Cow dung as a fertilizer - in what form should it be used? How to cook humus in the garden, cottage using accelerated technology

What is biohumus? How is manure different from compost? What is the difference between rotted and caked sawdust? Is it useful to sprinkle the beds with ashes? These and a thousand other questions haunt novice gardeners. Especially if they are going to engage in organic farming, that is, do not use all kinds of garden "chemistry" on their site.

Especially for beginners in horticultural science, today's article is intended on the topic of organic fertilizers, their types, differences and useful properties.

Of the organic fertilizers that are used in our country, the most popular are manure, bird and rabbit droppings, compost, humus, biohumus, ash, sawdust, green manure and herbal infusion.

Other types of organic fertilizers of plant and animal origin can also be found abroad: bone and blood meal, fish emulsion, alfalfa, cotton and soy flour, green sand, algae fertilizers, etc. But it is almost impossible to get them from us, so we will stop on more familiar types of organics.

Manure is the excrement of herbivores mixed with bedding (straw), scraps of hay and other feed. Most often, when it comes to manure, we mean cow manure (rarely horse manure).

Any manure is considered to be more of a nitrogen fertilizer, although it contains potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and a lot of trace elements. Therefore, fertilizing with manure is preferable in the first half of the season, when the plants are actively gaining green mass.

Usually, gardeners are afraid to use fresh manure as fertilizer because of the fear of "burning" the plants. As a rule, it is left to lie in a closed dense pile for a whole year to get the so-called rotted manure. It is he who is recommended for the preparation of liquid dressings or incorporation into the soil for digging. However, some summer residents successfully use fresh manure. For example, for mulching raspberries or when arranging warm ridges.

What is the use of manure? In addition to the nutrients that manure enriches the soil, it gives it porosity, increases permeability, and creates an attractive habitat for beneficial microorganisms and worms.

For basic fertilizer horticultural crops manure is used in diluted form. First, prepare the "mullein" - a concentrate of cow dung. To do this, a third of the bucket is filled with manure, topped up with water and insisted for a week. Then the concentrate is diluted with water in various proportions, 2:1, 5:1 or 10:1, depending on the type of top dressing.

The disadvantages of manure as an organic fertilizer include, firstly, its high cost, and secondly, the presence of a large number of seeds inside weeds, which can sprout and add to the hassle of weeding.

Compost is a decomposed mass of all kinds of predominantly plant residues and waste. At their summer cottage, a separate corner is usually allocated for a compost heap, where all weeded weeds, kitchen waste, fallen leaves, tops, paper, sawdust, and branches are sent. The more diverse the composition of the compost heap, the better the finished product.

With the advent of concentrated EM preparations on sale, it is possible to prepare compost at home.

For compost to mature properly, it needs warmth and moisture. Therefore, the compost heap is often covered with a black film: both heat is retained and moisture does not evaporate. The maturation of compost is significantly accelerated by shoveling a heap or watering with a solution of EM preparations, which, by the way, can be prepared independently.

To use compost as a fertilizer, it is mixed with the ground. If the waste has been composted for more than a year, then you can safely use it in its pure form. And crops like squash, cucumbers, and squash thrive and thrive when planted directly in the compost heap.

Humus

Humus is manure or compost that has decomposed for more than two years. Individual plant residues are already invisible in humus, it is a loose dark substance with the smell of fresh earth. Humus has no drawbacks, it is an ideal fertilizer for any crop.

Humus is often used to prepare soil for seedlings, as a mulching material, as a “filler” for holes with the most “capricious” and nutritionally demanding crops.

Bird and rabbit droppings

Bird droppings are also good because they are quite economical to use. Because it is rarely used in its pure form, except that it is scattered in the fall for digging. And for the preparation of all kinds of dressings, the litter is first infused for a day (1:10 with water), and then diluted in a ratio of 1 part of the infusion to 4-5 parts of water.

Biohumus

Biohumus is compost, manure or humus that has been "treated" by earthworms, ordinary earthworms or specially grown red Californian.

Biohumus can rightfully be considered the most valuable organic fertilizer. In addition to micro- and macroelements, it is rich in humic acids, thanks to which soil fertility quickly and significantly increases. Biohumus is sold both in dry form and in the form of a liquid concentrate. It can be used everywhere and in any quantities.

Sawdust can be called the most controversial organic fertilizer, because some gardeners are afraid of them (they say that sawdust pulls a lot of nitrogen out of the soil), while others gladly fill the beds with fresh sawdust and praise it wood fertilizer(said to work especially well on garlic).

To get rid of the alleged shortcomings of sawdust, they are not used in fresh, but in the overripe one. In an effort to turn fresh sawdust into rotten newcomers, the mistake is often made to leave them lying in a closed pile just like manure. Unfortunately, having lain for a whole season in this form, sawdust does not become a valuable fertilizer. Rather the opposite. They turn into dangerous caked sawdust, which, without access to oxygen, “sour” inside the heap. How to make sawdust rush?

The sawdust itself will rot for a very long time. To speed up this process, gardeners mix sawdust with nitrogen fertilizers. Who is not against chemistry, uses urea for this purpose. Proponents of organic farming add fresh grass to sawdust. After that, the mixture is well moistened, put in black bags, closed and forgotten about for three weeks. After the due date, sawdust can be used for mulching, laid in beds for digging, scattered in berry fields, etc.

Sawdust is excellent for loosening and fertilizing the soil, it is often very easy to get it for free, so the use of sawdust as a fertilizer has a great future.

Ash is irreplaceable potash fertilizer in organic farming. It reduces the acidity of the soil and enriches it valuable trace elements: potassium, phosphorus, manganese, boron.

Ash from burning straw is considered the most valuable, but most often gardeners use wood ash, which is more accessible to everyone. It is worth remembering that in the ashes deciduous trees more useful substances than in the ashes of conifers. The ash from the burning of young small branches is richer in nutrients than the ash from old rotten trunks.

Ash is very often used in mixed dressings with manure or litter, it is added to herbal infusion, layers of plant residues in compost heaps are poured into it. The only vegetable that doesn't like ashes very much is carrots. But nightshade (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers) adore her!

Organic fertilizer is plant nutrition elements presented in the organic form of compounds. Simply put, this is a fertilizer created by nature itself.

Organic fertilizer contains nitrogen, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and many other plant nutrients. In addition to these, organic matter contains fiber, which favorably affects the structure of the soil.

Organic Benefits

It is difficult to overestimate all the benefits of organic fertilizers. Rather, it's hard to imagine good harvest agricultural products without the use of organic fertilizers.

The main advantages due to which organic fertilizers are used is to increase soil fertility, improve soil structure.

Buy or cook?

In order to correctly answer the question "it is better to buy or cook yourself organic fertilizer You need to understand what situation a person is in.

If you live in the city and visit on weekends country cottage area, then it is better to buy ready-made organic matter. So it wakes up easier and faster in time which you do not have much.

If you live in a private house and the greenhouse is nearby, it is foolish to throw out the remnants of life that can increase the fertility of your beds.

What fertilizer can be made from (options)?

Manure

Well, of course, with the phrase “organic fertilizer”, many people immediately associate with manure, and this is not strange. After all, manure is a valuable fertilizer in its composition. The quality of the manure depends on the type of animal it was produced from, the bedding and its diet.

Used both fresh and rotted.

Fresh cow dung is used:

• In autumn before plowing. Simple digging of a garden with scattered fresh manure at the rate of 3-4 kg / 1 m2. The method is good, but at the same time weed seeds are spread around the garden.
• Compost heap.
• In liquid mullein fertilizer. One of the best fertilizers which has no analogues.

Cucumbers are one of the few crops that prefer fresh manure. Summer residents have many times noted the germination of cucumbers right in the dunghill, and a mixture of cow dung in a ratio of 1:20 definitely does not wake up superfluous.

rotted cow dung is applied directly into the dug holes, where a cucumber sprout is later planted. Such a fertilizer is perfect for spring plowing if scattered over the surface at the rate of 0.5-1 kg / 1 m2.

cow dung slurry

It is the most liquid part of cow dung. As well as the dry part is used as a fertilizer. The slurry contains nitrogen and potassium, but things are much worse with phosphorus. Therefore, when preparing liquid fertilizer, 50 g of superphosphate is added to a bucket of slurry.

Slurry is applied diluted with water at the rate of 1-3 liters of slurry per bucket of water. The drier the soil, the less concentrate should be.

Cooking mullein with your own hands

For cooking, you need a larger container. fertilizer be liquid.

Fresh manure (better if it wakes up without straw) is poured with water in a ratio of 1 to 5. In essence, the preparation of mullein is an infusion of water from fresh manure. Infused for 10 days. Every 2-3 days the slurry is mixed. The infusion is ready when the slurry brightens and bubbles appear on top.

Mullein is also used in a diluted form. We breed on moist soil in a ratio of 1 to 2. On dry soil, 1 to 4.

Mullein can also be purchased from farm stores along with other fertilizers.

Horse manure can improve the fertility properties of any type of soil. Increases moisture retention on light soils and loosens heavy soils. Horse dung outperforms in yield quality even cow, bird and pig, not to mention rabbit and goat.

fresh horse dung is an irreplaceable biofuel for greenhouses. When decomposed, it releases heat of about 70-80 degrees, providing heating of the soil for at least 2 months.

On large land plots during autumn plowing, manure is spread over the surface at the rate of 4-6 kg per 1 m2, and quickly dug up.

Stages of maturation of pig manure:

1. Fresh;
2. Semi-ripened (from 3 to 6 months);
3. Overripe (from 6 to 12 months);
4. Humus (from 12 months);

Note! Fresh pig manure is dangerous to human health, and of little use for increasing crop yields.

by the most rational use pig manure is composting. Exist special technologies composting but sometimes a regular pit can be used. After 1 year of composting, humus can be active for 3 years. The structure becomes crumbly, loose. Weight loss is almost 75% and pathogens die. Manure is the most effective type of pig manure.

Rabbit manure can be used without composting. It does not contain weed seeds and the composition is completely safe for humans and livestock. Wakes up useful for the growth of garden crops and flower beds.

Usage

Rabbit manure can be used:

• As fertilizer for seedlings;
• Soil fertilization for cereals, berries and legumes;
• As an organic fertilizer to prevent soil depletion after harvesting potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and others.

Very often, rabbit manure is used in the form of liquid top dressing during planting (added to the wells during sowing).

Using fresh rabbit manure possible only in liquid top dressing. Supersaturation with nitrogen, which, upon decay, will turn into ammonia and methane will not in the best way affects the soil.

Manure composting. The oldest but at the same time the most effective method use of litter. Plants grow big and strong and the harvest pleases its owners.

Compost is pretty easy to make. To do this, in the fall, add a little soil and plant waste (leaves, vegetable waste, etc.) to an arbitrary amount of manure. The compost heap needs to be constantly moistened. After 45 days, the pile is compacted (rammed).

Please note that the compost heap must be in the shade!

On the winter time the pile is covered by 35 cm with sawdust (woodworking waste).

When forming a heap in March, it can be used already in next year, early winter.

Dry use. Rabbit litter is the only one that can be used dry. To do this, the pellets (circles) are dried in the sun, crushed to a powdery mass and mixed with the soil in a ratio of 1 tablespoon per 3 kg of earth. This dry fertilizer is recommended to be used not only for feeding cucumbers, but also for indoor plants. Fertilized flowers bloom beautifully, almost do not get sick and grow quickly. To do this, we feed the flowers during transplantation or when planting.

Humus. An excellent processing product of rabbit manure, earth, microorganisms and earthworms. Fertility directly depends on the humus index in the soil. The bigger, the better. Usually, humus is scattered over the site and dug up.

Storage

When the manure dries out, 50% of the active substances are lost. This should be carefully monitored temperature regime when storing manure.

A valuable type of organic fertilizer. The most valuable of the “bird droppings” category is chicken and pigeon, followed by goose and duck in terms of quality and usefulness.

Bird droppings are widely used to fertilize vegetables, flowers, trees and bushes.

It is better this species apply fertilizers in the fall, spreading for subsequent digging over the entire plane of the site.

most effective in liquid form!

Liquid feed. Litter is poured with water in a ratio of 1: 1 and covered with a lid. Insist 3-5 days. The resulting concentrate is further diluted in a ratio of 1:10 before processing.

Dry feed. The amount is calculated individually for each plant. A large tree may need up to 15 kg of fertilizer per year (4 kg is enough for a small tree). Vegetable bushes about 100 g per bush.

Compost. It is done for 6 weeks, but at the same time it retains all its qualities in the best way. It is used as a rule in the fall, by scattering over the entire area, followed by digging.

Composting

1. Straw, peat and sawdust 30 cm thick are poured into the allotted place.
2. The next layer of 20 cm is filled with bird droppings.
3. Repeat the layers alternating them.
4. We form a pile about 1 m high.
5. Compost readiness can be expected in 40-50 days.

Do not throw away bird waste, use all the gifts of nature rationally and increase the fertility of your land.

silt

Silt is rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, increases soil productivity, enhances resistance to adverse conditions, and accelerates plant growth.

The best time to prepare sludge for your plants is when the water level in the reservoir is at its lowest.

The best in our quality characteristics is lake silt. Next comes swamp silt. But even swamp silt wakes more valuable in quality than manure. Latest on useful qualities there is river silt. However, for growing large and strong potatoes, it is indispensable.

Silt has a positive effect on the soil for 10 years (this is longer than the same manure). At the same time, there is no danger of overdoing the fertilizer.

It is used by scattering on the surface with the calculation of 2-8 kg per 1 sq.m. Silt is suitable for fertilizing any type of soil. An advantage for sandy soils is the property of retaining moisture.

For enhancing the positive effect when applying, it can be mixed with organic or mineral fertilizers.

Lake, swamp or river silt can be collected by yourself, provided you do not large area. But if you have several acres (5-10) of land available, it makes sense to think about buying it in a specialized store or on the Internet (for this, type “buy or fertilizer” in Yandex or Google).

Wood bark and sawdust

Tree bark, like sawdust, can increase the productivity of the land, however, this type of fertilizer should not be applied in its raw form, but in a processed form along with other fertilizing materials.

wood materials most effective as compost. To create a shoulder for maturation, the bark is crushed 10-40 cm long. The mixture is calculated in kilograms per 100 kg wood waste. Urea 0.7 ammonium nitrate 0.9 sodium nitrate 2 ammonium sulfate 1.5 superphosphate 0.2.

Burt after a while is mixed and moistened. Full readiness for use occurs after 6 months.

It is important to know that the use of sawdust as a fertilizer promotes soil acidification, and as you know, for our purposes, acidic soil is not suitable for growing cucumbers. Therefore, do not forget to mix sawdust with dolomite flour.

Wood ash contains about 30 useful trace elements that are necessary for plants. Ash also reduces the acidity of the soil, so if you have such problems, you can use the ashes to reduce the acid. On the land fertilized with ashes, pest insects appear less, this is also an important feature.

Note! It is impossible to use the ash obtained as a result of the combustion of petroleum products (polymers, plastics, etc.).

How to use wood ash?

Cucumbers, patissons and zucchini- when planting seedlings, add 1-2 tbsp. into the hole, while digging 1 cup of ash per 1 sq.m. On poor soils during the growing season of plants, when watering, use 1 tbsp. per 1 sq.m.

Eggplant, peppers and tomatoes- during plowing (digging) 3 cups per 1 sq. meter. When landing at the landing site 2 tbsp.

Cabbage(she may be different types) - make 1-2 cups per 1 sq.m. When disembarking 2 tbsp.

Onion garlic- 2 glasses when digging. In the spring, you can use 1 glass per sq.m. as a fertilizer.

Home flowers can also be fed with ashes.

roses- during the autumn digging 2 cups of ash per 1 sq.m. and as a fertilizer for root top dressing in spring, 100 g per 10 l. water.

Important! For soil with a high concentration of alkali, the use of ash is not recommended!

Store ash in a dry place, such as bottles and jars.

☀ Good luck and all the best to you! ☀

☀ Good luck and all the best to you! ☀

Cow dung is the most common, environmentally friendly organic fertilizer. The popularity of its use is due to the availability and versatility of this material, it is important to know how to use it in the country or garden.

The introduction of cow dung into the soil contributes to the formation of a fertile layer. As opposed to using mineral fertilizers, the use of organic leads to the accumulation of useful elements by the earth.

Periodic fertilizing with mullein-based fertilizers favorably affects growth and fruiting garden plants. In addition, enriched soil increases the aeration capacity, which favorably affects the development of the plant root system.

The effect of applying to the soil is able to persist for 4-6 years.

Fertilizer composition

One kilogram of mullein has the following biological composition:

• Nitrogen (3.5 gr.)
• Calcium oxide (2.9 gr.)
• Phosphorus oxide (3 gr.)
• Potassium oxide (1.4 gr.)

Indicators of useful chemical substances slightly fluctuate depending on the age and quality of nutrition of the animal.

Almost all garden plantings- fruits, berries, vegetable crops — respond favorably to feeding using cow manure. However, each crop has its own requirements for the method of fertilization.

For this reason, it applies:

• fresh
• as a dry substrate
• in a liquefied state
• in granules

Application in practice

fresh

Fresh consumption in its purest form undesirable. This is due to the high concentration of ammonia, which has a detrimental effect on the state of the root system of the plant. Therefore, on the basis of fresh material is prepared solution, consisting of manure and water, in proportions corresponding to the requirements of plant culture.

Also, fresh is introduced into the soil in the fall, during the preparation period. land plot for winter.

In the spring, with the help of fresh material, the so-called " warm beds". Erected about a meter high, the bed is able to develop internal heating to a temperature of 55 degrees. A similar property affects the early rooting and favorable development of the culture in the conditions of spring frosts.

dry substrate

The state of humus is reached after 1.5 - 2 years of storage. Decayed mullein has a free-flowing structure, without the presence of moisture and odor. This is the most comfortable shape use of cow manure.

The value of the method lies in the possibility of planting a plant in the ground immediately after fertilization. In addition, due to the structure of the material, its consumption is significantly reduced.

Dry manure substrate does not contain water. If in the process of working with humus the presence of moisture is detected, this means that the substrate has not reached the required degree of maturity.

Liquid

Top dressing is carried out root watering diluted infusion mullein. Also, a weak solution is used in spraying weakened plants.

Granulated

Manure in granules is a material subjected to biological treatment and pressing. Due to its structure, it is able to saturate the soil at a measured pace. throughout the season.

Upon contact with water, it swells, and then gives the acquired moisture to the soil, contributing to the long-term maintenance of the moisture level during the dry period. Used as a supplement for spring landing plants, as well as applied fertilizer for autumn digging.

When fertilizer should not be applied

If the material has visually noticeable manifestations white plaque, this indicates the presence of fungal spores. Proper storage of manure to create humus will eradicate this problem over time. However, for the construction warm beds» similar material won't fit anymore.

Some cultures such top dressing do not tolerate well. Such plants include radishes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley. It is considered favorable to plant this row of plants in soil that has been fertilized with manure a year or two ago.

How to feed yourself

Given the availability of the source material, it is not difficult to make fertilizer with your own hands.

Humus

To get high-quality humus, you need to prepare a box or a pit for proper storage manure. Main condition - providing protection from rain and direct sunlight.

The box is covered with roofing felt or other waterproof material. To speed up the process of obtaining humus, several times a season, the layers are turned over with a pitchfork. The ripening period of humus is one and a half to two years.

liquid mullein

Fast and efficient manufacturing method infusion of fresh manure. It is made by filling the material with water, in a ratio of 1: 1.

Ready infusion must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:1 before being applied to the soil.

In the face of growing consumer demand for organic food, manufacturers are abandoning mineral fertilizers, opting for organic ones. The use of cow dung in the cultivation of farms and personal plots is not only effective, but also safe method obtaining a quality crop.

What is compost? It is an excellent organic fertilizer obtained from the decomposition of various organic matter under the influence of the activity of microorganisms, fungi and soil microflora.

What can be used to get compost in the country? Almost all plant and food waste: weeds, mowed lawn grass(the scourge of modern summer residents!), branches, straw, vegetable tops, spoiled fruits, peat, animal manure, bird droppings, human waste products (urine and excrement), paper, newspapers and magazines, feathers, sawdust, bark, shavings, cut and cardboard moistened with water, all food waste (except meat and fish, to avoid the appearance of flies and rodents). Simply put, as soon as you have a compost box on your site, the amount of garbage you take out will decrease significantly and it (garbage) will consist only of metal, plastic and glass.

How to make? Anything can serve as a material for its construction: metal or plastic mesh, unnecessary pallets ( wooden pallets), slate, boards, plastic. Available for sale a large number of ready plastic containers for compost, for every taste and budget.

The volume of the composter must be at least 1 cubic meter; in a smaller mass, the processes of decomposition of organic matter will occur very sluggishly.

The basic rules for laying organic matter in the composter are:

1. The compost container is always installed directly on the ground so that excess moisture can seep into the depths, and microorganisms and worms can penetrate into the mass of compost from the ground, helping to quickly process the substrate.
2. Quite large branches, coarse stalks of corn, sunflower, cabbage stalks with roots must first be laid at the bottom of the composter. This is done in order to provide ventilation and air flow into the pile from below, which will also accelerate its maturation.
3. The layers in the compost should not be very high, 10-15 cm of each type.
4. A layer of juicy organic matter (mowed and weeded grass, fruits, rotten vegetables, wet manure) should always be filled up (better mixed) with a layer of dry and coarse organic matter (newspapers, thin branches, peat, soil from the site, straw). Otherwise, rotting will occur inside the formation with the formation of an unpleasant odor and mold.
5. If possible, once a month, you need to either turn over the layers of compost, or increase the flow of air in another way - by forcefully sticking the forks deep and swinging them over the entire area of ​​​​the composter.
6. To speed up composting, it is desirable to shed a pile by special means purchased at garden centers.
7. You can prepare such a "compost accelerator" yourself.
In a 200-liter container (barrel) is placed:
- a shovel of wood or grass ash;
- half a bucket of manure or litter;
- a bucket of rotten straw or leaf litter;
- a shovel of humus, compost or just garden soil;
- a liter of whey or curdled milk;
- 3 liters of sourdough mash.
Brazhka-sourdough is prepared as follows: for 3 liters of non-chlorinated water, 5 tbsp. spoons of sugar and a pinch of yeast. It ferments for 2-3 days, then it is added to the common tank. Before use, you need to store the mash in the refrigerator - it is valuable until it sour. In the general tank, the whole bodyaga is infused for a week. Sometimes it needs to be stirred. When used, the infusion is diluted at least twice.
With such an "accelerator" shed a bunch of 1-2 times a week for 1-2 buckets.
8. The composter must be covered from above from the sun (dries up) and rain (washed out nutrients, the substrate rots) with shields or film.
9. Very much accelerates the maturation of compost planting directly on top of the pumpkin compost heap. The secretions of the roots of these crops help to decompose organic matter, and the mass of leaves obscures the pile, creating optimal microclimate. During the growth of plants, the laying of the mass in the composter continues. Layers are laid directly under the foliage, between the stems of zucchini.

If you follow these rules, then by autumn you will be able to get a large amount of remarkably mature compost, loose, dark, with pleasant smell forest floor and use it on, in and in the garden.

One day my friend bought a plot on a farm near Rostov. Not only was it one of the islands of a meter-thick surviving black soil, but it turned out that the okolotok takes the place of the old stables of some Cossack regiment: neighbors sometimes removed layers of ancient manure directly from the garden, dried it and heated the stoves like peat. I remember his desperation about the garden: “I planted it like a white man, began to clean it - cursed everything that I remembered! Imagine going for beets with a bucket - more than one does not climb into the bucket! Carry onions - five onions in a bucket! I didn’t weed the potatoes, weeds - a meter long, I was so tired of carrying them! This is a punishment, not a garden!” We should be punished...

At the beginning of the century, humus was studied in detail by scientists from the anthroposophical school of Rudolf Steiner in Germany. They believed that every substance carries a certain energy in itself - a “shape-forming force”. This force remains even after the transformations of substances. Something like the “mind of molecules”. The power of biological substances is very great. Therefore, humus - a concentrate of living substances - is the most powerful stimulant of life. So did the anthroposophists. And they were right about almost everything.

Their experiences are amazingly beautiful. They learned to direct the maturation of humus with the help of decoctions of various herbs. Installed qualitative differences different types of humus and compost. Proved: the quality of humus is directly related to the quality of animal feed. And quality, this very “strength” of the crop, has a powerful effect on the health and strength of animals and humans. This means that in a closed system "plants - animals - people" it is possible to improve the health and quality of everyone to an ideal state. This is how the biodynamic system of agriculture arose.

For the "organist" humus is the basis of well-being. They animate him and treat him very reverently: "no humus - no harvest." Taking care of the humus and communicating with it is the main work of all. The preparation of humus and compost is an art and a sacred act. The smell of ripe humus is one of the most pleasant for an organist. Scattering, throwing away organic matter is the same as throwing away bread for a Russian peasant. Because high-quality humus, a handful per plant, can double the yield and dramatically improve the quality of vegetables.

Humus - alive in the most correct sense of the word. This is a community of living organisms that decompose organic matter for plants. Our roommates symbionts. Assistants. Lapushki. Look through the microscope: look, they are trying. It is not difficult to take care of them: the food is already there. But you need to provide moisture and air. And feed stern - discord. And the conditions can be such that instead of humus, a harmful sour “silo” will turn out. Let's consider, how to make a useful humus.

What can be composted? First of all - any manure. If it is too liquid, it needs to be dried for a couple of days, and then mixed with straw, grass, sawdust, leaves, simply layered. Bird droppings can be sprinkled on the compost heap thin layer: too concentrated. It is better to infuse it in water for liquid dressings, 1 part to 40-50 parts of water.

Grass cuttings, straw, leaves, sawdust, husks, leftover food and cooking, spoiled food, waste from meat and fish industries - everything will turn into compost over the summer, if you put it in layers and crush each layer with earth.

No need to throw fats, wool and bones into the compost heap: they do not rot for 3-4 years. And, of course, you can not throw synthetics into the compost. Pieces of wood, chips, branches - should be chopped up and placed at the bottom of the pile: before they rot, they will work as a drainage.

How to arrange the right pile. Primarily - don't make holes. With our loams and rains, water accumulates in depressions. And without air, putrefactive microbes freeze and multiply “fermenting-fermenting” - we make silage in this way and ferment cabbage. Such smelly silage is harmful to plants!

Therefore, find a place that is not flooded. Definitely in the shade, otherwise you will often have to water a bunch. Fence 2-4 sq. meters with walls made of boards, iron, slate, a meter high. Throw a layer of straw, sawdust, leaves at the bottom: they form a layer that separates the compost from the ground, and it will be easy to take it with a pitchfork. Even better, if the heap is arranged on concrete surface A: It is more convenient to operate in every way. Yes, and you will have to carry humus on a wheelbarrow - you need tracks.

"Cold" compost heap.

There can be three walls - without the front. Or maybe four, but the front one should be removable: the humus has to be shoveled and picked up. The construction is completed by a sheet of film, slate or roofing felt, covering the compost from above: rains should not wash out nutrients. At the same time, the “lid” will reduce the evaporation of moisture. And the humidity is better, the more stable. If the pile is covered and in the shade, it practically does not have to be watered in the summer. And the last thing: if you decide to make the main walls of brick or concrete, make sure that excess water could leak from below when it rains.

How to make compost mature. If the organic layer is moist and covered from drying out, it, in general, matures normally on its own. But still…

First. If freshly cut grass, especially wet from dew or rain, is heaped in a layer thicker than half a meter, it can become very compacted, and the aforementioned “ensiling” will begin. Therefore, it is better to dry the grass for a day. Or alternate with layers of something drier. But microbes must have air! In general, a layer of material should not be made more than a meter.

"Hot" compost heap.

Second. You can speed up maturation by half if you sprinkle a couple of shovels of earth on each new layer of organic matter: bacteria for divorce. Left rotten, green water - pour on a pile: food for microbes.

Third. You can make mature compost in a month. For this, it is applied hot composting. In this case, the volume of organic matter should be close to cubic (optimally -1–1.2 m in height). There should be gaps in the walls for air (best of all - mesh walls). Nearby there should be the same empty volume for throwing compost. The volume is filled in layers, flavored with ready-made compost or earth, with a lack of moisture, the layers are watered. Here you need to know the properties different materials: depending on the content of nitrogen or carbon, they behave differently. nitrogenous – grains, seeds, bread and flour products, food waste, rotting fruits and vegetables, as well as manure and feces - this is a “firebox”: their rotting heats up the pile. A hot pile matures an order of magnitude faster. But these "stokers" contain little air and are too acidic. Therefore they are layered carbonaceous materials: straw, leaves, grass, sawdust, shredded cardboard, paper. They are airy, they themselves almost do not heat up, and when rotting, on the contrary, they consume nitrogen. If you take equally those and others, the balance is normal. And this mixture heats up quickly. But after 4-6 days, the heat in the center of the heap exceeds 70 ° C, and the oxygen ends - the microbes begin to die. If the pile is covered with a film, then in three or four days. Here you take a pitchfork and throw compost on the free place. And so - four times. Troublesome. But by June, you can cover the beds with a layer of fresh compost. And get three servings for the summer. Western farmers often compost this way.

The conclusions are: if the heap contains mainly nitrogenous materials, the finished compost should be sprinkled with ash, chalk or lime - deoxidized. If only carbonaceous - add nitrogen: urea (urea) or saltpeter from a kilogram per cubic meter - it will rot faster and retain nutritional value.

mature compost(humus) easy to find out. It becomes dark and monotonous: the differences between different components. But the main thing is the smell. Everyone disappears unpleasant odors. Mature compost smells strongly of fresh earth or forest floor. More precisely, this earth smells like compost if it contains organic matter. If it doesn't smell, it's dead land.

compost tea. One shovel of compost is infused for a week in 20 liters of water. It turns out a feed. We do the same with manure or chicken. A very good revitalizing fertilizer! True, if there is humus mulch, such measures are useless - it itself both fertilizes and stores moisture.

Let's talk about worms. Doctor of Medical Sciences, doctor Anatoly Mikhailovich Igonin devoted his life to the technology of breeding earthworms. He saw that "... human health is directly related to the health and well-being of earthworms." And this is not an exaggeration. Passing soil and organic residues through the intestines, worms create a unique substance - biohumus. In terms of nutritional value and biological activity, it is much more valuable than the best humus or compost. Commercial agronomy primarily destroys worms: they are afraid of dryness, acidity, excess salts and lack of organic matter. Breeding worms, as Igonin suggests, is too troublesome. And under the mulch they will divorce themselves. You just need to greet them and feed them plant residues. If during the summer a layer of organic matter disappears from the garden, this is good: the worms have eaten it. Our job is to add it.

But where can I get it? First, just don't throw it away. Secondly, you don’t have it simply because you didn’t set yourself such a goal. You can carry leaves, mow weeds, buy manure, husks, sawdust and other waste. In the West, all organic city waste is sold cheaply to farmers. If we want it, so will it be with us. For example, I compost grass from ten acres of meadows and all the garbage in the front garden. Neighbor gives manure. I also buy from the farm. And enough. I concentrate all the strength of the site in several beds. And these beds give incomparably more than the soil - at least plow it and fertilize it. The beds are dying!