Now gardeners and vegetable growers are eager to returnto organic farming. Many are attracted by the main principle of this technology - natural soil fertility, maintained with the help of organic fertilizers and compost.
Warm and damp
The compost bin is installed in a remote locationparts of the garden and preferably in partial shade. A compost heap is a living bioreactor. The main conditions for the course of biochemical reactions are heat and moisture. Hence the first requirement: the compost heap must be covered. If it is laid entirely, soil, dry grass or leaves can be used as a covering material. If the organic matter accumulates gradually, then the best option is black polyethylene film.
Size matters
Compost BinFor savingThe size of the compost heap is very important for the temperature and humidity conditions. Its width and height should be 1.2-1.5 m, the length - at least 1.5 m. With smaller sizes, the heap will give off moisture, dry out and not warm up enough. In addition, without the required degree of heating, the process is slower, although the product is quite high quality in the end. And vice versa, too large a heap will overheat, and a high one will kill the microorganisms. A compost bin does not seem to attract attention to itself, does not require special care. It lies quietly and matures ... So many people think. And they are wrong. Compost ripens most quickly in the summer months, when the microflora "works" at full strength. All transformations of organic matter occur under the influence of micro- and macroorganisms: intensively multiplying, releasing energy and products of their vital activity, they drive and accelerate all biochemical processes. A compost heap is a kind of incubator for soil flora and fauna. And mature compost is not only a fertilizer, but also a carrier of the soil's vital forces.
Invisible People
Where do the invisible ones come from in the compost heap?workers - micro and macroorganisms? Its location is important here. The earth is the habitat of earthworms and other organisms involved in the composting process. Where you plan to place the compost heap, the soil must be alive and supply "workers". If compost is laid on scorched, chemically poisoned soil, it will take a very long time to mature. To speed up the process, a freshly laid compost heap can be populated with microflora using biopreparations - concentrates of soil microorganisms, and high-quality compost will mature in one season (under natural conditions, the process lasts 2-3 years). Bioconcentrates for compost are produced under different trade marks - "Baikal", "Vozrozhdenie".
What to put
The more diverse the organic waste, thethe compost will be more complete. It will be richer not only in mineral elements - the quality of humus will also change for the better. A prerequisite is the correct ratio of carbon and nitrogen in the composted raw material. Carbon is an essential building block for organic molecules. It is supplied by any plant, but there is especially a lot of carbon in lignified parts and waste (sawdust, straw, small branches, stems). Nitrogen-containing components are food for microorganisms. The source of nitrogen is fresh manure, chicken droppings, bone meal, mown grass, pea and bean stems. For the composting process to begin, there must be 10-20 parts of carbon in the organic mass for 1 part of nitrogen. If this ratio is disturbed, the excess component will be removed in the form of simple substances (ammonia or carbon dioxide). In addition to organic components, mineral additives should be added to the future compost - dolomite flour (an acidifier and a source of calcium and magnesium), superphosphate (a source of phosphorus) and complex mineral fertilizer. These components are absorbed much better when they are passed through the compost, rather than added to the soil. A compost heap is not a landfill or a trash can. Diseased or infected plants, weeds with ripe seeds should not be composted. However, the quality of the compost will improve if you add so-called biodynamic plants (promoting accelerated humus formation) - valerian, stinging nettle, dandelions, chamomile, yarrow. It is easy to determine whether the compost is ready. A loose, homogeneous material of dark brown color with the smell of forest soil - that is it.
November
Two Compost Bin SystemSpecial Article– compost from fallen leaves, or, as it is often and not quite correctly called, – leaf soil. Before falling, leaves give up mineral elements, which move to the branches and roots. Only hard-to-decompose organic substances remain in the leaf tissue - hemicellulose and lignin. But they are precisely the «semi-finished products» of stable humus - the carrier of fertility. Fallen leaves also contain very hard-to-decompose substances - tannins. There are especially many of them in the leaves of beech and oak, a lot - in the foliage of chestnut, willow and sycamore. Tannins have an astringent and disinfectant effect, so the foliage of these tree species decomposes slowly, it can only be used to cover the heap. Fallen leaf compost matures in an average of two years. It significantly improves the structure of soils and their water-holding capacity. Such compost is especially good for sandy and heavy clay soils. It does not contain many nutrients, but along with leaf compost, specific flora - microfungi - enters the soil, which are able to decompose lignin and hemicellulose. This is important for garden plants whose roots live in symbiosis with microfungi, for example, for heathers. Drawings: Anastasia Besedina
