Useful properties and features of compost preparation. What is compost and how to make it yourself How to make compost the slow way

The basic principle of gardening says that the land on which seedlings are planted must be fertile or sufficiently fertilized. One of the first roles in gardening is played by compost. Through the application of various organic fertilizers, gardeners achieve results in the collection excellent harvest vegetable, fruit, berry crops.

But a number of questions are still acute:

• where to get fertilizer of such quality that you can not be afraid for the health of both the soil and plantings;
• how to make compost - your own fertilizer - without spending a lot of money.

There are many fakes on the market that are issued as natural fertilizers - humus, compost, and so on. But there are no guarantees that this is not an ordinary "divorce", stuffed with various chemical additives, which will then harm the soil and crops.

The solution to these questions rests on a new one: how to make your own compost? This procedure is for everyone. A high-quality organic fertilizer due to the various nutrients practically does not differ at all from high-quality humus. And this allows him to guarantee excellent yields.

What is compost

Compost is natural organic fertilizer which you can get yourself. It is saturated with various necessary elements and processes.

Such a fertilizer is quite simple to make with your own hands on a backyard or garden plot. The resulting substance can subsequently be used for the cultivation and further cultivation of biologically and environmentally friendly crops and products.

Having set such a goal, how to make compost with your own hands high level, should be reviewed and adhered to. certain rules , be aware of some subtleties and nuances.

How to make your own compost

Start

To make compost with your own hands, you need to withstand the following conditions and consider the following information.

Choose the time necessary for this event, traditionally these are the months from September to November.

Do not be afraid to start creating humus with your own hands, since this event is quite simple and will not require any serious temporary or financial stress.

Extra information about compost heap will be a kind of bioreactor. That is, you need to be prepared in advance for the fact that only clean waste will go there, without any chemical or synthetic impurities.

To start making compost yourself, you need to make sure that there are (or can be organized) sufficient conditions for creating humus: a warm and humid place.

First stage

Before composting, need to prepare a place for a compost heap.

With your own hands, a compost heap is created as follows: first, a remote place is selected on the site, fenced off with some organic materials, usually simple boards. Of fundamental importance here will be the size of the fenced area. It is necessary to withstand the following dimensions: width - 1.5 meters, length - 1.5 meters, height - 1 meter. If it turns out to be a smaller area, the compost produced will dry out rapidly and at the same time it will not warm up enough inside. All this will lead to the fact that the technology for creating high-quality humus will be violated, since fermentation inside the heap will be too slow. But if you keep the size, such problems will not arise.

The process of transition of the organic mass, consisting of waste, into high-quality humus will take place due to the vital activity of the organisms in it. They will multiply rapidly, due to which it will stand out required amount energy. The waste products of these organisms will start all the important biochemical processes and ensure their speedy progress.

Second phase

When the site for creating humus is ready, you can proceed to the next step, how to make humus with your own hands.

What can be put in compost?

For compost, it will be necessary to collect as many different types of waste as possible. It is important to understand here that the more extensive its composition, the more complete the humus will be. Once again, we note that the composition must be from natural materials. Do not allow any synthetic chemical waste into it.

You can safely add the following to the compost heap: various household and household waste, peeled potato skins, stems, seeds and skins from fruits and vegetables, egg shells, leftover bread, tea leaves.

You can add leftovers after construction works: shavings, sawdust, thin cardboard, paper.

Agricultural waste (weeds after weeding, chopped branches, unnecessary hay or straw), waste products of poultry, animals. Even natural fabrics, paper, newspapers, etc. will do.

To properly prepare compost, it is important to remember that all waste that is placed in it must be pre-shredded. If this is not done, by putting too large and previously unground waste into the compost, instead of compost, you can end up with just a large garbage dump. The necessary processes, microorganisms and other necessary things will no longer be in it. Accordingly, this will not be humus either. That is, each such mistake in the question "how to make compost" can lead to damage to the collected material.

A proper compost heap also requires proper care for her. under the care of this case its correct cover is understood. It is necessary in order to regulate the amount of moisture, heat and the action of sunlight.

The right decision would be to cover the humus with organic materials as well. It would be appropriate to use thick paper, cardboard, boxes, unnecessary chipboard boards, and so on. In no case should you allow all kinds of polyethylene films and other synthetic materials. They reduce contact with oxygen, and, accordingly, disrupt important metabolic processes inside the humus. Characteristic smells will help to convince of this.

Third stage

At this stage, we will determine compost readiness for use. On average, compost becomes usable after 8 months from the start of its creation. Determining that the humus is ready for use is very simple. To do this, you need to make sure that the compost material has a homogeneous loose mass, the color of which should be dark brown, and the smell should be characteristic earthy. If these characteristics have appeared in the composted heap, you can safely use it for fertilizer.

Ways to use compost

The material obtained by the above method is an organically important fertilizer that can be used for any horticultural crops. In this case, there are no contraindications, exceptions and reservations. This compost can be used for all cultivated crops., adhering to the same doses that traditionally apply to manure. That is, it will be about 100 or 200 kilograms per one hundred square meters. This valuable humus can be introduced in autumn or spring during plowing or while digging the soil. Applying it is also very easy. It is enough just to scatter it on freshly plowed soil or put it into holes like mulching material.

FAQ

What if the compost was made incorrectly?

Often, beginners, starting to prepare humus for the first time, make various mistakes. If for some reason the compost was not done correctly enough and mistakes were made, this does not mean that it is worth throwing everything away. You can try to correct the situation and loosen the humus. In this way, air exchange will be restored and the necessary processes can be restarted.

What to do if the compote turned out to be overdried?

In this situation, which has arisen due to the fact that, most likely, not enough heat is supplied to the humus material, you can add some moisture yourself. The average moisture content in the composted material should not exceed 60-70 percent.

More often, another situation arises: sometimes the compost material is too moist due to the fact that work with it is carried out in autumn, and it is most often rainy. If the compost heap is flooded with water, in this situation it is necessary to control the moisture level and close the heap in time.

How to speed up compost time

For any farmer or just a gardener, 8 months of compost ripening is more than a serious period. However, gardeners are waiting for great news. To date, there are several simple measures that allow you to shift the maturation of compost to just a few days. To do this, you need to add specially selected microorganisms to the compost material.. Essential microorganisms and bacteria are found in special preparations, which were developed specifically for the rapid production of high-quality humus. They are completely harmless, bring only benefit and excellent results. They ideally take root inside the compost, more than significantly speed up the metabolic processes inside it.

For excellent humus in a few days it is necessary to turn to such a biostimulating drug as "Embryco Compost". We owe its development to the Crimean scientists. This drug helps to ripen the compost heap in just 5-7.5 weeks.

Biostimulator for humus "Embryco Compost"

In addition to the fact that this stimulant effectively accelerates the metabolic processes inside the humus, it has a number of nice additions:

• completely removes any characteristic odors inherent in organic waste;
• nullifies pathogenic microbes contained in waste;
• contributes to the death of weed seeds;
• destroys eggs and larvae of various unwanted insects and helminths.

How to use Embryco Compost correctly:

1. first shake the package until a uniform color is obtained;

1. after each use, squeeze the package as much as possible to remove excess air from it, and close it tightly. After that, the drug can be used more than once;
2. for 1 m3 of compost use 100 ml of stimulant. It must be diluted in a ratio of 1:50;
3. dilution water must be free of chlorine. If this condition is not met, the beneficial microorganisms contained in it may either weaken or die completely.

Possibilities of compost

If the compost turned out right, you can safely expect a lush harvest. And what is especially nice, not only in one season. Good and correct humus can improve the structure of the soil. This allows him to provide productivity for several years ahead.

A good and correct humus contains all the most necessary micro and macro elements for the best growth of plantings.

Compost can improve the immunity of garden plantings to different kinds adverse conditions diseases, even pests.

Your personal compost allows you to save a lot on expensive means and rational use of commonly recyclable household waste.

It has become much easier to get your own compost thanks to the development of a biostimulator. Now you do not have to wait for the readiness of humus for almost a whole year.

High-quality agricultural technology and a good harvest require soil fertilization. Compost is one of the most common basic ingredients that summer residents use everywhere. The fact is that in the country it is not so difficult to make compost with your own hands, because everything you need to organize the process is at your fingertips.

Many gardeners prefer to prepare the compost on their own, as this not only saves time and money, but also reduces the amount of hassle, which is always enough on the site. In order to understand from what and how to make fertilizer correctly, it is important to understand how the procedure for its formation takes place. In fact, composting is a natural process of decomposition of organic waste. In the process of fermentation, a fertile loose composition is obtained, which is suitable for any soil. The most common way to make compost with your own hands is to collect leftovers from the kitchen and organic garbage in one pile. After that, bacteria begin to work, which will process "yesterday's" borscht and fallen leaves into humus. As a rule, you can prepare compost in different ways, however, the whole process comes down to using the aerobic or anaerobic method.

From what you can make garden "gold" with your own hands:

• cut grass;
• foliage that falls in autumn;
• large litter cattle and birds;
• peat residues;
• tea leaves and coffee;
• egg shells, provided that they have not undergone heat treatment;
• peel and remains of raw vegetables and fruits;
• thin branches;
• straw, sawdust and seed shells;
• shredded paper or cardboard.

• vegetable peel after boiling or frying;
• diseased leaves and branches;
• weed plants;
• citrus peel;

Thus, compost waste is divided into two types: nitrogenous (manure and bird droppings, grass, raw vegetables and fruits) and carbonaceous (fallen leaves, sawdust, finely shredded paper or cardboard). When preparing a compost heap with your own hands, it is important to adhere to a ratio of 5: 1, i.e. most of consists of brown components, which are the basis for the nutrition of beneficial bacteria. One part of the pile is green waste. To speed up the process, shredded paper, corn and sunflower shoots, sawdust, dry leaves and grass are used as brown components.

Green components are essential for beneficial microbes, and they decompose quickly. The lack of green part can lead to a lengthening of the time required for composting. If you go too far with the green part, then the pile will smell unpleasantly of ammonia (rotten eggs). The remains of meat and fish products should not be included in the compost in the country, as they take longer to decompose, and there will be standing around. bad smell.

How to do

The balance of components is Golden Rule at the stage when, you are already ready to make garden "gold" in the country with your own hands. A properly stacked pile emits an odor fertile soil, if you hear an unpleasant smell, then you need to add brown residues. In order for the process of processing residues to start, the temperature in the center of the pile must reach 60-70 degrees. It should feel warm from it, but if it seems cool to the touch, then you need to add greenery.

Second important rule compost heap - constant humidity. It should be like a damp "rug", but not wet. If you notice that a crust is forming, then you need to add a little water. The aerobic composting process requires a constant supply of oxygen, so the pile must be turned frequently. The more often you turn the compost, the faster the finished fertilizer will ripen. You can properly prepare compost in the country in a fast and slow way. Beginning summer residents usually use the first option.

This requires a special box made of wood or plastic, where all the components will be laid. If there is no box, then you can use a pit with wooden lags. The main thing is that oxygen can freely flow from above and to the side to the contents. Laying components in layers or at random is up to you. Consider the option of laying a compost pit in layers:

• at the bottom it is necessary to put straw, hay or spruce branches to create a drainage layer;
• small branches of trees and waste of fruits that are not subject to heat treatment;
• a layer of shredded paper or cardboard;
• foliage;
• cut grass and remnants of annuals.

When laying, follow the rule - one layer is dry, the second is wet, and alternate soft waste with dense. To speed up the process, you can use nitrogen supplements, manure, dandelions and nettles. You can cook even with rotted manure or ordinary soil. To create a steam effect, the pit or box is immediately covered with a film or rags. Turning the contents of the compost store is required once or twice every thirty days. The slow method of preparing compost requires almost similar laying actions, only it will take several years to wait for the finished result, for the quality of the finished material will be much better.

Video "How to make compost in the country"

In this video you can hear and see how to make compost in the country.

Where to lay

To prepare it in the country, you will need to prepare a place where all the components will be laid. As a rule, a box or a hole in the backyard is used for this. Not rotten boards and planks are suitable for making a box. It is important that there is no rot, paint or oil residue on the surface of the wood. Most the best option- this is not a cut pine in the form of a board or a bar. It is this material that allows you to make a solid and at the same time "budget" box.

When choosing a drawer installation, it does not matter whether the surface is flat or elevated. It is advisable to prepare a place for the compost heap slightly above ground level. Such a measure is necessary so that the soil is not washed away. Further, it is necessary to make a large box from a bar or board, while leaving gaps between the planks for oxygen access. We install the supports and three finished walls of the box in a permanent place. We make the fourth wall removable so that it is convenient to ted and extract fertilizer. At the bottom of the pit, you can put a sheet of old linoleum.

Practical use

The use of mature compost, if all the processes have been done correctly, is already possible in 2-3 months. The substance should be crumbly, slightly wet and dark brown in color. If the mixture smells like earth, then the compost is ready. It is possible to prepare and apply fertilizer throughout the year for almost all crops. It is used when planting trees, shrubs and perennials. A little compost does not fit when planting vegetables in the hole. A thin layer on the surface of the lawn will be an excellent stimulant for the growth of juicy and dense grass, and making compost with your own hands is not difficult at all.

Video "How to make good compost"

In this video you can hear tips on making good compost.

Compost is an indispensable component of fertile soil in your garden and the most affordable fertilizer, obtained literally from waste. Properly prepared compost will not only fill the need of plants for nutrients, but also improve soil structure, its friability and ability to absorb and retain moisture.

The “correct” compost is not just a rotten heap in the corner of the garden, where you can dump everything you need. In order for compost to be useful and safe, some rules must be followed.

Compost may include:

• cut grass, hay and straw;
• green parts of healthy plants and some weeds;
• branches, wood residues and sawdust;
• food residues of plant origin;
• herbivore manure and bird droppings;
• chalk, ash, coal, eggshell;
• composting accelerators.

You can not use the compost heap as a garbage pit by adding the following components to it:

• food residues of animal origin - they cause rotting and a persistent unpleasant odor;
• faeces of humans and carnivorous domestic animals - they may contain eggs of worms;
• rags, coated glossy paper, rubber, stones, bones - these components do not decompose during the composting process;
• chemicals and disinfectants;
• weeds that have seeds long term germination, as well as creeping roots - in the process of composting, these plants do not lose their germination;
• diseased plants affected by pests and fungal diseases, such as late blight. They need to be burned.

Store the components in a compost bin. It can be made in the form of a pit or a fenced compartment, located in a secluded corner of the garden. According to the rules, the laid compost heap does not emit strong odors and does not harmful influence on the ground.

Compost device

The correct arrangement of the compost heap is one of the keys to quickly obtaining high-quality compost. It is not difficult to perform it, it is important to follow the recommendations.

Compost maturation

The process of fermentation and composting lasts from several months to two or three years, the maturation time of the compost depends on the size of the components and the mode of fermentation. It is important to achieve an increase in the temperature inside the pyramid to 55-60 degrees and above, while not only the processes of decomposition of the components with the help of bacteria are accelerated, but the seeds also lose their germination weeds kill pests and insects. For the correct mode, it is important to ensure a good supply of moisture and air to the composter. This is achieved through simple operations.

You can use compost when it acquires an almost homogeneous structure, becomes free-flowing and loose. Ripe compost smells pleasantly of damp earth and rotten leaves, it should not contain traces of fungus and mold. Ready compost is brought into the holes when planting bushes and trees or planting seedlings, they mulch the soil under it. perennials or added to greenhouses and greenhouses. You can also scatter it over the beds before planting the seeds and slightly loosen the surface of the soil.

Good mature compost does not require organic or mineral fertilizers during planting and allows you to get a rich and environmentally friendly crop.

Any plant develops better and bears fruit in fertilized soil. One of the most affordable and common fertilizers for the garden and garden is compost. About what ingredients can be used to make compost, how to make compost at home or in the garden, what crops this fertilizer is used for, whether it is worth buying ready-made compost and which of the proposed compositions to prefer, we will tell in our article.

What is compost

Compost (lat. Compositus - composite) is a fertilizer that is formed during decomposition organic matter under the influence of microorganisms. Composting is a natural method of recycling and recycling organic waste, which improves soil structure and saturates poor or depleted soil with substances necessary for plants. But don't confuse garden compost with those soil mixtures, which under this name are sold in garden centers and pavilions. If you make your own compost, this best of all organic fertilizers will cost you nothing. There are many recipes for making compost, and we will introduce you to some of them.

What can be composted and what can not?

Can:

• raw cereals, fruits, vegetables and their cleaning and trimming;
• sunflower stalks, corn stalks, garden and melon tops, dry leaves, mowed hay;
• sleeping tea and coffee grounds;
• leftover food;
• thin branches and shoots, untreated and unpainted wood, including sawdust and chips;
• straw, seed husks, nut shells;
• bird droppings and fresh herbivore manure;
• paper - napkins, packaging cardboard, xerox paper and newspapers in shredded form;
• peat;
• shredded natural fabrics - linen, cotton, wool, silk, hemp and linen fire;
• down and feathers of birds, animal hair.

It is forbidden:

• large and hard meat bones;
• ash from a stove or fireplace;
• synthetic materials and fabrics;
• peel from citrus plants;
• perennial rhizomatous weeds, especially when flowering or seeded;
• plant remains diseased or treated with herbicides;
• insect pests and their larvae.

Experts still do not have a consensus on whether it is possible to add human and carnivorous feces to the compost, as well as on the question of whether the remains of milk, fat, meat and fish can be added to the compost.

The process of converting grass, food and household waste into organic fertilizer is conditionally divided into three parts:

• decomposition: at this stage, the waste is heated inside the pile, changes its structure and enriches useful substances. As a result of transformation, useful microorganisms, fungi, earthworms appear in the compost, which help to accelerate the processing of the mass into fertilizer.
• humus formation: at this stage, it is important to ensure aeration of the pile, since without oxygen, microorganisms that organize and carry out the process of compost maturation can die. To provide air access, the mass is mixed with a pitchfork or a shovel;
• mineralization: at the stage of mineralization, decomposition of nitrogenous compounds occurs, and humus passes into mineral forms. The process reaches its maximum value after a year of compost aging.

Why is compost useful?

Firstly, it is one of the best mineral fertilizers that fill the soil. huge amount important trace elements.

Secondly, this is the cheapest means for soil structuring, which is carried out by increasing moisture conservation.

Thirdly, it is convenient to use compost as a mulch, which slows down the evaporation of moisture from the soil and suppresses the growth of weeds.

Fourth, you no longer have to remove or burn organic waste, as it can be placed in a compost pit and turned into excellent fertilizer.

How to make your own compost

How to make compost in the country

There are two ways to prepare compost - fast and slow, which are also called cold and hot. But first, let's decide on the compost bin and the location of this bin in the garden. It is best to build a box from wooden planks or any boards that have not been in contact with toxic materials - wood stain, varnish, paint, and the like. If you want a box to serve you for many years, make it from pine boards- it won't cost you much. Put together four walls, observing the gaps between the prefabricated planks - these gaps will serve to aerate the compost.

It is better to place the box (burt) on a hill so that it is not washed away by water, and away from the garden, otherwise the roots of all plants will change direction and stretch towards the compost pile. Choose a place, level the surface, dig in four supports and nail three walls to them. It is better to make the fourth wall removable or openable so that it is convenient for you to turn the compost or get it to mulch the beds. It is better to concrete the bottom of the box, or you can cover it with thick plastic wrap or old linoleum.

If you don't want to bother with nailing boards, you can buy a ready-made plastic or metal composter in the store - a compost container with a lid, the main purpose of which is to prevent the compost from crumbling. The advantage of such containers is that they can add protein waste - meat, fish, milk, because they are tightly closed with a lid, and rodents do not penetrate into them. In addition, they retain heat well and can be moved around. And the lack of composters industrial production because they don't get air. If you are not on a tight budget, buy a local organic processing station that independently maintains the process temperature and is equipped with a control system. In the end, you can make a cylinder of the desired height and width from a chain-link mesh and put waste for composting into it, but it will be inconvenient to get compost from such a container and dig up the mass in it.

When can you compost? There is no strict framework in this matter: you can start laying layers in the spring, after pruning trees and shrubs, and replenish the layers as organic material arrives. In autumn, fallen leaves, tops of vegetables and gourds. Achievements modern science even allow compost production in winter. But first things first.

How to make compost? At the bottom of the composter or pile, lay chips or cuttings of branches that will serve as drainage material, and then start filling the composter layer by layer, and the more types of organic matter you put in the compost, the higher its quality will be. Composting involves alternating dry waste with wet and green with brown (nitrogenous with carbonaceous). In the so-called green layer, waste is laid, which is a source of nitrogen - trimming and peeling vegetables, small twigs, green tops, and in the brown layer - torn newspapers and other paper containing carbon, fallen leaves and dry twigs. You can enrich the composition of the compost with plants that contribute to the rapid formation of humus - yarrow, dandelion, chamomile, valerian. To speed up fermentation, the compost heap is watered with a solution of mullein or bird droppings. The consistency of the mass should resemble a damp sponge, but moderation should be observed in moistening the compost, since the "flooded" microorganisms will not be able to generate heat that promotes decay.

To maintain the temperature and environment necessary for the process, a home-made composter must be covered with oilcloth, an old carpet, linoleum, or a lid knocked together from tight-fitting boards. Once or twice a month, the layers of compost should be turned over with a pitchfork to loosen the mass, achieve uniform moisture and stimulate processes that are fading due to lack of ventilation. In the heat, the compost is watered from time to time to maintain the required moisture.

Well, you have put compost in the box, now you need to wait until it rots. Ready compost looks like a dark, damp, crumbly mass that smells like forest soil.

The production of compost requires compliance with certain rules:

• compost shouldn't smell bad. If there is a smell of ammonia, then the processes are not proceeding correctly, and the mass can turn into poison. In this case, add torn paper to the compost to neutralize the predominance of nitrogen components in it. So that the ammonia formed during fermentation does not leave the pile in the form of fetid gas, but is processed into nitrogen, the following order of filling the tank should be observed: each layer of waste should be no more than 50 cm thick, and organic layers are interspersed with layers of soil or manure 5-10 cm thick;
• everything that you put in a compost heap should be chopped beforehand, and the greens should be slightly dried so that it does not sour in the compost, but rot;
• before the onset of winter, you need to shovel the entire pile so that the bottom layer is at the top and the top is at the bottom;
• the height of the pile should not be more than 1.5 m, and the width should not be less than 1 m, otherwise it will be difficult for you to shovel the mass. The height of the heap is measured a couple of months after the compost is laid, since during this time it settles significantly.

quick compost

Many gardeners prefer to make quick compost: they dig a shallow (no more than 40 cm), but wide hole in an elevated area, which is filled with broken branches and chopped wood, and is covered with earth from above. In a year or two, you will have an excellent fertilizer for the garden and vegetable garden.

The fastest compost is obtained from leaves: in autumn, fallen leaves are laid in a shallow pit, layered with garden soil, watered with biostimulants (EM preparations - Baikal-M1, Humisol, Tamir, Urgasa or the like) and covered with a black film, and in mid-May this compost can already be partially used for its intended purpose. To speed up the process, you can put a “sourdough” from already rotted compost into young compost. You can speed up the process of preparing compost by such means as a solution of sugar and yeast, which should be abundantly poured over plant residues put into the composter, or nettle infusion: pour ¾ buckets of nettle with warm water, add a bag of dry yeast and put in a warm place for 5 days, after which the infusion is filtered and watered with compost.

Compost at home

You can make compost in the winter at home.

Making your own compost at home is easy. For this you will need:

• plastic bucket;
• garbage bag;
• several plastic half-liter bottles;
• a bottle of EM liquid that speeds up the composting process;
• spray;
• plastic bag for sugar;
• package garden soil or purchased soil.

Make out plastic bottles cylinders of the same height, cutting off the bottom and neck, and place them on the bottom of the bucket. Place a garbage bag with a few small holes in the bottom to drain excess liquid into the bucket and start filling it with crushed plant debris, spraying each three-centimeter layer from the spray bottle with the accelerator solution prepared according to the instructions. After moistening the residue, squeeze the air out of the bag, tie it tightly and press down with a load - for example, a five-liter plastic bottle of water. About every three days, empty the bucket of water that has drained from the compost - this liquid can be poured down the drain overnight to clean sewer pipes and drains in sinks. And if you dilute this liquid with water in a ratio of 1:10, you can water indoor plants with it.

As the bag fills with organic matter, spray each layer of fermentation promoter, bleed the bag out of the bag and put pressure on it - do this until the bag fits in the bucket. As soon as the bucket is full, put it together with the compost in a warm place to ferment for a week, then mix the compost with a little garden or garden soil, transfer it to a sugar bag and take it out to the balcony or loggia where it will now be stored.

In the empty bucket, place a new garbage bag with holes for drainage of water and start the process of accumulating and turning waste into compost again. If you do everything right, you will not hear an unpleasant smell. A sour smell can occur simultaneously with the appearance of white mold on the surface of the compost - this is a sign that the process is not proceeding correctly. To correct the situation, add finely chopped newspapers or other paper to the bucket. Put the second portion of the ripened compost into the bag in which the first batch of fertilizer is stored. Ready homemade compost can be poured into pots indoor plants, add to the substrate for seedlings or take to the country and use as fertilizer or mulch.

Compost in bags

Growing champignons is now very profitable business, and many adapt to grow these mushrooms in their basements - this method is called intensive, in contrast to extensive, when mushrooms are cultivated in vivo. Mushrooms are grown in different ways, but the most effective is the method of growing in bags: it does not require high financial costs, and diseased mushrooms in one bag do not infect champignons in neighboring bags. The only drawback of this method can only be considered that the laying of the substrate in bags requires considerable physical effort. Compost in bags is placed on the floor parallel or in checkerboard pattern, and the staggered arrangement saves production space.

A high yield of mushrooms can only be obtained on a nutrient medium, and this requires a substrate based on compost. Compost for growing mushrooms, like garden fertilizer, can be prepared independently. For 100 kg of wheat or rye straw, you will need 100 kg of horse manure, 8 kg of gypsum, 5 kg of chalk, 2 kg of superphosphate and urea. Straw is cut 15-20 cm long, poured for 2-3 days with water so that it does not get wet, but moistened, then put three or four layers of straw in a pile or box in line with layers of manure, adding compost fertilizer - all urea and part of superphosphate (500 g). Then the mass is thoroughly mixed, gypsum is added, then the remainder of superphosphate, then chalk, and after adding each ingredient, the compost is thoroughly mixed each time - 4 times in total. The output is 300 kg of substrate - this amount should be enough to lay 3 m² of mycelium.

If you use not horse, but bird droppings, then the proportions will be different: 100 kg of droppings and 100 kg of straw will require 300 liters of water, 8 kg of gypsum, and alabaster is used instead of superphosphate and chalk.

Compost for mushrooms should mature outdoors in a place protected from the sun and rain for three weeks - during this time the components “burn out”, the ammonia evaporates completely, and the compost can be used: approximately 15 kg of compost mass is placed in special perforated bags and plant mushrooms in it.

Compost in boxes

The box mushroom growing system was developed in the USA in 1934, and it is still popular today to a large extent in the United States, Canada and Australia. Growing champignons in boxes, as well as in bags, allows you to localize the defeat of fungi by diseases and pests and provides the opportunity to keep mushrooms at different phases of development in different rooms.

Boxes are made from spruce, birch or alder boards. The volume of the boxes can be from 0.4 to 2 m², and the optimal depth of the containers is 12-15 cm. Before use, they are disinfected with a 4% formalin solution or a 2% Lysol solution. As for the substrate, the method of its preparation is the same as when growing champignons in bags.

Ready compost - is it worth buying

If you don't have time to make compost or you're afraid of not being up to the task, you can, of course, purchase ready-made compost. The Biud product has proven itself well - a universal concentrated and environmentally friendly biocompost that can be used both for ornamental crops, and for fruit and berry. To create this biofertilizer, both traditional composting methods and the latest are used. Finnish technology. The basis for the compost of this brand is high-moor and low-lying peat, cattle or horse manure, poultry droppings and fur-bearing carnivorous animals. Chopped straw, sawdust of hardwood trees, dolomite flour, vermiculite and other natural preparations are used as additives. By the name of the compost, you can determine what type of manure is used in it - "Cow", "Horse", "Chicken". There is also a biocompost in the series, created to fertilize the soil in autumn, it is called “Autumn”.

has a beneficial effect on vegetable crops the use of compost during planting - fertilizer is applied to the wells one tablespoon at a time. in the pits berry bushes put 2-3 cups of fertilizer, and in the pits fruit trees- on liter jar compost.

Mushroom compost is also not in short supply - you can buy it both in loose form and in briquettes. However, it is still worth trying to make compost yourself, because this will require very little effort, and all the necessary ingredients are waste of your life. Start collecting and layering organic waste at home, as described in our article, and the first bucket of compost you make yourself will inspire you to build a large garden fertilizer box and start a compost heap. As a result, you will always have high-quality and free organic fertilizer in your garden.

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Many gardeners, having tested mineral fertilizers in practice, are increasingly inclined to think that organic matter is much healthier, and the products grown on it are tastier and more beautiful. After the general enthusiasm for minerals, the “organic fever” gradually begins. One of the types of fertilizers of organic origin is compost at home from raw materials that can be found on every site.

Do not confuse the concepts of compost and humus. The first is a complex fertilizer that contains plant residues, manure, paper, vegetable and fruit waste. Humus is a substance that forms over time from cattle manure.

If compost is a highly nutritious fertilizer that is useful for both soil and plants in the garden, then humus after two years of storage is just plant residues that lost 75% of nutrients. It can only benefit the soil for looseness and nutrition of microorganisms and earthworms.

Equipment needed for composting

Before you start laying a pile, you need to know where the compost will be laid at home.

Firstly, it is necessary to create a special box or collar with certain dimensions. Its length can be any height no more than 1.5 m, width - 1 m. Such dimensions are necessary so that air flows penetrate well into the mixture.

The fact is that aerobic bacteria do all the work of digesting organic matter. Without oxygen, they die, so the presence of air in the heap is the main condition. If the dimensions are larger, then air will not be able to penetrate into the middle of the pile.

A wooden box can be replaced with a net by tying it at the corners to wooden or iron poles. If necessary, it is folded to make it easier to turn the components.

Another common material used to build a pile is slate. The downside is that slate is a fairly fragile material and often breaks.

A purchased composter container is an aesthetic plastic box that fits well into any landscape and even decorates it. There are two and three chamber containers. It is easy to transfer components in them and store ready-made fertilizer.

These containers are expensive, but they can be transported on wheels at any time, which is especially useful in winter. A home food waste composter can be small size, designed only for indoor flowers.

The second main compost care item is a pitchfork. They are useful for a large pile to stir it up regularly and make sure that the components do not rot or stick together into lumps.

If the box is made without a roof, then a dense film will come in handy so that rainwater does not get into the compost. If the compost is poured, then most of the microorganisms will die without air.

What is compost made of

Making compost at home is not a difficult process, but requires some rules to be followed:

• the use of healthy plants that are not infected with the fungus;

• compliance proportions 1:3 relative to nitrogen and carbon components;

• the right choice of raw materials so that the fertilizer is safe for the soil.

Green and brown components, that is, containing and not containing nitrogen, are laid in the composter.

• dry straw, hay;

• sawdust, bark, branches;

• peat;

• paper;

• natural fabrics.

• green lawn grass, green manure, weeds;

• manure or litter;

• vegetable waste.

Imbalance of these components leads either to long maturation - more than 2 years, or to rapid decay and ensiling of the organic mass.

Waste not suitable for fertilizer

In no case should construction debris be placed in the composter - fragments of foam, plastic, glass or rubber. Bacteria can only digest organic matter.

Video: How to make compost at home

If the rubber begins to heat up under the action of sunlight, it will begin to release toxic substances, from which the entire microflora may die, and the compost will be poisoned and cannot be used for plant nutrition.

Vegetable tops infected with a fungus - white or black mold, spread spores when composted. Therefore, there is a risk of contamination of the entire area. Such residues must be burned and laid in the compost in the form of ash.

Feces from pets, especially cats, should not be composted. In their waste, pathogenic organisms are sometimes found - toxoplasma or helminths.

Fish and meat waste attracts flies, which lay their eggs in the rotting remains. All fertilizer can be spoiled. In addition, the bones rot for a very long time even in a crushed state. It is better to bury them separately in the garden.

Instructions - steps to create a compost heap

Stages of work

• Prepare the components. Freshly cut grass must be kept in the sun 2 - 3 days, to reduce the amount of moisture and nitrogen.

• The first layer is laid on the bottom. It can be soil, peat or straw. Layer 30 cm thick.

• Next layer of green grass - 10 cm

• 30 cm any carbonaceous substance.

• Soil layer.

Repeat the alternation of components. Each of them must be shed with a biological solution of EM drugs. You can buy them or make them at home. For this, yeast or milk sourdough is suitable. Yeast is bred in warm sweet water and allowed to ferment within 3 days, then poured into a composter. For a large pile, you need about a bucket of sourdough.

The ingredients are folded in a loose way so that air remains between the layers and inside them. This is for fast maturation. How to make humus at home and store it in a cold way is another question.

Here the manure is laid tightly, not allowing oxygen to penetrate inside. The temperature will be kept at the level of 25 - 30 degrees and burning will not occur. In this way, you can save more useful nitrogen.

After the compost heap is stacked and the process of decomposition of the components has begun, after 2 - 3 days the whole pile is transferred to the adjacent pile. This step will enable bacteria to increase their numbers and decompose organic matter faster. After the first loosening, 2 weeks should pass, then toss again or turn over the mixture in the box.

How to accelerate the maturation of organic matter

Few summer residents want to wait 2 years for fertilizer. After all, it is during this period that composting takes place in natural conditions. So you can not wait for the harvest. The most enterprising and impatient of them have figured out how to make compost at home quickly.

Biodestructors

The most popular is the drug Baikal EM-1, which contains a concentrate of various bacteria. There are others, such as Radiance, which is in demand among the population. Unfortunately, fakes are common, so it is better to order on the official website, if possible. For these funds short term storage, they can not be sent in winter to avoid freezing and death of bacteria. Store them in a dark, warm place.

red worms

The most nutritious and fastest compost is a product of organic matter processing by red worms. When asked why exactly red - because this species is the most prolific. To reproduce quickly (500 times faster than domestic species), adults need to eat a lot and live in warmth. The life span of one worm is up to 16 years.

The method of laying down components for eukaryotic nutrition differs from conventional composting. Burt is filled in half and inhabited by worms. When they eat all the organic matter, another half of the pile is poured on top. After a couple of days, the worms crawl into the top half of the box and begin to feed again, and the bottom layer of fertilizer can be used.

The only thing that can disrupt the process is the lack of food and frost. Representatives of this species, when cold weather sets in, do not go into the ground, as domestic eukaryotes do, but huddle together and freeze. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out composting in a warm room or create the possibility of moving the collar for the winter to a heated barn.

In winter, most aerobic bacteria do not function at low temperatures, earthworms also climb deep into the ground and fall into suspended animation. Red California worms generally die if left in the cold. Therefore, the only way in which the compost will still ripen is to make it in a pit.

The soil freezes less at a depth, and if all the components are spilled with slurry or a solution of EM preparations, the process of processing organic matter will start. True, it will flow more slowly, since anaerobic microorganisms are needed for a sealed container or pit, similar to those that are propagated in septic tanks to eliminate odors.

The most relevant series is the American-made drug Dr. Robik. They produce both products for septic tanks and for compost pits. There are even especially powerful biodestructors designed for the processing of detergents produced by a washing machine or dishwasher.

Industrial composters are equipped with special heating devices that automatically control the temperature outside. This is especially important when creating vermicompost.

Mostly gardeners collect in winter food waste in the container, with the onset of spring, soil and the first weeds that appear are added and ripening begins. If the care is correct and timely, then the first batch of fertilizer can be obtained as early as June.

In a warm climate, you can leave the fertilizer to ripen outside, but at the same time it is warmed a layer of soil 30 cm from above. Can be sprinkled on the sides 15 - 20 cm.

If there is a sealed plastic container, a barrel or a concreted pit, then you can lay the components there and pour a solution of anaerobic bacteria, then close it tightly. Compost with anaerobes is valued higher, since during its maturation there is no loss of nutrients - especially nitrogen. But at the same time, the containers still need to be kept warm.

Hello, dear readers! I am the creator of the Fertilizers.NET project. Glad to see each of you on its pages. I hope the information in the article was helpful. Always open for communication - comments, suggestions, what else you want to see on the site, and even criticism, you can write to me on VKontakte, Instagram or Facebook (round icons below). All peace and happiness! 🙂