Microbiological processes occurring during composting of organic waste. Composting of municipal solid waste

They are prepared from various organic wastes and wastes. As compostable material, you can use weeds (before flowering, without seeds), strawberry trimmings, healthy tops and vegetables, sawdust, forest floor, yard waste. In other words, prefabricated compost is anything that contains at least some organic matter and cannot be used as livestock feed.

The method of composting is simple. A 10-15 centimeter layer of peat 1.5-2 m wide is poured onto the site. If there is no peat, good humus soil is poured in a layer of 5-7 cm. Compostable material is placed on this bedding in a layer of 15-30 cm and, if necessary, moistened with a solution manure, feces, chicken droppings, slops, and if this is not possible, then plain water. To improve the quality of compost, 1.5-2% of the weight of the composted material is added to it.

If there is no lime in the waste, then limestone, chalk, dolomite flour or other carbon dioxide salts are added to the compost when laying it. Instead of limestone, you can add ash (3-4%).

On a pencil: Compost is considered completely ready if it is a relatively homogeneous dark crumbly mass. For weeds and other fresh plant matter, the composting period is three to four summer months. For slowly decomposing materials, such as sawdust, sunflower stems, pine needles, shavings, the composting period is much longer - one, two or even three years.

Compost. Advice from the Internet. Composting rules.

Do not add remains of plants infected with any disease to the compost. The causative agents of the disease remain viable even after the decomposition of infected plants. With mature compost, they return to the soil and infect plants again. Therefore, diseased plants only need to be burned. First of all, diseased cabbage roots, affected, as well as tomato tops suffering from rotting leaves. If it is not possible to burn infected plants, then you should bury them deeper in the ground.

Weeds that have produced seeds must be composted separately - the death of weed seeds occurs within 3-5 years, and the compost matures in a year or two. Once in the garden bed along with the compost, the weed seeds will sprout. Separate compost with weeds must be shoveled at least 4 times over the summer. The seeds that are on the surface and have had time to germinate fall to the bottom of the compost during the next shoveling. In addition, from time to time you need to hoe the compost, cutting off any weeds that appear. The compost pile is processed and shoveled until nothing grows on it.

If diseased tops and weeds with seeds are not placed in a regular compost heap, but immediately composted in a hole in which they will remain forever, and covered with a layer of soil of at least 20 cm (preferably 50 cm), then the weed seeds will not be able to germinate, and pathogens infect plants. At the same time, both the mechanical and nutritional composition of the soil will improve. You need to dig up weeds with a garden fork, and not with a shovel, which can only cut the rhizome into pieces, which will further increase the number of weeds.

In September, composting is completed. The compost heap is sprinkled with dolomite flour, mineral fertilizers, and covered with a 7-10 cm layer of soil on top. Then the compost heap is covered with plastic film: it will prevent the compost from freezing in winter and will ensure (albeit a slow) composting process until frost.

Peat. Peat is classified as high peat, low peat, transitional or mixed, depending on the origin of the swamps.

Depending on the origin of peat, their agrochemical properties vary.

High-moor peat is acidic, its pH is 3-4, low-lying peat is slightly acidic or neutral, sometimes alkaline. There is little phosphorus in high-moor peat, but in low-lying peat it is much higher – up to 1% and higher. Nitrogen in high-moor peat is about 1%, in low-lying peat it is 2.5-3%, sometimes up to 4%. There is little potassium in all types of peat - 0.05-0.15%.

Blood meal. Fast acting fertilizer. It is applied to the soil 15-20 days before planting at the rate of 30 g per 1 m2.

Horn flour- These are finely ground animal horns and hooves. Contains a lot of phosphorus. Application dose: 60-70 g/m2. You can apply in liquid form: 1 kg per 800-1000 l hot water. Soak for 15-20 days, stirring daily, and use after final fermentation without additional dilution with water.

Fertilizer Biorost: preparing high quality compost

To speed up the composting of plant waste, various microbiological preparations are used. The biologically active fertilizer Biorost is best suited for these purposes.Fertilizer Biorost contains nutrients(nitrogen – 1.5%, phosphorus – 1.5%, potassium – 1.0%), macro- and microelements, as well as beneficial soil microorganisms.

This biofertilizer is characterized by higher biological efficiency compared to liquid microbiological preparations packaged in bottles, since no preservatives are used in the preparation of the Biorost working solution.To avoid rotting of plant waste, a container for preparing compost is usually built above the ground.

Compost. Choosing a composting design:

Let's consider the 2 most suitable designs:

1. Box made of wooden panels. Approximate dimensions 1x1x 0.6-0.8 m. In this case, one of the walls should open to provide access to plant waste.

2. A circle made from waste aluminum sheets (can be purchased at DIY stores), metal sheets, tin with a diameter of 0.8-1 m and a height of 0.6-0.8 m. The sheets are fastened together in several places with rivets or wire. Now let's look at the mechanism for filling a container for preparing compost. A layer of plant waste 10-20 cm thick is laid out at the bottom and generously watered with the Biorost working solution (the waste should be well saturated with the solution). A layer of earth 3-5 cm thick is poured on top. Then the next layer of plant waste 10-20 cm thick is laid out, which is also generously watered with Biorost working solution. And so on until the container is completely filled, which is covered with plastic film on top. With this technology, the compost will mature in about 6 months. To speed up the maturation of compost, plant waste should be mixed once a week. For better mixing, plant waste is completely removed from the box through the opening wall, thoroughly mixed and then placed back in layers 10-20 cm thick, with each layer, if necessary, watered with the Biorost working solution.

On a note: In the second design option, the circle is removed from the compost heap and installed in a new location. Plant waste is thoroughly mixed and placed in a circle installed in a new place, in layers 10-20 cm thick, with each layer, if necessary, watered with Biorost working solution. During waste mixing operations, it is important at any stage to ensure that the waste is not too wet, which could lead to rotting. If the waste is too wet, then when mixing and laying in layers in a container, the waste does not need to be watered with the Biorost working solution. With this preparation technology, the compost ripens within 1 month and it turns out High Quality. This compost contains everything you need: nutrients, macro- and microelements, beneficial microorganisms. Completely prepared compost can be added to pits (holes) when planting plants, and also spread around plants or on beds in a layer of about 1-2 cm. Properly prepared compost is a valuable tool for fertilizing plants and increasing soil fertility.

Material prepared by: horticulture specialist Buinovsky O.I.

Compost is a fertilizer of organic origin, which is obtained by decomposing various organic matter under the influence of the activity of microorganisms.

Compost contains humus and almost the entire list of microelements so necessary for plant growth and soil fertility.

Among experienced gardeners, compost is considered the most valuable organic fertilizer. Composting is an excellent way to create valuable fertilizer that allows you to easily and quickly recycle organic household waste.

Maturing compost takes time, but it is not always possible to wait a long time for our fertilizer to be ready. In this case there are several simple ways, allowing you to speed up the maturation of compost, they will be discussed in our article.

Ingredients for cooking

To prepare good compost, it is difficult to do without knowledge about arranging a compost yard, and even about what you can fill it with. The speed of compost maturation directly depends on the optimal ratio of each component of this fertilizer.

Required to create favorable conditions for the activity of the smallest organisms. To do this, the presence of air, water, heat and nitrogen is required. When selecting ingredients for compost, you need to take into account that nitrogen is the main nutritional element for microorganisms.

Compostable materials include those that are rich in nitrogen (N) but poor in carbon (C), and vice versa, those that are low in nitrogen and rich in carbon. Materials with high nitrogen content decompose faster. In the process, they release heat, which is required for bacteria and fungi to work more actively in.

Nitrogen rich components:

Materials saturated with carbon, although they are less susceptible to rotting, but thanks to them good air exchange is ensured and moisture is retained.

Some of them:

The procedure for laying a compost heap

Methods for making quick compost

There are several ways to speed up compost maturation. Let's look at them in more detail:

In this article, read about

An article about the characteristics and correct use composter Volnusha read

By following the basic recommendations of experienced gardeners, you can speed up the maturation of compost and, at minimal cost, obtain a unique fertilizer that will increase the yield on your site.

Watch the video showing in detail effective ways speed up compost maturation:

The natural process of processing organic matter is accelerated with the help of destructor drugs. They are prepared from spores various kinds effective microorganisms (EM preparations).

Briefly about organic destructors

The drugs are diluted in dechlorinated water - rain, spring or tap water, but left standing for 2 days, at a temperature of + 25... + 32˚ C. Otherwise, the “good” bacteria will not multiply. Biological products have varying degrees concentration, affecting the amount of working solution obtained. Liquid preparations are produced in plastic containers. To remove excess air, the bottle is squeezed, and the contents rise to the neck, displacing the air; screw the lid on.

Excess air from plastic bottle easy to squeeze out, without it the biological product is well stored

Without access to oxygen, bacteria do not lose viability throughout the entire storage period.

There is a certain sequence for charging a heap with a maturation “accelerator”:

As the heap is formed, each layer of organic matter 15–20 cm thick is spilled with the preparation (if it is a powder, then watered).
Processing of organic matter with a biological product is carried out in layers
Sprinkle with a layer of earth about 5 cm thick or crush with grass.
To prevent drying out, each treated organic layer is covered with grass or soil.
The pile is covered with agrofibre, a film to prevent drying out, because bacteria “work” only in a humid environment.
The compost bin is covered with film regardless of the degree of filling.

The finished pile looks like a layer cake.

Schematically, a compost heap, fertilized in layers, looks like a cake

Liquid preparations

Shake the bottle before use. If the contents are poured out completely, the bottle is rinsed with water and the remainder is poured into the working solution, which is usually prepared in the proportion of 100 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water.

Embiko - per 1 m 3 organics.
Embiko has a pleasant kefir-silage smell
Ekomik Harvest - consumption: 5 l per 1 m 2 for each layer of compost; matures in 2–4 months.
Ekomik Harvest concentrate - the kit includes a bottle with concentrate, nutrient medium and dietary supplement. The components are dissolved in 5 liters of water and infused. The working solution is prepared in standard proportions.
100 ml of Ekomik Harvest Concentrate from a bottle is designed for 5 liters of water
Revival - ripening 1–2 months.
The biological product Vozrozhdenie is safe for both people and animals
Gumi-Omi Compostin - 50 ml per bucket of water. Under an earthen cover, compost matures for 1.5–2 months, under a dark film - 1–2 months.
Using compost with Gumi-Omi Compostin significantly reduces the risk of fungal damage to plants
Oxyzin - available in 20 ml bottles with a dropper. Consumption: 40 drops per 1–1.5 liters of water for 100 kg of organic matter. The drug is added to water, not vice versa, because there will be strong foaming. Ripening time is 3–5 weeks.
Oxyzin is produced from fermented beets
Compostello - 1 package is designed for 1 m3. The powder is dissolved in 20 liters of water and left for 30–45 minutes. The solution is used throughout the day. Valid at +10 °C. The heap matures in 6–8 weeks.
Compostello “digests” even weed seeds
Baikal EM-1 - applied in layers (matures for 2–3 months) or once in September on a finished heap. In this case, very warm water is used - approximately + 35... + 40 ˚C, and the pile is insulated for the winter.
Baikal EM-1 is a classic example and representative of the modern generation of concentrates

Last year I started a compost heap using the second method. Besides grass and food waste, ¼ of the organic matter was goat droppings. In April I started using what I got. The top of the pile was covered with a dense crust, under which there was compost of decent quality, although not very crumbly. It was inconvenient to use in cups, but it was perfect for adding to holes.

Video: how to prepare a working solution from concentrate

Powder preparations

EM-Bokashi - based on fermented wheat bran. Consumption: 100 g of powder per 10 kg of raw materials. Ripening lasts 2–3 summer weeks.
Doctor Robik 209 is based on soil bacteria, so the organic matter powdered with Robik is sprinkled with soil. Valid at +5 ˚C. Consumption: 1 packet (60 g) per layer with an area of 1–1.5 m2, collected within a month.

Homemade organic destructors

Homemade bokashi is prepared on rye or wheat bran. In 1 liter of water dilute 2 tbsp. spoons of EM preparation (Baikal, Shining) and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar or jam. The solution is kept for 30 minutes, the bran is moistened until it becomes lumpy, the mixture is placed in a bag, tied tightly, releasing air, and left to ripen for 7–14 days in the dark. warm place. The finished mass has a fruity smell. It is dried and used in the same way as the product from the manufacturer.

Video: how to make bokashi yourself

Folk remedies:

Herbal infusion - combine grass, chicken droppings and water in a ratio of 5:2:20. They insist for a week.
Yeast infusion - mixture of 3 l warm water, 0.5 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of any yeast, ferment, add water to a volume of 15 liters. To maintain calcium balance, first water the pile with ash infusion: three liter jars The ash is infused for 24 hours in 10 liters of warm water, filtered. Take 1 glass of infusion per bucket of water.
Urine of animals and people, diluted four times with water.

Video: how to prepare herbal infusion

I replace the nutrient medium (soil for a layer of organic matter - author) with potato broth, and nitrogen with urea. I put half the volume of nettles in a pile, pour the water in which the potatoes were boiled (starch) from the eggplant over the palm of my hand, and, sprinkled with urea, I press the rest of the grass on top. And so, every time I arrive, I bring 2 liters of compost tea with me and spill it. Compost matures without manure and has no less nutritional value.

OsgoodFieldinglll
https://olkpeace.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=157&t=51985&start=1600

Bacteria can also be a friend to humans if their activities are used for good. Biological products to accelerate the maturation of compost are proof of this.

Making compost. Anaerobic and aerobic types of decomposition. The ratio of carbon and nitrogen. How to properly start a compost heap.

Compost is a fertilizer obtained from the microbial decomposition of organic matter.

Almost all gardeners use compost, regardless of what agricultural technology they follow, whether they dig the soil, or just loosen it, use mineral fertilizers, or do without them.

Almost every garden has a heap, or pit, for recycling kitchen waste and yard waste. For composting, someone builds all kinds of boxes, barriers, using metal mesh, boards, slate - any material that encloses a place suitable for composting organic waste.

The resulting compost has a loose, breathable structure and is enriched with all the nutrients necessary for plants. In fact, composting in the garden is a very good thing!

And almost every gardener considers himself an expert in this matter, but some simply do not think that compost can be prepared different ways: “What’s so difficult? I threw weeds and grass into the pile, dumped kitchen waste in there, watered it, and wait until it all rots!”

In general, that's correct. But I would like to understand a little more about biological processes that occur during the decomposition of organic matter, so that composting in the garden does not occur spontaneously, but according to a planned scenario.

Anaerobic

It is also called “cold” and occurs at temperatures of 15–35°C, with the participation of anaerobic microorganisms that receive energy in the absence of oxygen.

During this type of composting, the compost heap is compacted, covered with film, or placed in pits. But it is better to abandon this composting method. Why?

A significant disadvantage of this method is the slow decomposition of organic matter, and the process of decay itself, with a lack of oxygen, can take a direction harmful to plants, provoking the development of fungi, including pathogenic ones.

In anaerobic fermentation, the carbon present in the fermenting materials is not converted into carbon dioxide, as in aerobic fermentation, but into methane. Hence bad smell. In nature, this process occurs at the bottom of swamps, and in compost heaps it can occur when the compost humidity is high.

Aerobic

Faster, occurs at higher temperatures, without an unpleasant odor. Most gardeners prefer aerobic composting, that is, with air access.

Although it must be admitted that in a compost heap both aerobic and anaerobic processes occur simultaneously. If in upper layers If there is more oxygen (air) in the compost heap, then aerobic composting will predominate there.

Aerobic fermentation occurs on a large scale in nature and is the dominant method by which waste from fields and forests is converted into humus that is beneficial to soils and their inhabitants.
Therefore, gardeners most often strive to use this particular method, systematically mixing (shifting) decomposing organic matter in a heap to provide it with air.

It happens that the compost mass sometimes heats up to 70 ° C, as if it “burns out”. Should we be happy about these temperatures or not?

There is an opinion that hot composting leads to the destruction of pathogenic organisms, and also to the fact that weed seeds that fall into the compost heap lose their germination.

As experiments have shown, seeds that have undergone heat treatment in a compost heap still partially germinate, so when laying grass for composting, you should avoid collecting weeds after they bloom.

Learn more about the composting process itself

In the first stage, all microbes present take part in waste processing. At the same time, an intensive oxidation process is underway, that is, interaction with oxygen, which releases heat.
The brightest and quick example oxidation as a chemical process - combustion. As for the decomposition of organic matter, this oxidation is slow, and heat (energy) is released slowly during this process.

But what happens to microorganisms at this time? They will die from elevated temperature ? The fact is that there are a number of so-called thermophilic bacteria that develop at high temperatures (above 50, up to 90 ° C, depending on the species).

The cell wall of thermophiles is resistant to temperature. This is due to its structure and chemical composition. It is these bacteria that continue their work, it is they who heat the compost heap to a critical temperature at which other microorganisms stop their activity.

Some microorganisms die, and some go into an inactive form (cysts) in order to survive as a species. Cyst (from the Greek kystis - bubble), a temporary form of existence of many single-celled plants and animals. It has a protective shell, which is also called a cyst.

Some protozoa can exist in unfavorable conditions in the form of a cyst for several years.
Later, the activity of thermophiles will decrease, as will the temperature in the compost heap itself. Bacteria that have fallen asleep in the cysts will come to life and continue their work. If temperature and humidity are favorable, new microorganisms will colonize the compost and continue the process of decomposition of the components of the compost heap.
From the above it follows that high temperatures, indeed, can partially destroy certain types of microorganisms - both harmful and beneficial.

But pathogenic microbes are better tolerated unfavourable conditions, therefore, the statement that hot composting disinfects compost is not entirely justified.
Many experienced gardeners make compost heaps small and low so that the heating in them is not so strong. Such heaps are more quickly populated by worms, which in turn leads to more valuable and nutritious compost.
When adding organic matter for composting, it is worth considering one more circumstance.

Organics are nothing more than a combination of various chemical elements with carbon.

Besides carbon great importance Nitrogen plays an important role in nature construction material for amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids and other connections.
And the organic materials that we use for composting contain both carbon and nitrogen and are characterized by the ratio of these chemical elements.
So, for example, in sawdust the approximate ratio of carbon to nitrogen is: C/N = 500/1
in straw C/N =100/1
in foliage C/N = 50/1;
in lawn grass C/N = 15/1
in vegetable waste C/N = 13/1
manure compost C/N =10/1
This means that compost obtained as a result of the decomposition of grass will be more saturated with nitrogen than compost obtained with a predominance of sawdust.

Therefore, when laying a compost heap, you should alternate or mix nitrogenous components with carbon components.

That is, it’s a good idea to mix sawdust with manure, and transfer vegetable waste with dry leaves, etc. Tree branches should be chopped, and grass should be chopped, if possible.

The smaller the components, the faster the decomposition process will occur.

What usually goes into a compost heap?

Kitchen waste: vegetable peelings, eggshells, offal and fish bones. And also shavings, sawdust, paper, weeds, grass cut from lawns, leaves collected from under trees, straw, brushwood.

It is advisable to pour layers of components wood ash then the compost will be more nutritious.
After a layer of 25-35 centimeters, add a little soil “for fermentation”.
It is advisable to spray each layer with an EM preparation; this will significantly speed up the composting process. After 5–10 days, the pile is mixed, if possible, and when dry, moistened.
If EO preparations are not available to the gardener, to speed up composting you need to add some ready-made compost saturated with microorganisms. If this is not possible, you should use a starter made from grass, manure, or soil from the garden. Well, you can add nothing, using the “And so it will do!” rule, but then mature compost will be obtained at a later date.

Composting provides valuable organic fertilizer and dispose of waste, which becomes harmless to the environment.

“Quick preparation of compost. Compost is made in one season by larvae" -

Every gardener sooner or later faces the problem of improving the quality of the soil on his site. Even fertile soil with excellent characteristics begins to deplete over time. One way to restore soil quality is to use compost.

Composting trench:

Digging a trench in early spring to a depth of approximately 50-60 (some do 120) centimeters.
During the summer they are gradually filled with waste.
Once every 7-10 days you can water it with an infusion of manure or fresh grass. This promotes the rapid proliferation of microorganisms that process waste.
For the winter, the trench should be covered with straw, cardboard or sawdust. With this method of storing waste, their processing continues even in winter, unlike compost in a heap located on the surface of the earth.

taste qualities

More information can be found in the video.