How to make high-quality compost in the country? How to speed up the decay process. rules for compost

Compost is an indispensable component of nutrient soil in the garden of any gardener. In addition, it is also recognized as the most affordable fertilizer in terms of costs, since the main component of its manufacture is waste. That is, it is made practically from nothing, because in any garden there will always be some kind of waste.

You just need to know that in order to get a complete nutrient for the soil, it must be properly prepared compost heap. After all, compost will not only fertilize the earth, but also serve as an improver of its structure, friability and ability to retain and absorb moisture.

What is compost

In order for the garden to be well-groomed and give good harvest, it just needs to be fertilized. You can do this with the help of chemical fertilizers, or you can get by with your free, useful and safe tool.

Compost is a natural organic fertilizer, which is obtained by fermentation under the action of earthworms and bacteria.

To obtain such fertilizer, a compost heap is laid. Often it is done by simply digging a hole in the ground, but it is better if it is a specially equipped place - a compost bin.

Composters are made in the form of closed or open containers, but you can also purchase special plastic crates equipped with lid and door.

Prepared compost is applied to the holes before planting. horticultural crops v open ground or for planting in greenhouses. Or it is scattered over the site before planting the seed and lightly mixed with the soil.

What is compost made from?

Many people think that to make compost it is enough to dump all kinds of waste in a pile in some corner of the garden. Time will pass, they will overheat, and fertilizer will turn out. But this is far from true.

To get safe and healthy compost, you need to arrange the right compost heaps, so there are some points to consider. First of all, the composition of such a heap. It may include:

• ash, chalk, charcoal, eggshells;
• cut grass, straw and hay;
• sawdust and tree residues;
• vegetable food waste;
• weed grasses and healthy plant greens;
• bird droppings and animal manure;
• compost stimulants.

Compost bin dimensions

Composting ingredients are put into the compost bin. Proper compost laying does not release into the soil harmful substances and does not cause inconvenience with a strong unpleasant odor.

It is important to observe the dimensions of the compost bin, otherwise it will be difficult to create a comfortable temperature and humidity regime for the compost. Optimal sizes the piles are one and a half meters in width and as much or more in length. If you make a bunch smaller size, then it will quickly lose moisture and will not be able to warm up well. This will lead to the fact that the composting process will be delayed for a long time.

compost ban

Before you make a compost heap, you need to know what you can’t add to its composition:

• disinfectants and chemicals;
• weed residues with seeds of long germination periods or roots of creeping plants, since they do not lose their germination during composting;
• remnants of coated glossy paper, rubber, textiles, as well as animal bones and stones - all these substances do not decompose in compost;
• human feces and pet waste, which can be contaminated with worm eggs;
• diseased plants that are affected by pests and fungi, such as late blight - such residues must be burned in the garden;
• food waste of animal origin, which start the processes of decay and cause a persistent unpleasant odor.

Open composting device

You can run a compost maker, as gardeners are taught in specialized publications, in the following way:

1. Prepare a site for the compost bin. To do this, select appropriate place at the end or middle of the garden and level the ground. Shady places without direct sunlight are best suited for this purpose.
2. Then fence the area necessary for the composter with boards, shields or slate sheets. Or put together a wooden box with slots for air exchange. Can also be attached to metal supports special garden net. This can be one container or two separated by a partition, one of which will be filled in the current year, and the second in the next.
3. Dig a hole half a meter deep and pour a drainage layer on the bottom. To do this, you can use sand, gravel, large wood residues. It is imperative to make such a layer, since it is impossible to allow the water that will wet the compost heap to collect in the compost bin. It should flow out of the compost bin without obstruction.
4. Then, on the drainage layer, it is imperative to lay a ready-made mature compost of the last or the year before last in a small layer. This is necessary to supply the ingredients of the heap with bacteria, with the help of which the compost is fermented.

Building an indoor compost bin

more reliable and solid construction than an open compost bin is a closed compost bin. It is built with walls that have slots for ventilation, and with a lid that will mix the compost. Such a compost heap in the country has a neater appearance, does not interfere with the aesthetic perception of space. As a rule, such a container is made of plastic, which does not rot, does not fall apart and will last for a long time.

To install the ventilation system, pipes are brought into the box, which are protected by a mesh so that they are not clogged with compost.

The advantages of an enclosed compost heap are that it allows heat to build up quickly and retains it well. From this, pests die, and the fermentation process occurs faster.

Another plus is that in these containers it is not necessary to observe the proportions of the constituent ingredients without fail. Various acceptable wastes, residues and grass can be dumped into the pile in any convenient quantities. It is only important to mix it all systematically.

How to make a compost heap

For the correct preparation of the ingredients of the heap, it is necessary:

1. Prepare the necessary components, grinding them as finely as possible. Branches can be broken plant remains chop with a shovel. The smaller the heap components are, the faster the compost will mature.
2. Lay the components in layers, the thickness of each of the layers should be up to 15 cm. In this case, it is necessary to alternate the laying of food waste, wood residues and green mass of plants.
3. Layers can be shifted with manure or droppings, or commercially available liquid fertilizers can be applied. Compost stimulants are also used at this stage. As manure for a heap, it is better to use cow or horse manure, and the best bird manure is chicken manure.
4. From above, the pyramidal compost heap is covered with straw, spandbond, boards or plant stems. This is necessary for free air circulation. Often gardeners cover a bunch of polyethylene, but this is not recommended: when covering plastic wrap compost overheating will occur without air access. And this is fraught with the appearance of a putrefactive, unpleasant persistent odor.

Compost maturation

The preparation of compost and the duration of its maturation are directly dependent on which fractions have compost components and what fermentation mode is set. In general, fermentation and composting last a very long time, the minimum period is several months, the maximum is two to three years.

The smaller the fractions of the embedded components, the faster the composting will occur. It is also important that the temperature inside the compost pile is close to 60 degrees or higher. This will not only speed up the process of decomposition of the ingredients, which occurs with the help of bacteria, but also help to eliminate the possibility of germination of weed seeds as much as possible. Also, at such a high temperature, harmful insects die.

To ensure the correct fermentation regime, it is important that good moisture and air exchange is provided inside the pyramid.

Ensuring fermentation

In order to speed up the composting and fermentation of the components of the compost heap, it is necessary to perform the following actions:

1. When the weather is hot and dry, the compost pile needs to be watered. Moreover, the water should wet all the layers of the heap. This process is most conveniently done with a large garden hose, because a large amount of water will be required.
2. Watering the heap must be done in the morning, in this case, during the day, the wet compost will have time to warm up well, and the process of active decomposition will start.
3. How to water the compost heap? Water it with ordinary warm water, but from time to time it is necessary to add a compost stimulant to the water or insist fresh manure in it.
4. A couple of times during the season, the compost needs to be shoveled. This helps to carry the well-fermented inner layers to the top. In this case, the upper ones move inward.
5. Also, when mixing, the compost is saturated with air and gets rid of accumulated gases.
6. With the onset of cold weather, the compost bin needs to be warmed, while the process of active composting is prolonged. For warming, a pile is sprinkled with humus or peat, and then tops from the harvested root crops, sunflower stalks or fresh straw are laid on top. This year, the remains of the plants will keep warm, and next year they will serve as ingredients for a new pile.

Fallen leaf compost

Separately, it is worth mentioning the compost from fallen leaves, popularly known as “leafy soil”. How to make a compost heap from fallen leaves?

Fallen leaves are taken as the basis of such compost. The advantage of this approach is that at the end of autumn the leaves lose minerals, and only lignin, tannin and hemicellulose, which are valuable ingredients of humus, remain in their tissues. And the downside is that these components overheat rather slowly, which prolongs the composting time. A lot of tannin contains the foliage of oaks, beeches, chestnuts, willows and plane trees. Therefore, their sheet mass should not be used for laying in a pile, but only for its shelter.

Leaf compost matures noticeably longer than usual, about two years. But gardeners do it, as it is very valuable in that it improves the quality of the soil. It also contains microfungi inside it, which decompose hemicellulose and lignin. And this becomes useful for those garden plants in which the roots interact with the fungal microflora in the process of symbiosis.

To get a good composting result, you need to consider some points:

1. When creating a compost bin, you need to take into account that microorganisms come from the ground, so you need to arrange it in a clean space where chemicals have not been used.
2. Accelerates composting by adding valerian officinalis, yarrow, chamomile and dandelion to a bunch of herbs.
3. To speed up fermentation, bioconcentrates are added to the compost. In this case, the so-called fast compost heap is obtained, which can mature in three weeks.
4. You need to know that a high content of fresh coniferous sawdust in the compost significantly reduces the potassium balance, so such compost at the stage of readiness must be enriched with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.
5. The presence of green constituents in the compost should not exceed one third of the total volume, because the herbs ferment slowly and may rot. If it turns out that the main volume will consist of grass, then it must first be dried in the sun.
6. The highest quality compost is obtained, created using a variety of components. Not only organic components, but also mineral ones should be present. For this purpose, the compost heap is supplied with superphosphates, dolomite flour, and complex mineral fertilizers.
7. It should be borne in mind that manure is a concentrated fertilizer, so its content in the compost should not exceed 10%.
8. For better stability and increased air exchange processes, the compost heap should be laid cone-shaped or in the form of a pyramid.
9. In order for the heap to ripen faster, components containing a lot of nitrogen, such as straw, legumes or leguminous plants, are added to it.

Garden compost is good and beneficial in every way. For plants, compost applied to the soil is an excellent organic fertilizer, saturated with essential trace elements and humus. For the soil - a natural conditioner, a means of improving the structure of the soil, which has a loosening and moisture-saving effect. Spread out in a layer on the surface of the soil, the compost is excellent organic mulch, suppressing the growth of weeds and helping to retain moisture at the roots of plants. Living inhabitants of the garden appreciate the compost heap at its true worth. This is an excellent "dining room" for birds and small insectivorous animals, as well as a place of mass habitat and reproduction of earthworms, which (along with bacteria and fungi) actually decompose organic matter, producing compost.

Making your own garden compost eliminates the need to burn waste garden pruning, old leaves, paper, packaging and cardboard, poisoning the environment and neighbors with smoke. No need to buy synthetic fertilizers and high-quality garden soil. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the production and use of your own compost greatly facilitates the life of the gardener and contributes to the protection environment. Waste-free gardening and the use of garden compost instead of dangerous and expensive chemical fertilizers are important components of the concept of organic gardening.

The word compost comes from the Latin. componere and compositum and means mixture, something put together. Compost is a composition of organic matter, decomposed under the influence of microorganisms, which is used to improve soil structure and fertilizer. Should not be confused garden compost with ready-made potting mixes, which are often sold under the name "compost" in garden centers.

Fast way compost production

If you pile bark, tree branches, cut grass, leaves ... and what else comes to hand in the garden, and leave it all for a while in a secluded corner (so as not to spoil the view), then in the end all this will someday rot and turn into quality compost. This process will only take a few years. This is the so-called slow (cold) method of composting.

In contrast, the fast (hot) method takes approximately 3-6 months and is provided by several indispensable conditions: air access, nitrogen availability, humidity and heat (temperatures in large industrial compost heaps can reach +85 ° C!).

Compost production at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Branches, wood, grass clippings and other garden waste shredded in a garden shredder are mixed with horse manure delivered from the Royal Mews in Knightsbridge. All this is stored in huge compost heaps, which are regularly moistened with settled rainwater and turned over. The production volume is impressive: 20 tons of manure and 100 tons of garden waste are used weekly! The process takes 10-12 weeks. The results are also impressive: Kew recycles 99% of its own garden waste, and all of the resulting compost is used to further thrive the Botanical Garden. This is such a constant cycle of economical ecological production! All this is presented to the attention of the public, here you can get detailed instructions to produce compost in your garden

In the UK, gardeners are encouraged to engage in compost production at local council level. Here you can purchase the equipment necessary for creating compost at significant discounts, as well as get the necessary information.

1. You will need a boardwalk or plastic construction for the production of compost, installed in a specially designated place. Advantages wooden structure for compost production in that it is breathable and maintains good ventilation. Such a design can be purchased at a garden center or made by yourself. For a successful process, the volume of the wooden structure must be at least 1 m3 (1x1x1). The plastic container, in turn, retains heat well and is more mobile, it can be used in different places in the garden. Any composting system should have an opening top or side surface(some plastic bins don't have a bottom or the bottom is removable) for easy access to ready-made compost.

2. Lay at the very bottom about 10 cm layer rough material- straw, hay, twigs or spruce branches. This is necessary to ensure drainage and air access.

3. Lay the compost material in alternating layers. For example, on a layer of vegetable or fruit scraps, place a layer of shredded paper, then a small layer of cut grass, then a layer of dug up annuals, then a layer of last year's leaves, and so on. It is important that green ("wet and soft") layers alternate with brown ("dry and hard") layers - this will provide ventilation, speed up the process, and later on - a good texture of the finished compost. Never push or compact the contents as this will disrupt the composting process.

4. On top of each layer, you can add some earth or rotted herbivore manure to speed up the composting process. Garden centers sell special compost "accelerators" that you can use. The decomposition reaction is also catalyzed by freshly cut grass and legumes, which collect nitrogen in their root system. Significantly improve the quality of the finished compost plants rich in useful substances: nettle, comfrey, yarrow, dandelion and others.

5. Keep your composting system covered to maintain the correct moisture levels and keep warm. Plastic baskets usually already have a top, and for homemade wooden ones, you can use garden film, a piece of an old carpet, or something else. The ideal temperature for compost production is +55°C.

6. From time to time, the contents should be turned over, providing air access to the resulting compost

Rotating composters are a relatively recent invention. Such structures make it possible to produce compost in a short time (according to the producers, in 2-4 weeks) due to uniform distribution material and heat inside the container. The gardener is only required to rotate the structure twice a day, which is not at all difficult to do with the help of a special handle. The volume of this model is 340 liters. The price for it, unfortunately, remains too high: 300 British pounds (about 600 US dollars)

7. In dry weather (in open plank systems) or when brown materials predominate in the contents of the compost heap, the required moisture content of the compost should be maintained by watering. Avoid stagnant water in the compost system, this will disrupt the decomposition process

8. Unpleasant odors from the contents of the compost bin indicate that something is broken and the process is not going well. The smell of ammonia (ammonia) or rotten eggs indicates an excessive amount of nitrogen-containing (green) substances in the compost heap and a lack of oxygen. In this case, carbonaceous (brown) materials must be added.

If you did everything right, then in a few months the contents of the compost heap should acquire Brown color and a fresh, sweet smell of earth are signs that your compost is ready for use in the garden. If you filled the system gradually (which is most likely with an established continuous production), then you should start choosing the finished compost from the bottom. Higher layers will thus move down, making room at the top for new material.

Proper garden compost beneficial in every way. For plants compost applied to the soil is a good organic fertilizer, saturated with essential trace elements and humus. For soil compost is a natural conditioner: it improves the structure of the soil, loosens and retains moisture and fertilizers at the roots of plants. Spread out in a layer on the surface of the soil, compost makes an excellent organic mulch. The living inhabitants of the garden appreciate compost heap deservedly. compost pit- an excellent "dining room" for birds and small insectivorous animals, as well as a place of mass habitat and reproduction of earthworms, which (along with bacteria and fungi) are actually involved in composting processing organic matter.

At DIY garden compost production there is no need to burn garden pruning waste, old leaves, paper, packaging and cardboard, poisoning the environment and neighbors with smoke. No need to buy expensive garden soil or potting mixes. In this way, preparation and application of garden compost not only makes life easier for the gardener, but also contributes to environmental protection. Zero Waste Gardening and compost application, mulches and organic fertilizers instead of synthetic ones are important components of the concept of organic gardening.

Photo above: Here in the UK gardeners are encouraged to practice composting at the local council level. With significant discounts buy boxes (containers) for compost and get the information you need

What is compost

Word compost comes from latin Componere and compositum and means mixture, something put together. Compost is a composition of organic substances decomposed under the influence of microorganisms. Compost used to improve soil structure, as well as fertilizer and mulch. Should not be confused garden compost with ready-made soil mixtures, which are often sold in garden centers under the name compost .

Composting: The Quick (Hot) Method

If put into one pile (pit) bark, tree branches, grass cuttings, leaves, annual weeds (not during flowering!) And other garden waste and leave it all for some time in a secluded corner of the garden (so as not to spoil the view), then in the end all this once something will rot and turn into a quality compost. This process will only take a few years. This is the so-called slow (cold) composting method. Unlike him, fast (hot) method of making compost takes about 4-6 months. To make compost fast, will have to be provided in compost bin or compost bin the following conditions:

1. availability of fresh "green" materials containing nitrogen
2. the presence of dry carbonaceous "brown" materials
3. Availability compost accelerators
4. oxygen access to compost bin
5. constant humidity compost mixture
6. heat (temperature at industrial compost production reaches +85°C!)

Photo on the left: rotating compost bin - a device for quick composting at home. According to the manufacturers, obtaining ready-made compost in such a container maybe in 2-4 weeks. Quick composting provided with an even distribution compost mix container, moisture and heat. The gardener will only need to rotate twice a day compost bin with a special pen

How to make compost

1. Install compost device(see below) in a designated area of ​​the garden.
2. Lay down approx. 20 cm of "brown" material for drainage and ventilation.
3. Add to compost, evenly alternating: crushed dry "brown" materials(branches of trees and shrubs, paper, cardboard, sawdust, bark, straw, hay, shavings, wood ash, dry leaves); moisture-containing "green" materials(kitchen waste, cut grass, weeds, algae, tops, green manure); compost accelerators(EM effective microorganisms, special preparations for accelerating compost, rotted manure of herbivores and bird droppings, urine, already prepared compost, earthworms, garden soil, etc.). Significantly improve quality compost plants rich in useful substances: nettle, comfrey and other green manure crops, yarrow, dandelion (not roots and not flowers!) and others. The alternation of "green" and "brown" layers ensures the penetration of air into compost heap, uniform and balanced maturation of compost in a container, and in the future - structural, fertile, proper compost. Never push or compact the contents, this will interfere with the air circulation in the compost bin. Over time, the mixture will go down and you can add waste to the container. When compost bin has already been filled to the top several times, you can stop filling it and move on to the next one.
4. From time to time stir and shovel the cooking compost forks for better air access and uniform humidification compost. Keep Humidity ripening compost in a box with irrigation. However, avoid standing water in compost bin. Bad smell ammonia (rotten eggs, putrefaction) from compost bin speaks of an excess of "green" materials and a lack of oxygen. Add to composter"brown" waste and stir the mixture.

A few months later the content compost heap should acquire a brown color and a fresh, sweet smell of earth. Compost ready for use in the garden.

Compost heap, bin or compost bin?

Benefits of open wooden box for compost in that it allows air and moisture to pass through and maintains good ventilation. compost bin you can buy at the garden center or make your own from boards and metal mesh. Volume compost bin must be at least 1 cubic meter. In fact, such a device is placed in wooden frames compost heap(see photo above).

Photo: industrial compost production at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London). Shredded garden waste is mixed with horse manure from the Royal Mews in Knightsbridge. The mixture is contained in huge compost heaps, regularly moistened with settled rainwater and mixed, turned over. Volume compost production in Kew is impressive: 20 tons of manure and 100 tons of garden waste are used weekly! The composting process takes 10-12 weeks. The results are also impressive: Kew recycles 99% of its own garden waste and all the resulting compost is used for the further prosperity of the botanical garden. This is such a constant cycle of economical ecological production! All this is presented to the attention of visitors to the botanical garden. Here you can get detailed instructions on how to make compost in your garden.

What else can you put in compost?

1. Raw vegetables, fruits, cereals
2. Remains of cooked food, meat waste (only in closed compost bins!)
3. Unpainted and untreated chipped wood
4. Fresh herbivore manure and bird droppings (only in slow compost heaps)
5. Bird feathers and down, pet hair
6. Paper: tissue paper, shredded newspaper*, printer paper*, packaging, cardboard
7. crushed natural fabrics*: cotton, silk, linen, wool, etc.
8. Evergreens (only in slow compost heaps)

What Not to Put in Garden Compost

1. Large and hard meaty bones
2. Feces of humans and carnivores (including domestic animals). For safe composting human feces need special compost toilet. Dog feces can be recycled into compost systems with worms. Cat feces are generally not recommended for composting
3. Ash from burning coal in a stove or fireplace
4. Flowering, seeded and perennial rhizomatous weeds
5. Garden waste affected by diseases and pests
6. Insect pests, their eggs and larvae
7. Garden waste from the use of herbicides (unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer)

* In the EU and US, newspapers and other printed materials have been free of heavy metals and other harmful ink additives for decades. Newspaper recycling compost recommended here by leading environmental organizations ( HDRA Garden Organic and etc.). The same applies to fabrics. If you are in doubt about the composition of paints in your country, do not add these materials to compost

Any garden or garden soil needs regular feeding. Own compost provides plant nutrition with environmentally friendly organic fertilizer that does not require costs. Special knowledge and skills for harvesting humus are not required, and the benefits for the garden are very tangible.

What is the use of fertilizer production

Own compost in the country is an excellent source nutrients organic origin. Compost is a product of the processing of organic material (waste) under the influence of a specific microclimate and microorganisms.

Humus, made independently, is more profitable and healthier than a purchased mixture of unknown ingredients and brings a lot of benefits.

• Usage compost pit reduces the time and effort to remove a large part of the garbage (tops, plants, wood waste etc.) from the summer cottage
• Compost is accessible means for increase physical properties soil (structuring), as well as organic fertilizer
• The uniform distribution of humus on the surface of the garden ensures moisture retention and inhibits the growth of weeds
• The preparation of humus in the country is a natural process in which organic waste is disposed of, fertilizer is prepared and the environment is not harmed

compost bin

There are several options for compost bins. Plastic container mobile, installed in any selected corner of the suburban area, retains heat well. Metal enclosed bins keep rats, mice and other animals away from the compost that might be attracted to the smell of kitchen waste.

You can make your own compost bin. This most cheap option often used by gardeners. Any available boards or timber are suitable for making a compost bin. wooden material should not be rotten, otherwise the box may fall apart before the humus is ready. It is also unacceptable to use boards that have previously been in contact with toxic materials, with traces of paint, oil or varnish.

Chemical materials will poison the compost making it unusable.

A place for composting is chosen on a hill or on a flat area, away from the place of rest. It is not recommended to lay a compost heap in a lowland due to the risk of stagnant water. Excess moisture can cause acidification of the lower layer and spoil the entire process of making humus.

At the chosen place, a box with gaps is knocked down for regular ventilation. On the prepared vertical supports, 3 walls of the future box are installed from strong wooden planks. The fourth wall of the box is removable or in the form of a door in order to easily remove finished material. To the bottom of the prepared container experienced gardeners lay a special material that prevents leaching of compost ( old linoleum etc.).

The humus container can be divided into separate cells with an individual door for each cell. Each section is filled with compost material at different times. Thus, two or more compost masses will be simultaneously prepared in one container. varying degrees maturation.

Organizing the compost heap

Composting is a rather labor intensive process. The collection of material, the organization of the place and other subtleties can repel the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bgetting good humus on your site. For quality compost, you can use the following components:

• Fallen leaves, straw, hay, grass cuttings and plant tops
• Seaweed
• Kitchen waste that has not been heat treated
• Cow and horse dung, bird droppings (fresh for slow cooking, rotted for fast cooking)
• Paper and natural fabrics (shredded)
• Wood sawdust, shavings
• Thin branches and shoots of trees
• Chopped weeds (without roots and flowers)
• wood ash

The listed components do not have to be added completely according to the list. Many summer residents have their own time-tested recipe for good compost. It is not recommended to add to compost:

• Plants with traces of diseases and pests
• Perennial and rhizomatous weeds
• Garden and garden waste containing chemicals
• Inorganic waste (plastic, glass, etc.)
• Bones, meat and fish waste
• Synthetic materials

A quick way to get compost

The process takes a couple of months, and such production is available from early spring to late autumn. In one season, you can get humus several times. The preparation of compost quickly - by the hot method, has interested many summer residents.

In a prepared container (box, frame, container, etc.), drainage from straw or hay 10 cm high is placed. The material for humus alternates (dry and wet, soft and hard). Each layer is additionally processed with a special process accelerator, which can be purchased at specialty stores.

You can use rotted manure and garden soil as an accelerator, but this will slow down the process.

For quick rot organic materials special preparations containing effective microorganisms (EM preparations) are used. The most common are Baikal M1, Tamir, Urgas, etc. The finer the compost materials are, the faster the cooking process will go. In addition to speed, EM preparations improve the nutritional properties of the finished compost.

The slow way to compost

Traditional and high-quality humus in a cold way is prepared very slowly. The long process takes 2-3 years. This method does not require much effort. A place is chosen on a small hill. It is necessary to dig a wide hole 25-30 cm deep. The width of the recess is chosen according to the amount of material that is prepared for compost.

Branches, shoots of trees and shrubs, chopped rotten logs, etc. are laid in the prepared pit. The compost material is covered with earth from above. Cold composting can be done every season by laying a new compost heap.

Thus, after a few years, it is possible to obtain high-quality organic fertilizer annually.

Properly made compost restores the balance of nutrients and improves soil structure. In addition, thanks to compost bin you can get rid of household waste and leaves on the site. And also get free high quality organic fertilizer.

One of the types of environmentally friendly and safe for human health fertilizers used in horticulture is compost.

This is an organic fertilizer produced from various food and plant wastes - food residues of plant origin, cut and weed grass, branches, leaves, sawdust, bark and other material. Fertilizer is obtained by the decomposition of organic waste under the influence of microorganisms at an increase in temperature, which contributes to the decomposition process.

The process usually takes place in a pit or container specially equipped for this and is often accompanied by an unpleasant odor.

Many summer residents tolerate these smells and annoying flies circling over compost pit, for the sake of universal and absolutely free fertilizer.

You can make a composter for a summer residence yourself, or purchase it in specialized stores, the main thing is to properly organize its work and observe sanitary norms according to his device.

What you need to know:

• a composter or compost pit should be located at a distance of at least 20 meters from water sources and at least 10 meters from a residential building;
• it is necessary to exclude the ingress of plastic, protein products, animal and human excrement into the container in order to avoid unpleasant odors and spread of harmful microorganisms;
• plants treated with pesticides and tops of diseased plants should not be immersed in the composter;
• it is advisable to take into account the prevailing wind direction in your area when determining the location of the compost pit in order to avoid unpleasant odors near the house.

Composter options

The easiest and cheapest way to get fertilizer is equipment compost pit.

Everyone determines the depth, width and length for himself based on the amount of raw materials supplied to it during the summer season. To improve the process of decay, it is necessary to organize a good humidity regime and natural air exchange. For this purpose, a pipe with holes for the inflow of oxygen is placed in the pit, or the raw materials laid in layers of different densities are periodically mixed.

The disadvantage of this type of waste processing is the difficult access to the lower layers - the finished humus.

Some summer residents simply transport waste to a place allocated on the site on a layer of sand or gravel. Over time it forms compost heap. Raw materials rot right on the ground.

Often the pile is covered with a layer of grass or plants and looks like a kind of green mound. On the compost heap you can plant vegetables and berry crops. For the winter, it is better to cover the pile with a film so that it does not freeze through.

Sometimes, so that the edges of the pile do not crumble, three vertical walls 1 meter high are built, between which the pile is located.

The next way to build a composter is to arrangement of a special box knocked down from the boards. Between the boards, it is necessary to leave gaps for the natural inflow of air and the outflow of excess moisture. The box can be one-, two- or three-section.

At the bottom of the box, it is advisable to arrange a door or window through which you can take out the finished compost.

The more attractive option is plastic industrial composter. These are containers with a capacity of 400, 600 or 800 liters with a lid at the top (in large models with two doors) for easy loading of raw materials and one or two holes for removing the finished product.

You can buy a plastic composter in two versions. Summer option used only in warm time before the onset of frost. For the winter, it is cleaned and put away for storage until the next season. The winter option is a thermal composter, which can be used all year round. It is suitable for people living in a private house permanently. The principle of operation of such a composter is comparable to the operation of a thermos that constantly retains heat.

A neat plastic composter blends seamlessly into the landscape. Models are often equipped with an aluminum mesh bottom basket to protect the compost from rodents.

In models called vermicomposters, the process of fertilizer formation takes place in conjunction with the worms. Eating waste, worms turn them into a black mass resembling soil.

The presence of a composter on the site helps to solve several issues at once: the disposal of organic waste and obtaining excellent fertilizer to nourish the soil.

How to determine the readiness of compost? First of all, the smell. finished product smells of forest and mushrooms and never smells of rot. To speed up the process of decay, special starter cultures are sometimes used.

How to use compost? Compost is the source of all necessary elements plant nutrition, so it is introduced into the upper layers of the soil, no deeper than 8-10 cm from the surface, when planting seedlings. Landing fruit trees and bushes it is added directly to the planting pit, sometimes mixed with ash. In autumn, they are scattered under adult bushes to feed the roots.

It is necessary to fertilize the soil annually, otherwise it is depleted. Therefore, the construction of a composter on suburban area not just desirable, but rather necessary.