Build compost – Instructions for creating

If so many gardeners are talking about compost again today, it is justified. The compost is something of a miracle cure for the garden. In the meantime, compost fell into oblivion when industrial companies began pouring artificially produced fertilizer over our soil in ever greater quantities. Until it was discovered that these fertilizers only appear to be good for plants and garden soil.

• directly available nutrients cause plants to grow too quickly and are therefore susceptible to pests
• Artificial fertilizer kills soil organisms
• in the case of over-fertilization, pollutants are washed out into the groundwater
• now books are circulating warning of famine because our soils are depleted

The soil in your small garden does not play a role in this context, do you think? It is really not so. The home gardens of Germany take up a considerable part of the natural area of ​​our country. The percentage is constantly increasing. The natural areas are constantly getting smaller due to construction activities, every day by around 150 football pitches. Every single home garden is a “piece of nature” that matters.

The gardener with foresight therefore also cares for his “piece of nature on the doorstep” in such a way that he makes his contribution to nature and environmental protection. He wants good, natural garden soil. A compost will help him in the creation and care of such soil.

What does the compost do in the garden?

The compost improves the garden soil continuously and sustainably and increases the fertility of the soil. The plants that grow on such a soil are resistant to the stressful situations that are common in plant life, such as disease or pests or drought and cold. Depleted soils are only supplied again with the useful microorganisms that belong in every soil by compost. The soil life of every soil also benefits from the organic substance brought in with the compost, which the soil organisms feed on.

With regular addition of compost, the soil is not only positively changed in its biological composition, but also in its chemical and physical properties. More biological activity means that a lot of microorganisms like fungi and bacteria and larger animals like earthworms are doing valuable work in the soil. They convert accumulated organic matter into humus, thereby making nutrients available for the plants and at the same time loosening and mixing the soil. But they don’t just loosen, they also seal up fine soil particlesfairly solid crumbs with fine to coarse pores between them, so the soil is well aerated and can hold water well. This saves the gardener from having to dig up. An exemplary “crumbly structure” also protects soil from erosion and prevents it from crusting on the surface. Since the compost also contains plenty of nutrients, it also feeds the plants. With regular, needs-based compost application you save fertilizer.

Other benefits of composting

However, composting brings you even more advantages. First of all, compost simply saves money. Because around a third of our waste is organic waste, i.e. waste from the kitchen and garden, most of which is compostable. Waste recycling of this organic waste is required by law, so everything that does not end up in the compost must go in the organic waste bin. And the bio bin costs. The disposal company will ask you to pay for each organic waste that does not end up in the compost.

Compost also helps you to have a good environmental conscience in another respect: the trade still sells plenty of conventional potting soil, which consists of up to 95% raised bog peat. Around 10 million cubic meters of peat are used every year – and the “nature-loving hobby gardeners” are responsible for a third of that! Apparently, some gardeners and gardeners have still not understood that this peat is mined in raised bogs. These are the most important carbon reservoirs for the globe and irreplaceable natural societies.

Of course, the trade does not explain this, but continues to sell peat unperturbed, because “the customer wants it”. There is hardly a gardener who is not appalled when he is informed of what is happening here. A bog that was formed in around 10,000 years is broken down in a few years to migrate to soil that is actually not suitable for gardening, just because mining is so cheap.

The earth is then sold quite cheaply. Compost is completely free. Incidentally, it is also much better for your garden soil than peat. It is so low in nutrients that the soil for sale has to be enriched with artificial fertilizer.

Once the compost is established, composting in the garden will save you a lot of work.

• Plant remains and recyclable organic waste migrate from the bed or kitchen to the compost and from there back to the bed
• Prime example of a functioning material cycle

How is compost made?

Compost is an incredibly laborious process that, thankfully, requires very little input from you. The main work is done by numerous microorganisms. They are the ones who break down the waste and turn it into valuable humus. In this way, exactly the same process takes place in your garden that also ensures in nature that all plant residues become soil again, from which new plants can then grow again in a never-ending cycle. So you set up a kind of “earth factory” in which you even speed up the “factory work”, the composting, a little. You just have to make sure that these microorganisms find an optimal environment in your compost by creating the compost correctly and in the right place.

The right place

The best place for compost is the spot in the garden that is easiest to reach from the most waste-producing plantings. If you usually use a wheelbarrow to transport plant residue, it is best to place the compost on a paved path. This can make work a lot easier, especially in bad weather. If the most strategic place is under a tree, that’s good because its canopy protects the compost from the sun and rain. However, the compost does not necessarily have to be located under a tree, as is sometimes required. You can also provide sun and rain protection with a cover. It also doesn’t matter whether the location of the compost is in the shade or in the sun. In the meantime, investigations have shown that

When determining the location, it is more important that you keep a little distance from the house and make sure that the compost is not in the windbreak to the living room window. If the unpleasant smells in the house aren’t constantly blowing your nose, you can correct the mistake in a relaxed manner and don’t immediately think of the total termination of “Company Compost”.

If the compost is not only laid out properly, but also designed to match the garden in terms of appearance, there is no reason to hide it in any corner. Your compost distinguishes you as a natural and environmentally conscious gardener, and everyone is welcome to see that. You only have to observe the distances and heights prescribed by neighborhood law.

How to build a compost

Before you think about the building material or the compost container, you should know how big your compost will be. The required size is determined by the following factors:

• determine the probable annual amount of compost
  • The size of the garden and the number of people living in the household determine this
  • On average, around 150 liters of kitchen waste are generated per person per year
  • Garden produces about 5 liters of shredded garden waste per square meter
• Example for a 2-person household and 400 sqm garden:
  • 300 liters of organic waste from the kitchen and 2,000 liters of garden waste
  • a total of around 2,300 liters of organic waste per year
• In the course of rotting, this volume is reduced by about half, leaving 1,150 liters of (rotted) organic waste
• Containers with a volume of 1,200 liters would therefore be full after around a year
• Garbage is constantly refilled
  • so after this year only the bottom layer of compost has matured
• see below
• arduous endeavor
• You also only gain a little space at the top
• More convenient if you empty the whole composter once a year
• Use compost at different stages of maturity, although you would need to know which compost serves which purpose.
• Or mix and compost on a heap (pile).
  • in both cases you need a compost room with the annual volume
• put half-ripe mass into a second container for post-rotting
  • then you would need twice the annual volume
• It looks the same if you want to let the compost mature all at once, then the first compost will be ready after about 2 years.

Compost heap or compost bin?

A normal compost heap will decompose just as well as any compost bin. So it is completely sufficient if you buy one or two simple slatted composters. Their construction is not very complicated. They are simply placed (no, they don’t need a floor) and covered with fleece to protect against rain. Such a compost heap even goes very well with more natural gardens. Here it seems like a familiar part of the garden and is never really a nuisance. He will also teach you how a proper compost should be treated. Here you are forced to chop up the orange peel nicely and distribute it well in the compost. A pile of shells on top just looks ugly.

In a very tidy garden, a compost bin may fit in better. But you shouldn’t let any seller fool you: Anyone who wants to sell you a compost container that can shorten the composting time to a few weeks should fill and seal this container in front of you and unpack the finished compost together with you after the promised time . Don’t be surprised if a seller declines this suggestion. The compost bin is actually not the best way for compost beginners in particular, because here you dispose of the compost mass invisibly, like in a garbage can, which experience has shown does not promote “compost discipline”, which requires the components to be mixed in and not piled up.

If it has to be a compost bin, there is a large variety of models available. Check out the features and functions of a composter bin well. It definitely needs a lid (to be securely fastened) and ventilation. Good thermal insulation only if there is enough material in your garden for hot rotting. Removable bottom inserts, which are supposed to allow compost to be removed from below, tend not to work according to all available experience reports. Compost bins with rotating drums or movable balls are also described as having little practical use.

Conclusion
As you just learned, creating a compost is not rocket science. Neither does the rest of the procedure. However, if you understand the composition and filling, maturity and use of a compost, you also know what good garden soil is. This is how you go from garden designer to gardener!