- Benefits of a Compost Pile
- How does a compost heap work?
- Living conditions of the microorganisms involved in the compost heap
- Composting in the composter: workload
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Considering starting a compost heap? We provide you with benefits, opportunities and conditions for composting your own waste.
Compost heap - is there a rooster crowing? And if so, why? Composting combines various advantages, but of course it also involves more work than disposing of it in the organic waste bin. To help you weigh the pros and cons, this article compares the pros and the workload.
Many hobby gardeners swear by it, others are not sure if the work is worth it. Below we summarize the benefits of a compost heap for you.
Benefits of a Compost Pile
A rotting heap of compost doesn't seem like a very noble achievement of human civilization at first glance. So why has the concept of the unsightly heap caught on?
However, a compost heap impresses with a few good arguments, which we would like to present to you here.
- A compost heap picks up waste that would otherwise end up in the organic or general waste bin, making bin sizes smaller.
- When a compost heap needs emptying, in the same breath you get valuable fertilizer that every connoisseur licks their fingers for.
- Garden waste such as grass clippings, leaves or wood residue, perennials, lawn and hedge clippings can be disposed of directly on site.
- The use of compost ranges - depending on the type of compost - from applying it as a fertilizing and protective mulch layer to using it as an effective soil conditioner and even mixing your own potting soil.
- Building or purchasing your own composter usually means little effort, the same applies to preparing and layering with a little experience. Even with a little knowledge, hardly anything can go wrong.
- The presence of a compost heap often attracts useful insects, mammals and birds that eat pests, loosen the soil and are sometimes very worthy of protection and in need of protection. For example, the garden shrew is an effective eater of snails and insect pests, but in thered listed as Vulnerable.
Sell compost
Although most gardeners can't get enough of their months-old compost, sometimes the opposite happens: if someone runs such a pile just to minimize waste costs, but without using compost for a garden, stands he sooner or later in front of a heap of fragrant fertilizer - and doesn't know what to do with it. Since the quality of your compost is in no way tested or guaranteed, it is impossible and illegal to sell your own compost for a profit.
No prudent landscaper or grower will spend money on a compost whose composition and nutrient content are not documented and whose effect on soil and plants is therefore unpredictable. Instead of selling your compost, you can simply choose one of the following options:
- Give compost away to friends, family, acquaintances and neighbors or place an advertisement and pass it on to unknown gardeners - you can certainly agree on an appropriate remuneration
- Create a bed or raised bed, plant shrubs or trees in order to store the large amount of compost in your own garden at the right moment and in the long term
- Dispose of the compost at the recycling center - up to a certain volume, this is even free of charge at many green waste collection points
Certainly there are other ways to hand in your compost: maybe the local allotment garden association will be happy or the municipality would like to embellish a bed around a monument and needs good soil - if you go through the world with open ears, you will find it very good probably someone who will thank you for the coveted compost.
How does a compost heap work?
In the compost, the structure of your green and biowaste is decomposed by thousands upon thousands of microorganisms - provided the conditions permit - in order to then be combined into new molecules, the humus molecules - or "humic acids". Looking at it more closely, the creatures involved - insects, worms, nematodes, mites, snails, fungi and bacteria - eat and digest your carbohydrate and nutrient-rich legacies.
Youare used to generate energy, just like we eat a slice of bread. And just as we then have to carry something to the toilet and exhale carbon from the carbohydrates in the form of CO2 (carbon dioxide), the little compost helpers do the same: all kinds of different types separate the material into more and more fragmented form until there are only molecules and atoms, exhaling CO2. Their vital activity generates heat, which can cause temperatures of over 60 °C to develop in isolated heaps. Some of the assembly into new biomolecules also takes place in the digestive system - for example in that of earthworms. However, purely chemical processes also lead to the aggregation of the molecular building blocks. Their composition makes them very stable against renewed degradation by microorganisms and also gives them the special properties of compost.
Tip: Vermicomposting in a worm farm or worm box uses the abilities of specific worm species to produce compost very efficiently in the smallest of spaces. Other groups of microorganisms are also involved. Since the worm boxes are indoors, there are optimal temperatures for composting all year round, so that the concentration of soil organisms per volume is higher than in a normal compost heap. Vermicomposting allows you to make your own compost even in a city apartment.
Fresh compost, finished compost and mature compost
Under good conditions, fresh compost is obtained after six to eight weeks. At this stage it is as nutritious as the incoming raw materials allow. This means that a compost made of nutrient-poor material is of course never particularly rich in nutrients. As a fresh compost, however, it is at its maximum in this respect - from now on the nutrient availability is going downhill.
Tip: The stability against microbial degradation increases with decreasing nutrient content: what is poorer in nutrients naturally becomes increasingly "uninteresting" for the microorganisms - because it is more difficult to utilize if nitrogen missing as a driving force for propagation. This can also be an advantage when spreading, because the soil-improving properties of compost only last if it is not broken down again immediately.
After five to six months you get a finished compost, which consists of about equal partsnutrient-rich and nutrient-poor, more stable material.
After one or two years, one speaks of mature compost, which has hardly any effect as a plant fertilizer due to its lack of nutrients, but can increase the properties of the soil exorbitantly by remaining in your bed as a stable soil conditioner.
Living conditions of the microorganisms involved in the compost heap
In order for composting to proceed as quickly as described above, the working creatures must be well. They must be able to multiply in order to consume and transform in larger quantities.
In the following, we have summarized in a few keywords which conditions promote your activity.
- Oxygen is of course very important for air-breathing (aerobic) organisms. A pile that is too wet or too compacted will suffocate them and kill them.
- Moisture is just as crucial: Like us humans, the little helpers consist largely of water and can therefore only reproduce and survive in the presence of water.
- Heat increases the activity of microorganisms - up to amazingly high temperatures of around 60 °C. Anything far above that, however, causes them to die of heat death.
- PH affects life activity and reproduction, even the composition of organisms living in the compost. If it becomes too acidic, fungi in particular feel at home and multiply more quickly. In a slightly alkaline range, this applies to bacteria. The type of compost produced also changes with the prevailing pH value: if it fluctuates to one extreme or the other, humus molecules with less valuable properties are produced or the rotting slows down overall.
- The rate of decomposition is influenced by the nutrient content. Microorganisms in particular need a lot of nitrogen to be active and to be able to multiply. Nutrient-rich compost is therefore beneficial, nutrient-poor compost is a hindrance to their activity. In this context, too, both extremes should be avoided: too much nitrogen leads to the decomposition of the newly formed humus molecules, while too little nitrogen causes the composting process to come to a complete standstill.
Ultimately, composting is about optimizing all of these conditions so that as much as possiblea large quantity of high-quality compost is produced quickly. The supply of oxygen is ensured by using coarse, bulky material, if necessary also by turning or mixing and through air slots on the composters. Humidity is to be controlled by location, cover and eventual watering. Heat can also be influenced by the location and at the same time by the type of composter used: Any form of insulation - self-insulation, covering with straw or leaves, insulation in composter walls - helps to keep the temperature even and high. For the purpose of heating, composters are always dark in color. The pH value is of course determined by the compost used. If the material is too acidic - for example from bog beds or coniferous trees - the compost in question can be dusted with a little lime. The same applies to the nutrient content: If the compost is too nutrient-poor, it can be compensated for with simple nitrogen fertilizer - also in moderation. Here you can find out how a composter must be structured to promote composting well.
Composting in the composter: workload
So how much work is running a composter? In the following we have put together a small overview table for the operation of a normal compost heap, which can give you an initial overview.
| Activity | How often? |
|---|---|
| Collect organic waste | Daily, as for the organic/residual waste bin |
| Organic waste and garden waste in such a way that fine and coarse alternate; apply lime or nitrogen if necessary; Possibly layer compost for vaccination | Weekly |
| Relocate compost | If odor and putrefaction develop as needed, otherwise once or twice a year |
| Removal of fresh compost possible, sieving of fresh compost, rearranging | Every 4 to 6 weeks under optimal conditions |
| Finished compost removal possible, screening of the finished compost, rearranging | Every 5 to 6 months under optimal conditions |
| Mature compost removal possible, rearranging | Every 1 to 2 years |
When using quick or thermal composters, there is no need to rearrange, so the filling in layers must be done very carefully. Removal also takes place here through a flap at the base of the composter, so that the remaining compost material just slides down from above and does not have to be stacked again. With roll composters, both are omittedthe transfer as well as shifts. Due to the constant mixing, however, it is not possible to remove individual compost stages. If you use a worm box, you should also pay attention to an airy layering. Vermicompost can be removed after six to nine months. The subject of the "worm box" is also very complex and is explained in more detail in this special article.
As you can see, the way you compost and the amount of work ultimately depends on which composter you use. Again, the selection of the same should suit your needs. Check out this article for tips on choosing the most suitable composter for your needs.