Compost heap options. compost heap

Consumption ecology. Manor: Productivity is largely determined by the fertility of the soil, which is known to every gardener who from year to year tries to improve the land on his plot, but noticeable improvements usually take several years.

The traditional method of fertilizing the earth

In order to improve the quality of the soil, annual fertilization is practiced by introducing into the soil a large amount of food waste, manure, fallen leaves, seaweed, mineral fertilizers, etc. Using the same fertilizers, their effectiveness can be significantly increased if you arrange a compost pit in a summer cottage.

DIY compost heap

A compost heap is a kind of "melting pot" in which biochemical reactions take place, which require a certain temperature and humidity regime. Therefore, to neutralize the external facts of the environment, the compost heap is necessarily covered.

If the compost heap is formed immediately, then earth, leaves, withered grass are used for shelter.

If you plan to regularly add to the compost heap, then it is better to cover it with black polyethylene.

Too large a compost heap in the country will lead to overheating, which will kill microorganisms, without which the whole idea loses its meaning. It is the microorganisms that take on the work of processing the organic mass; under the influence of the products of their vital activity, biochemical reactions are accelerated. By the way, the maturation of compost takes place especially quickly in the summer months.

There is nothing difficult in making a compost heap with your own hands, no. It is only necessary to choose a suitable place for its location on the site. It is best to arrange a compost heap in a wooden box that you can put together yourself. But you can also buy a compost box, usually they are made of plastic, equipped with a lid and doors so that you can mix the compost.

It is recommended to place the compost heap box in a shady place, in a secluded corner of the garden if possible. Microorganisms in the compost heap come from the ground, so if the soil at the location of the heap is poisoned with chemicals, then the compost will ripen extremely slowly. When laying a compost heap, in order to speed up the processes, the microflora can be introduced artificially, for which use bioconcentrates from soil microorganisms (Baikal, Vozrozhdenie, etc.).

The right compost heap will provide quality fertilizer after 3-4 months, while under normal conditions it will take several years.

Compost heap dimensions

The correct compost heap should be of such dimensions that it creates the desired humidity and temperature conditions. The optimal dimensions of the compost heap are 1.2–1.5 m with a length of at least 1.5 m.

A smaller pile will lose moisture, will not be able to warm up enough for all reactions to proceed at a normal rate, so the compost ripening process will inevitably be delayed, although the quality of the final product may not suffer.

What to put in the compost heap

The highest quality compost is obtained with a wide variety of used organic waste, then its composition will be richer in minerals. But it is important to observe the correct ratio of nitrogen and carbon. Carbon is the main building material for organic molecules; it is abundant in plants, and especially in sawdust, straw, and stems. Nitrogen is also necessary, as it serves as food for microorganisms. In compost, nitrogen is supplied with manure, bone meal, bird droppings, grass, pea and bean stalks.

In order for chemical processes to start in the mass for compost, the ratio of nitrogen to carbon must be from 1 to 10 to 1 to 20, excess amounts will be released in the form of carbon dioxide and ammonia. For a full-fledged compost, the presence of not only organic, but also mineral components is important, therefore, superphosphates, dolomite flour, and complex mineral fertilizers should be regularly added to the compost heap. After passing through the “crucible” of compost, all these substances will bring more benefits than if they are directly applied to the soil.

Some plants can accelerate the rate of reactions leading to the formation of humus, for example, medicinal valerian, pharmacy chamomile, yarrow, dandelion.

What Not to Put in the Compost Heap

Do not throw diseased plants, weeds with seeds ready for dispersal into the compost heap. Don't treat your compost heap like a garbage dump. It is strongly not recommended to lay in the compost heap:

• poorly ground materials (particles larger than 0.6 cm);
• fruit bones and seeds (rodents will visit), cheese, meat, eggs (so as not to attract animals);
• dog and cat litter;
• damaged products.

How to make a compost heap

There is a certain technique for preparing compost, following which high-quality compost is obtained in the shortest possible time. Its main instructions are:

1. Mix several components for the compost and then lay out in layers.

2. At the bottom of the pile, pour a 30 cm layer of soil, then a 10 cm layer of pre-dried and chopped grass, on top of 1 layer of leaves and weeds, each 25 cm thick.

3. It is necessary to frequently add food waste to the compost heap, while avoiding bones and fats.

4. Each new layer in the compost pile must be moistened with water.

5. Systematically add mineral fertilizers, bone meal, manure to the compost heap.

6. Constantly shift the pile, make sure that it does not dry out, is sufficiently, but not excessively moistened. To work with a compost heap, it is better to have a separate set of shovels and pitchforks.

At some point, the compost will be ready, it is not difficult to determine this by color and consistency - the ripened compost will have a loose structure, the smell of forest land and will turn dark brown.

Fallen leaf compost

Separately, I would like to note the compost from fallen leaves, which is also known as "leafy soil". The basis of this type of compost is fallen leaves, which lose minerals before falling off, so that only hemicellulose and lignin remain in their tissue. These substances decompose very slowly, although they are one of the most valuable components of humus. When arranging a compost heap from leaves, you should be aware that they contain another substance that is difficult to decompose - tannin. It has an astringent-disinfectant property, which greatly inhibits the formation of compost. Large concentrations of tannin are found in the leaves of beech, oak, the content of tannin is especially high in chestnut, willow and sycamore leaves. Because of this, the foliage of these tree species is of little use for compost and can only be used to cover the heap.

DIY compost heap (video)

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In summer cottages and household plots, the problem of recycling organic debris often arises - leaves, weeds, cleanings, sawdust and other things. Unlike inorganic waste (glass, plastic, etc.), all this can be used to produce clean, environmentally friendly fertilizer - compost. It turns out as a result of the biological process of decomposition under the influence of the vital activity of microorganisms. When compost is added to any soil, its quality characteristics improve. Clay soils acquire a lighter, crumbly structure, while sandy soils retain moisture better. Consider how you can make a compost pit and properly prepare the compost.

The following organic wastes are suitable for raw materials, which are conditionally divided into two large groups.

brown waste

These include those that emit carbon.

green waste

Green waste is considered to be nitrogen-releasing waste.

• berries, vegetables and fruits unsuitable for food and processing;
• sleeping tea and coffee cake;
• cores and cleaning;
• tufts of wool;
• leftover soups, cereals;
• eggshell;
• waste products of herbivores.

When laying a large amount of freshly cut grass, the composting time will increase significantly. To speed up the process, lightly sprinkle small layers of grass with earth.

What can't be put in?

Not all organics are suitable for laying for fertilizer.

Do not put in a compost pit:

• fresh pet excrement;
• loach, wheatgrass;
• bones;
• leaves and other parts of plants affected by diseases, especially powdery mildew;
• plants treated with any chemicals;
• weeds that have had time to ripen seeds;
• inorganic non-degradable waste (rubber, metal, glass, synthetic materials);
• tops of potatoes and tomatoes;
• fats, meat, dairy products;
• fresh and boiled eggs (except the shell).

Potato and tomato tops, even healthy in appearance, can be a carrier of late blight. Subsequently, such a fertilizer can infect all plants. In addition, this raw material is disposed of for a very long time, the process will take about 5 years.

Everything that is not suitable for a compost pit, but should be thrown into a latrine or taken out of the site as garbage.

Placement Requirements

A place on the site is chosen, as a rule, not in plain sight and one that is not a pity - where nothing grows due to dense shade or infertility of the soil, somewhere behind outbuildings, if any, in the backyards.

There are other important points as well.

• You need to understand that rotting raw materials will not exude the most pleasant smell, so you should think about moving away from the resting place and about the neighbors. It would be nice to know the wind rose so as not to place a pile on the leeward side.
• Consideration should be given to ensuring free access to the pit, since raw materials will be added and taken constantly throughout the season.
• It is advisable to choose a site on a flat surface, and not in a pit, it is possible with a slight slope to eliminate stagnation of water, which interferes with the flow of oxygen, which means it stretches the process in time.
• The compost heap, although called a pit, must be above ground level. In this case, it will warm up better, it will be more convenient to loosen it, water it and generally serve it. The optimal parameters are 50 cm deep, 1 m of the barrier above the ground. Higher walls will make it difficult to loosen and use compost.
• Eliminate proximity to a source of drinking water (should be more than 25 m).
• The place should be in the shade or partial shade - sunlight slows down and dries out the raw materials.
• Do not place the structure under the trees, they can get sick and die. Neighborhood with coniferous and other evergreen crops is especially not recommended. The best neighbors are alder and birch.

Do not cover the bottom of the pit with film, slate or other material that does not allow moisture to pass through! It must penetrate from the soil unhindered (deepening will contribute to this), otherwise everything will dry out. The bottom must remain earthen.

Design features

The ideal dimensions of the structure are usually indicated by the parameters 1.5m x 2m, but in the end they are determined based on the amount of raw materials that can be accumulated in 2 years. This is how long the process of preparing the finished substrate will go. Therefore, the ideal well should be twice as large and two-section, designed for two cycles. In the first compartment there will be a ready-made bookmark, in the other over the next two years fresh waste will be added.

It is important to know that a small pit will not warm up well as a result of decay, and this temperature may not be enough to kill all pathogenic microflora and harmful spores. Experts determine the desired temperature at 60C and the above optimal dimensions.

From above, the structure must necessarily have a removable cover.

Design Options

You can equip a compost pit in different ways, consider a few common options.

regular pit

The simplest construction that does not require additional costs and materials. A shallow pit is made, no more than half a meter deep, into which everything is folded according to the usual principle. Top contents are covered with black polyethylene. In order to make it easier to remove it to add waste or use, it is rolled up on both sides onto a long handle, which also serves as a load. After each new bookmark, it is recommended to cover the waste with grass.

The option is simple, but it is difficult to call it effective and convenient. There will be difficulties with mixing, and such a pile will not be able to warm up enough, which means that in order for it to overheat, it will take a longer period.

Two-section composter

Boards, old slate, metal sheets, corrugated board, walls from plastic containers, brick, etc. can serve as material for manufacturing. The optimal dimensions, depending on the size of the plot, are 1.5-2 m wide and 2-3 m long. To deepen the structure by 0.5-0.8 m. To fix the structure in the corners (stepping back to the required distance from the pit), pipe sections or metal rods of large diameter are dug in that can withstand the weight of the compost heap. Wooden poles are not suitable for this purpose, since the process of decay will invariably affect them, and the structure will not last long due to the load.

Install the walls, not forgetting the ventilation holes. A partition is installed in the middle, dividing the structure into two equal-sized compartments. Ready-made humus will be stored in one of them, and “young” waste will be added to the second. It is better to make the lid hinged, on hinges, so that it does not move out and tightly covers the contents.

It is advisable to treat the supporting sections of metal pipes with an anti-corrosion bioprotective compound, and all wooden parts with a protective impregnation, and then cover with two layers of acrylic paint.

The bottom, as already mentioned, cannot be covered with waterproof material, but straw, sawdust or tree bark are the best fit for this - they will provide the necessary air exchange and allow excess moisture to calmly leave.

If desired, you can make three sections. In the first one there will be a ready-made substrate, in the second - a fully laid ripening one, and the third one will be intended for laying new raw materials.

Single section composter

A simpler and more compact version. You will have to pick up the finished product from below, for which you need to make a hole in one of the walls (or even better - from different sides), from which the ripened fertilizer will be selected. A distance of at least 30-40 cm should remain between the wall of the box and the ground. In this case, it is not necessary to mix the substrate.

Concrete box

A construction that will be done literally once and for all. Accurate and reliable. To do this, you need to dig a trench of the desired perimeter with a depth of 70-80 cm and make a formwork. Pour concrete into it, remove the formwork and remove the earth from the box to the desired depth. As a cover, you can use a wooden shield or a film pressed with a metal mesh.

Finished plastic container

The modern market offers ready-made plastic composters. They have a different size (between 400 and 1000l), the necessary ventilation holes (make sure of this!) and a lid.

Their cost depends on the size, design and region and usually ranges from 2 to 10 thousand rubles.

Do not make compost pits too large, their contents will overheat, which is also undesirable, as this will lead to the death of necessary microorganisms.

How to properly fill a compost pit?

Before laying the raw materials, clean the bottom of the pit from the sod and dig it well to a depth of 30 cm. This will provide conditions for the active life of worms and the penetration of beneficial microorganisms, which will provide indispensable assistance in the waste processing process. In addition, excess water will go well into loose soil.

We start laying, alternating layers of wet and dry, brown and green raw materials. Their optimal ratio should be approximately as follows: 3 parts of brown waste to 1 part of green, and there should be 5 times more wet raw materials than dry ones. Everything large should be broken or chopped.

Moisturize (not much) and close the lid.

Raw materials should not be heavily compacted, but excessive looseness is also undesirable. Everything should be in moderation, especially humidity.

Putting compost in storage is not everything. Proper further actions will help speed up the process of decay and make the fertilizer more nutritious. Stick to the following guidelines.

The following additives contribute to faster cooking.

• Rotten horse manure.
• Some types of plants (valerian, chamomile, dandelions, yarrow).
• Specially produced activating preparations, for example, Baikal EM-1, Compostin and Compostar.
• Stale (dried) bird droppings.
• Stalks of legumes.
• Bone and dolomite flour.
• Superphosphate and complex mineral fertilizers.

In the process of rotting the contents, the temperature inside rises, and light steam may even rise from the heap. This is normal and indicates that everything is going well.

Do not spare your time and effort for this uncomplicated structure. This will also solve the problem of recycling a considerable part of organic waste, and will provide the most valuable fertilizer, in the quality and environmental friendliness of which you will be absolutely sure.

Summer residents are well aware that organic waste from the sites should not be thrown away. They can become a healthy, environmentally friendly fertilizer. For their competent processing create the so-called compost. This fertilizer is obtained as a result of the decomposition of organic substances under the influence of various microorganisms. Compost can be added to any soil to improve its quality. For example, when using compost on clay soil, you can achieve the effect of loose soil, and sand, when mixed with this fertilizer, will retain water much better.

DIY compost pit

Incredibly, almost all structures used to create compost are called compost pits. However, in reality, this is not always a hole.

• With the help of a compost pit (or heap).
• With the help of a special container for compost.

The first method has already become a classic. It is popular because of the low financial costs and ease of organization of the process. To create such a pit, an approximately half-meter deepening is made in the ground, and the resulting volume is filled with waste of organic origin, from which it is supposed to create future fertilizer.

The top of the hole is covered with a black film. Often the edges of the polyethylene are attached to long sticks or cuttings that help hold the film in place. The presence of such cuttings also helps with the further exploitation of the contents of the pit. With their help, it is convenient to remove the film and return it to its place.

In cases where a compost heap is used, the latter is covered with a special wire mesh (a kind of frame is made). Water and oxygen perfectly penetrate through such a grid, enriching the fertilizer and promoting the development of microorganisms.

But this method also has disadvantages. It's pretty hard to mix. If the pile is large, then it will not be able to warm up well. All this can lead to an increase in the period of "ripening" of the fertilizer.

Closed compost bins vary in size, number of bins, color and material from which they are made. You can make such a container yourself, but you can also purchase it in a specialized store. As a rule, a distinctive feature of such boxes is a drum that allows you to turn the contents of the container, as well as a hose for adding water to the box. Another advantage can be called the security of containers from the penetration of unnecessary pests.

The most elementary of the existing containers is single-section. Substances are placed in such a container from above, and the finished compost is taken from below. To do this, a hole is made at the bottom of one of the walls of the container with a removable (opening) door. If a distance of about 40 cm is left between the container and the ground, then the compost will not need to be mixed.

The two-section box consists of two equal halves. In the first compartment, as a rule, the finished substrate is stored, and the “fresh” waste is placed in the second. These boxes have a hinged lid. The main condition is that it should fit snugly against the box, securely closing its contents.

Such boxes are most often made from boards, metal, slate, plastic and other materials. To place such a box in a pit under it, metal supports (or poles) are dug in. Thick metal rods are also suitable as supports, but it is forbidden to set up wooden poles, because. wood is easily rotten and the box will eventually simply fall. Metal parts must be treated with an anti-corrosion coating, and if there are any parts made of wood, the latter must be impregnated with a protective compound and painted twice.

Many summer residents make a box of three compartments. At the same time, mature compost is placed in the first compartment, the second is filled with medium readiness compost, and new organic substances are laid in the third.

A concrete box is one of the most durable structures. It is built once and for a long time. A formwork is built over a trench or pit with a depth of about 0.8 m. Then it is filled with concrete. Ultimately, the formwork is removed, the soil is removed from the container. Instead of a cover, it is recommended to use a shield made of wood or dark polyethylene, pressed against a metal mesh.

A plastic box is a finished construction, equipped with ventilation (holes), a lid and various sizes. They are relatively inexpensive and last a long time.

The ideal dimensions for a compost bin are one and a half by two meters, but they can vary due to the amount of organic matter that is planned to be processed in a two-year period (this amount of time takes the entire process of creating a fertilizer).

It is important to consider that the smaller the size of the box, the slower and worse the process of heating the substrate will go. Because of this, all the toxic substances arising from decay simply will not be destroyed. It has been established that the temperature inside the compost bin cannot fall below 60 degrees.

The location of the box can be chosen based on two criteria: remoteness and the use of the site used for other needs. In other words, the box is built in the farthest and most inconspicuous corner with infertile soil or in a very shaded place unsuitable for growing crops.
It is important when choosing a place to remember the following nuances. Rotting organic matter smells extremely bad. Their stench will interfere not only with the owner of the site, but also with the neighbors.

The pit must be easily accessible. You will need to use these fertilizers throughout the year. It is important to prevent situations where the water will stagnate. For this reason, it is best to choose the most even places for such structures.

Such a pit must be raised above the ground level in order to facilitate its mixing, heating and the process of adding water to the contents. It is not recommended to build a pit near the source from which drinking water is drawn in order to prevent the penetration of harmful substances produced as a result of decay into it.

Do not install the box in a bright sunny place. The rays of the sun can dry out the substrate and slow down the whole process. The box should be placed in a shady place. The source used for the intake of drinking water should be located as far as possible from the compost pit. The optimal distance is 25 meters or more. It is extremely dangerous to arrange compost under the crown of trees. Such a neighborhood can destroy a tree. Coniferous plants are especially sensitive to toxins released during decay. But birch will be more resistant to their effects.

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The soil directly under the pit must be carefully cleared, removing any vegetation, and then making a small depression (about 0.3 m.)

When laying compost, the green and brown layers of the substrate alternate. Wet layers are also interleaved with dry ones. In this case, the green layers should be three times less than the brown ones, and the dry layers should be five parts less than the wet ones.

It should be borne in mind that all large elements of raw materials should be crushed in advance.

Used leaving is usually divided into two types:

• The brown species includes: leaves, thin branches, sawdust, rags (from woolen fabrics or cotton), newspapers, cardboard or paper, plant roots, ash, grass, old rotten wood, etc. It is believed that all these wastes will emit when rotting carbon.
• The green species includes: fruits of plants from berries to vegetables, pomace from ground coffee, tea leaves, food leftovers (especially cereals or soups), egg shells, feces of herbivores. It is important to remember that if there is too much ordinary green grass, then the compost production process will slow down significantly. In this case, it is recommended to sprinkle the grass layers with soil.

The following substances can significantly increase the speed of fertilizer preparation: rotted waste products of horses, certain plants (for example, dandelions or mint), special substances (for example, Compostine), dry bird feces, ground bones, various fertilizers, etc.

Not all organic matter can be useful in compost production. So, the compost pit does not allow the use in it of: the results of the life of pets, some weeds (for example, loach or couch grass) infected with pests of plants (or parts thereof), plants after treatment with pesticides, non-decomposable garbage (inorganic), fats, eggs, milk and its derivatives and others.
All items and substances that cannot be placed in a compost bin are disposed of as household waste or placed in a cesspool.

Correct exploitation compost pit

It is required to know not only how to fill the hole with the necessary organic matter, but also how to exploit it, how to speed up decay or improve the quality of fertilizer. For a more productive result, it is recommended to adhere to the following prescriptions:

1. The contents of the pit (container) need to be periodically moistened, but it is important not to overdo it with the addition of water. The substrate should remain moist, but no more. Don't keep it dry either. The decay process will stop.
2. Compost should be periodically pierced and stirred with a pitchfork. This will improve the penetration of oxygen, which will positively affect the process as a whole.
3. It is very important to cover the contents of the pit with black film. This will speed up the composting process.
4. The presence of earthworms in the compost has a positive effect on the process. They can even be artificially planted in a pit.
5. The compost needs to be mixed frequently.

As the contents of the pit rot, the temperature inside rises. In some cases, steam is produced as a result of this process. If it rises from the heap, then this demonstrates to the owner that the composting process is proceeding as expected.

In autumn, the compost pit requires special attention. The bottom layer is already ready for use by this time. It is recommended to remove it from the pit and use it to cover flower beds with perennials. The top layer can be removed and laid separately.

It is very convenient to use old boxes or pallets for sorting compost. It is necessary to sort the substrate. This will speed up compost production and make it more uniform.

Experienced summer residents advise covering compost bins and heaps not with a whole black film, but charmingly making holes in it. This allows you to maintain a stable temperature and humidity inside the pit, and also promotes air circulation.

Creating a compost pit is a rather laborious process, but it is worth it. With the help of such pits, a huge amount of organic waste can be disposed of, while obtaining an extremely valuable fertilizer, the quality of which will not be in doubt.

Before proceeding with the preparation of compost, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with, which are often allowed in the manufacture of this organic fertilizer.

First, about terms.
In a broad sense, these words are synonyms. In Russian, it happens that any word has different meanings, depending on the context in which it was pronounced and written.
If manure and other organic waste is placed in a special compost pit or box, it is turned over several times a season, loosened, watered, covered, thinking about the correct ratio of nitrogen and carbon, that is, composting, then a product similar to black earth is called compost .

And in the old days there was a lot of manure, it lay in huge piles near the sheds with animals, no one composted it, it rotted itself, and therefore the people simply called it humus.
Sometimes compost and humus are called humus. But humus is a borrowed Latin word, meaning earth, soil. And it is more correct to talk about humus in the context of talking about the soil, about the constituent part of the soil. Humus is what remains of organic matter that has been in the soil for a long time, processed by soil inhabitants, joined together with soil particles into a single complex and lost the fibrous structure of organic matter visible to the eye.

When we take the soil in our hands in the spring, we feel the pleasant smell of the earth and see its black color, we say that there is a lot of humus in the earth, this is black soil. Therefore, the closest synonym for humus is chernozem.
When we take good compost in our hand and also see the black color and smell a pleasant smell, we still do not call it humus or soil, but when we introduce such compost into poor soil, we understand that we are enriching the soil with humus, turning the soil into black soil .

But when we approach a heap of rotted manure, take humus in our hand, we do not always smell the soil, sometimes the humus has an unpleasant putrefactive smell. Intuitively, we understand the difference between black soil, between good compost, and between humus (an old pile of pig manure that we did not want to compost properly).
So we understood at the ordinary level what compost is, it is organic matter with which we worked, which we composted.

Why Gardeners Make Compost Differently

I myself went through several stages of understanding what good compost is, and now reading hundreds of articles about composting and talking on this topic with my gardening friends, I see that how many people, so many different opinions on how to make it.
Many people like to strictly follow the instructions, hang them correctly in grams, mix manure, straw, grass, and food waste in strict proportions. When a beginner reads such advice, he is confused and afraid to start creating compost heaps.

Someone is afraid of worms, read a lot of esoteric literature and strictly monitors the temperature of the heap so that all eggs and microbes die. Washes hands and vegetables endlessly with soap and brush after working in organic gardens.
Someone builds tables and calculates on a computer how much nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium is in which compost, and what additives should be added to it for each crop.

For some, compost is just a way to utilize the existing organic matter, reduce its volume, reduce the putrefactive smell, so that it is easier to take it out and bring it to the beds. For these purposes, I just put it in bags for six months.

There are fanatical naturalists who believe in the myths of soil digestion, who believe that compost is a loss of carbon energy, and all organic matter must be composted in the garden so that there is no loss, and all the sun's energy goes to the roots of plants. And humus is a dummy, bacteria poop that does not contain nitrogen.

I used to compost the other way too

If I had been asked one or five years ago what is the value of compost for a gardener, what is the essence of its proper preparation, I would have answered: in the quantity and quality of soil organisms, in the stability of the ecosystem that has developed during its preparation.
If you ask me now why a novice gardener needs to have the right compost, I will say in order to cure my dead land of bacterial and fungal diseases and start harvesting faster. And they will ask what is the main benefit of compost, I will answer that in the quantity and quality of antibiotics that the compost has accumulated, thanks to the vital activity of fungi and bacteria, in the ability of the extract from the compost to fight putrefactive organisms, in the ability of compost to heal the land, in the possibility of using infusions and from such compost to restore the fertility of dead soils.

Soil, especially depleted by agriculture, does not always contain all the beneficial microorganisms. Therefore, in order to restore the soil, we must introduce composts with a high content of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms into it. Such inoculants can be: live compost, biohumus, vermicay, compost tea.

All novice gardeners have confusion in their heads

I want everything at once and quickly. And in order to avoid diseases, I want to kill all harmful fungi and bacteria, introduce pesticides and herbicides into the soil. In addition, I want to get a harvest in the first year on the acquired land. Not pesticides will help here, but extracts from compost.
Live compost for these purposes can be obtained in three weeks, for this you need to make compost in a heap using a special method.

What materials should be used for the rapid maturation of compost

• Various types of manure and litter from pets (waste from the toilet and feces should settle for 3-4 months). This is a nitrogenous material. It causes "burning" of the compost heap.
• Hay, straw, leaves, coarse grass are carbonaceous material. All materials must be crushed: otherwise they are difficult to turn over, and it is more difficult for microorganisms to process them.
• Green grass with turf - contains soil microorganisms, it is with green material that they enter the compost heap.
• Wood mulch is food for mushrooms, mushrooms love to recycle wood fiber.
• In the middle of the compost heap, you can add a kind of seed - comfrey, nettle, yarrow, fish, food waste. This will speed up the overall decomposition process. These are compost activators or accelerators that help warm up the pile.

I'll tell you in detail, in order
First, we make a loose base of the heap: put hay, small branches at the very bottom. It is very important that air is easily drawn into the pile from below. Then we lay a layer of nitrogenous material, alternating with carbonaceous.
After laying the heap, pour water over it so that it is moderately moist.
Then we cover the pile with waterproof material and leave it for 4 days.
On the fourth day, we make the first transfer of the heap. Our task in this case is to place the outer material inward, and the inner material outward. This is necessary for even composting, as the inside of the pile is hotter than the outside.
Then on the sixth day we do the second transfer of the heap. We control the heap temperature. We throw a bunch every other day, the outer material inward, and the inner material outward. On the 18th or 24th day, the compost should be ready, if it is not overheated or overdried.

Overheating will occur during the second third throwing - on the 6-8th day. Stick your arm up to your elbow in the compost heap. If you succeeded and you shout "Hot!" they pulled the hand back, which means that the temperature is above +50 ° C, and everything is fine. At +70 ° C, you will not be able to put your hand in a pile, it hurts.
During the composting process, optimal humidity should be observed, for this we take a little material from the base of the pile and squeeze it very strongly between the palms. If it drips a little, that's what you need.

What happens in the compost heap

During the first 4 days of composting, the population of microorganisms in the heap increases. We turn the pile, many organisms will die - and their bodies will become food for the next generation of microorganisms. There will be a population explosion, they will multiply rapidly and give off a lot of heat.
During the composting process, carbon organics will bind nitrogen and all other elements into humus. Rough organics - absorbent; nitrous - fuel for the heap. Even toxic substances - if any of them end up in a pile - will be bound by long chains of carbon molecules and become inert. This is one of the most remarkable properties of humus.
So, the main secret of a good and fast compost is the optimum temperature of the compost heap, +55…+65 °С. And optimal humidity with good aeration.

How can live compost be used?

I use ready-made compost in four different ways, depending on the purpose.
1. To quickly improve the humus-poor garden soil, I prepare compost, which contains a lot of woody material and, accordingly, mushrooms.
Trees need fungi, they grow in soil in which fungi predominate. Fungi form mycorrhiza, a symbiotic relationship with woody plants. Mushrooms get carbon from plants, giving away nutrients from the soil in return. Mushroom threads - hyphae - stretch for many kilometers, they can extract batteries over long distances. In addition, hyphae provide an exchange of information between trees. This is a kind of Internet in the soil. Fungal spores and hyphae are easily damaged by improper tillage. By inoculating the soil with mushroom compost, fungal diversity in the soil can be quickly restored.

2. For vegetable beds, I prepare compost rich in nitrogen, which is dominated by bacteria. It has more grass, manure, food waste. Such compost is better suited for fertilizing herbaceous plants and vegetables.

3. For the production of ACC, I leave the compost for 6-13 months for good maturation, it is better if it is overgrown with weeds. In this case, the ecosystem of compost organisms will be the most developed and diverse.
4. For the production of compost infusion, fresh compost 10-14 days before use should be shed with 1% molasses solution with the addition of 0.05% fish emulsion. (I make a "stink in a barrel" where I add nettle or comfrey, they have a good balance, a lot of nitrogen, and phosphorus, and carbohydrates). Then it is necessary to loosen well, this causes the rapid reproduction of all soil living creatures, followed by the lysis of most bacteria and fungi, while the compost is maximally saturated with antibiotics, amino acids and vitamins, and the infusion from it is the best medicine for treating rot-infected soils.

So, we need compost to quickly restore the fertility of the lands killed by the previous exploitation.

Why old drugs can not cure the earth

The use of EM preparations, trichoderma and hay bacillus on infected soils does not give a visible effect, they work well on healthy soils with a high content of humus. It is the same with ACh, poor in humus, soils infected with bacterioses, microorganisms introduced into the soil together with ACh and organics are treated, but slowly, in the first year of soil development, the crop is not obtained.

Modern mixed bacterial-fungal diseases reduce the immunity of plants, their resistance to frost, drought, pests, weeds, and no agrotechnical measures can save them from these diseases. We treat mushrooms - we get an outbreak of bacterioses, we treat bacteria with antibiotics - we get an outbreak of fungal diseases.

I have forty years of experience in the treatment of children from mixed microbial-fungal diseases, I use drugs - four in one, kill fungi, microbes, relieve inflammation and restore disturbed microflora of the skin or intestines.

What I saw in vermicoff and what I learned now

So it is with the soil. For the first time I saw that the soils are superbly treated with fresh extracts from vermicomposts. There are no pathogenic bacteria and fungi in the intestines of worms, but there are thousands of microorganisms with hundreds of antibiotics that protect worms from diseases, because worms crawl for millions of years in the dirtiest rotting manure. Last year I described my experience that beds watered with vermicaffe (an extract from vermicompost), and then sprayed with ACH, give an unprecedented increase in yield.

Not everyone can make worm compost, but everyone can make quality compost following the guidelines above. In compost, where there are no temperatures above 55 degrees, micro worms and millions of other micro soil animals manage to multiply in three to four weeks, and all of them excrete coprolites no worse than dung worms, and the composition of bacteria in it is no worse than in worm compost and the content of antibiotics that suppress all known soil pathogens is not worse, and the composition of beneficial soil anaerobes and protozoa is excellent. We get the effect of four in one.

How to make hoods and how to use them

If you take 2-3 liters of high-quality fresh compost in a bucket of water, stir well and leave for about an hour until the color of dark coffee, pour it over your diseased beds, at the rate of half to two liters per square meter, then this infusion will suppress both pathogenic fungi, and bacteria, relieve inflammation of the roots and create a protective layer of beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere. Vitamins from compost infusion will increase the immunity of plants, and they will successfully resist diseases, pests, drought and frost.

Then you can add organic matter to such a cured soil, without fear of intensifying bacterioses, add ACh, and beneficial microbes will take root.
If a dozen beneficial bacteria are added to millions of pathogens, they do not take root, and if millions of beneficial bacteria are added to the ten remaining pathogens in the soil, they will take root, create their own ecosystem and will not let pathogens into their paradise.
Thus, the gardener can already in the first year on the killed soil get a crop and not reduce, but increase fertility.

This is the essence of my understanding of why a gardener needs the right compost.

Sooner or later, every gardener thinks about how to increase the fertility of the land on his site. If you solve this problem correctly, you can grow a crop 2-3 times richer and better in the same area. Chemical manufacturers offer to use a whole arsenal of tools for these purposes, but not everyone wants to grow homemade vegetables in chemistry. You can buy rotted manure from livestock breeders, but it is quite expensive. There remains only one affordable and productive way to improve the condition of the soil - to make compost from organic waste with your own hands. Do you think this is too long and hard work? We will show two ways to quickly prepare a good and safe fertilizer.

Composting is the first step towards eco-farming in the country

Active and often not very correct exploitation of the land leads to its rapid depletion. Almost all stages of gardening - weed control, harvesting and clearing the garden of tops - cause the soil to lose nutrients. If this process is irreversible, after 2-3 seasons you will have to forget about getting quality fruits, even if you work hard. But it’s easy enough to fix the situation by making compost and, according to all the rules, introducing it into the soil.

Under natural conditions, nature itself takes care of the production of compost. She is able to “make” it from fallen leaves, withered grass, food waste and excrement - in general, from everything that rots and decomposes into the very compounds due to which a new plant grows at a favorable moment. Remember a trip to the forest and a "blanket" of rotted organic matter on the earth, which does not know what human care is, and yet gives birth to bushes and trees of unprecedented height.

And what do we do in the country? Trying to clean the site clean, to the smallest speck, we don’t even think about depriving the land of a chance for at least some additional enrichment and thereby preventing nature from growing crops for us. So, to make compost, 3 simple steps are enough:

• prepare a special place for quick decay at home;
• naturally collect enough compost material;
• wait until the compost is completely rotted, and lay it in the beds.

Now, knowing the secret of composting, you can “make” (and farmers say grow) good black soil with your own hands, no matter how seedy the soil on your site was initially.

Proper preparation of compost mass with your own hands

In order for the compost to be as fertile as manure, it must be made from quality components: garden waste, food debris, straw, hay, grass clippings, natural fabric, cellulose, etc. Remember that a compost storage is not a dump , and do not throw bones, hard rhizomes, toxic waste, plastic, glass into it. When it comes to organizing a compost pit, there are several practical ways to explain where and how great compost can be made.

Arranging a convenient compost bin

In fact, compost is a product of the processing of organic residues by various microorganisms. Therefore, in order to start the process of decay, it is important to provide comfortable conditions for their development:

• availability of nutrients, moisture and access to air;
• lack of direct sunlight;
• maintaining an acceptable ambient temperature.

Previously, people used to dig a deep hole to make compost, or even just collect organic matter in one pile. But the aesthetics of the site has become important to modern gardeners, so they prefer to buy a ready-made composter or make a special container on their own.

Before you build it, decide on the dimensions: for a summer residence with an area of ​​​​5 acres, a structure of 1 cubic meter is enough. m., i.e. with dimensions of 1x1x1 m. You can make a composter from a variety of materials:

• wooden boards;
• bars and mesh;
• construction pallets;
• plastic barrel;
• plywood boards and fencing mesh.

When choosing the material and shape of the container, keep in mind that its contents should be well ventilated, so when assembling between the elements, you need to leave gaps of 3-5 cm, and so that the contents of the box do not scatter, fill a fine mesh over the container.

It is also worth choosing a design in which it will be convenient for you to periodically stir up the mass and remove it at the right time. Ideally, the container should be loaded from the top and unloaded from the bottom so that the most mature part of the compost can be reached effortlessly. To do this, it is enough to leave a gap in the lower part of the box around the entire perimeter or install a removable door on one side.

Install the finished composter away from residential buildings (at least 12 m) and water sources (at least 8 m). You need to fill it with waste, alternating layers: dry with wet, coarse with soft, fresh with dry, etc. Be sure to control the humidity, and in a drought, do not forget to give the compost a warm shower. Another important point: carefully cover the compost heap with opaque material - thick paper, spunbond or lutrasil, and to keep warm - with an old carpet or rag.

Under normal conditions, the compost matures for about a year, but to speed up the process, you can resort to various additives that you can make yourself from yeast or purchase in agricultural stores. Also, the maturation of compost can be accelerated if the mass is interleaved with herbivore manure or ordinary garden soil.

How to do without a composter

Autumn is the time when it is required not only to stock up for the winter, but also to think about the next season. It will be very good if you have time to equip the thermal beds before the start of frost, as in the spring they will save you a lot of time and effort. Here are just a few of the benefits of organizing your site this way:

• no need to design a container for compost and allocate space for it;
• there is no need to transport it to the beds;
• due to the earlier warming up of the soil, spring work can be started a week and a half earlier.

The arrangement of a warm bed involves laying materials for future compost directly into the soil where it is planned to plant certain crops. There are 3 main options for its construction:

• buried - in the right place, the sod is removed and a track is dug into which organic matter is subsequently laid;
• raised - in finished form it looks like a box, the fences of which are made of scraps of slate, boards, metal, and even concrete or stones;
• bed-hill - is a variation of the previous one and differs from it in the arched shape of the embankment and the absence of sides.

The choice of option depends on the conditions at your dacha: for dry areas, it is recommended to make a warm bed deepened, for excessively wet - raised. If you want to increase the useful area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe site, it is better to equip a hill-bed and use its entire surface for crops.

To equip a kind of warm floor in the garden, follow the important principles of laying compost in the garden:

• it is recommended to send the bottom with a mesh with small cells - this way you will protect the structure from settling by rodents;
• the first layer up to about 45 cm thick should be large, long-rotting debris: thick branches, small stumps, coarse corn and sunflower stalks, wood trimmings;
• then you can fill, without tamping, a trench with plant residues, and if they are too fresh and juicy, you need to shift them with paper, straw or hay;
• if deciduous trees grow nearby, you can add a layer of fallen leaves 10-15 cm thick, which needs to be watered a little;
• finally, it is required to lay a fertile layer of soil and cover the bed with a black film to protect it from weed seeds carried by the wind.

Such a design should begin to operate as early as the beginning of next spring. By that time, the soil will be saturated with nutrients and warm up as a result of the decomposition of raw materials. So in the first year of use, try to plant zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers, tomatoes, as the development conditions for them will be ideal.

A Few Secrets to Making Great Fertilizer

For the preparation of high-quality humus, it is very important that the right ratio of nitrogen and carbon is maintained in the material. Therefore, try to have as much variety of waste as possible in the compost heap. So, all plants and their fruits, the remains of plant food, hay, and straw are rich in nitrogen. Carbon is contained in paper and cardboard, leaves, needles, bark and sawdust.

We remind you that it is strongly not recommended to throw some herbs into the compost:

• destroyed as a result of herbicidal treatment;
• rotting for a long time and capable of germinating the next year: goutweed, wheatgrass, mountaineer, horsetail;
• poisonous representatives of the flora - aconite, lily of the valley, yew;
• affected by rot and covered with black or gray bloom;
• citrus residues that can negatively affect the development of beneficial microflora in the compost.

Pay close attention to the laying of plants on which the seeds have ripened. To neutralize them and protect future plantings from the dominance of weeds, such herbs must be soaked in water for 10-15 days, then dried and placed in a composter.

For those living in an apartment rather than a private house, storing waste before a trip to the country is usually difficult. To help them, the so-called EM container was developed, in which, thanks to the bacterial solution, the process of organic fermentation at home is started. At the same time, household members do not experience any inconvenience - an unpleasant smell or fermentation sounds.

Putting cleanings and residues in such a bucket, it is enough to spill them with a special liquid. The aroma that is formed in this case is compared by users with marinade. After 2 weeks, the fermented waste mixed with the soil can be used as a regular compost for growing garden and horticultural crops.

All of the above methods for obtaining natural fertilizer are reliable, since they have been tested in practice by thousands of summer residents. You, too, can, with very little effort and without spending almost a penny, ensure that the crop grows enough to be enough for seasonal consumption, and for harvesting, and even for sale.