|
Composting made easy
using all the tricks of the trade.
The natural cycle.
Compost is the world's oldest and most natural form
of fertiliser, It can be produced and used in any garden.
Unlike peat, compost returns lost nutrients and trace elements to
the soil, and revitalises soil life as no other fertiliser can.
A handful of compost contains more living things than there are
people on the earth: approximately ten billion organisms.
Fertilising your own plants with self-produced compost provides
satisfaction in the production of your own fruit and vegetables,
in beautiful flowers and tasty herbs.
A good gardener therefore cuts back bushes, shrubs and flowers,
knowing that all these valuable resources will not be lost but
will soon be made available to the garden as fertiliser or
mulching material.
A pleasant side-effect is that composting also saves money, Less
waste is produced for the dustbin and less fertiliser needs to be
purchased.
If organic materials are shredded, mixed and aerated properly,
they decompose into high-quality fertiliser.
The better the composition; the mix of "green"
nitrogenous material and "brown" plant trimmings
containing carbon ; the better the fertilising qualities and
therefore also the compost. |
|
Composting
made easy Using all the tricks of the trade.
Position the compost heap in a semi-shaded area near the house and
protected from the wind, ideally with water and power supply (for
shredders, for example) and a screen.
Room for at east two or, better, three containers; one for
composting. one for finished compost and one for collecting dry
plant trimmings.
Collect and sort systematically: Collect branches separately from
soft plant trimmings and damp material containing earth, and
protect from rain (cover).
Organic, decomposable garden and household material is suitable
for composting. The mix of "green" nitrogenous material
and "brown" plant trimmings containing carbon determines
the fertilising qualities. The shredding of twigs, branches and
flowering shrubs using the VIKING garden shredders increases the
surface area of the plant material and promotes decomposition
through microbes and decomposition agents.
Never pile up large quantities of the same material. Always mix
materials (e.g. grass cuttings with wood chippings). Shredding
saves having to turn over the compost.
Place the compost containers on the ground, never on stone flags.
Protect them against washing out, water-logging and drying out
(cover). Important:
aerate adequately.
The composting process takes several months, (14
days in a Sutton Tumbler), depending on the time of
year and the ambient temperature. Compost is the best form of bio
fertiliser. A fungal odour is a sign of maturity.
Raw compost is unfinished and contains the nutrients for the
plants in an unusable form. However, It promotes soil life very
well. Raw compost is very good for mulching.
Mature compost no longer contains any worms. The nutrients are
released and can be absorbed by plants. However, plants should not
be planted in finished compost alone ; the compost must be mixed
with soil.
|