In all composting techniques there are a number of invariable elements to consider, which are: the C / N ratio, pH, humidity, air and temperature.

In all composting techniques there are a number of invariable elements to consider, which are: the C / N ratio, pH, humidity, air and temperature.

The relationship between carbon and nitrogen C / N. In the compost it is convenient to include and mix very different and different organic and vegetable remains. To activate it and to achieve a balanced composition, we must address the relationship of two elements that contain all of them: carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and the ratio will be expressed in C / N. There are those who argue that the most appropriate relationship for a balanced compost is established around 25/1 or 35/1 and there are those who raise it to 45/1 and 60/1. The original C / N ratio varies from the final depending on different factors.

Below is a list of these relationships of different organic and vegetable remains.

High nitrogen levels

•     Urines: 1/1
•     Poultry manure and fresh animal dejections: 5-15 / 1
•     Purine of nettles and fresh nettles: 3-15 / 1
•     Freshly cut grass: 10-20 / 1
•     Freshly cut leguminous plants: 10-20 / 1
•     Green manures before flowering and maturation of seeds: 10-20 / 1
•     Fresh vegetable remains: 10-20 / 1
•     Coffee grounds: 20/1
•     Remains of kitchen: 15-25 / 1

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Balanced in C and N

•     Comfrey, nettles: 15-30 / 1
•     Sheep or horse manure with straw bed: 20-30 / 1
•     Herbs at the end of the vegetative cycle: 20-30 / 1
•     Leaves of fruit trees and shrubs: 20-35 / 1
•     Horse manure with straw bed: 20-40 / 1
•     Spring pruning branches, crushed fine or medium: 25-40 / 1
•     Mushroom crop residues: 30-40 / 1

High Carbon Levels

•     Sawdust: 500-1000 / 1
•     Paper and cardboard: 150-300 / 1
•     Dry corn canes: 100-150 / 1
•     Wheat straw: 100-130 / 1
•     Branches: 85/1
•     Mobs: 40-100 / 1
•     Pine needles: fresh 30/1, dried 150/1
•     Branches of autumn pruning and very thick: 30-80 / 1
•     Oat straw, rye and barley: 50-60 / 1
•     Beech, oak and leafy leaves: 50-60 / 1

    It is important that the compost contains a considerable amount of materials with a high content of cellulose and lignin (straw, branches, leaves ...), because although their decomposition is slower they are also better humus precursors.

The pH (acidity and alkalinity). The numerical expression of the pH of pure water is 7 on a scale of 0 to 14; Above this figure are considered alkaline or basic solutions and below acid solutions. Acidic elements in composting are the leaves of acidic earth shrubs, pine needles, citrus peel; before these remains the bacteria and worms barely act and it is the fungi that are most involved.

In a varied and well mixed composting, with a balanced C / N ratio, there is no need to worry about pH.

Humidity. The recommended moisture content of the materials that start the compost process is between 30 and 80%. It must be taken into account that each material that is part of the comspost has a different initial moisture content and that as it decomposes it will also be homogenized. The optimum humidity levels for a compost in its ripening phase are usually between 40 and 60%. 

Excess moisture causes compaction of the materials, lack of aeration and therefore rot and leachate (liquids). This situation prevents the action of aerobic microorganisms.

Lack of moisture slows the decomposition process and can also produce compaction.

Aeration The guarantee of a good compost is that it occurs in aerobic conditions, in the presence of air, that is to say oxygen. Excessive aeration will dry out the remains and insufficient will produce rot and toxic elements, leachate and bad odors.

The amount of oxygen also varies depending on the materials to be composted and the time of decomposition. In   the initial moment would be convenient to maintain airy spaces in relation to the volume of between 50 and 60%. With the decomposition this ratio will diminish to ratios of less than 10% of air in the total volume of what is composted.

Temperature. With the levels of humidity and aeration indicated and if the volume of remains is sufficiently large, a temperature rise will begin after a few days. This variation in temperatures will also depend on the ambient temperature and the shape of the composting.

Composting temperatures can rise to 70 degrees, although it is not recommended, since over 65 degrees, a large number of bacteria and microorganisms beneficial to the process begin to die. Different microbial populations intervene in each temperature range and very few intervene in almost all of them.

HOW TO PREPARE THE COMPOST

HOW TO PREPARE THE COMPOST

There are different techniques for composting. Each one must choose it according to the type of organic remains they have, the quantity and the relationship between it and the time it takes to produce it.

The procedure to follow is the one taught by the different natural ecosystems. For this we always remember how the life of the soil works by seeing the following profile:


Soil formation process. 1Roca Madre; 2 Influence on the rock of temperature changes, wind; 3Action of water and its mineral salts; 4Action of living beings; 5 Joint action of all organic and inorganic materials.

    As you can see in this image a fertile soil and the most full of life (5) is the example to follow in composting techniques. Organic elements that have finished their life cycle fall on the soil surface. Between the most superficial and the deepest layer of this profile and close to the most superficial one we can find the humus that is the storehouse of the nutritive substances for the plants in the subsoil. The humus is the final and permanently changing result of the composition of all organic and plant materials that are deposited on the surface of our soils. In the words of Mariano Bueno "Humus is the key to fertility, it is the intermediate state between organic life and inert minerals."

The composting that we intend to do is to create a series of conditions so that in the place where we choose to act microorganisms and macro-organisms at their leisure and in the most comfortable and desirable way possible. That huge association of different and diverse lives will do the job, the sidewalk, the auzolan.

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WHAT ORGANIC REMAINS CAN WE COMPOST

WHAT ORGANIC REMAINS CAN WE COMPOST

Everything we use will influence in one way or another throughout all the processes that will occur. Therefore, we must take the precaution of never including toxic or harmful elements in the composting. The following list will facilitate the selection.

Organic compostable materials without problems

•     Garden or garden plants
•     Adventitious or bad herbs called "weeds", (better before they make seeds)
•     Manure and poultry beds
•     Crushed or chopped branches from pruning (up to about 3 centimeters thick)
•     Kills and scrubs
•     Medicinal plants
•     Fallen leaves of trees and shrubs (avoiding those of walnut and royal laurel)
•     Hay and mowed grass
•     Lawn (in very thin layers and previously dried)
•     Coins and remains of fruits and vegetables
•     Organic food scraps in general
•     Spoiled or expired foods
•     Egg shells (better crushed)
•     Coffee grounds (paper filters may be included)
•     Remains of infusions (those that go in envelope if he)
•     Napkins and tissues (not printed or colored); better recycle them
•     Haircuts (not dyed)
•     Raw wool or old mattresses (in small layers and mixed)
•     Remains of wine, vinegar, beer or spirits
•     Edible oils and fats (very scattered and in small quantities)
•     Nutshells

Compostable materials with reservations or limitations

•     Orange, citrus or pineapple skins (few and chopped)
•     Remains of meat, fish, shellfish, their bone structures and shells
•     Spoiled, rotten or sprouted potatoes
•     Ashes (sprinkled and pre-moistened)
•     Sawdust shavings (thin layers)
•     Paper and cardboard (without printing color inks); better recycle them
•     Natural fiber cloths and cloths (without mixing or acrylic dyes)
•     Branches and leaves of yours and cypress (very few, chopped and pre-moistened)

Never add to compost

•     Chemical-synthetic materials
•     Non-degradable materials (glass, metals, plastics)
•     Agglomerates or plywood of wood (nor its shavings or sawdust)
•     Tobacco (cigars, cigars, sting), as it contains a potent biocide such as nicotine and various toxins
•     Detergents, chlorinated products, antibiotics

For those interested in ecological composting, they should also avoid materials that may contain fungicides, herbicides and any type of pesticide because they always leave a trace.

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THE ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSTATION

THE ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSTATION

We will save on subscriptions. Making compost with our remains we will not need to buy fertilizers or substrates, since we will have them at home for free and of great quality.

We will save on garbage collection. It is estimated that between 40 and 50% of a household garbage bag is made up of organic waste. It is an absurd expense to pay because these remains are collected, transferred and piled up so that these remains and those of the pruning and mowing of the lawn rot - many times to tens of kilometers - can transform them into a rich fertilizer in our own house or immediate environment With the consequent savings.

We will help reduce pollution. The closer we take advantage of organic waste, the more fuel consumption for transportation will be reduced, there will be less accumulation of waste in landfills and we will contribute to a notable reduction of toxic substances and harmful gases in the same, since in the landfills the organic remains are rot (anaerobic system), wrapped with all kinds of inorganic materials. Of course we will also avoid the pollution produced by burning them.

We will improve the health of the soil and plants. The compost obtained from our organic waste can be used to improve and strengthen the soil of grass, shrubs, trees and orchard, with an assimilation quality incomparably superior to that of chemicals or substrates of unknown origin that we buy, Since compost invigorates the soil and favors the activity of microbial life, it prevents erosion and leachate of nutrients and in general enhances and favors all the biological activity of soils, which is the best guarantee to prevent pests and diseases in the vegetables.

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WHAT IS THE COMPOSTATION

WHAT IS THE COMPOSTATION

It is a technique that imitates nature to transform - more quickly - all kinds of organic remains, in what is called compost or mulch, which after its application on the surface of our land will be associated with humus, which is the essence of the good living of a healthy soil, fertile and balanced in nature.

This technique is based on a biological process (full of life), which is carried out under aerobic fermentation conditions (with air), with sufficient humidity and that ensures a hygienic transformation of the organic remains into a homogeneous food and highly assimilable by our soils . In this biological process, the microbial population is involved, such as the Bacteria, Actomycetes, and Fungi that are responsible for 95% of the composting activity and also the algae, protozoa and cyanophysiae. In addition, in the final phase of this process, macro-organisms such as colébolo, mite, earthworm and many other species are also involved.

Composting has been done since ancient times and is known by different names. There are many ways to develop it. We can still remember the "garbage", ongarria, the cemo, the cuchu, from the stables of our surroundings. At present there are large industrial composting plants that feed on waste from cities or highly populated areas where selective garbage collection begins to be organized. In these large industrial composting plants both organic food, agricultural, livestock, forestry and sludge wastes extracted from sewage treatment plants are used. But domestic and collective composting is also spreading in rural areas.

In our rural areas, despite the decline in livestock, agriculture and forestry, there is a large expansion of urbanized areas of single-family homes with gardens and orchards. In them important amounts of varied plant remains are generated that together with organic food or animal husbandry remains are a great resource that we could use both in each home and collectively with composting techniques.

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What is composting?

What is composting?

If we look for the word composting in an agronomic dictionary, I would define it as: “a system of treatment-stabilization of organic remains, based on a complex microbiological activity, carried out under controlled conditions (aerobic and thermophilic) through which a product usable as fertilizer, amendment or substrate ”.
The composting process ...

The composting process consists of the decomposition of organic matter ( organic remains). We can compost organic food remains, garden waste (leaves, branches, grass ...), hairs, spoiled food, etc.

This decomposition occurs through aerobic and thermophilic microorganisms (they need oxygen and live at high temperatures), so when we start composting, we will air the compost and place it in the sun. In addition, you have to keep in mind that it must be kept moist.

Compost

We will produce the compost in composters or in a lot in the garden. The composters are containers or deposits where we will introduce all the organic remains (if possible in wet and drier layers) where after a few months we will obtain compost to be used in our garden. There are composters of different materials (plastic, wood ...) and shapes. It would also be good to get an aerator or tools to move the compost in addition to pruning shears to cut branches and a shovel and wheelbarrow to extract the compost.

It consists of all plant debris being attacked by fungi and decomposing bacteria , fermenting and becoming a material that will improve the properties of farmland.

We will notice that it is ready to be used because it will have a very dark color and will not be hot (as there will be no more microbial activity).

In Planeta Huerto we have a wide variety of articles for composting , from composters, vermicomposters and aerators to composting accelerators. Animate and create your own compost!

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The domestic vermicomposting

The domestic vermicomposting

In the article on domestic composting , we commented on why it is interesting to compose our organic waste from the garden and the kitchen. However, many times we do not have the right conditions to perform the classic heap composting , due to:

•     Lack of space to locate it and to perform maintenance tasks.
•     Lack of sufficient waste (for bulk composting, we must generate a certain amount of both dry and wet waste).

This is the case of small urban gardens in patios, terraces or balconies. For which we recommend as an alternative to traditional composting, vermicomposting .

Vermicomposting is a transformation of organic matter into a natural fertilizer of great quality which we call vermicompost or earthworm humus . It consists of a biooxidation and stabilization of the organic matter, by the main action of the worms, together with the microorganisms, in an aerobic process, not producing an increase of the temperature nor generating bad odors.

For the proper development of this process, we use a vermicomposter , which has several trays that are stacked on top of each other, allowing the worms to pass from the lower to the upper trays through holes.

In this way the worms are digesting the food that we are placing in the trays and when it is finished they go up to the upper trays where we will be placing more fresh food. The trays that leave the worms will therefore have the material that they have digested, that they have eaten and excreted, which has exceptional properties as organic fertilizer.

The worms that best perform this action, are the red worms of California , which have a great voracity and are able to digest a large amount of food.

The vermicomposter should place it in an area of ​​shade, since the worms do not like light, and maintain a good level of humidity. We must incorporate the remains of food as chopped as possible, this will facilitate the action of worms.

The liquid that is produced during the process is collected in the leachate tray that the vermicomposter has. We can use this liquid (diluted in water) as fertilizer for our crops.

What foods can we use?

•     Fruit and vegetable remains: fruit skin, salad leftovers, etc.
•     Remains of coffee, tea and infusions.
•     Carton of the wet egg cup and wet and chopped newspaper on the deposited food.
•     Crushed egg shells.
•     Strawberries, melons and sweet fruit in general are their favorite delicacy and what they like least are citrus fruits and bananas that they will also eat when they finish what they like best.

In general, the more varied the food we incorporate, the better.

What foods should we not use?

•     We will not use hard pruning remains (dry branches and leaves), since earthworms only eat soft organic debris.
•     Meat and fish do not like and also produce bad smells.
•     Dairy, bones and fatty foods.

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