Now, more and more families are beginning to learn to use organic materials on hand to make compost to improve the soil of their backyard, garden, and small vegetable garden. However, the compost made by some friends is always imperfect, and some details of making compost Little is known, So we’re here to give you 5 tips for making a small compost.
1. Shred the compost material
Some large pieces of organic materials, such as wood blocks, cardboard, straw, palm shells, etc., should be chopped, shredded, or pulverized as much as possible. The finer the pulverization, the faster the composting speed. After the compost material is crushed, the surface area is greatly increased, which allows microorganisms to decompose more easily, thereby accelerating the material decomposition process.
2. Proper mixing ratio of brown and green materials
Composting is a game of carbon to nitrogen ratios, and ingredients such as dried leaf sawdust, wood chips, etc. are often rich in carbon and are brown. Food waste, grass clippings, fresh cow dung, etc. are rich in nitrogen and are often green in color and are green materials. Maintaining a proper mixing ratio of brown materials and green materials, as well as adequate mixing, is a prerequisite for the rapid decomposition of compost. As for the volume ratio and weight ratio of materials, scientifically speaking, it needs to be based on the carbon-nitrogen ratio of different materials. to calculate.
Small-scale composting refers to the Berkeley method, the basic composition of brown material: green material (non-feces): animal manure volume ratio is 1:1:1, if there is no animal manure, it can be replaced with green material, that is, brown material: green material It is about 1:2, and you can adjust it by observing the follow-up situation.
3. Moisture
Moisture is essential for the smooth breakdown of compost, but when adding water, you need to be aware that too much or too little moisture can hinder the process. If the compost has more than 60% water content, it will cause anaerobic fermentation to stink, while less than 35% water content will not be able to decompose because the microorganisms will not be able to continue their metabolic process. The specific operation is to take out a handful of the material mixture, squeeze hard, and finally drop a drop or two of water, that’s right.
4. Turn the compost
Most organic materials will not ferment and break down if they are not stirred frequently. The best rule is to turn the pile every three days (after the Berkeley method 18-day composting period is every other day). Turning the pile helps improve air circulation and distributes microbes evenly throughout the compost windrow, resulting in faster decomposition. We can make or buy compost turning tools to turn the compost pile.
5. Add microbes to your compost
Microorganisms are the protagonists of decomposing compost. They are working day and night to decompose composting materials. Therefore, when a new compost pile is started, if some good microorganisms are introduced correctly, the compost pile will be filled with a large number of microbes in a few days. These microorganisms allow the decomposition process to start quickly. So we usually add something called a “compost starter”, don’t worry, it’s not a commercial commodity, it’s just a bunch of old compost that has already decomposed or aggregated grass that decomposes quickly, dead fish or even Urine is fine.
In general, to get an aerobic compost that decomposes quickly: chop the materials, the right ratio of materials, the correct moisture content, keep turning the pile, and introduce microorganisms. If you find that the compost is not working properly, it is also from here. There are five aspects to check and adjust.
Post time: Aug-05-2022