Compost: how to apply and prepare quickly

Good afternoon, my reader. Compost - the most frequently used organic fertilizer, which is valued for its availability, saturation with nutrients and microelements, efficiency of use. And also because it improves the characteristics of the soil and its composition.

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Compost is made from everything that is always in surplus in any area - mowed grass, tops of plants, weeded out weeds, cleaning vegetables and fruits from the kitchen, etc. But good compost should mature in one, and preferably two years. And we want it faster. What to do? There is a way to make quick compost - "Compost in bags". If you lay it down in the fallthen in the spring you can already use it. And now about this method in more detail.

Advantages and disadvantages of bagged compost

In our opinion, this composting option has only dignity. Namely:

• the time of the gardener is saved. Unlike the annual readiness period of traditional compost, this fertilizer can already be used in two to three months;
• no extra space is required on the site, since the compost matures quickly, then it is quickly consumed, and the next batch of organic waste can be put in the same place;
• easy to move. The compost bags can be moved to another location if necessary;
• your labor costs are reduced. There is no need to periodically stir the compost mass. The bags should be turned over only a few times, although some summer residents do not even do this;
• compost in bags is not susceptible to rain washout;
• The fertilizer prepared in this way is cleaner, since accidentally caught pests or weed seeds carried by the wind will not start in a closed bag.

disadvantages very conditional:

1. To lay a new batch of compost, you will have to buy special bags, since they become unusable during their use.
2. You need a lot of organic material at the same time. The bag has a certain volume, and it is impractical to fill only part of the bag with plant residues. But you don't have to worry about the lack of source material - there is plenty of it in any area, even the smallest one.

How is such a quick compost made?

Preparing such an accelerated organic fertilizer will not be difficult. As mentioned above, you will need bags, the plant materials themselves, some useful additives and a place on the site that is well lit by the sun.

Bags it is preferable to take a dark color. After all, as you know, a dark color attracts the light of the sun better. And for the compost to ripen, you need enough heat.

The volume of bags must be at least 120-250 liters. Fertilizer may dry out in smaller bags. And the temperature inside them will not be able to reach the desired level.

Packages should be made of dense material - such that they do not stretch or break when gusts of wind, heavy showers, under the influence of low temperatures or their differences. You can, of course, use for this purpose large black bags for household waste. But we recommend purchasing more reliable and dense bags (for example, for collecting foliage in the fall or for construction waste).

To obtain compost, gardeners use various organic residues: vegetable tops, weeds, thin twigs, plant stems, food and kitchen scraps, grass after mowing, tree bark, waste paper and cardboard trimmings. You can also put cut sod into bags - you just need to shake off the earth thoroughly and chop it into small pieces. And it will rot perfectly in a few months.

Long will be recycled citrus peel (they are also harmful to worms and soil microorganisms), bones and meat, pits of cherries, plums, apricots, cherry plums, etc. berries, nutshell and foliage that has fallen in the current season. And added to compost fish (both fresh and cooked) will give off an unpleasant odor. All other spoiled products can be safely composted.

Not recommended put in a compost bag weeds with seeds (since they will germinate next season in the places where you apply the prepared fertilizer) or perennials with developed large roots, and branches and leaves-needles of evergreen plants. Potato and tomato tops, broom and castor bean can also slow down the decay process.

A drop of apples, pears and other fruits and berries quite suitable for compost. But you need to remember some of the nuances:

1. If apples fall not from wind or abundance, but from the fact that the tree has been infected with a fungal or bactericidal disease, it is strictly forbidden to put such fruits in any compost. They are capable of infecting the entire compost mass.
2. Apples with their acidity can change the acidity of the compost, and then the soil in which it will be embedded. Therefore, before laying the fruits for processing, it is necessary to chop them up and process them with soda or lime (100 g per 10 kg of fallen fruits).
3. Fruits or berries of those plants that have been treated with chemicals in the last 2-3 months must not be added to the compost. Ideally, this period should be equal to a year.

1. Apples must be mixed with grass, weeds and other plant materials. They cannot be used for composting without other components.

Rotten vegetables can also be used as fertilizer. But before laying them, they should be slightly crushed or at least cut in half.

Be sure to pay attention to ratio of nitrogenplants, for example legumes, to the total mass of plant materials. It should be 1 in 30. If there is more nitrogenous material than carbonaceous, then fertilizer with an unpleasant ammonia odor may result.

Very importantso that all the material put into the fertilizer is absolutely healthy. If you only assume that some plant has been infected, it must be burned without regret. This is done in order to prevent further spread of the disease.

From raw materials of animal origin, it is possible to add a small amount of bird droppings and already rotted manure to the compost (fresh is impossible!). As a source for future fertilization not allowed use of any artificial material: synthetics, polypropylene, polyethylene, rubber, plastic, laminated paper, etc.

For faster processing, we recommend adding one liter of wood ash and a handful of ammonium nitrate to each compost bag.

On a note! Since there is always a small amount of soil in the remains of plant materials, and in it there is a sufficient amount of necessary microorganisms, there is no need to add such preparations as biohumus, EM or soil solution to the future compost bacteria.

IMPORTANT! When filling, each layer of compost in the bag is compacted very tightly. The bags must be tightly tied or tightly wrapped with tape.

If you think that the original mass is a little dry, moisten it before tying the bag. There is no need to make ventilation holes in the bags.

We have almost come to the end of the work on the manufacture of accelerated compost. You just have to find a place for the bags, where they will not interfere, and leave them for two to three months. It is desirable that this place is sunny.

After this period, you should have a loose, completely rotted and clean compost. You can use it for any goals. Namely:

1. Application as fertilizer when digging beds in the fall. If the compost suddenly turns out to be not quite ready, it will still have time until spring to finish the decay process. With compost, even the most difficult soil can be loosened and fertilized effectively.
2. Using it when sowing seeds. If you have completely rotted compost, then you can add it when sowing seeds. The compost layer should be about 2–3 cm thick and should be slightly mixed with the soil. The nutrients added in this way contribute to the active and rapid growth of seedlings. Compost is applied directly to the seedling soil in the amount of 1/4 part.
3. Matured compost is great for mulch. Such mulching is used both in the beds and in the trunks of trees and shrubs on the site. And if mulching is carried out in early spring, then it will help young shoots to survive in repeated frosts or strong winds.
4. Compost can be applied to the soil directly into the hole when planting seedlings in open ground or in a greenhouse. I especially like this top dressing for tomatoes and cabbage.
5. When building warm beds, compost is essential. It may not even be quite ready. It is laid with the penultimate layer, covered with a layer of earth. In such beds, all melons, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers grow and bear fruit perfectly.
6. Mulching the soil under trees and shrubs with compost also performs the function of feeding these plants with nutrients. For more efficient feeding of trees, the compost should be embedded to a depth of 50-60 cm along the perimeter of the crown projection. And it will be enough to scatter compost under the bushes. But this should be done in late autumn, when the ground is already frozen, so that the roots warmed by compost cannot start growing. All berry bushes gratefully accept such feeding: currants, hawthorn, rose hips, gooseberries, honeysuckle, irga, etc. Raspberries also love composting, but the thickness of its layer should be at least 20 cm. Such a thick layer, in addition to nourishing the raspberries, helps to reduce weeds and retain moisture under the bushes.
7. Flowering shrubs (hydrangea, lilac, bird cherry, etc.) love this fertilizer. The compost is scattered under the bush without embedding it in the soil, since the roots of these plants are close to the ground.
8. Roses have a rocky relationship with compost. Sometimes you can find recommendations for covering them with roses for the winter. But this is fraught with unpleasant consequences: burns may appear, as well as the increased temperature of the compost under the snow can lead to damping out of the rose bushes. Therefore, we advise you to "treat" roses with compost only in spring or summer, carefully and without covering deeper than 10 cm.
9. The compost is used as mulch in perennial flower beds. This will improve the nutritional value of the soil, retain moisture, and prevent weed growth and root freezing.

This self-made fertilizer has a very wide application. And the accelerated composting makes it possible to use it twice as often as the conventional composting method. In addition, you will not need to puzzle over where to put spoiled food, weeds from the beds, rotting crops or fallen old foliage.

Try this compost option! Its production does not require much effort, and the result will delight you!

Do you know how to make great compost?

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