For the maturation and storage of organic fertilizers, special containers are used - composters. A compost bin can be bought ready-made made of plastic with an airtight lid. Such structures are more suitable for anaerobic fermentation.
But for the aerobic method, it is better to make a compost bin with your own hands. It is more convenient to mix the components in it so that they do not turn sour, you can regulate the access of oxygen. Based on the amount of organic matter, compost containers are made of a suitable size - two or three-chamber.
Do-it-yourself compost bin manufacturing options are diverse both in material and in shape. There is always something to use on the farm - boards, slate, plastic panels, metal barrels, brick or concrete.
There are two fundamentally different ways of making compost - aerobic and anaerobic. In the first case, it is necessary to ensure a constant flow of air to the waste so that the bacteria can function and multiply. Aerobes need oxygen to live.
The second option is to equip the cesspool, seal it and allow anaerobic microorganisms to process organic matter. Such bacteria do not need oxygen, on the contrary, they die in its presence. With this method, more nutrients are retained and there is no smell, which is also important if there are neighbors who live nearby who do not have a compost box.
In turn, compost bins for aerobic processing differ in design. The most convenient option is in the form of a prism. By attaching a handle on the side, you can easily turn the contents and control the access of air. The composter is in a suspended state, it is possible to completely close it and turn it over several times.
The most common option is to make a compost bin with your own hands and install it on a flat area. In this design, the waste will have to be turned over manually - with a pitchfork or a shovel. The compost bin can be made in any size. You can divide it into several sections in order to lay organic matter in turn.
While fertilizer is ripening in one, in the second it is already on the way, in the third it is ready. It is advisable to make such a garden composter with your own hands if there are animals and birds on the farm, as well as a large area that requires constant updating.
There are options for making compost bins with your own hands with drawings. But this does not play a special role. There are only three sizes to remember:
With this ratio of values, the process goes faster, and the fertilizer is of better quality. The fact is that air penetrates harder into the depth of the mixture if it is large. If you make a wide and deep shoulder, then you will have to think over an electric mixer with a hydraulic drive to turn it on periodically and mix the mass.
Slate is well suited for fencing the collar. This is a dense material. Unfortunately, it can be damaged on impact, but it is also easy to replace. How to make a DIY compost bin from slate:
The front part of the shoulder is made lower so that it is convenient to work with a pitchfork. Another option is a door if you want to mess around with awnings.
Wood is the most popular option for making compost bins. Both simple boards and thick branches cut from a tree are used. The disadvantage of wood is its susceptibility to decay processes that occur inside the composter. A new shoulder may be needed after a few years. It is impossible to treat wood with chemicals, as microorganisms can die.
Pallets purchased at the nearest store or supermarket are popular. These are even structures, so they will only be connected to each other with long nails.
Video: A solid do-it-yourself compost bin
How to make a DIY compost bin from pallets:
Someone prefers to make containers with an open bottom, explaining that earthworms must penetrate into the heap. With this method, a maximum of 10 individuals will climb into the tank. It is not enough.
To get the result quickly, it is better to purchase red Californian worms, whose reproduction rate is 500 times higher than domestic eukaryotes. This is a specially created species for the industrial production of fertilizers. They process organics quickly and after 2 weeks you can get a fully prepared fertilizer.
If only bacteria are used, then during decomposition, the liquid will flow down and soak into the ground, and with it the nutrients that could be stored. To do this, the floor in the composter is concreted, and a layer of peat, straw or soil is laid on the bottom.
Waste plastics have also been successfully used to shield the maturing waste mixture. Cons of plastic:
Pros - easy to install and quite durable at medium temperatures. It is better to use not panels, but an ordinary plastic barrel liters for 300 - 400. Holes are drilled in the walls and bottom to let air in. This design can be moved to another place, lids are sold with barrels, which will protect the compost from rain.
As an option, use a plastic mesh fixed on a wooden frame: both oxygen enters and the components do not fall out through the cracks.
If there is an old plastic or acrylic bathroom on the farm, you can also make a compost box out of it. You will have to cover with a thick film or tarpaulin laid on boards.
The requirements are primarily for aeration if aerobic bacteria are used. The width between the boards should be at least 2 - 3 cm.
It is not recommended to install an open bottom composter near a drinking well. It is carried at least 15 m. It is impossible to equip a waste storage near housing - during the decomposition of manure and waste, harmful and dangerous substances are released - methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide.
Do-it-yourself garden composter diagram should be universal:
If you do not save on materials, then the collar will last for many years.
In order to reliably and correctly make a compost box with your own hands, you may need the following tools:
Any owner of the site has such a set, but if you buy a special container, then you will not need tools - plastic models are simply installed on the ground without any preparatory moments.
Video: Basic rules for good compost
You can compost not only vegetable waste, but also cattle manure, bird droppings. These are nitrogen-containing substances and the primary task is to preserve it. You need to know how to properly make a box for manure or humus.
For information: in rotted manure, the nutrient content is reduced by 50%. That is, such manure is no longer used as a top dressing. It is suitable only for incorporation into the soil to restore the soil and feed bacteria.
Manure is stored in two ways - cold and hot. In the first case, bedding manure is folded tightly into a pile and rammed so that less air gets inside.
Such a pile will not burn and useful nutritional components will last longer. The box for the cold composting method is made airtight - the boards are nailed close to each other. The lid is also sealed. After laying the manure, you will need to cover it with grass, earth or straw.
The hot way to store manure requires oxygen, so the boards are wider. After maturation and overheating, the excess liquid evaporates, the substance loses its original volume and weight.
To preserve the remnants of nutrients, humus is covered from rains and other precipitation. It is not recommended to bring manure to an extreme state, because then mineral fertilizers will have to be added to provide nutrition for the plant.
Compost is a natural, environmentally friendly biofertilizer. Making a composter with your own hands for laying mowed grass, weeds, branches is easy if you follow a certain pattern and technology. The main thing is that oxygen is supplied to the organic matter, and the humidity in the box is at least 55%.
Today, do-it-yourself garden composters for summer cottages are becoming popular among the people, since they do not require special financial investments, they are quickly made from improvised materials. Tank options:
The note! You can independently make and install on the garden plot a wooden box or a compost pit. The main thing is to decide on the purpose, to identify the main requirements for production.
Do-it-yourself garden composters are becoming popular
The box is designed for waste storage, their gradual transformation into humus (nutrient medium) for plantings. This is the simplest and most compact design, unlike the usual compost pit, where many summer residents still prefer to dump garbage to turn into compost.
Benefits of a composter box:
A box with a lid or a do-it-yourself composter according to the drawing can be built from 2 sections, one of which is with removable front boards. You can design a compost bin to dump heaps of garbage to your liking.
The main requirements put forward:
Reference! Before installing a composter from pallets, sheets of iron, plastic, slate, wood with a volume of 1 m3, one must level the land or make a concrete screed.
It is reasonable to equip the composter with a lid on top, which will give the structure not only an aesthetic appearance to the summer cottage, but also protect the contents of the box from the hot rays of the sun in the summer, and maintain optimal humidity inside.
Containers can be made from the following materials:
To make a reasonable choice of material, it is first of all necessary to decide what compost will be replaced for storage and for what purpose.
DIY compost bin
Today, manufacturers offer different models of composters for summer cottages. But it’s easier to make garden composters with your own hands and here are the manufacturing options:
Wood is an affordable, easy-to-work material. You can make a design of 2-3 sections. Why prepare:
To make a wood composter:
You can make a garden composter with your own hands from boards from boxes, after disassembling them into boards, assembling a simple ventilated structure from 4 walls, leaving a distance between the boards of 0.7-1 cm. The following actions:
Assembling a composter from pallets is not difficult. The main thing is to choose the optimal place for placement so that the laid compost does not dry out in the sun.
For manufacturing you need:
When assembling all the walls of the composter from a barrel, pallets, it is better to mount cap hooks for easy locking and opening.
Worth knowing! Wooden pallets do not need to pick up nails and screws. The boards are attached to the mounting adhesive.
When assembling all the walls of the composter from a barrel, pallets, it is better to mount cap hooks
Slate is a durable material. Before manufacturing, it is worth choosing the best place, dig a hole and measure the size, then:
The note! According to a special scheme, it is similarly possible to build a compost box from polypropylene pipes.
A compost pit can simply be concreted, which will last for decades.
For production:
Advice! Slate is not an environmentally friendly and rather fragile material. It is best to use only for the roof, the top of the box. Also, metal quickly attracts heat. If used for the walls of the box, then it is imperative to leave gaps so that oxygen is constantly supplied to the humus raw materials.
Professionals advise:
On the Internet you can find diagrams, photos, videos of various options on how to make attractive garden composters from tires, barrels, pallets and boards in the country with your own hands. The main purpose of the destination is to end up with high-quality fertilizer, therefore, before production, it is important for summer residents to decide how the structure is made, for example, according to Finnish technology, Russian or another, will be the best option.
One of the most effective and readily available fertilizers in the country is compost. It is free, contains many substances useful for plants, improves the structure of the soil, and is done for a long time, but without much effort. In order for the fertilizer to turn out right and can be used for its intended purpose, you need a suitable compost box, which is easy to build with your own hands.
These rules follow from the peculiarities of the manufacture of vegetable fertilizer. In order for the compost not to burn out and turn out to be really useful for the garden, several conditions are needed:
Based on these rules, we understand that a good compost bin should consist of walls with holes and a tight, moisture-proof lid. Two compartments are needed: compost is prepared in one, used from the second. Sometimes they make three branches. It is better to put the structure away from the house and the recreation area so that the unpleasant smell does not interfere with enjoying the delights of country life. The place should be far enough from the neighbors. It's great if the sun alternately shines on the box and the shadow falls.
The compost bin should be located far from the residential building Separately, it is worth mentioning the bottom of the compost box. Some gardeners don't do it at all, just placing the box on the ground. This can lead to the fact that most of the useful fertilizer is simply washed away with melt water. In addition, it will be inconvenient to get it, since it will partially mix with the ground. Therefore, two options are recommended:
A plastic or iron bottom is preferable here, as it is more durable.
As a rule, waste materials are used to make such a box:
Any structural elements that tend to rot and rust must be treated with protective materials.
In order for a wooden compost box to last longer, it is necessary to treat the boards with an antiseptic from rotting For a 1x2m compost bin you will need:
You can take boards from an old fence or buy the cheapest slab (lumber processed on one side only).
The composter is made in the following sequence:
A compost bin is best made from two or three compartments
Grid type compost bin lid is easier to raise and lower than a solid bin lid
The lid is attached to the box with hinges, and a hook is used to keep it in the open position.If large-scale construction is underway at the dacha, including the replacement of the roof, as a rule, sheets of corrugated board remain. They will also make an excellent composting plant, but ventilation must be carefully considered. For its manufacture you will need:
Construction is carried out in steps:
Such a box will be quite light, if necessary, it can be moved to another place. For construction you will need:
Production order:
Materials and tools that will be required:
The construction of the box includes the following points:
Since the slate is wavy, ventilation occurs through the cracks formed by the waves on the sides and through holes from old nails.
A slate compost box is made according to the same principle as a high bed. A compost box is a necessary accessory for a summer cottage, because you can put plant residues and food waste into it and get an excellent natural fertilizer. Competent design of the box and the right material will ensure a good processing of green mass into compost.
Experienced gardeners always monitor the level of soil fertility. After all, a depleted plot is unlikely to give a good harvest. Do-it-yourself compost boxes will solve two problems at once - the manufacture of humus for fertilizing the site and the disposal of plant waste.
For each culture, the time of its introduction may vary. So, under fruit trees, it is brought into the area of \u200b\u200bstem circles closer to mid-September. It is necessary to do this on half a bayonet of a shovel. In this case, part of the compost will already be absorbed by the plant since autumn, and it will be better prepared for winter.
In early spring, when digging is still difficult, the fruit crop will receive a new portion of the nutrients that are so necessary for laying the ovaries. Ornamental perennials fertilize in the ring or between rows.
Bulbs or seedlings of plants that have not yet rooted should not be placed immediately in unripe compost. After all, half-rotten organic matter is still quite “aggressive”. Continuing the "work", it can damage the delicate roots. Therefore, seedlings and bulbous plants are isolated from contact with compost using a 5-10 cm layer of ordinary soil.
Garlic and other bulbs planted before winterfertilize as follows. Compost is placed between the rows so that its action falls on the spring. Under ordinary beds, this fertilizer is dug up a couple of weeks before sowing or in autumn, in October. If the earth has already been dug up, you can simply compost into it with a chopper.
Like compost and ornamental plants. They can be mulched, for example, roses. It will not only gradually supply them with nutrients, but also restrain the growth of weeds. Plus, it keeps moisture in. Do this only in spring or summer. Before winter, it is better to remove the compost so that the roots of the flowers do not overripe.
Freshly made compost is always supersaturated with nitrates, so plant in this place after it has been introduced into the soil in the first year.
