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A good harvest in the beds directly depends on the fertility of the soil, so most gardeners and amateur gardeners are trying to improve the land in their summer cottages. To do this, a variety of top dressings are systematically introduced into the soil: food waste, fallen leaves, manure, mineral supplements, etc. It is quite simple to significantly speed up the process of feeding the earth and improve the quality of fertilizer. A compost heap will come to the rescue, which can be equipped in the country from improvised materials (boards, logs, pallets, barrels, garden nets, etc.).
Humus preparation
A compost heap is a kind of processing plant in your country house, in which complex biochemical reactions take place at a certain temperature and humidity.
In order for all processes to proceed correctly and quickly, it is necessary to neutralize the influence of the external environment, therefore they build compost bins and cylinders or make a structure according to Finnish technology, which provides for a cover (protection from the sun, moisture, animals and birds) and an opening wall (to extract the finished fertilizer ). Any gardener or gardener can choose the best option for their summer cottage.
Note that too large a pile can overheat, and because of this, there is a high probability of killing all the necessary bacteria and microorganisms. Also keep in mind that compost matures especially efficiently in summer and on warm days in autumn.
A properly made compost heap in a year or two will give you an excellent means of fertilizing the soil – humus. It can be safely used to feed plants in the beds or in the garden.
How to choose a place in the country
The device of a compost heap requires, first of all, the correct choice of a suitable place in the country. Usually, it is located in the backyard of the site, where it will not attract much attention and spoil the appearance. The compost heap should be located in a cleared area and in a well-loosened area.
Remember that the place for the pile should be warm, well ventilated, protected from the winds, but not in an open sunny area, otherwise the beneficial bacteria will die.
Quality heap principles
Experts say that the ideal fertilizer for your beds is obtained by using three piles:
- for bookmarking material;
- humus in the process of maturation;
- ready humus.
In order not to torment yourself with the questions “How to make a compost heap?”, “How to get good compost?”, Follow these recommendations: the optimal dimensions of each heap are considered to be 1,5 m wide, about 1,2 m high, and arbitrary ( depends on the number of beds and trees that need to be fed with the resulting humus).
To arrange a place for a pile in the country, different materials are used, often these are mesh, slate, boards, pallets.
Today, there are many different methods for preparing compost, but the key principles remain the same. The more diverse organics in the layers are used, the more favorable the environment for the necessary bacteria and the more efficient the decomposition process. If the pile consists of one material (hay or grass), biochemical reactions will not take place, bacteria will not appear and the compost will not ripen. Among other components, there must necessarily be materials rich in carbon and nitrogen (cow dung, bone meal, etc.).
An excellent way to speed up the maturation of the heap is to add ready-made compost or fertile soil to the layers. Please note that land is an essential component. It is best to use clay or loamy soil, as it promotes the appearance of bacteria and the formation of humus organo-mineral complexes.
We do it in stages
A do-it-yourself compost heap will be productive, it will have the right bacteria and you will get high-quality compost, if you follow some general recommendations:
- Bookmark for the next season in the fall.
- Mix different ingredients and lay them in layers.
- At the base of the pile should be the following layers: first comes the earth (about 30 cm), then hay (about 10 cm), leaves (30 cm) and weeds (30 cm) on top.
- Food waste should be systematically added to the compost heap (while eliminating bones and any fats).
- All layers must be watered to speed up the decomposition process.
- Add manure and mineral supplements regularly.
- The pile must be ventilated (that is, shifted), to prevent its layers from drying out (water if necessary). To solve the ventilation problem, use a garden mesh structure.
- To work with humus, it is better to acquire separate tools (shovels, pitchforks, rakes).
Determining the readiness of the compost is quite simple: the ripened humus has a free-flowing structure, a dark brown color and the smell of forest land.
Video “How to properly and quickly make humus”
See how to make a compost heap with the help of an experienced gardener.
organic heap
One of the main questions of summer residents when laying is how to make sure that the pile is made wisely, the necessary bacteria successfully develop in it and the process of decay goes through correctly?
The answer is quite simple: you need to add vegetable waste from the dacha to the compost: grass, leaves, the remains of vegetables and fruits, turf, chopped branches and weeds. It should be noted that the compost will be even more nutritious if you constantly add plant waste from your table to it (peeling vegetables and fruits, tea, coffee grounds, etc.). Cardboard, newspapers, old wool or cotton items are also suitable for compost.
But there are a number of undesirable additives that are categorically not suitable for creating this fertilizer: dead animals, fats, bones, dairy products, etc. Glass, rubber, plastic, colored and laminated paper, etc. should not be added to the pile. when laying layers, use the tops of tomatoes and potatoes, since in autumn it is affected by late blight, and you can, by fertilizing the beds with such compost, infect young healthy plantings in your country house.