All about humus - composition, use, preparation. What is humus and what does it consist of? Components that make up organic fertilizer

Surprising fact - most advice on the care and cultivation of vegetables uses the term " humus” but only half of gardeners and gardeners (based on a survey conducted by one horticultural magazine) can correctly and briefly explain what it is ..

Definition and terms:

Humus is the same as rotted (mature) manure. If the meaning of this word is not explained, then it should be understood in this sense. When they write about “leaf humus”, they mean leaf compost (or leaf soil). Now it is no longer customary to call compost humus. But in old, unsuccessfully translated or decommissioned from different sources books and articles you can see this name. In this case, it is explained which (from what prepared) humus is meant.

Physical properties

Ready-to-use humus is a homogeneous, loose, free-flowing brownish mass, without the smell of ammonia and rot (the smell should be earthy, “spring”). Specific gravity- 500-800 kg / cu. m. One bucket contains approximately 6 kg of humus.

Agronomic properties of humus

Humus is rich in nutrients, absorbs and retains moisture well. Moreover, its particles do not lose their elasticity, air gaps remain between them for the roots to breathe. Therefore, humus ennobles any soil: in sandy it retains water and nutrients in the root zone, it helps to “fluff” heavy clay: it makes it loose, airy, nutritious.

Using humus as a mulch creates top layer soil special conditions: it does not form a crust with capillaries, which, like a sponge, draws moisture from the soil. Heavy soil does not float.

Settle under the mulch earthworms and beneficial bacteria that increase the efficiency of the roots. The soil under it cools and heats up more slowly, the temperature changes smoothly.

This helps plant exotics to survive: in autumn they have time to gradually prepare for wintering, and at the end of winter and spring they do not wake up ahead of time and do not risk falling under the blow of return frosts.

In extreme heat, the soil surface mulched with humus does not burn root collar plants. But it is through the place of the burn that pathogens of verticillium, clematis, pepper and other crops usually penetrate.

Nutrients rich in mulch from humus gradually reach the roots of plants with watering and rain. And finally, humus is indispensable for growing seedlings and demanding nutrition. As part of the substrate, it is very useful for eggplants, cucumbers and other cucurbits, begonias, hibiscus, pelargonium.

How to cook humus

Recently, in horticultural markets, you can buy ready-made humus in bags, however, at a rather high price. It is more profitable to buy manure on the farm and prepare the humus yourself.

The literature describes many tricks, without which, according to the authors, it is impossible to prepare the “correct” humus. In reality, everything is not so complicated: the manure is laid out for maturation in a pile or in a compost box. From above they are covered with roofing material, shields, and it is possible with a dark film if a box is used that is ventilated through the sidewalls. It’s not scary if the shelter slightly lets water through, the main thing is that the rains do not wash the mass through and through. Maturation lasts 1.5-2 years. The humus matured when it became free-flowing throughout its volume, of a uniform dark color, and its volume decreased by 3-4 times compared to the original.

How to speed up the maturation of humus

While warm, stir the humus with a pitchfork about once a month, trying to pry deeper, and before that, slightly moisten.

Place the collection for maturation in a secluded place, not blown by the north winds, then it will not freeze for a long time and the bacteria will continue to work even at the beginning of winter.

Use EM preparations ("Baikal", "Siyanie-3" and others), which accelerate the maturation of compost.

How to use humus correctly

This is a very valuable material, it is useful to all garden, garden and indoor crops with almost no restrictions. The exception is just a few ornamental crops requiring depleted soil (plants for "", desert cacti, orchids). A moderate dose is applied to some annuals (nasturtium, kosmeya, eschscholzia): they can “fatten” with an excess of organic matter, that is, grow leaves to the detriment of flowering.

For planting vegetables, flowers, garden strawberries humus is applied in 2-4 buckets per square meter.

For most indoor plants it is used as an additive to nutrient soil, on average about 1/4-1/3 of the total volume.

For seedlings of vegetables and flowers, humus is introduced into the nutrient substrate, on average, about 1/2 of the total volume.

You can also read another interesting article about composting

Leaf humus is most often used to fertilize crops. But you can make this nutritious fertilizer not only from leaves. It is also important to store it properly so that it does not lose nutrients.

Humus - what is it? Inexperienced summer residents often ask such questions. Humus is a fertilizer of organic origin. With its help, you can saturate the poor soil with all the microelements necessary for the growth and development of plants. Humus is easy to do with your own hands. All the ingredients needed for this can be found at any farm.

What does it consist of?

Before preparing humus at home, you need to find out what is included in its composition. The composition of humus, as a rule, includes the following components:

• Leaves.
• Cattle manure.
• Bird droppings.
• Straw.
• Hay.
• Weeds from the field.
• Ash.
• Leftover fruits and vegetables.
• Bark.
• Wood sawdust.
• Special additives to accelerate plant growth.
• Branches of trees and shrubs.

It can be said that all parts of plants that grew on the site, as well as cattle manure, can be included in the composition of humus. This is especially convenient for those summer residents who are also engaged in agriculture.

How to do it yourself?

Grass and leaves are the basis for fertilizer. But this alone will not be enough. Also, you can not do without bird droppings and cattle manure. Otherwise, instead of nutrient fertilizer, you can get silage or rotten grass, which does not bring any benefit to plants.

What can not be used for processing into humus:

• Chemical agent.
• Infected parts of plants.
• Food of animal origin.
• Weed seeds.

If cattle manure is used, then the animals must be healthy. Not all waste that is intended for disposal can be used to make humus at home.

How to get humus?

In order to get high-quality humus prepared at home, you need to know exactly in what order to arrange the layers.

• Plants. The first layer is the remains of plants. It should be no more than 15 cm. If this layer is larger, then the decay process will be slower. All parts of the herb can be used except the seeds. Otherwise, they can germinate and then you have to deal with weeds. The first layer of grass should be sprinkled with earth mixed with lime.
• Straw and hay. Thanks to straw, deciduous and all other layers are saturated with oxygen. Straw creates a porous structure and binds moisture in the humus. Before spreading hay or straw, it must be thoroughly crushed. Mulching with humus with the addition of hay to ensure oxygen access to the roots of plants.
• Leaves. The leaves must be dried before preparing the humus with your own hands. If this is not done, then they will clump together. Leaves are mixed with other plant residues and spread in a thin layer.
• Sawdust. To prepare humus in the country, you can use sawdust. But they do not decompose well, so before laying them they are mixed with grass and bone meal.
• Wood bark. Tree bark contains a large amount of nitrogen. But in order to increase its concentration in the compost, it is necessary to mix the bark with chicken manure, cattle manure or urea.

How to make humus?

At home, you can get humus from the following components:

• Food waste. The preparation of humus is not complete without food waste. They contain many nutrients. But to prevent their decomposition, the waste is mixed with solid material to provide access to oxygen.
• Manure and litter. From manure, the most nutritious humus for plants is obtained. It contains a large amount of nitrogen, which helps to accelerate the growth of crops. From above it is desirable to sprinkle with soil.
• Paper. Before laying paper when preparing manure with your own hands, it must be coarsely cut and moistened in a decoction of herbs. Herbal decoction can be prepared from nettles. There are a lot of nutrients in nettle, and the paper absorbs them during the soaking process. Mix wet paper with another solid material. Otherwise, she crumples.

How to prepare humus from manure?

Many summer residents are interested in the question of humus and where to get it. You can cook it at home with your own hands. The most common type of humus is based on cattle manure. Suitable manure sheep, cows or horses.

We prepare humus as follows:

• Manure for humus must be taken fresh. It contains more nutrients.
• Put together a box and put coarsely chopped grass on the bottom. Then you can lay out the straw. So the humus will be saturated with oxygen.
• Then lay out the manure (you can use chicken manure).
• In order to accelerate decomposition, biodestructors can be added to humus. It could be Baikal-M or Radiance. They contain bacteria that speed up the process of decay.
• Regularly humus should be watered (but not flooded). It is important not to let it dry out.

You can use humus when it will not be possible to consider individual parts. The mixture should be of a homogeneous consistency. The smell of the finished humus should be like that of damp earth. And the color is brown or closer to black.

How to quickly make humus from leaves?

Humus from the leaves is also prepared with the addition of manure. You can use straw, paper and other plant residues.

Leaf humus is prepared as follows:

• You can use any leaves of deciduous trees. If shrubs grow on the site or fruit trees then the fallen leaves are used.
• Since the leaves are poor in micronutrients, they must be mixed with food waste or sawdust.
• Put bird droppings on a layer of foliage.
• Periodically, the humus needs to be watered. If a large number of midges appeared above the box with humus, then this is a clear sign high humidity. In order to get rid of them on a sunny day, the humus must be left open. When it dries a little, cover it back.
• If the humus does not change color and does not acquire the smell of wet earth, then it means that it is too dry. You can correct the situation by adding water, potato peelings or fresh herbs.

Plants are mulched with them for the winter so that the roots do not freeze and the bushes do not die. Fertilizers made in this way can be stored in bags.

Where to store it?

How to properly store humus prepared with your own hands so that it does not lose beneficial features? The best way to store is a box. How to make a litter box?

Humus storage box:

• You can put together such a box from any unnecessary boards. You can pour sawdust on the bottom or leave the box without a bottom, and immediately put humus into it.
• On top of the container, you can lay slate or greenhouse film. The moisture that falls on the humus along with the rain should not accumulate in one place, but should drain into the ground.
• Also, do not forget that one of the walls of the box should slide out. So it will be easier to take humus for incorporation into the soil.
• Humus can also be stored in bags, but you just need to make sure that the sun's rays do not fall on it.

How to store?

What are the features of humus storage? First of all, the container with humus should not be located under open sunlight. So the fertilizer will begin to decompose and pathogenic microbes will begin to multiply in it.

It is important to maintain a constant temperature and humidity in the box. The earth and the humus itself should not be too wet, but should not dry out either.

It is not advisable to place fertilizer containers near trees. Very soon, trees can direct their growth towards composting. And then all the nutrients will go to their growth.

It is known that many gardeners and gardeners use manure as a nitrogen fertilizer, but now it is not cheap and not always available, and mineral fertilizers cost a lot of money.

Indeed, farms and barnyards near summer cottages or just outside the city usually does not happen.

But as soon as you drive away, to some distant village, and look for cattle yards near it, you will definitely stumble upon the so-called letniki. These are plots of land temporarily fenced with rafters or planks, intended for summer night accommodation of teenage livestock (young animals).

In the morning, at 8-9 o'clock, the shepherds drive the cattle to the pasture to feed on lush grass, and by noon, after the watering place, they drive the herd to the paddock for rest. After lunch, at 15-16 hours, the whole procedure is repeated, and the herd spends the night in a paddock until the morning.

Thus, twice a day - in the morning and in the afternoon - the corral remains empty and open (as a rule, the shepherds do not close the entrance because of the heavy and uncomfortable gates they made, and there is nothing to steal there). Taking this opportunity, for many years now I have been collecting mullein in the form of dry granules in unlimited quantities from this pen.

Young animals trample these cakes with their hooves during the day, and the sun's heat turns them into granulated dry manure 2-3 cm thick over the entire area of ​​​​the paddock. The amount of fertilizer does not decrease, since there are few lustful people like me, and the herd grows every week, and the number of cakes arrives.

On the next year not far from this place, shepherds make a new corral for cattle (since we have plenty of land, the corral is not cleared), and the cycle repeats.

The selection of granules is carried out as follows. It is best to start this work from the end of May, when the earth finally dries up and juicy grass grows for feeding livestock, and there will be up to 25 bags of cakes per two acres, the rest - for beds, under apple trees, and other shrubs. Part of the heap remains for humus until next spring.

Of course, all my recommendations are for car owners who have gardens or personal plots. Although at one time my wife and I had small plot, and as a warm-up, I also carried one bag of dry mullein on the trunk in the morning and in the evening for 5 km from the paddock as a warm-up. Firstly, great benefits for the garden, and secondly, even more health benefits.

Where to get ashes for fertilizing the garden

In the villages where they burn wood, there is ash in every house, but try to ask, and no one will give it to you. The same is true in horticulture. A friend told me how he wanted to pick up a bucket of ash by the road opposite a private house, so at first they threatened him from the window, and then elderly woman ran out of the house and almost broke his arm with a stick, with which he tried to protect himself from her ...

If you heat the bath with firewood at least once a week during the summer season, then this ash is barely enough for the beds. For the annual feeding of a potato garden (one glass per hole), at least 4-5 buckets of ash are needed for only one hundred square meters. Where can I get it?

I extract ash in the following way. We still have nostalgia for the "communist subbotniks" when the cleaning was going on adjoining territory(First, the whole current year we clog it, and then we clean it in one day). At the end of April, the numbers of the 21st-22nd (Ilyich's birthday), on a clear sunny day, the inhabitants apartment buildings together they go out to the “Leninist” subbotnik and begin to pile up rubbish from the territory.

In addition to cans, bottles and various rubbish, wood waste (old stools, broken chairs, various sticks, etc.) is also piled there, in addition, old trees and shrubs are cut down. All this waste is incinerated and turned into ash. Now it is necessary not to doze off: in the evening or the next morning, I first rake unburned large debris (glass, bricks, etc.) from a pile of ash, and then scoop the ash into a plastic bag and store it in the car.

Thus, from two or three piles, 2-3 bags of ash are collected. In the country, I sift this ash through a sieve. As a sieve, I use an empty herring jar (diameter 200 mm) with holes of 5-10 mm. You can also use an old baking sheet from a gas or electric stove oven as a sieve, having previously drilled the appropriate holes in it.

I will add to the above that it is better to collect the ashes early in the morning (when the residents are sleeping) or at dusk in the evening, otherwise the neighbors and residents may not understand my good intentions and call the police. Thus, without special work, without problems and for free, I stock up valuable for future use mineral fertilizer.

Note to the gardener:

• The effect of ash is enhanced by peat, compost and humus.
• Ash is not combined with manure, bird droppings, superphosphate and nitrogen mineral fertilizers.
• Ash needs a strict dosage: in large quantities it will destroy everyone useful inhabitants soil - their numbers will recover for a very long time.

The ability of humus to completely replace mineral supplements known for a long time. However, not everyone knows about its varieties and features of application to the soil. Using this fertilizer, it is possible to significantly increase soil fertility within 5 years by creating a layer of high-quality chernozem on your site and improving the structure of the soil.

The easiest way to prepare a quality fertilizer is to use grass, leaf litter, or other plant debris. It is believed that green mass composting is the most fast way get humus, which can significantly increase the friability of the soil.

In terms of nutritional value, the fertilizer made using the droppings of birds or farm animals is considered to be of the highest quality. Let us examine in more detail the intricacies of the preparation and use of different types of humus.

What is humus

Humus is a homogeneous mass, similar to soil, formed as a result of the decomposition of substances such as manure, various residues of plant or animal origin. In some cases, compost from plants or leaves is also called humus, however, recently it has not been customary to call it that, since this term most often means mature decomposed manure.

Ripe and usable humus has the following properties:

• flowability;
• homogeneity;
• looseness;
• pleasant smell of "spring" soil, lack of ammonia smell;
• small specific gravity(not about 6 kg of humus will fit in one bucket).

The agronomic significance of this decomposition product cannot be overestimated, because it is thanks to it that the following soil properties are provided:

• nutritional value for plants;
• ability to absorb water well;
• porosity.

Humus particles have elasticity, which ensures the presence of air space between them. This is important property provides full breathing to the roots and an excellent ability to pass moisture, which creates ideal conditions for plants and improves the composition of both clay and sandy soil.

Valuable components of humus are such organic compounds as fulvic acids, as well as humic acids. The former contribute to the transformation of minerals into a form available for absorption by plants, while the latter increase soil fertility and contain large quantities carbon compounds.

Mulching the soil with humus stimulates the reproduction of beneficial microorganisms and earthworms. In addition, this measure allows you to protect plants from frost and overheating: under such a mulch, heating and cooling is much slower.

This property creates protection of the root system from recurrent frosts, and in case of heat it helps to prevent burns of the root neck. Nutrients from the mulch gradually reach the roots of the plant when watered or rained.

Mulching the surface of the beds with humus allows not only to deliver nutrients to the roots of plants, but also stimulates the growth of beneficial bacteria. Another important advantage is the ability to prevent the formation of a crust on the surface and prevent the soil from “floating” in case of excessive moisture.

What is humus and compost

Often you may encounter the fact that gardeners confuse such concepts as compost and humus. To avoid discrepancies, you should immediately define the terms.

Humus consists of a complex of compounds of organic origin, formed as a result of the activity of worms, fungi and microorganisms living in the soil. The formed substances have exceptional nutritional value and the ability to dissolve various minerals and bring them into a state that is assimilated by plants.

Humus is formed as a result of complex transformations and biochemical reactions in the soil. Fallen leaves, grass, residues from plants and animal life act as initial products. The formation of humus occurs in the surface layer of the soil. That is, the creation of humus is a natural process that takes place in the soil, regardless of human intervention.

Compost is the mass of decomposed remains, predominantly plant origin. This process takes place under artificially created conditions, since gardeners build a pile or box in which they put not only weeds and tops of cultivated plants, but also food waste, except for meat and fish, as well as paper.

There is an opinion that the more ingredients are included in the heap, the better the compost will turn out and the richer its composition will be. To speed up the decomposition processes, EM preparations can be used, and the pile is covered with roofing felt or black polyethylene.

bird droppings

The concentration of nitrogenous compounds in rabbit or chicken manure is many times greater than in cow manure. The advantages of such a fertilizer include the absence of the need to mix with other components (for example, vegetable).

Most gardeners use manure to prepare breeding to feed cultivated plants. It is diluted in a ratio of 1/10 with water and infused for a day, and then the resulting liquid is again diluted 5 times, after which the plantings are watered.

Breeding bird, rabbit or sheep droppings is necessary because of the high amount of nitrogen they contain. Alternatively, cleaning the chicken coop or rabbit cages waste can be placed on compost heap along with plant residues, which will significantly enrich the composition of the compost.

How to cook humus

Making your own humus is quite simple. The main condition is the availability of all the components at hand to start creating high-quality fertilizer. Most often, cow dung is taken as the basis. Consider the sequence of actions in this case:

Manure is laid out on the surface of the earth without tamping. You should get a non-compacted heap.

In the next 5 days, you should not stir up manure and do anything, because death occurs during this period harmful insects and weed seeds due to heating of manure to a temperature of 60 degrees.

On the sixth day, the heap is compacted and covered to stop the access of oxygen and stop the so-called combustion, since it causes a decrease in the content of potassium and nitrogenous compounds.

A small layer of earth (at least 15 cm) is thrown over the shelter to preserve the properties of humus after wintering. In the spring, the film is supposed to be removed.

The period of full maturation of humus is from 18 to 24 months. During this period, it is important to prevent the mass from being washed out by water flows from atmospheric precipitation and to ensure moderate ventilation of the heap. To do this, make holes for ventilation in the boxes, and small holes in the polyethylene.

A small amount of moisture is not critical and will not affect the quality in any way. final product. A sign of humus ready for use is its reduction in volume by 3 or 4 times, compared with a fresh pile.

To speed up the maturation of the mass, you can periodically mix it with a fork, trying to pick up the deep layers. The location of the compost heap also plays an important role. It is advisable to place it in a place inaccessible to the north winds. The use of bacterial preparations that accelerate the decomposition of organic matter also reduces the formation of high-quality and valuable fertilizer.

In the absence of manure and the presence of a large amount of leaves or grass, vegetable humus can be prepared. In autumn, during abundant leaf fall, birch, maple, rowan and other leaves are collected. Further actions occur in the following order:

The leaves are placed in a box or bag made of polyethylene with holes for air circulation.

The mass is compacted and water is added to accelerate the maturation of humus.

Mowed weeds, other garden waste and green manure (if any) are added.

It is useful to add a solution of soil microorganisms or just manure.

The container is covered with foil.

To improve air circulation, the mass should be periodically mixed.

The rate of maturation of such humus is from six months to a year. Ripened fertilizer resembles garden soil in terms of appearance and smell. It is worth noting the particular effectiveness of plant humus in soil structuring, since, in addition to its physical and mechanical properties, such humus especially attracts earthworms, which also significantly improve soil aeration.

How to apply humus to the soil

It is necessary to use ripe humus in accordance with the needs of each garden, garden or indoor crop. If an increased amount of fertilizer is applied under crops such as peppers or tomatoes, then they can begin to “fatten”, that is, please with an abundance of green mass instead of fruits, the same applies to some indoor plants.

It is good to use humus in an amount of 2 to 4 buckets per square meter. m. Soil fertilization for a variety of crops can be carried out in different times year: both spring and autumn. In this case, it is appropriate to simply spread the available fertilizer evenly over the entire area and then plow the land.

As a fertilizer for indoor plants, you can add up to 30% of humus to the soil in which the plant will be planted. This amount increases to 50% when preparing the substrate for seedlings. vegetable crops and flowers.

Some gardeners successfully practice adding a handful of humus to the hole in which they plan to plant seedlings.

Conclusion

Humus from both the manure of farm animals and the use of plant residues is extremely useful for soil fertility and affects it in a complex way. Such a fertilizer not only structures the earth, but also improves its biochemical composition, increases the number of beneficial microorganisms and worms, which inevitably has a positive effect on the fertility of each garden and garden crop.

Among fertilizers for plants, humus occupies special place. It is natural, relatively inexpensive and absolutely safe for environment. Humus is an organic fertilizer that improves the composition of the soil and promotes the rapid development of plants. It allows you to increase the yield of the garden and the garden, to make the flowering of plants more lush.

It should be noted that humus is a substance obtained artificially, while humus is a unique natural structure.

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Composition of humus

Many authors do not distinguish between humus and humus, although in fact this is not the case. Humus is formed naturally during the processing by fungi, bacteria and other organisms living in the earth, the remains of dead or dead plants and animals. Such a thing as humus in vivo does not exist. The same excrement of animals does not rot, they are only recycled by other living beings.

Humus is a substance obtained as a result of decay and processing by beneficial bacteria of manure, bird droppings or fallen leaves and tops of plants.

Fully ripened humus should be black or dark brown. It smells like earth and has a loose, uniform texture.

The composition of the humus depends on many factors and full list chemical elements included in it has not been fully established. The main components are three types of acids:

• humic;
• ulminic;
• roll.

Their presence in the composition of humus contributes to the fact that young plants planted in soil fertilized with manure will grow better, bloom more abundantly and bear fruit well. However, immediately after the introduction of organic matter, visible improvement in the yield can be seen only after a year.

When humus is introduced into the soil at regular intervals, a consistently good harvest can be achieved.

In addition, the humus itself, introduced into the soil, is not a fertilizer; it will become useful for plants only after it has been processed by living organisms in the soil. Different types humus have a different composition and therefore have a different effect on plant growth.

Mature humus, useful for plants, is formed 2 years after laying.

Conventionally, humus can be divided into three types. They are formed different ways, have an excellent composition and a different amount of useful substances for garden plants and the garden.



Rape - what is it and what is it used for?

Manure

Dung obtained from mammals is considered an excellent fertilizer. It is convenient to use, as it can be applied to the soil of any composition in unlimited quantities. In addition, mammalian manure can be incorporated fresh into the soil.

Caution: do not apply a lot of manure around tree seedlings and young plants.

Using animal manure, you need to take into account several features of its various subspecies, which will allow you to get high-quality fertilizer, and as a result, improve soil composition and increase plant yields.



cow dung

The most acceptable will be humus from cow dung. It's easy to get, and it's cheap. Such manure is sold in many horticultural societies and shops. After buying it, you need to put it in a pile and let it rest for at least a year. This will allow you to get high-quality organic fertilizer, and the pesticides in it will decompose.



Horse

It is not uncommon to find horse dung, but you need to be careful when using it. Often sawdust is used as bedding for horses, and they can bring pest larvae into the ground. It is better to make that manure, which contains straw or peat.

It should be remembered:

1. 1. You can not deposit fresh manure under young plants.
2. 2. You can not close up fresh manure immediately before planting, it does not the right amount useful substances for them, and if there is straw, then the process of its decomposition will be even longer.

Other types of manure

Pig manure is heavy. It is desirable to add it to the compost to form a quality product.

There is also mutton (sheep, goat) manure, it is concentrated and is more often used to create liquid feed formulations (the ratio is the same as in chicken manure).

Obtaining humus from mammalian manure

Humus is very easy to prepare yourself.

First you need to put the manure in a pile in a prepared place. It can be a pit or a specially equipped box, an earthen platform.

Then you need to cover the dunghill with roofing material.

In the process of manure maturation, it is periodically moistened slightly, the top should be slightly damp all the time. In order to provide air access, the manure is loosened once or twice a month.

Store-bought dry manure does not require shelter, it will only need to be periodically moistened. You can use it after 4-5 months, but better after a year. An excellent organic fertilizer will be completely ready with any method of preparation in 2 years.

bird droppings

Bird droppings are also animal manure, but it is customary to isolate them separately due to the higher concentrations of urea. That is why it is never brought fresh.

Bird droppings saturate the soil with carbon dioxide. This product has a large amount of nitrogen, as well as magnesium, potassium, phosphorus. There are about 4 times more useful substances in bird droppings than in other types of animal manure.

Bird droppings have the same effect on plants as top dressing complex fertilizers. The validity period of such fertilizer is up to 3 years.

Another advantage of this organic fertilizer is its availability. Domestic bird is in almost every agriculture and many owners of dachas.

Attention! Can't add fresh bird droppings directly as fertilizer. A high concentration of urea will simply burn the plants.

Rules for the introduction of bird droppings

To obtain good harvest after making bird droppings, you need to follow three basic rules.

Rule number 1.

The litter must stand on outdoors at least 1 year, and only then it can be applied as a dry fertilizer.

Rule number 2.

If necessary, fertilize plants earlier than a year later, the litter is mixed with sawdust or chopped straw (peat) in a ratio of 1:3.

The resulting mixture is applied to the grooves between the plants and watered. Straw absorbs excess as a sorbent, and plants with irrigation will receive useful nitrogen.

Rule number 3.

On the garden plots for spring feeding young trees transplanted in autumn and in flower beds are used liquid fertilizer. For him, you need to dilute 1 kg of bird droppings in 20 liters of water.

This solution can be watered plants after 10 days in the open air. During this time, harmful urea will disappear, and beneficial nutrients will remain.

Preparation of humus from bird droppings

Bird droppings are a great addition to compost. To prepare high-quality humus from bird droppings, you need to put the leaves and tops of plants on the bottom of the pit, and put chicken droppings on top. The pit is covered with a film or earth (up to 5 cm) and moistened periodically. The released methane will accelerate the process of decay and the humus will be ready in 6-8 months.

vegetable humus

Vegetable compost is an organic fertilizer available to every summer resident. It is made from fallen leaves, tops, dead, plucked, beveled stems of plants.

If the ground part of peas, beans or cut grass is not thrown away, but put into compost, then the soil will be enriched with nitrogen, melon will supply it with calcium, and rapeseed, mustard and others industrial crops- phosphorus.

In order for compost to become an organic fertilizer, and not a breeding ground for diseases and weeds, you need to adhere to several rules and restrictions:

1. 1. Do not use infected, diseased plants. Leaves, stems with signs of late blight, other diseases, growths on stems or roots are not suitable for compost. These plants will need to be dried and burned. There will be no pests left in the ashes, and fertilizer will be useful.
2. 2. Grass seeds should not be planted. Seeds of weeds and rhizomes of aggressive weeds such as wheatgrass or thistle must not get into the compost, otherwise the compost will become a source of additional clogging of the soil with weeds.
3. 3. You can not lay grass without manure. If the compost heap is laid beveled lawn grass, then along with it you need to lay chicken droppings or manure of other animals or other looser herbs.
4. 4. Do not use harmful synthetic substances. Cardboard and paper are suitable for compost, but without impurities of non-decomposing components and without dyes applied to them (there are usually such designations on the packages).

Important! If sawdust or wood shavings are laid in the compost, then the resulting organic matter should be used no earlier than after 1 year.

The sequence of actions when laying compost

First, a box is made of boards or a compost pit is dug.

Then plants intended for compost are laid in it. It is recommended to lay the compost heap in layers, mixing the remains of plants with earth, manure, manure or nitrogen fertilizers. The earth is needed to provide access to beneficial microbes and earth animals to the compost. Instead of land, you can use manure, and if there is no manure, then bird droppings or just nitrogen fertilizer. But the largest number beneficial microorganisms and trace elements are still found in manure.

The prepared compost heap is covered with a film (required in a rainy summer) or roofing material and left for a year.

For better maturation of the compost, it is periodically mixed and moistened. Access to air is needed for beneficial bacteria that process plants into manure.

In order not to mix the compost heap, you can fold it according to the scheme proposed in the table:

If new components for compost appear in the summer (weed stalks, grass, etc.), then they are laid in the same sequence. There should be no more than 5 such multi-level layers. Then the compost heap is covered with a thick (up to 7 cm) layer of earth or film and left for six months - a year. Ripe manure can be used to fertilize plants after this period.

Autumn application of organic fertilizers

In autumn, immature compost and manure are introduced. If soil fertilization with organic matter has been carried out since autumn, then the substrate is evenly distributed over the site, and then added dropwise to a depth of at least 15 cm. In this case, the introduced organic matter is up to spring planting fall apart and everything useful material will receive young plants or trees.

Litter can also be applied from the fall, but it is better to do it in the winter - on the snow, then it does not need to be added dropwise.

Application of humus in the spring

Immediately before planting, fully ripened humus is introduced. It should be soft, loose, crumbly. The color of the finished manure is black or dark brown. Ready manure has the smell of fresh earth, with the exception of humus from compost, its smell will be sharp.



For the introduction of humus for plants, its humidity is also important. You can check it like this: take a handful of humus in your hand and squeeze it, if a little moisture is released at the same time, the humidity is at the right level.

Such humus is introduced into the wells when planting plants in the garden, and in garden practice- when transplanting tree seedlings.