Almost everyone who gardens or gardens has a compost heap on their property. This is not just a dump of peelings and tops, but a future fertilizer that makes the soil soft, loose and nutritious. Good compost helps plants grow strong, suffer less pain and produce more harvests. But in order to get exactly humus by spring, and not a wet, rotting pile, simply putting everything there is not enough. It is necessary to create conditions under which organic matter will rot quickly and odorlessly. The author of the Zen channel “Harvest Garden and Vegetable Garden” (12+) spoke about this.
Experienced gardeners have long noticed that composting can be speeded up. To do this in the fall, when the heap is already filled to capacity with tops, leaves, mown grass and other plant debris, it is enough to carry out two simple waterings. Without human intervention, such volumes can rot for more than a year, and with the right support, by spring they will turn into a dark, crumbly and fragrant mass.
The first watering is needed in order to start the work of microorganisms. They process organic matter, but to do this they require nitrogen. If there is not enough of it, the compost simply dies in a half-raw state. To prevent this from happening, dilute one tablespoon of urea in ten liters of water and pour it evenly over the entire pile. This is enough to activate the decomposition processes.
After seven to ten days, a second watering is done, this time with live starter. For it, take twenty grams of dry yeast, add warm water, add three to four tablespoons of sugar and leave to infuse in a warm place for twelve to fifteen hours until the mixture begins to foam. Then this starter is poured into a ten-liter watering can and two tablespoons of an EM preparation, for example “Baikal EM-1,” are added. This mixture works as a powerful accelerator: yeast starts fermentation, and beneficial bacteria from the preparation suppress putrefactive processes and help turn waste into homogeneous, structured humus without an unpleasant odor.
If you carry out these two waterings in the fall, the compost will be completely ready by spring. It will become a valuable fertilizer that will give plants strength, health and a rich harvest.
Question and answer:
Why doesn't compost rot over the winter?
Most often due to a lack of nitrogen, moisture or oxygen. Autumn organic matter (leaves, tops) is low in nitrogen, so the microflora “falls asleep.” Without intervention, compost can lie in a semi-damp state for a year or more. Two autumn waterings solve this problem.
Is it possible to do without EM preparations when accelerating compost?
It is possible, but the result will be worse. Yeast alone will start fermentation, but will not stop rot. EM preparations create a balanced microflora that turns waste into homogeneous, crumbly, odorless humus. If “Baikal EM-1” is not available, analogues will do: “Shine”, “Vozrozhdenie”, “BakSib”.
