How to make compost in a barrel: installation methods, laying raw materials, ripening time

Benefits of using a plastic composting bin

If a wooden composting box is equipped on the site, the bottom will sooner or later rot under the influence of the same bacteria. If there is no bottom, then the nutrients will go into the soil under the box irretrievably. It is much more economical if the composter has a bottom and is resistant to microorganisms.

You can make your own barrel composter aerobic and anaerobic. In the first case, you need to organize regular air access to plant debris. This compost matures faster. If you use accelerators - bacterial preparations, then you can get fertilizer in 1 - 1.5 months.

Video: Compost barrels

For anaerobic fertilization, the compost bin must be sealed. It is tightly closed or dug into the ground. The remains take longer to rot, but the fertilizer is more concentrated, since all the nutrients remain inside. Such compost is not used for seedlings in its pure form, but is always mixed with soil.

It is easier to set up a compost pit from a barrel than to make a storage facility from concrete, although concrete is also a very good material for a stationary composter. To immerse a barrel in the ground, it is enough to dig a hole corresponding to the size of the container.

You can wrap the walls and bottom with mineral wool or other heat-retaining material. In such a pit it will be possible to make fertilizer even in winter. The hatch will be a plastic cover, which is sold as a set.

How to set up a composter from a barrel

There are many ways to prepare compost in a barrel at your dacha. The simplest one is to leave it in the garden without digging it into the ground.

To make a horizontal compost barrel, you need some tools and additional materials - wood or metal pipes. The first step is to weld or knock down a frame that will hold a barrel filled with compost raw materials.

This could be something like a frame with welded support pipes or wooden blocks. A barrel will be attached to them, with a metal pipe running through the center. To avoid damaging the plastic, a PVC pipe is placed over the metal - it is smooth and durable.

How to prepare a barrel:

• Make a hole into which the raw materials will be placed. To do this, cut out a rectangular piece in the wall. Using metal canopies on one side, a piece of plastic becomes a door. On the other hand, it is necessary to provide a latch so that the ingredients do not fall out while scrolling.

• Holes are made on both sides - in the bottom and in the lid - to thread the pipe through.

• The lid closes tightly and the barrel is placed on the pipe, securing it to the frame. You can make a handle for convenience, but many people do without it.

Summer residents attach wheels to the base of the frame and transport the composter for the winter to a warm place - a barn or storage room.

Preparation of compost and compost heap

Boards are a favorite material for large composters among our gardeners. There are compost bins as tall as a person or higher, assembled from boards, sometimes lined with sheets of galvanized iron. Preparing compost and a compost heap begins with choosing a suitable place on the site and installing the device there.

For the base of a volumetric box, 4 stakes, beams or logs are usually dug or driven into the ground. Boards are nailed to the sides. If there are not enough of these side boards, then a sparse frame is made from them and then strips of galvanized iron or, for example, ondulin, or sometimes roofing felt are nailed.

In the first season it is filled with all kinds of plant material, and the next season, while it is ripening, pumpkins are planted on top so that the garden space does not go to waste. This produces very large pumpkins. There are so many nutrients in compost that taking some of them with pumpkin roots will not deplete our fertilizer. You've probably seen such tall thickets of pumpkins near fences and sheds - these are ripening compost heaps. Sometimes cucumbers are planted instead of pumpkins.

The same boxes are made for composting manure or peat.

Preparation and laying of raw materials

Before you make compost in a barrel, you need to prepare the raw materials. It should be a mixture of nitrogen and carbon containing components. At the same time, 4 times less nitrogen is added.

Nitrogen-containing products include all green components and manure. Carbon materials include straw, cardboard, dry leaves, sawdust, bark, pruned branches of trees and shrubs.

Each ingredient must be sprinkled with a five-centimeter layer of soil,

so that soil bacteria enter the compost and begin to multiply. If you use biodestructors, then it is not necessary to add soil. Bacterial preparations can be purchased at the store or prepared with your own hands from fermented milk products and yeast.

After laying, the compost is kept for 5–6 days.

with the lid open and then turned over.
When shoveling on the bed, the lid is closed, then opened again to allow oxygen access. Subsequently, the compost is turned every 3 to 4 days.
This speeds up its maturation.

To get the finished fertilizer, place a bucket, wheelbarrow or other container under the lid and pour out the required amount.
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Share with friends: Any plot of land needs periodic fertilization. What could be better than high-quality compost? Buying it and then bringing it to the site is a long and expensive task. Why not produce this valuable fertilizer directly on your own land, since all the conditions have been created for this? During the warm season, a lot of organic and plant waste accumulates on the site, which must be disposed of. It turns out that you can combine cleaning an area of ​​waste and producing compost from it. Let's look at how you can build a compost pit with your own hands, what is needed for this, and how to avoid basic mistakes in the production of fertilizers.

A compost bed on a plot of land is intended for storing all kinds of plant and organic residues, waste, and surplus of various products. Layered in layers, these components gradually decompose, turning into high-quality fertilizer. The question arises: how to build a compost pit with your own hands so that it produces fertilizer within a season? To do this, you need to make some effort to help the compost ripen faster.

With proper care, you can get ready-made compost in just 3 months. If you do not pay special attention to the pit, the process of waste decomposition will continue for about two years.

Tips for making compost

If you want to know how to properly make compost at your dacha, follow the recommendations of experienced gardeners regarding what can and cannot be put in the composter, how to speed up the ripening process and how to ensure that the finished fertilizer brings maximum benefit to the plants and improves the structure of the soil.

What not to put in the composter

To ensure that the nutrient substrate is saturated with all the microelements necessary for plants, but does not contain harmful substances, compost must be prepared only from waste of organic origin. But you shouldn’t push everything into it; there are some restrictions.

Infographics - what compost should consist of Source vokrugsada.ru

Requirements for a compost pit

For normal and rapid maturation of compost, it needs warmth, oxygen and moisture. How to properly make a compost pit so that its contents turn into high-quality fertilizer, and the pile itself does not harm the plants and people on the site? To do this, you should familiarize yourself with some of the requirements for such structures:

• The compost heap should mostly rise above the soil level. Thanks to this, the heap warms up better and makes it easier to loosen and water. It is recommended to deepen the hole by about 50 cm, leaving barriers above the soil surface of about 1 m. The ideal width of the structure is 1.5 m, and its length is 2 m;
• If there is a source of drinking water on the site, for example, a well, borehole or spring, then the distance from it to the pit should not be less than 25 m;
• It is advisable to place the pit in a place that will be remote from the house or gazebo. In this case, the unpleasant odor that may emanate from the compost heap will not annoy the owners of the site;
• It is advisable to place the pit in partial shade so that it is not constantly in the sun. This will help it dry out;
• How to make a compost pit so that the runoff from it does not flow through the soil into a source of clean water? To do this, if the site has a slope, it is enough to place the hole below the source;
• You cannot place a hole under fruit trees, as this can lead to their death;
• The dimensions of the pit are selected taking into account the amount of plant debris and waste that is available at the dacha and will remain in the pit for two years;
• Options for making a compost pit with your own hands should take into account that it is recommended to choose the height of the fences so that it is convenient to loosen and collect compost.

Tip: The bottom of the pit should not be covered with slate, metal, rubber or film. They will not allow moisture to rise up from the soil, as a result of which the compost will constantly dry out. The bottom must certainly be earthen. But the walls can be covered with any material.

Video description

This video talks about the correct placement of compost:
It is advisable to place green and brown waste in a compost heap in layers and sprinkle it with earth, manure, humus or already matured compost, in which active bacteria are present in large quantities. The green part of the waste releases heat during decomposition, and the brown part, due to its low caking ability, provides breathability.

Rules for placement and construction of composters

To prevent the sun from evaporating moisture from the heap, it is better to place it where its direct rays do not penetrate - in the shade of trees or buildings. In this case, the composter should be located at a distance from sources of drinking water and on the leeward side, so that odors from it do not reach the windows of your and neighboring houses and recreation areas.

To ensure rapid decomposition, the compost must be stirred periodically. But this is not an easy task, so it is better to arrange a composter of 3 sections. One will store fresh waste, the second will ripen last year’s compost, and the third will contain ready-made fertilizer.

DIY 3-section composter made from pallets Source blogspot.com

It is not necessary to make a lid for the composter, but its presence makes life very easy - it eliminates the attacks of cats, dogs and rodents who want to feast on kitchen waste, protects the pile from drying out, and protects you from unpleasant odors.

What can and cannot be thrown into a compost bin?

A self-built compost pit will justify its purpose if the following types of waste are placed in it:

• leaves, bark, needles, chopped branches and roots;
• weeded and mowed weeds, grass;
• bird droppings and rotted biennial manure;
• vegetables, fruits and berries, including peelings;
• leftover coffee, tea;
• hay, sawdust, shavings, straw;
• ash from burning wood;
• paper, paper bags, cardboard, napkins.

Advice: If a thick layer of fresh grass is placed in a hole, then the process of its decomposition may take six months to a year. In this case, cover the grass with soil.

The following cannot be placed in a hole:

• inorganic products that do not decompose. These are rubber, plastic bags, plastic, metal, synthetic products;
• feces of pets, as they may contain helminth eggs;
• bones;
• tops of tomatoes and potatoes, as they are often infected with late blight;
• chemically treated plants;
• ripened weed seeds;
• thick branches that take a long time to rot.

Possible manufacturing options

A do-it-yourself compost heap can be made in several versions. Let's list them all, indicating the features of each of them.

An ordinary pile in which waste is placed

• Select a place on the site where the compost pile will be located;
• As various wastes accumulate, they are placed in the selected location. In this case, it is advisable to lay organic matter in layers. Alternate food waste with grass and manure;
• When the height of the pile reaches 1 meter, make several depressions in it, into which pour a special compost liquid. This will speed up the ripening of the compost;
• With regular loosening and watering, the compost will mature within 3 months.

This is an ideal option for those who want to get by with minimal effort but still get some compost. It is advisable to form several such heaps, each of which will rot gradually.

Simple pit

A simple do-it-yourself compost pit at your dacha will be provided by an ordinary pit dug in the chosen location:

• The depth of the pit should be shallow, which will ensure easier care of its contents. It's better to make it wider;
• Branches, hay, and tree bark are placed at the bottom of the pit;
• Next come layers of food and vegetable waste;
• Since the temperature in the pit is not very high, it is advisable to cover it with film.

This is the least successful way to set up a compost bin. Mixing its contents will require more effort, and the pit will warm up less. The advantages of such a pit are its small area and simplicity of design.

Box made of wood or other material

How to make a compost pit with your own hands so that it is convenient and inexpensive? Use boards, bars, slate, sheets of metal, etc. for this.

The order of arrangement will be as follows:

• The top layer of soil about 40 cm thick is removed from the soil;
• Pegs are driven in around the perimeter of the pit;
• A fence is installed around the pit. It can be wooden (boards, pallets, panels, bars) or any other. It is allowed to use any material: flat or corrugated slate, polycarbonate, metal sheets;
• The height of the fence should not exceed 1 m. This is necessary for the convenience of mixing the compost;
• The top of such a structure is covered with plywood or film.

This design allows the compost to warm up well, so it is considered optimal for use on land.

There is an original version of a wooden box. Its lower edges do not reach the soil surface by 25-30 cm. That is, boards or other material are attached at a certain distance from the ground. In the lower part of such a box, the compost matures faster, since it was laid earlier. As the compost matures, it is removed and the pile settles downwards. Such a pile practically does not need to be loosened. There is always the opportunity to get some ready-made compost.

Concreted pit

If you decide to build a durable structure that will last for decades, then use the advice on how to make a compost heap in a concrete pit.

The structure is set up like this:

• the site for future construction is marked out (approximately 2x3 meters);
• soil is selected at 60-80 cm;
• formwork about 10 cm thick is constructed around the perimeter of the future building;
• concrete solution is mixed;
• concrete is poured into the formwork;
• after the concrete hardens, the formwork is removed;
• waste is placed in layers in a concrete pit;
• From above, the pit is covered with wooden shields or covered with film.

This is the most expensive method of constructing a compost pit in terms of effort and investment. Such a structure should be placed where the pile will definitely not create any difficulties, since it will be impossible to move it to another place.

Tip: It is recommended to divide the compost facility into at least 2 sections. While you put fresh waste collected in the current season into one of them, last year’s compost will decompose in the second section.

It should also be noted that there are options for organizing a compost pit from a barrel or special plastic containers for compost, but you will additionally need to use drugs that accelerate waste processing, or add Californian worms.

Types of composts

In garden centers and other hardware stores you can find plastic composters of various shapes and sizes (what they offer us there: boxes, “suitcases,” tanks, “hives,” “flying saucers.”). Volume from one barrel (150-200 l) and above (400-900 l). Such an organic storage tank is installed in the garden. With their help, you can prepare a wide variety of types of compost, since very favorable conditions are created in a plastic container for reheating and processing any type of waste.

Plastic can be considered the best material for processing organic matter. It is neutral (steel quickly corrodes from organic compounds), lightweight, durable (unlike boards, which rot underneath) and relatively cheap.

A large plastic composter is reliable in maintaining the conditions for compost maturation due to its size. It “breathes” quite well, so special slots in the walls, which are found in some models, are not necessary.

Any other household plastic container is also used for composting: boxes, buckets from building materials, leaky basins. If necessary, plastic containers are immediately interchangeable; they can be temporarily removed from fertilizer production for other garden needs (sheltering plants on cold nights, heating water in the sun for irrigation, growing seedlings...). For this reason, one cannot give unconditional preference to large containers such as 150-200 liter plastic barrels. Such barrels are, of course, very practical, very productive, but in addition to them, a “park” of smaller buckets and containers of 50-60 liters or 10-20 liters would not hurt. Organic fertilizing at the height of the season is never too much!

Today, fruit sellers use all sorts of disposable plastic boxes with lattice bottoms, which they often throw away after emptying. These small boxes are suitable for a multi-tier composter, since they have a lattice bottom and are joined to each other with special grooves. So, they are used for vermicompost: another box with fresh food for earthworms is delivered above the lower boxes with food that has turned into humus. The boxes can also be used for regular compost, since the grates will create layers of air between the layers - this is very favorable for compost, which is periodically moistened with a watering can.

The simplest plastic composter is a plastic garbage bag or a regular grocery bag. Some gardeners use this “container”. The bag is filled with wet grass or leaves, tied and left somewhere in the shade for several months, and the decomposed humus substance is removed. It is important that the packages do not cake during storage.

Installation of a “compost barrel”

In the barrel in the middle of the side, I used a jigsaw to cut out a 36x28 cm window for loading raw materials. From the inside, I screwed a strip of metal to one of the long sides (photo 1) - this is a stopper so that the door does not fall inside the container.

The cut piece was secured to the curtains (opposite the metal strip), a handle was attached to it (photo 2) I added two latches to hold the lid closed. I used a drill to drill chains of holes d 12 mm across the entire surface of the container at a distance of 10 cm from each other. In approximately half of the holes made, I inserted M 12 bolts 10 cm long (photo 3) (as long as possible) and secured them with nuts so that the ends protruded inside the container. Prepared the second barrel in the same way.

A piece of PVC pipe should be placed on the metal pipe to avoid damaging the edges of the barrels when rotating.

At the ends of the containers, I drilled holes in the center and inserted a pipe, which I fixed horizontally on a wooden T-shaped base 110 cm high from beams and slats into pre-drilled holes of a suitable diameter.

Loading compost into a homemade barrel

For compost, I use chicken manure, straw and a little soil (you can use dry leaves, grass cut from the area, crushed eggshells, food waste) - I load them into barrels and moisten them with water.

I rotate the drums every three days - the pins perfectly loosen and mix the biomass, which gradually decomposes under the influence of heat and moisture. With the usual composting method in boxes knocked together from boards, “ripening” takes from 6 to 9 months, but in my device it takes 1-1.5 months.

Recommendations for using compost from a barrel

Fully mature compost is an excellent fertilizer for garden plants, flowers, shrubs and trees. It is used to prepare a nutrient substrate for growing vegetable seedlings, and is added to the soil when replanting indoor flowers (those that benefit from organic fertilizers).

This nutritional supplement is added in large quantities when digging up the garden in the fall, when the plants have extracted a large amount of nutrients from the soil during the season.

Making compost in a barrel is a simple and inexpensive way. Despite the duration of ripening, fertilizing can compete with artificial fertilizers due to its effectiveness and safety for plants.

Source

Container for making compost with your own hands - photo

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Iron barrels of various sizes
For a long time, summer residents have been using iron barrels from various fuels and lubricants as water collectors under the drain pipes of their garden houses. Convenient volume, durable material and affordable price have made barrels an indispensable element of gardening.

Let's consider other possibilities for their use; Perhaps some ideas will be unexpected for you and they will end up in your plans for the coming summer. Just remember that before use, the barrels must either be rinsed from the contents or set on fire from the inside to burn off any remaining fuel and lubricants on the walls.

Barrels are a container for burning.

This method of using barrels has been known to gardeners for a long time. In the most hidden part of the garden, protected from the wind, an iron barrel with a sawn-off top (lid) is placed on a non-flammable base. The base can be a platform of several paving slabs or simply earth with the top layer of turf removed. Several holes must be drilled in the bottom of the barrel to allow oxygen to enter.

Gradually, the barrel is filled with flammable waste from the gardener’s activities, such as paper, cardboard, dry branches, and leftover building materials. Periodically, the contents of the barrel are set on fire and burn out very quickly, since the holes in the lower part create good draft for the fire. In addition, this method of burning is safe compared to an open fire - the wind does not scatter burning debris around the area, and you can extinguish the fire by simply pouring a bucket of water over it and closing it with a lid. The ash that accumulates in the barrel will also benefit the gardener, as it is an excellent fertilizer for plants.

Of course, the walls of the barrel burn out over time and need to be replaced, but it is enough for 5-6 seasons (depending on the thickness of the walls and the frequency of burning waste).

Iron barrel compost container

To organize compost, it is necessary to provide oxygen to the contents, for which it is necessary to drill holes around the entire circumference and in the bottom of the barrel. The more holes, the better the compost will “breathe”. Before adding plant residues, it is necessary to arrange a drainage layer of branches or twigs at the bottom of the barrel. Be sure to provide a lid for compost - it can be made from leftover metal tiles or ordinary boards. Compost ripening in such a container occurs at an accelerated pace; within a year it will be ready for use; you just need to stir it from time to time with a pitchfork.

Since in this case the barrel will not be exposed to temperatures, it can be painted on the outside with paints, enamel, or otherwise given a decorative appearance.

Compost at home

Compost at home is prepared using organic storage tanks, which differ from those considered in that they are not located in the garden, but somewhere in the living room: on the balcony, on the staircase or even in the kitchen itself. It has a modest size - 10-15 liters, apparently in the hope that a housewife could easily lift it.

At first glance, it puzzles the gardener: is it too small? But this is purely for peeling potatoes!

Yes, this composter is for the winter, when the garden is covered in snow and organic matter is reduced to daily kitchen waste according to the principle “we fill one composter, take it away, and put the next one in its place.” It would be more correct to talk about a battery of several such composters, which you can start, say, living all year round in a country house. Once filled, they are stored in the cellar or on the veranda until spring.

A small kitchen plastic composter is not just a “garbage bin”; it has its own structure: at the bottom there is a grid to hold the bulk of waste. An air layer is formed under it, which allows the compost to breathe. It is important that this compartment does not fill with liquid. To drain it, a tap is made to drain excess liquid.

Kitchen composter

. It is understood that it is not in the kitchen itself, but somewhere on a staircase or in a glassed-in loggia, in a garage, in a frost-free shed, in a winter greenhouse, etc. Because the smell from it will inevitably be “not Chanel”, It is enough to remove the lid once to dump the next trimmings. Of course, you won’t spare microbial preparations for it, but they don’t always cope... It fills up quickly. In the city, a battery of filled composters will accumulate in a glass loggia until spring. But in the spring they will go to the site in the back seat of a car.

Mobile beds made of iron barrels

Preparing a barrel for a mobile bed is the same as when organizing a composter. Zucchini and cucumbers can be planted in such beds; Moreover, this can be done directly onto the compost, adding a 20-30 cm layer of fertile soil on top.

Such a ridge is convenient because the spreading foliage of planted crops does not take up space on the beds, but hangs down and entwines the barrel. In addition, if the garden is still at the beginning of development and there are no prepared beds, barrels can serve as a temporary option that is easy to move and change as the site is developed.

A simple option for organizing an outdoor oven for cooking dishes in a cauldron. It is better to use a small metal oven with a capacity of 60 liters. Cut off the lid of the barrel; Drill holes along the upper and lower belts, cut a door on one side for storing firewood. When purchasing a cauldron, take into account the diameter of the stove so that it is firmly installed on top.

Such a stove is good because it has a low cost, is simple to manufacture, and is absolutely unattractive to garden thieves.

Creating conditions

In order to obtain fertilizer from plants, it is necessary that they rot well and turn into a crumbly substance rich in vitamins and minerals, which increases the fertility of the soil and the volume of the harvest.

To do this you need:

• Make sure that the temperature inside the composter itself never drops below +16 degrees. Otherwise, the fermentation process will stop, and the plants will simply deteriorate; it will simply be impossible to use them later as fertilizer.
• The humidity level also plays a big role - it should be at least 60%. Otherwise, the compost will rot or dry out. Therefore, depending on the air temperature outside, it is watered with warm water 1-2 times a week.
• And it is also necessary to transfer the compost to the next compartment every year. This is necessary because in a composter the bottom layer of plants is ready for use as fertilizer after a year. But if you constantly replenish the box, do not rearrange or sift the raw materials, then it will simply disappear. Therefore, after a year, the semi-finished compost is transferred to the second compartment of the box, and the first is again filled with new raw materials.

Frying pan with iron barrel lid

The next stage in the evolution of the iron barrel is a roasting pan with a lid. It differs from all previous options in that the lid of the barrel remains in place; the barrel itself is sawn lengthwise into two parts. One of the parts serves as a base for laying coals and installing a grate or skewers, and the second part is a lid connected to the base using ordinary door hinges. As a base for the brazier, you can use an X-shaped structure made of non-combustible materials - iron pipes or fittings.

The roaster is convenient because it can be built into, for example, a gazebo and the contents are protected by a lid from precipitation.

Outdoor and indoor furniture made from iron barrels

Furniture made from barrels is very diverse. A novice master will choose a simpler option, for example, a bar table made of a barrel with a round top. You can make the tabletop yourself, using large wooden reels for power lines as a model, or order a solid one from solid wood.

An experienced craftsman with a good set of tools can easily take on a set of patio furniture - sofas and armchairs, or make an original cabinet - a bar.

Craftsmen without tools or skills, but with a talent for drawing, can make an original cabinet out of a barrel, painting it in the manner of an old forged chest. The color and complexity of the product will be given by the handles and metal clasps screwed to it.