Most summer residents, truck farmers certainly heard about the process of composting. Many successfully, productively use this opportunity to fertilize the soil on the site. Can you put apples in a compost as well as other plant or organic waste? This issue is often discussed at "dacha" forums, and the opinions of the advising parties are often divergent. Let's find out where the truth is.
.- Where do the apples fall?
- Apples in a compost
- Apple tree as a fertilizer
Apples of the fallen man, photo:
↑ to the contents ↑.Where do the apples fall?
The most basic rule of composting is not to use plant fragments that are afflicted with diseases or pests. Such material is subject to destruction - it is not even discussed. As for the apple tree, it is much more rational to use it for compost, although some gardeners rush to utilize the spoiled fruits. When laying compost from the carrion, it is important to use "healthy" apples, without traces of diseases or pests. Rotten fruit can also be used, because during composting putrefactive microorganisms are killed due to high temperature.
Do I need to clean the apples? The answer will be positive, as the apples lying on the ground will in any case be attacked by pests, even if they fell from the tree completely healthy. In order not to breed a hotbed of garden diseases and a "spa" for pests, the carrion must be cleaned in a timely manner. If you do not do this, the moths or worms after eating the fallen fruit, will climb on the apple tree after the addition - the tree will be under threat.
.Can I dig in the apples? You can, if you do not want to bother with compost or if the harvest of apples this year was very generous. With the advent of autumn, the fallen fruits can be buried in beds, which are thus prepared for the next year. Only in this case, the scavenger should be buried as deeply as possible. It will be very good if you pre-chop apples with a shovel before burrowing into the soil. However, the best option is, of course, the arrangement of a compost pit or a box for apple faller.
↑ back to content ↑Apples in a compost
This process does not require any special conditions or training. You can dig a compost hole in an inconspicuous place or prepare in advance for this case a large container - plastic or knocked out of wooden boards. The second option will look more aesthetically on the site, if you stop the selection on the pit, then, from a practical point of view, it is better to equip it in a sunlit place. At the "warm" place it will be better to warm up, the process of composting will be much faster. By the way, plastic containers, specially designed for compost, can now be bought in the respective garden departments of supermarkets.
Homemade containers for compost, photo:
The contents should be regularly stirred to ensure the flow of air to the compost mass. If for some reason you can not do this regularly, take a wide plastic pipe (its length should be equal to the depth of the compost pit or the container), make holes in it, set it in the center heap. Thus, you will adjust the ventilation process. It is very important not to place a pit or compost container under a tree - a shadow will prevent heating, and the root system of the tree will "pull" the nutrients.
.The bottom of the pit or the reservoir is better for settling with straw, you can also use bark from trees, cut branches. As already mentioned above, the apples have to be crushed beforehand, in the intervals between the layers it is necessary to lay a little wood ash or simple earth. To enrich the compost mass with nitrogen, vegetable ingredients - grass, foliage, potato peeling, carrots, and other food waste - can be added to the contents of the pit (container). The source of carbon is straw, wood bark, even paper. Excessive harvest of apples can benefit your garden, garden. Do not be afraid to put rotten, wormy apples into processing - everything will pereperet in the compost pit, turn into fertilizer.
↑ back to content ↑Apple tree as a fertilizer
All of the above components of the compost react with air and moisture, the generation of heat is provided by the activity of microorganisms. This process works on the decomposition and maturation of the contents of the compost pits. Some truck farmers try to speed up this action, add special bacteria that optimize composting to the tank or pit, for example, the drug "Fast Compost". Thanks to this supplement, after a short time you can get a vitamin-rich potassium top dressing for the garden, garden.
To ensure access to oxygen compost should be periodically mixed. In properly designed composting tank, the temperature will reach 60 ° C - all possible parasites, the spores will simply perish. Thus, you get an excellent organic fertilizer, rich in nutrients, absolutely natural. If you have any concerns about the content of possible pests in the compost, then leave it ripening for a couple of years - then certainly all the "extra" will be destroyed. As for the required humidity of the compost, it is important to observe the golden mean, too much or little moisture - equally badly. To maintain the required level, compost should be covered with foil or covering material. If you notice that the contents are dry, then simply pour the compost with water from the hose. Freshly equipped composting container with the contents warms up after about 3, a month.
Apple tree as a fertilizer, photo:
The compost obtained in this way is perfect for fertilizing all types of plants, flowers, vegetables, fruits. Also it can be safely used for mulching, it is able to improve the soil structure, increase its fertility. The matured compost has a dark coloration, is moderately moist, friable, smells like a forest land. With the advent of winter, compost should be sprinkled with soil or covered with polyethylene film.
Now you know the answer to the question whether it is possible to put the apples in a compost. This is one of the best natural fertilizers, an excellent organic additive, which can be obtained at home completely free.
