What can you put in your compost pile? How to make compost yourself: production and preparation technology (with video)

Composting is great way make your own organic fertilizer. A compost pile allows you to decompose your home's vegetable scraps and food scraps that would otherwise be thrown in the trash. You can add almost anything that is organic matter to compost, but there are some things that cannot be used in compost. Here are 10 things you should never throw in your compost pile.

1. Inorganic and non-biodegradable materials

Inorganic and non-biodegradable materials such as plastic, glass, aluminum foil, metal should never be thrown into the compost pile because they never decompose. Additionally, the addition of chemically treated wood should be avoided.

2. Coated paper and other glossy printed materials

Do not add magazines, catalogues, old business cards or glossy paper to the compost. The chemicals and coatings in them can be harmful to your plants. However, you can compost newspapers, textbook pages or documents - i.e. recyclable offset paper.

3. Plants affected by diseases or pests

Remains of diseased plants or plants that are infected garden pests, should not end up in the compost heap. Such plant residues should be burned.

4. Plants treated with pesticides and herbicides

Never compost plants or grass clippings that have been treated with pesticides or herbicides.

5. Sawdust

You can add to compost sawdust, since they absorb excess moisture, but sawdust from treated wood should be excluded - they contain too many harmful chemicals.

6. Confectionery

Foods such as cakes and pastries attract pests, insects and animals. However, you can add slices of stale bread or pasta to your compost, but remember when you place scraps of any food into your compost pile, they need to be buried deep to avoid attracting unwanted insects.

7. Carnivore Feces

8. Vegetable oil

There are a number of reasons why you shouldn't add vegetable oil into the compost heap. First of all, it can slow down the composting process. In addition, it has a smell that can attract the attention of animals and insects. In addition, cooking oil can change the moisture level of the compost.

9. Meat and dairy products

Meat scraps and animal fats should be avoided in the compost pile. They decompose slowly and emit an unpleasant odor. In addition, they also attract rats, raccoons, cats and stray dogs, and most importantly, they will become home to hordes of flies. Also avoid adding dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter to your compost if you do not want to breed pests and rodents.

10. Personal care products

Personal hygiene products (sanitary pads, tampons, diapers, tissues containing human blood) may pose a health risk. Dispose of them with household waste. A few more things to avoid

There are certain things that should not be used in compost or can be added in very small quantities. These are black walnuts- because they contain a chemical called juglone, which can be toxic to some plants (such as tomatoes) and inhibit their growth. Additionally, when you add fruit to your compost pile, fruit flies feed on it. To avoid this problem, never leave compost piles or pits open.

Let's talk about compost today. Surely you already know about it well. In this article we will touch on the topic of compost composition. Let's figure out what can be composted and what is better not to put in compost.

Although compost is on everyone’s lips, let’s start by defining compost, humus and organic matter. So…

Compost– a rotted mixture of organic waste.

Humus– organic matter that has rotted to full maturity. This concept can be used identically to the concept of compost, but usually humus refers to rotted manure.

Organic- any organic material subject to rotting and composting. Organics are the remains of plants and animals, as well as the remains of microbes that decompose all this.

Compost is an organic fertilizer, and well-prepared compost is real “garden gold.” Compost allows you to grow amazingly powerful plants, increases their fertility and protects them from various diseases. And all this has been scientifically proven. In Europe and America, there are entire institutes studying the effects of compost.

If you observe, you will notice that if by chance some vegetable sprouted by self-sowing in the compost heap, then it will outstrip the vegetables in the garden by about a month in development. Even if there is plenty of organic matter in the garden. From here the conclusion suggests itself. You need to make a compost heap from the garden bed.

Compost is different from compost. Surely everyone understands that whatever ingredients are included in the compost, that’s how it will be. Compost researchers have proven the relationship of the following chain: what kind of animal feed is the same as the droppings, so will the humus, and so will the harvest. Therefore, the composition of compost must be treated very carefully.

So what can you compost?

Let us immediately note that fats, lard, bones, synthetics, including plastics in the compost heap you can't put it down.

The only disadvantage of meat and dairy waste is that it attracts animals, especially rats, and can saturate the area with unwanted aromas. They can be placed, if only in small quantities, buried in a heap: they will rot faster and there will be no problems.

The entire composition of compost can be divided into two groups:

Green – rich in nitrogen;
Brown - poor in nitrogen, but rich in fiber (wood, straw - almost pure fiber).

These two groups behave differently in the heap and are assigned different roles.

Green materials rot when heated and often with unpleasant smell, rot - quickly. They are the “stove of the heap” and in the soil they are a source of nitrogen.

Brown materials burn slowly and coolly. In heaps and soils, they primarily provide porosity and are cultivators, holding air and moisture. When they rot, they can deplete the compost of nitrogen.

Now let's look at both of these groups in detail.

Green

This group includes the following ingredients: bird droppings, feces, manure, kitchen waste, fruit and fruit juices and waste, grass clippings, green leaves, legume hay, tops, weeds, corn (greens) and everything green and vegetable.

Manure

It is best to use straw manure. The highest quality is horse. The worst is pork because it is runny and sour. But it will make excellent compost if it is layered with dry straw, husks or sawdust. Keep such compost until it is fully ripe and, immediately before laying it in the beds, the compost will need to be limed. Liming is carried out using the following calculations: 2 kg of fluff per 1 m 3 of compost.

Feces

Compost using this ingredient is the most nutritious. Its fertilizing quality is 8–10 times higher than that of manure.

It is better to infuse it for liquid feeding. Put it in a pile only if there is nowhere to put it. The most nutritious is pigeon droppings.

Kitchen and fruit waste

Waste must be placed thin layer and spread it with brown materials, like manure.

Hay

It is an excellent material for compost. It must be layered with ready-made humus or watered with an infusion of rotten straw or grass - for a faster rotting process. If the hay is dry, then it must be moistened, for example, with kitchen waste or water, or feces, etc., thus making artificial manure.

Grass, leaves and other greenery

These materials must be dried before being placed in the compost heap. Otherwise, they will become compacted in the heap, and air access to them will be difficult. As a result, they will not rot, but sour, turning into poisonous “silage”. If you do put fresh material, then it must be interlayered, like manure, with something dry brown.

Try to place plants that are not seeded, otherwise you will have to worry about weeding the beds later.

Brown

Brown materials include straw, dry leaves, corn cobs, seed husks, chaff, sawdust, bark, paper, and what remains in bags after harvesting the mushrooms.

If you have a sufficient amount of green material, then only the layers are made brown.

If you compost only brown materials, the compost will be nitrogen-depleted. This occurs as a result of the fact that such compost rots slowly and nitrogen is wasted to feed cellulose-degrading bacteria. Therefore, the pile needs to be moistened with urea (urea). Add the solution at the rate of 1.5 - 2 kg of urea per 1 m 3 of material. In this case, the compost will not suffer from a lack of nitrogen.

At country houses and personal plots Often the problem of disposing of organic waste arises - leaves, weeds, cleaning, sawdust and other things. Unlike inorganic waste (glass, plastic, etc.), all this can be used to produce clean, environmentally friendly fertilizer - compost. It is obtained as a result of the biological process of decomposition under the influence of the vital activity of microorganisms. Adding compost to any soil improves its quality characteristics. Clay soils acquire a lighter, crumbly structure, and sandy ones retain moisture better. Let's look at how you can make a compost pit and prepare compost correctly.

The following organic wastes are suitable for raw materials, which are divided into two large groups.

Brown waste

These include those that emit carbon.

Green waste

Waste that releases nitrogen is considered green.

berries, vegetables and fruits unsuitable for food and processing;
drunken tea and coffee cake;
stubs and cleaning;
scraps of wool;
leftover soups, cereals;
eggshell;
waste products of herbivores.

When adding a large amount of freshly cut grass, the compost preparation time will increase significantly. To speed up the process, lightly cover small layers of grass with soil.

What should you not put?

Not all organic matter is suitable for fertilization.

The following cannot be placed in a compost bin:

fresh pet excrement;
loach, wheatgrass;
bones;
leaves and other parts of plants affected by diseases, especially powdery mildew;
plants treated with any chemicals;
weeds whose seeds have ripened;
inorganic non-degradable waste (rubber, metal, glass, synthetic materials);
tops of potatoes and tomatoes;
fats, meat, dairy products;
fresh and boiled eggs (except shells).

Potato and tomato tops, even healthy-looking ones, can be carriers of late blight. Subsequently, such fertilizer can infect all plants. In addition, this raw material takes a very long time to dispose of; the process will take about 5 years.

Anything that is not suitable for a compost pit should be thrown into a cesspool or removed from the site as garbage.

Requirements for placement

A place on the site is chosen, as a rule, out of sight and one that you don’t mind - where nothing grows due to dense shade or infertility of the soil, somewhere behind outbuildings, if there are any, in the backyard.

There are other important points.

You need to understand that rotting raw materials will not emit the most pleasant smell, so you should think about moving away from the resting place and about the neighbors. It would be good to know the compass rose so as not to place the pile on the leeward side.
Consideration should be given to ensuring free access to the pit, since raw materials will be added and taken constantly throughout the season.
It is advisable to choose a site on flat surface, and not in a hole, it is possible with a slight slope to eliminate stagnation of water, which interferes with the flow of oxygen, and therefore extends the process over time.
The compost heap, although called a pit, must be higher than the ground level. In this case, it will warm up better, it will be more convenient to loosen, water and generally maintain it. Optimal parameters are 50 cm deep, 1 m of fence above the ground. Higher walls will make it difficult to loosen and use compost.
Eliminate proximity to source drinking water(must be more than 25 m).
The place should be in the shade or partial shade - sunlight slows down and dries out the raw materials.
Do not place the structure under trees, they may get sick and die. Neighborhood with conifers and other evergreen crops is especially not recommended. The best neighbors will be alder and birch.

Do not cover the bottom of the pit with film, slate or other material that does not allow moisture to pass through! It must penetrate from the soil unhindered (depthing will facilitate this), otherwise everything will dry out. The bottom should remain earthen.

Design features

The ideal dimensions of a structure are usually indicated by the parameters 1.5m x 2m, but ultimately they are determined based on the amount of raw materials that can be accumulated in 2 years. This is how long the process of preparing the finished substrate will take. Therefore, the ideal pit should be twice as large and two-section, designed to last two cycles. The first compartment will contain ready-made waste, the other will contain fresh waste over the next two years.

It is important to know that a small pit will not warm up well as a result of rotting, and this temperature may not be enough to kill all pathogenic microflora and harmful spores. Experts determine the required temperature of 60C and the above-mentioned optimal dimensions.

The structure must have a removable lid on top.

Design options

You can arrange a compost pit in different ways; let’s look at several common options.

Regular pit

The simplest construction that does not require additional costs and materials. A shallow hole is made, no more than half a meter deep, into which everything is folded according to the usual principle. The contents are covered with black polyethylene on top. To make it easier to remove for adding waste or using, it is rolled on both sides onto a long handle, which also serves as a load. After each new laying, it is recommended to cover the waste with grass.

The option is simple, but it is difficult to call it effective and convenient. There will be difficulties with mixing, and such a pile will not be able to warm up sufficiently, which means that it will take a longer time for it to rot.

Two-section composter

The material for production can be boards, old slate, metal sheets, corrugated sheets, walls from plastic containers, brick, etc. Optimal sizes depending on the size of the plot - 1.5-2 m wide and 2-3 m long. Make a deepening of 0.5-0.8 m. To secure the structure in the corners (retreating by required distance from the pit) pieces of pipes or metal rods are dug in large diameter, capable of supporting the weight of the compost heap. Wooden pillars they are not suitable for this purpose, since the process of decay will invariably affect them, and the structure will not last long due to the load.

Install the walls, not forgetting about ventilation holes. A partition is installed in the middle, dividing the structure into two equal-sized compartments. Ready humus will be stored in one of them, and “young” waste will be stored in the second. It is better to make the lid hinged, on hinges, so that it does not move and tightly covers the contents.

Reference segments metal pipes it is advisable to treat it with an anti-corrosion bioprotective composition, and all wooden parts- protective impregnation, and then cover with two layers of acrylic paint.

The bottom, as already mentioned, cannot be covered with waterproof material, but straw, sawdust or tree bark are perfect for this - they will provide the necessary air exchange and allow excess moisture to escape quietly.

If desired, you can make three sections. In the first there will be ready substrate, in the second - fully laid ripening, and the third will be intended for laying new raw materials.

Single section composter

A simpler and fairly compact option. You will have to take the finished product from below, for which you need to make a hole in one of the walls (or better yet, on different sides), from which the ripe fertilizer will be removed. There should be a distance of at least 30-40 cm between the wall of the box and the ground. In this case, there is no need to mix the substrate.

Concrete box

A structure that will be completed literally once and for all. Neat and reliable. To do this, you need to dig a trench of the required perimeter with a depth of 70-80 cm and make formwork. Pour concrete into it, remove the formwork and remove the soil from the box to the required depth. Can be used as a cover wooden shield or film pressed with a metal mesh.

Ready made plastic container

The modern market offers ready-made composter structures made of plastic. They have different size(within 400 -1000l), the necessary ventilation holes (make sure of this!) and a lid.

Their cost depends on the size, design and region and usually ranges from 2 to 10 thousand rubles.

Do not make compost pits that are too large; their contents will overheat, which is also undesirable, since this will lead to the death of the necessary microorganisms.

How to properly fill a compost bin?

Before laying the raw materials, clear the bottom of the pit from the turf and dig it well to a depth of 30 cm. This will provide conditions for the active life of worms and the penetration of beneficial microorganisms, which will provide indispensable assistance in the waste processing process. In addition, excess water will drain well into the loose soil.

We begin laying, alternating layers of wet and dry, brown and green raw materials. Their optimal ratio should be approximately the following: 3 parts brown waste to 1 part green waste, and there should be 5 times more wet raw materials than dry ones. Anything large should be broken or chopped.

Moisten (not too much) and close with a lid.

The raw materials should not be compacted too much, but excessive looseness is also undesirable. Everything should be in moderation, especially humidity.

Storing compost is not everything. Correct further actions will help speed up the decay process and make the fertilizer more nutritious. Please adhere to the following guidelines.

More quick cooking The following supplements help.

Rotted horse manure.
Some types of plants (valerian, chamomile, dandelions, yarrow).
Specially produced activating preparations, for example, Baikal EM-1, Compostin and Compostar.
Stale (dried) bird droppings.
Legume stems.
Bone and dolomite meal.
Superphosphate and complex mineral fertilizers.

As the contents rot, the temperature inside rises, and light steam may even rise from the heap. This is normal and indicates that everything is going well.

Spare no effort and time for this simple structure. This will solve the problem of recycling a considerable part of organic waste, and will provide valuable fertilizer, the quality and environmental friendliness of which you will be absolutely sure of.

Grass, leaves, twigs, straw are the most suitable components for composting. Compost from mowed grass is placed both in the pit and in the pile. The first option looks more aesthetically pleasing on the site, as it does not rise above the ground surface.

If moles live in the garden, they may start digging upper layer soil to get into the pile and feast on the earthworms that take part in creating the fertilizer.

Benefits of Green Grass for Compost

Green fertilizer made from grass, manure and ash is considered the most nutritious and beneficial for both soil and plants. It contains the main nutritional components - nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, as well as humic acids, which are the main indicator of soil fertility.

Bacteria and earthworms By eating organic matter, microelements are fermented and plants absorb them completely. This is the main difference between organic fertilizers and mineral fertilizers, the penetrating ability of which is 60% lower.

Some crops have long roots and absorb nutrition from deep layers of soil. This is typical for green manure, so grass compost with the addition of green manure increases the nutritional value of the fertilizer.

In addition, green manure plants of legumes contain several times more nitrogen. This reduces the need for mineral nitrogen fertilizers.

Grass clippings can be used as fertilizer not only in compost. The greens are simply taken out into the garden and the roots are mulched and dug up with soil. Soil microorganisms already do their job.

The difference is that in a pit or pile, composting from grass is more efficient and there is no loss of nutrients. The pit is completely isolated from precipitation and wind, and the heap is fenced with boards. A layer of soil, peat or sawdust is usually placed at the bottom to absorb the flowing liquid rich in minerals. If you make compost from grass in a barrel, the entire composition will be preserved.

Video: How to profitably recycle grass clippings

Features of grass fertilizer

There are many ways to quickly compost grass. But there are a few rules for how to compost grass correctly:

It is not advisable to use only greens. For complete decomposition, manure is added - it starts the combustion processes. At the same time, soil pests and their larvae are destroyed.

Weed seeds are usually much more tenacious and only temperatures up to 70 degrees can neutralize them. Lawn grass seeds do not pose a danger to garden crops. The herb content should not exceed 1/3 of the total number of components.

Fertilizer from grass and weeds must be constantly moistened. This promotes the proliferation of bacteria and earthworms. For example, red Californian worms are considered the most prolific and voracious.

They reproduce 500 times faster than domestic representatives of eukaryotes. Compost from mowed grass dries out faster in summer, animals and microorganisms are not able to feed normally, so the pile is watered and covered with film. It is better to make a bookmark in the shade of trees so that Sun rays do not dry the mixture.

Sometimes you need to turn the components over with a pitchfork so that there is access to oxygen. All bacteria in green grass fertilizer are aerobic. This means that they need air to live. If the walls of the pile are poorly ventilated, the bacteria die and the maturation of the fertilizer is delayed.

The best option for making compost from grass clippings and weeds is to dilute the greens with soil, alternately placing soil and vegetation in a pile.

What plants from the site are used for composting?

How to make humus from grass so that it is the most nutritious? You need to choose the right plants and combine them with other ingredients.

Green manure and nettle are considered the most nutritious. Nettle is useful not only for plants, but also for humans. This is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals without exaggeration. Green fertilizer from nettles and grass in liquid form can be prepared in a few days - on average in a month. For young seedlings the best feeding you can't imagine. Composting takes longer.

Legumes are suitable, but it must be borne in mind that the tops are richest in nutrients until flowering. Then it becomes coarser, and the nutritional components pass into the fruit. Therefore, it is better to grow legumes as green manure and cut them at the right time.

Cruciferous plants, such as mustard, are indispensable in compost. Their juices contain substances that disinfect everything around them - phytoncides. Before adding to the heap, it is advisable to finely chop the mustard and mix with the other ingredients.

Lawn grass is the most abundant ingredient in compost. The question arises, how to make green fertilizer from grass, so that it does not sour:

Be sure to mix it with manure so that combustion processes start faster;

before bookmarking lawn grass kept in the sun and dried so that it does not clump and rot;

add carbohydrate components - newspapers, sawdust.

The compost heap or pile must allow air to pass through - it supports combustion and reduces the risk of vegetation becoming damp.

What plants should not be composted:

Infected with fungal diseases, blackened in the area of the root neck.

Poisonous - lily of the valley, yew, aconite, foxglove. Alkaloids kill beneficial bacteria, and the process may slow down or stop altogether.

Weeds that are difficult to remove from the site are wheatgrass, cowgrass, bindweed, and knotweed. As a last resort, they are soaked in plain water for 2 weeks or poured with boiling water, then placed in a pile. It is important to soften the seed coat so that microorganisms can digest it and reach the plant embryo. after that they will definitely not sprout.

Cabbage clubroot is difficult to destroy even by composting, so it is better to burn the affected tops in an iron container so as not to spread the fungus. In the form of ash, tops can be added to a composter or pit.

Compost Recipes

There are two fundamentally different ways how to prepare humus from grass:

aerobic – with air access;

anaerobic - in a sealed container - composter or barrel.

In the first case, you need to occasionally shovel the mixture and maintain the moisture level. The second does not require intervention and matures on its own. With the anaerobic method, the largest amount of nutrients is retained, which are subsequently responsible for the harvest. This compost is ready for use after a month, but full maturation ends after 3 to 5 months.

Used for anaerobic composting special solution EM drugs. Quantity – 1 liter per ton of greens.

To make green food for plants from grass using the aerobic method, you can also add EO preparations, but the strains of bacteria will be different.

With the addition of aquatic plants

If it is possible to use aquatic plants or duckweed, then this is very good for composting, since pond plants have a soft tissue structure and decompose quickly. They contain the same nutrients, as terrestrial species.

An example can be given Ancient Egypt, when the Nile River, during its flood, threw organic matter in the form of algae onto poor sandy soils, and farmers were incredibly happy about this, since the yields were high.

To prepare compost from river grass, pond plants are mixed with soil and preferably manure - at least 2 layers. That is, the same rules apply as for regular composting.

Fresh grass compost

The easiest way to prepare it is anaerobically in a sealed composter. To do this, the mown grass is chopped and compacted tightly. A layer of soil is placed at the bottom of the composter to completely retain the nutrients.

After filling, the mixture is poured with a solution of the EM preparation and closed. Within 3 – 4 months the grass is decomposed (silaged), after which it is used for garden plants.

Silage is a valuable nutritious feed for domestic animals and birds. The content of vitamins rivals that of fresh grass, so it can be harvested in large quantities so that there is enough for the garden and livestock.

Liquid green fertilizer - preparation method

If there is no desire to arrange a hole or heap for composting, freshly cut greens are placed in a large plastic barrel by a third and fill with water. The mixture should begin to ferment, after which it is used as fertilizer.

You can prepare an infusion of herbs for feeding plants 2 weeks in advance. Lawn species or weeds that need to be chopped for better fermentation are suitable.

During the fermentation process, nitrogen is lost, so the barrel is tightly closed for the first days, then opened after a week, leaving a small gap for air to enter.

Grass and yeast

To make the herbal infusion for feeding plants ripen faster and be more nutritious, yeast is added to it.

Everyone has heard about the value of compost, even beginning gardeners. However, the rules for its formation and application are not known to everyone. Many people think that in order for compost to be successful, it is enough to dump waste and plant debris in one place during the summer, and everything is ready for spring. However, this is far from the case, and in order for your compost heap to truly become valuable material, you need to work on it.

What is compost?

If you look in the encyclopedia, you can find an exact description of what compost is: compost is a type organic fertilizer, obtained as a result of the decomposition of organic residues under the influence of the activity of various microorganisms. Consequently, several components are necessary for its formation: organic matter itself, microorganisms and conditions for their life. Based on this, let's look at how to make compost with your own hands.

What is a compost heap made of?

The first thing you need to understand when creating a compost heap is that not everything can be thrown into it.

What can you put in compost?

Can: any plant residues (grass clippings, chopped tree branches, weeds, leaves, tops), organic waste with kitchen table(vegetable peelings, egg shells, tea leaves, coffee grounds), straw used for bedding for livestock, hay, manure (preferably horse or cow), paper.

What should you not put in compost?

It is forbidden: plants infected with diseases, rhizomes of harmful weeds, fats, waste of inorganic origin, synthetic fabrics. It is not recommended to add cabbage to compost, as its rotting causes an unpleasant odor, as well as meat waste, since in addition to the stench, they also attract rats.

But that's not all. When forming a compost heap, you need to remember two rules. First, the smaller the waste, the faster it rots. Secondly, the ratio of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (fiber-poor) masses should be 1:5. This ratio will allow bacteria to fully develop and significantly speed up the process of compost maturation.

Since it is difficult to form a compost heap at one time and in most cases it is laid out gradually, it is quite difficult to understand by eye the amount of green and brown components contained in it. But there are principles that you can rely on to understand what needs to be added: if the compost heap has an unpleasant odor, then it lacks the brown component, if it is cool and has no visible fumes, then it is necessary to add green mass. If the balance is maintained, the compost heap should smell like earth, emit warmth, be moist and steam a little.

Ideally, a composting pile is laid out in layers with alternating not only green and brown contents, but also finer and coarser fractions of components. After final formation, it is covered with a layer of earth (5 cm), and then with old straw or a specially perforated film (for ventilation).

Forming a compost heap

Collecting organic remains in one place is not everything. For convenience and neatness appearance, the area allocated for the formation of compost must be fenced off. However, it is better to do this not with slate or metal, but by forming wooden frame. This is necessary so that the heap can “breathe”. The dimensions for the box should be approximately 1.5 x 1 m (the first indicator is width, the second is height), the length can be any.

The location chosen to form the compost heap is also important. Firstly, it must be protected from winds and the scorching midday sun. Secondly, it is hidden from prying eyes. And, if necessary, decorated with green plantings or climbing plants.

The best period for the formation of a planned business is autumn, rich in plant residues, as well as spring and summer. Winter period not suitable for composting due to unfavorable temperature conditions.

Before you start laying organic matter, it is good to lay a film or a layer of peat 10 cm thick on the bottom of the future heap, deepened into the ground (20 cm). This will preserve nutrients and moisture. AND!!! You should not resort to the method of collecting residues in a pit, since compost pits Excess moisture often accumulates, which worsens and lengthens the composting process.

Compost heap care

Now that we know the basic principles of forming a compost heap, we need to remember the rules for caring for it, since it depends on their implementation whether the compost will have time to form in a year or not, whether it will be complete and of high quality. And these rules are quite simple.

The compost heap must be turned once a month. In this case, it is good to achieve the most complete mixing of the residues. This will make the organic matter loose, enrich it with oxygen, and allow it to burn out rather than rot. If shoveling a pile is difficult for you, at least pierce it on all sides with a fork.
It is very important to monitor the moisture content of the compost pile. If it dries out, moisturize it regularly. However, you can’t go overboard here, but remember that wet doesn’t mean wet! Excess moisture displaces air, which means it impairs the functioning of the bacteria necessary for composting. So carefully water your pile with a watering can rather than a hose, preferring to under-water rather than over-water. During periods of prolonged rain and after watering, cover it with film.
If you want to speed up the process of compost maturation, make sure that enough nitrogen gets into the pile - it is found in the green parts of plants and slurry. We discussed above how to determine their deficiency.

Compost readiness indicators

How long it will take for the compost heap to mature depends on the conditions provided for it. Typically, complete decomposition of organic residues occurs in 1–1.5 years. The readiness of the fertilizer is determined visually and by smell - the organic matter becomes a crumbly dark brown mass with the smell of forest soil.