of the compost heap, a depression is made to retain water; compost heaps and pits are moistened, since without moisture life activity beneficial bacteria stops.
To maintain the moisture necessary for compost maturation, the top of the compost heap is covered with a layer of organic material(grass, earth, leaves) or black film if the pile is formed gradually.
A small area is left next to the compost heap where the compost will be placed when shoveling.
The compost heap is arranged in the partial shade of trees and bushes. If they are not nearby, plant corn, sunflowers, climbing beans, Jerusalem artichoke or other fast-growing tall plants.
Do not keep compost materials in direct sun, place them in piles and cover them with something.
Before loading materials into the compost heap, everything should be chopped: chop straw with a shovel, cut branches and woody plant fragments.
Do not put sick or pest-infested plants into the compost, as well as weeds with seeds, plants treated with herbicides.
Make a shallow pit for the compost heap; just remove the sod. Branches and rough, woody parts of plants, which do not decompose for a long time, are placed at the bottom. This will help supply the compost with moisture and air.
Before filling the compost pit or when forming a pile, you need to thoroughly mix all the components.
Place the compost heap in a place where it will not spoil the mood of your neighbors, hide it behind a hedge.
Do not put glass, porcelain, wire, film, foil, soot, construction waste, stones, rubber, red ash (peat and shale), street garbage, plants growing near highways, branches and leaves of roadside trees into the compost.

We recommend reading: MULCH HUMUS

Subtleties of composting

Contents in compost pit lime, provided that it has an acidic reaction (leaves, needles, cake, coffee grounds). It is not recommended to take it for making composts. quicklime.
When mixing materials, mineral fertilizers can be added to them, after which they will be better absorbed by plants. When composting compost from homogeneous raw materials (sawdust, shavings, pine needles, etc.), the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus mineral fertilizers is needed to accelerate the mineralization process.
In biodynamic gardens, where mineral fertilizers are not used at all, nitrogen-rich mineral fertilizers are used instead organic fertilizers- meat and bone meal, blood meal.
To quickly decompose compost, add 200 g of mineral flour per cubic meter. Mineral flour is dust that is formed when processing stones and rocks. Its chemical composition is indicated on the packaging. Mineral flour does not contain heavy metals (mercury, cadmium) and can provide humus with the microelements that plants need.
To prepare compost in one season, inoculate it with soil microorganisms, bioconcentrates of which are sold in garden centers and specialized stores.
When making compost, you need to take into account the ratio of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) in chemical composition raw materials for compost. Carbon in compost comes from straw, small branches, woody stems, and sawdust. Nitrogen is fresh manure, chicken manure, fresh grass, especially legumes, bone flour. Ideal condition compost preparation is the ratio: 20 parts carbon and 1 part nitrogen. In this case, the composting process begins immediately and proceeds correctly.
The quality of compost will be improved by adding plants such as nettle, dandelion leaves, yarrow, lupine, white mustard, clover, and alfalfa.

How to use compost

Perennial crops (raspberries, gooseberries, currants, fruit trees) feed with fresh compost late autumn, winter or in early spring. In this case, the plants will not receive nutrition; it is better to do this during the growing season, sprinkling the plantings with a layer of 2 - 3 cm. This layer can be covered with a layer of mulch from grass, hay, and weeds.
Add fresh compost before planting root vegetables, onions, and cabbage. For cabbage it is mixed with fresh manure.
Old (mature) compost, which contains a lot of humus, is applied in the fall or spring by spreading it over frozen ground. It's good to put a layer of mulch on it. This will help plants (eg garden strawberries) survive the frost. In the spring, this shelter must be loosened.
Mature compost is very suitable for covering the soil around bushes, trees, herbaceous plants, and perennial flowers.
In spring, mature compost is added to mixtures for sowing tomato and pepper seeds.

How to check compost maturity

Mature compost is free-flowing, dark brown in color, and has the smell of forest soil.
The “maturity” of compost can also be checked using watercress seeds. Take a plate, sprinkle the seeds and sprinkle them with compost, moisten it. If sprouts appear after 2-3 days at room temperature, then the compost is mature.