11 Comments

  1. Egor Nechaev, Volgodonsk

    All organic matter from the garden, as well as cardboard, fruit and vegetable waste, were placed in the compost bin. The box was open. After 2 years, the compost turned out to be very dense and heavy, like clay. Where is the mistake?

    Reply
    • DIY

      — One of the main conditions for preparing compost is access to organic oxygen, which is necessary for the life of microbes. If it is not enough, then oxidation processes predominate in the mass of the compost heap, which results in the formation of mucous, foul-smelling substances.

      A dense mass is formed, not much like the usual loose compost with an earthy odor. In your case, compaction of the components of the compost heap occurred due to their waterlogging. This happens in a rainy year if the pile is not covered with a lid or film.

      Excess water weighs down all the materials in the pile and fills the pores between them. To remedy the situation, provide air access to the compost. Scatter it over the beds, and it will gradually compost itself in the presence of oxygen. In the future, adjust the humidity in your compost pile to avoid problems. In dry summers, water each layer of organic components when it reaches 20-30 cm. In rainy summers, cover the pile with plastic wrap to limit the entry of rainwater.

      Reply
  2. S. Egorov, Kurgan

    Is it possible to compost old newspapers, cardboard boxes with inscriptions, unnecessary printouts from a home printer. Whether these materials, printing ink contain toxic substances, heavy metals. Will they harm the plants later if you put such paper products in the compost?

    Reply
    • DIY

      Such studies were carried out in England, at the Center for Alternative Technologies. In a series of experiments, no negative effect was found either on the development of plants or on their chemical composition. Of course, in the past, printing ink contained lead and ink was made from metals, but now both are usually made on a plant basis and completely decompose during the composting process.
      You can not put plastics in the compost, as well as glossy wrapping paper, bags for drinks, in a word, something that does not rot and only pollutes the earth.

      O. NOSKOVA, agronomist

      Reply
  3. Tatyana Vladimirovna, Kuznetsk, Penza region

    We have only broken glass, plastic bottles, cans, cellophane in the trash. Everything that can rot - food waste, cardboard, paper - I collect during the winter, and in the spring I take it to the dacha. And it is not necessary to buy a special bucket for collecting waste, it is expensive.

    You need to take a dense large (60 l) plastic bag and prick holes at the bottom with a fork. Put the bag on a plastic bucket, in which there is an inverted plate at the bottom to collect the formed liquid.
    The bag contains waste that needs to be sprinkled with wheat bran with an EM preparation. We send the filled bag to the garage until spring, and then to the compost heap in the country. You can make warm beds.
    Yes, I forgot, the package is collected gradually: they put the waste, sprinkled it with bran - after that it is necessary to tightly tie the bag and put a load (brick, eggplant with water) on top so that excess moisture leaves the bag.
    We have already written how potato peels help currants. I used to make grooves, put cleanings in them and covered them with earth.

    Now I’m doing it easier: I scatter the cleaning under the bushes, put cardboard on top (I collect it specially in winter), and put compost, or sawdust, or manure on top of the cardboard. Earthworms are happy, and currants thank you for a good harvest.

    Reply
  4. Nikolay Zarevsky, Moscow

    The potatoes stored in the cellar sprouted strongly, became shriveled and tasteless, some tubers rot. Can crop residues be composted? Or are they suitable for something else?

    Reply
    • DIY

      - For composting, with the right approach, any organic matter, including rotten potato tubers, is suitable. But it must be remembered that, when sending rotting organic matter or plant residues with signs of diseases to the compost, it is necessary to wait until they are completely rotted. In appearance, the finished compost cannot be distinguished from the soil, it should not have an unpleasant odor (usually it smells like earth after rain), not rotten plants. It should be free-flowing, moderately moist and non-sticky.

      Reply
  5. Guest of the site "With Your Own Hands"

    I have not made compost pits for a long time. And I build compost heaps simply: I put all the weeded out weeds in one strip all season and sprinkle them with mown grass. And I have such a fertile bed every year in a new place. On it, I always planted zucchini, pumpkins and cucumbers, which always bore good fruit.

    Reply
  6. Valentine

    1. How long does it take to get ready-made compost from quail litter with sawdust? 2. Soil for seedlings: in addition to all components, what peat should be added and how much? Low or high?

    3. I repeatedly read the advice of gardeners that when fermenting grass, to obtain grassy “kvass”, ash with superphosphate and manure is added to the tank, and in other publications it is argued that ash should not be mixed with mineral fertilizers and manure. Where is the truth? And in what cases can fresh baker's yeast be added?

    Reply
  7. Natalya G. BOYAROVA, Smolensk region, Vyazma

    Since last year, there are a lot of old potatoes. Animals in the country there, and throw the tubers in the forest do not want.
    Can I put them in a compost pile?

    Reply
    • "Do it yourself"

      Older and sprouted potato tubers are undesirable for nutrition. But to throw them into the forest from all points of view is not good. 1 kg of tubers contains 0,7 g of calcium, 0,6 g of phosphorus, 40,7 mg of iron, a number of other trace elements, as well as proteins, vitamins and a number of amino acids. And all this is very necessary for vegetable plants. On the other hand, late blight and other diseases of solanaceous crops are transmitted through potato tubers.

      The best option: chop the potato tubers and place in an old barrel for insulated composting. Cover all this with weeds and leave until spring. After the winter freezing from pathogens, little will remain. Next year, this material can be laid in warm ridges under pumpkin cultures or they can grind berries.

      Reply

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