Do it yourself compost
Compost, this is the main gold for many gardeners, it ennobles the soil with valuable minerals, protects it from drying out and helps to grow an excellent crop without much hassle. Many people know about the availability of this fertilizer, its constituent ingredients in our areas are often burned and disposed of as garbage, maybe it’s worth collecting and testing all this in action? In this article you will learn how to make compost with your own hands, what is Finnish compost, how to make compost for mushrooms and other useful tips.
Content
- What is compost? video
- Where to begin?
- How to make compost? video
- Compost ripening
- Using Compost video
- Champignon compost
What is compost?
Nature knows better than us what is necessary for the best growth, flowering and harvest of all plants. Natural compost fertilizes the earth all year round - fallen leaves, flowers, dry grass and branches, all this is eventually divided into microorganisms that feed plants.
Gardeners make layer-by-layer compost of dried fruits, vegetables, sawdust, paper, grass, manure of herbivores and bird droppings. To get the best results, farmers develop their cooking formulas and ways to use humus.
Where to begin?
To create compost, you need to choose a suitable place, penumbra, rain protection and sufficient wind flow are mandatory. In a sunny place, the substrate will quickly dry out, and mold will form from an excess of moisture. Humus is located in the farthest corner of the site, where it will be hidden from your guests, since the fertilizer does not look aesthetically pleasing.
Speaking of aesthetics, containers can also be used. An old bathtub, a wooden barrel and any other not very necessary container will be suitable for the substrate. If there was no suitable container, we make a compost box or a fence from a fine mesh netting with a height of not more than one and a half meters. You can also buy composter in the market, where their choice is very wide - from classic wooden to acrobat.
In general, it would be very convenient to have three containers for compost, in one container the substrate matures, in the second it is repositioned when mixed, and in the third it will be ready-made compost.
How to make compost
Compost preparation requires a little knowledge, so that it does not become poison for plants, and its mass does not attract rats; do not add the following waste to the compost:
- Bones
- Newsprint and color paper
- Affected fruits, vegetables, and parts of plants
- The roots of perennial weeds and their tops with seeds
- Evergreen branches
- Oak leaves
- Fish, meat, eggs (except for eggshell)
Take in equal parts mowed grass, fallen leaves, straw, sawdust and other organics from your site, large parts, for example, branches and tops of plants should be chopped or used in another compost mass, as they decompose longer.
The first, lowest layer is covered with peat, it will hold all the nutrients in the compost, preventing their penetration into the soil. If the compost is placed in a container, large branches can be used as the lower layer, they will serve as a good drainage.
The next layer of a few centimeters is manure and droppings of birds, accelerating the decomposition of waste, then the remaining organic waste is added in layers. To make the fertilizer not too acidic, each layer is supplemented with wood ash. Thus obtained mass 1.2-1.5 m high is covered with a protective layer of peat or last year's compost, and in the end, dry grass is laid on top.
Earthworms will accelerate the decomposition of compost, improve the looseness of the soil, distributing nutrients in the fertilizer, thanks to their work you will get even better humus - vermicompost.
Another way to prepare compost is compost from sawdust, 8 kg of sawdust is mixed with 2 kg of mowed grass, a small amount of urea, superphosphate and lime. Each layer of sawdust is moistened, as a protective layer, soil 2 cm thick is used. Wood compost matures in 4 months, the process will go faster if you add chicken droppings.
Please note that walnut filings can not be used as compost, the tree produces a useful antibiotic yuglon for humans, but for plants it is a fungicide that damages the roots.
Compost ripening
Every two weeks, the compost is turned over and determined how successful it is. Water is added to the dry compost; it is too wet (the liquid does not drip, but flows) and is diluted with straw. Make sure that the compost is moist and warm inside, if the mass does not heat up, this indicates a lack of nitrogen, add freshly cut grass or a handful of ammonium sulfate.
Fertilize the fertilizer for the first time after 3 weeks, during which time the mixture manages to warm up and begin to ferment. Spring compost will be ready on average in 3 months, from autumn compost ripens up to 6 months, and in winter its decomposition is suspended. Ripe compost has a natural, pleasant smell of humus, the leaves smell in the autumn park, and the mixture itself is homogeneous, without large residues.
To get fast compost, a large amount of manure is added to it, it is he who increases heating, accelerating fermentation. Shredded ingredients and good ventilation will also help fast ripening. A quick compost is covered with foil or film on top, so after 4-5 days the mixture can be turned over, after a month the fertilizer will be ready.
Using Compost
Ready mature compost (6-12 months) is usually used in spring and autumn, mixing with the soil. Fresh compost (ripening time 2-3 months) is suitable as mulch for flower beds, vegetables and shrubs, it is spread around plants with a layer of 2-5 cm, for a lawn 1 cm, the recommended fertilizer consumption is 2 kg / m2.
Compost is acceptable on beds when sowing seeds or seedlings. This type of compost consumption is called Finnish compost, seeds or seedlings are planted in a pre-prepared substrate, but they are not prepared in containers, but directly on the soil where planting is planned. Finnish beds have a number of advantages - weeds do not grow on the compost, the land is fertilized year round and protected from drying out, and the crop is obtained corresponding to high-quality nutrition.
Champignon compost
To grow mushrooms in your own garden, compost is also needed. The substrate for mushrooms is very different from ordinary compost, and it is impossible to replace it. Usually mushroom growers use commercial fertilizer, but if desired, it can be prepared at home. To prepare the perfect substrate for the mycelium of mushrooms, you will need:
- Wheat straw - 15 kg
- Gypsum - 750 gr
- Litter of birds and cow dung - 6 kg each
- Chalk - 600 gr
- Ammonium nitrate (nitrate) - 450 g
This is an approximate calculation based on a domestic formula. Pre-soak the straw for several days, then add manure, manure and ammonium nitrate in layers. After a week, with the first stirring, half of the gypsum and chalk are added, another week later the second part of the fertilizer is added. After 20 days, the mushroom compost is ready for heat treatment with steam (about 100 C).
When choosing a place for mushrooms, it should be noted that this compost is harmful to many plants in the garden, as it contains a high level of salts. If the plants in the garden grow near the intended site of the mycelium, the compost is mixed with soil 50/50.
