For several years now I have been arranging “warm” beds in my garden, this method has become a real salvation for my plot. The effort invested in creating natural “warmers” is minimal compared to the benefits the gardener receives:
The plant waste that makes up the bed warms the plants from the inside and allows you to get early harvest. This is very relevant for the North-West, because... May and June, and often all summer, are very cool here, night temperatures drop to +8-10 degrees, and you can’t plant the entire garden under a greenhouse.
The soil in the garden must be constantly renewed. However, importing soil by truck is very expensive. Plus, purchased soil often brings only disappointment - the gardener receives dirt and clay instead of humus. Various options“warm” beds allow you to renew the entire land on the site in sectors, using a method invented by nature itself.
Different types of beds that warm and make the soil themselves
All gardeners create “warm” beds in one form or another, sometimes they simply don’t realize it. All that remains is to approach this issue wisely, and the yield on the site will increase.There are several ways to create warm beds:
1. Compost heap in a stationary box. Summer residents who ignore this method, simply burying or throwing away grass or waste, are acting very unwisely. Organizing several compost heaps in boxes with a removable wall is very simple, and the benefits of this are enormous. The sides can be cemented or made of wood and scrap materials. 
One such heap is filled with layers of kitchen waste, grass, and manure all summer long - late in the fall it is covered with compost on top, the next season you can plant pumpkins or zucchini on it, and after the summer the heap is opened to get compost for the garden beds. 
While one compost bin is being filled, vegetable crops are growing in another and soil is taken from it in the fall or spring. This way, there is always fresh compost and it is of good quality. You can also make a compost heap based on a barrel or a concrete ring. 
2. Grass pit. On virgin soil or in a garden bed loamy soil at the beginning of the season, you can dig a hole 40-50 cm deep, throw grass there all summer after cultivating the beds, at the end of summer fill the hole with compost, next season plant green manure or legumes in this place and get a piece of fertile reclaimed soil.
3. “Warm” ridge-trench. A deep rut, which is dug two spade bayonets or even deeper and gradually filled throughout the season or at the end of summer.
4. “Warm” bed in a box, which forms in layers at the end of the season.
How to quickly turn an ordinary garden bed into a “warm” one
In my garden I use all the methods, but I’ll tell you more about the last one.At the end of summer after collection vegetable crops The beds are gradually being emptied, this is the best time to make “warm” beds. Typically, we grow zucchini, pumpkins, squash, and beans on such beds - the yield of these crops drops significantly if they are not heated from underground.
All our beds are enclosed in a wooden or metal box 30-40 cm high; it is very easy to make based on this design warm bed, you can proceed according to this scheme:
We choose a sector of approximately 1.5 by 1.5 meters, rely on our own strengths, too large garden bed It will be difficult to dig out at one time and will take a long time to fill.
We dig up soil from the garden bed, put the top soil in buckets or throw it in a pile on the side, and send the bottom loam to long-term compost or use it for household needs. If you have a strong assistant, you can dig up the entire box, which will completely renew the bed.
However, there is a simpler option - make a wide, deep trench in the middle of the bed.
At the very bottom we place branches, large tops, wood chips, paper; these organic materials will decompose slowly, so they are placed at the base. Plus, there are always gaps between the dense stems and pieces of wood, which creates a kind of drainage layer that ensures a gradual outflow of water. If I make a warm bed not from scratch, but with a furrow, then I put not hard branches at the base, but tops from beans, Jerusalem artichokes, sunflowers, zucchini, sprinkling everything with coarse sand. I am against chips and rotten pieces of wood in the garden bed, because... we already have a lot garden ants, so I don’t use such materials at all, but I mention them because... this material is in use among gardeners.
Next, we compact and water the greens well, the amount of water depends on the weather. We cover everything with a layer of soil; you can use the dug up soil that we put in buckets.
Place in the next layer organic waste, which decompose more quickly - traditionally, leaves, soft tops, wood chips, rotten vegetables and fruits are placed in the middle of the bed. I usually process strawberries during this period, so this layer In my garden bed, most of the strawberry and strawberry foliage comes from pruning, I am afraid to put rotten apples in the beds, because... This greatly acidifies the soil.
This layer should be quite voluminous; it can be divided into two, sprinkled with earth and spilled with water. I also add ash, because The soil on my site is quite acidic.
The next layer of the bed is formed from organic matter, which decomposes very well; this is an elite level, which should turn into humus by the beginning of the next season. Here I place short grass without seeds or roots, plucked or mowed with a sickle, and lawn grass after the lawnmower, which I collect and dry, producing hay.
A “warm bed” settles very strongly, so at this stage you need to fill the bed so that the grass sticks out of the bed. This green hill must be compacted, shed and covered with a 10-15 cm layer of compost humus. Then you can wait a few days and duplicate this layer again.
Place a layer of humus on top again.
Then on the newly made ridge you can plant green manure - oats, rye, mustard.
Previously, I sometimes planted oats before winter and then we sort of shoveled them, or beans in the spring, when we left the ground fallow. This year I planted rye, after 5 days the sprouts already began to creep out. I read that pulling out and burying is not best method, he destroys root system green manure, which accumulates nitrogen, phosphorus and other minerals. This year I want to try cutting rye - although this requires a very sharp flat cutter or hoe.
There is no need to dig up such a bed, just loosen the soil with a hoe. In the spring, to start life in the ridge, you can water it warm water or manure solution, then cover with film for a while. Temporary greenhouses on such a natural “heating pad” also give good results, because the plants are heated both above and below, creating a real bathhouse. A “warm” bed in a box lasts 2-3 years, in the second year I add compost to it, and in the third or fourth year I change it.
A “warm” ridge based on a trench lasts 7-8 years, because it is dug out with two shovels or even more, sand and large branches and pieces of wood are placed at the bottom. In my opinion, a bed in a box is more convenient and efficient, because... it is easier to make, and the soil changes more often, which allows you to avoid leaving the ridge fallow for rest.
This year spring is early and since the beginning of April we have been spending a lot of time in the garden - making warm compost beds. In general, such beds are made throughout the year, even in winter, and immediately after the snow melts they are finalized, covered with film and “ripened.” Making warm compost beds with your own hands is not that difficult! Try it too!
Compost heap or compost beds: which is better?
I won’t be mistaken if I say that on almost every garden plot There is a treasured corner where gardeners throw out organic matter - a compost heap. There was also such a place on our site for several years in a row.
Our old compost heap
Our compost heap was located a few meters from the house, so that it would not be so far to run around with a garbage can. Filling the pile was the husband’s “sacred duty”; he did an excellent job with it, but the soil with which it would be desirable to pour organic waste was located far away in the garden, and the husband was reluctant to go with a wheelbarrow to get it every time. It’s not hard to imagine what kind of “aroma” there was around our composter - all the surrounding flies flocked to us! In addition, the compost in our pile usually matured in two years, which is a long time by my standards, and for some reason there wasn’t enough of it. All this didn’t make me particularly happy... We had no doubt that compost was necessary in the garden, but how to optimize the process of obtaining it?
Watching how my husband runs every day to the compost heap with a garbage bucket, periodically mixes the compost with a pitchfork so that it “breathes,” and then every spring he delivers compost with a wheelbarrow to numerous beds located throughout the hectare, I began to wonder: how do they cope? with all this, women who do not have “male power” at hand.
I went to visit my closest neighbor, pensioner Nadezhda Petrovna, who is known in Kovcheg as a real gardener and always receives wonderful harvest, manages to common territory making and planting beds, and she does it wonderfully on her own. Nadezhda Petrovna told me that the whole secret is in the high compost beds! Why carry all the organic matter into one pile, and then from this pile into the beds, when you can immediately take the bucket to the garden bed and cover it with soil from the same bed! But really, why?
After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to make a compost bed myself, without the help of my husband. It turned out to be quite accessible and did not require much physical effort. Now there is no more compost heap on our hectare, but there are many warm compost beds! Filling them is still the same “sacred duty” of my husband, but now, when he is too lazy to fill up the waste with soil, I am able to do it myself, fortunately the soil is here, in the same bed!
Converting regular garden beds into compost beds
So there you have it ordinary beds, on which you have already grown vegetables. To improve their fertility, we will begin to fertilize the beds with organic waste.
The plants in the compost bed are doing great! Organic waste includes nitrogenous and carbonaceous materials.
Nitrogenous- these are wet (juicy) materials, for example, the remains of vegetables, fruits and other food waste, mowed grass and weeded weeds (although it is better to mulch plantings with them), as well as animal manure, bird droppings, human feces(for some reason, it is this most valuable product of human life that is most difficult for many people to “accept” as fertilizer).
TO carbonaceous materials include everything dry: hay, straw, paper, cardboard, sawdust, branches, various husks, rags from natural materials(although it is better to collect them separately and use them for mulching), eggshell, tea and coffee brewing, etc.
It is believed that in proper compost The optimal ratio of nitrogenous to carbon materials is 1:4. We will strive for this ratio in our compost beds.
It is not recommended to place cooked kitchen waste, animal bones and meat, animal fat and vegetable oil(To be honest, I don’t really bother; I put any food waste in the compost - both boiled and with butter, but we don’t have meat and bones anyway, we are vegetarians). It is also not necessary to put diseased plants (especially those affected by clubroot and late blight), seed heads of weeds, cat and dog feces, unshredded wood, perennial weeds, and wool into the compost.
Do you practice separate waste collection?
If you are still collecting all the garbage in your house, both organic and inorganic, in one trash can, then it’s time to get rid of this bad habit and take a more conscious approach to the waste collection process. You should have at least two buckets in your kitchen! In one you will throw away leftover food, scraps of paper and cardboard (although we, for example, never throw away paper, but collect it separately for kindling), any dust from a vacuum cleaner - in general, everything that can rot and turn into valuable fertilizer. In another bucket we collect all the inorganic waste - candy wrappers, film, plastic, rubber, etc. The next stage of increasing your awareness is the separate collection of inorganic waste depending on the material from which it is made (in the Ark we now practice separate collection of inorganics), but now start at least small - collect organic matter in a separate bucket!
Our hut at a makeshift dacha I remember with a smile the time when my husband and I lived in a city apartment. About five kilometers from our house there was an abandoned holiday village, gradually turning into a swamp. No one had lived there for a long time; the land was overgrown with willows. My husband cleared clearings there and grew chestnut seedlings, which he later planted in the local park. We also organized a small vegetable garden there, built a hut and went “to the ground” almost every week. We had such a unique dacha there. So, in order to increase soil fertility, we made compost ourselves right in the apartment! My husband installed a small barrel on the balcony into which we carried all organic waste. So that there is no on the balcony unpleasant odor, the husband took the tube out of the barrel outside and installed a small fan in the barrel. When the compost was ready, it was taken out in bags to our garden. What I mean is that even in urban conditions it is possible to do composting, if there is a desire.
How many compost beds can you make in a season?
But let's return to our beds. Let's calculate how many beds we can make compost per season. It depends on how much organic waste you generate in the course of your life. For example, it takes two weeks to make one small compost bed on my site (that is, during this time our family of four collects enough organic waste to cover the bed with a layer of 15-20 cm). If we take into account that the beds then have to “ripen” for another 3 weeks, it means that if we start filling the bed with waste right now, then by mid-May we will already have the first ready-made compost bed for planting, for example, corn seeds. In another 2 weeks, by the end of May, another bed will be ready where pumpkin seedlings can be planted.
Thus, this spring I can only make 2 compost beds, which means the rest can be safely planted. The third compost bed can be filled during June after we have harvested early crops from it - radishes, lettuce. Then the bed from under the peas is cleared. Thus, throughout the spring and all summer, you can gradually increase the fertility of 5-7 beds.
A few more beds will fill in the fall. In the fall, we make sure to prepare the beds closest to the house (I’ll tell you exactly how below) so that in winter we can dispose of organic waste on them. It turns out that my family can provide about 10 beds with compost during the gardening season. What about yours?
Making compost beds with your own hands
So, we have chosen the first bed and are ready to gradually fill it with waste. To do this, you need to remove a part of the soil from the end of the bed about half a shovel deep and about half a meter long. This soil can be poured into unnecessary (cracked) buckets and stored somewhere in the shade. We take out the garbage into the depression in the garden bed and immediately sprinkle it with a small layer of soil, which we take from the same bed from the place where our hole began (it is convenient to immediately “settle” a separate shovel in the garden bed, so as not to have to run after it with a garbage can every time in hands). Thus, when we fill and cover the first depression with earth, we automatically form the next depression. This way we gradually fill the entire garden bed with organic matter. It is not difficult to guess that to fill the last hole with waste we use soil from buckets that were waiting in the shade.
After compost bed completely filled, it must be very well poured with Baikal solution - EM1 (1 cap of Baikal per 10-liter watering can). A watering can of this solution is used for 1 sq.m of bed.
You can cover the compost bed with black spunbond Then the bed needs to be well mulched. You can use straw or hay, cardboard, newspapers, black non-woven material- spunbond, which need to be firmly fixed in the garden bed. In the spring, to better warm the bed, I additionally cover it with film; in the summer there is no need to use film. While the first bed “ripens” for 3-4 weeks, we begin making the next compost bed.
When the bed is “ripe”, I sprinkle it with ash (0.5 liters per 1 sq. m), go through it lightly with a flat cutter and. I make sure to mulch everything, usually with freshly cut grass.
If the beds were filled during the summer, and you no longer plan to grow anything in them this season, then be sure to mulch them so that weed seeds do not fall into the soil.
If you still have time before autumn, you can sow the bed with green manure, but then do not cover them, but leave them until winter.
Preparing beds for filling them in winter
Therefore, in winter we continue to fill the beds with organic matter. But for this you need to prepare the beds in the fall. It is important to choose the beds closest to the house; in winter there is so much snow that you won’t be able to get far into the garden.
In principle, if you have a ready-made bed with high sides that needs to be filled, you don’t have to do anything, just take all the organic waste into it in winter and sprinkle it with snow. But in the spring there must be a place where you can get soil to fill the resulting compost bed with a layer of at least 10 cm. We have a special mountain of fertility (formed when we dug a pond), and in the spring my husband brings soil from there to such a bed. 2-3 days before filling with soil, it is advisable to walk through the bed with a flat cutter and break up frozen clods of organic matter, if any remain. And then cover it with earth, pour it with warm Baikal-EM1 solution and be sure to cover it with film.
If there is no such reserve of soil, then you can carefully remove the top layer of soil from the garden bed and place it nearby. For example, on a banner. And in the spring, when the soil thaws, return it to the already filled bed, spill it with Baikal-EM1 solution and be sure to cover it with film.
This year, instead of Baikal-EM1, for the first time we used the microbiological fertilizer Siyanie-3 - we sprinkled it on the compost and watered it well. I think the effect will be the same as that of Lake Baikal.
This year we tried to sprinkle the compost bed with microbiological fertilizer Siyanie-3 
Then we watered the bed well
Pros and cons of compost beds
I'll start with advantages:
1. Even a retired woman can make a compost bed. There is no need to periodically mix the compost and run around the site with a wheelbarrow (especially if the site is a hectare).
2. The compost bed “ripens” relatively quickly, especially if it is treated with EM preparations. 3-4 weeks after laying the bed, it is ready for use.
3. The compost bed is long-lasting, it can be used for several seasons in a row, planting in the first year plants that like to “eat” (pumpkin, corn, cucumbers, etc.), in the second year root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes), and third year legumes (beans, peas).
4. In the first year, the compost bed is also warm, so you can plant vegetables even with seeds in it. For example, in such a bed, corn planted with sprouted seeds in mid-May grows and ripens remarkably.
5. Worms love to live in the compost bed, which helps maintain the structure and fertility of the soil.
Now about cons:
1. In the spring, when the snow melts, covering the compost beds that were filled in the winter, they do not look very aesthetically pleasing. Here you have to endure the “mess” a little, and as soon as the ground thaws, just finish the bed by covering it with earth.
2. The second disadvantage concerns settlements where there are no fences. Dogs love to rummage through an unfinished compost bed, snatching away “goodies.” Magpies also feed there, again, until the bed was covered with earth.
Using compost beds is one method. I have been practicing it on my site for several years now and am very pleased with the result. I advise you too!
Most gardeners who prepare compost for themselves in heaps are convinced that plants need, first of all, humus. That's why they compost. However, they do not take into account the losses that inevitably occur during such composting. In a compost heap, during the decomposition of organic matter, first of all, carbon dioxide.
And all this for the sake of obtaining humus. As a result, gardeners contrast carbon dioxide nutrition with mineral nutrition. I think that these types of nutrition cannot be opposed. If there is not enough mineral nutrition, the plants will be weak and underdeveloped. If they lack carbon dioxide nutrition, the result will be the same. To receive maximum yield It is necessary that these two types of nutrition are provided to the maximum extent. Experienced gardeners know: if you increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the air directly near the plants, the yield will increase in proportion to this increase. Why, then, create an excess of mineral nutrition if an insufficient amount of carbon dioxide will still hinder crop growth? Increasing the amount of humus and mineral solutions due to the loss of carbon dioxide in this case is unnecessary, wasted work.
On my site, composting occurs in close proximity to the plants - in the paths. Therefore, carbon dioxide is not lost, but is absorbed by plants. At the same time, the formation of humus and nutrient solutions also occurs near the plants themselves - all products of organic decomposition are used as fully and harmoniously as possible. I see advantages in this compost paths. In one of the publications I came across the statement: “You can raise the level of carbon dioxide in the surface layer of the atmosphere without the use of green mulch by increasing the population of soil microorganisms in the soil of ridges by adding them with EM preparations. This is easier to do than collecting and distributing green organic matter.”
I think that it is completely impossible to pose the question this way. In order for carbon dioxide to be released, organic matter is needed first of all. Just so that there is what to digest. And it is just as important that the soil contains those who will digest it. If one thing is missing, then the process will not proceed. If one of the components is not enough, the process will proceed extremely sluggishly.
Proponents of composting organic matter in heaps most often add completely decomposed compost to the soil. Such compost already contains very little undecomposed organic matter. This means that the process of carbon dioxide formation in the beds will be weak. To enhance this process, unfermented organic matter is needed on the surface of the beds - mulch. So, in this case, discussing what is easier, adding organic matter or effective microorganisms, is pointless. You need both. Fragment from another publication: “A bed plus a passage - 1 meter. A passage width between ridges of less than 70 cm does not give any positive result (Mittlider). Plants in the outer rows receive more food from the air (carbon dioxide), since the air next to the passages is constantly renewed. Inside the ridge, the air stagnates or is poorly renewed. It is this, and not the compost of the aisles, that is the reason for the greater yield of the outer rows. Wide passages between the ridges will ensure a constant exchange of air around each of the plants; the wind increases the yield.”
This author cites Mittlider as an irrefutable authority. And in this case, I consider his recommendation, for Mittlider method very important. But exactly for the Mittlider method. What causes the need for constant exchange of air around each plant? It's very simple. The use of mineral fertilizers on a sterile substrate does not contribute to the formation of carbon dioxide. Mittlider: “The passages are never loosened, watered, or fertilized, they are only firmly trampled down by your walking along them.” This means that microbiological activity in the passages is also extremely suppressed. Consequently, when the air stagnates, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the surface space drops - plants consume it. This may reduce the yield. In order for the yield to not decrease, constant renewal of the air is precisely what is needed - to bring in carbon dioxide from the outside. Mittlider's recommendation – good decision when applying his methods: since his methods do not contribute to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide, then it is necessary to attract him from the outside. Often used in greenhouses different ways increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide - special burners, cylinders with liquefied carbon dioxide, barrels with decaying organic matter and other devices.
Now let's look at the option organic vegetable garden with composting in heaps. Lost during composting more carbon dioxide. The compost is then applied to the beds. Soil inhabitants are constantly working in the ridges, decomposing the remains of organic matter that did not have time to decompose in the compost heap. In this case, carbon dioxide is released. But wide passages between the ridges will ensure a constant exchange of air around each of the plants. And carbon dioxide flies safely to the neighbors. Why don't they use carbon dioxide cylinders? open ground? Yes, because it's useless. The gas is distributed in the air, moves to other areas, and, in short, is wasted. The same thing happens with the gas that microbes emit in the beds with constant air movement - it also goes to waste. So what happens: does the wind increase the harvest? Mittlider - yes. On beds filled with compost - no. The wind simply carries away the carbon dioxide. I’m not talking about other atmospheric gases, because there is already an abundance of them in the air to feed plants. To obtain maximum yield, the atmosphere always lacks only carbon dioxide. So you shouldn’t artificially reduce its concentration.
In the wild, vast expanses of thickets of grass, without a single Mittleider path, are full of health; with their whole appearance they speak of what is good for them in this “wild” Nature. Why don't they need intense air exchange? Because underneath there is always a layer of organic mulch - food for microbes and other soil inhabitants, which replenish the ground layer of air with the missing carbon dioxide. This is exactly that endless cylinder of carbon dioxide.
For myself, I concluded - in terms of carbon dioxide nutrition Wide Mittlider paths, trampled, without a single weed, devoid of organic matter - the worst option. If the paths are turfed or under mulch, then this is much better. In my opinion, best option– narrower paths in which the process of composting organic matter takes place. This conclusion does not address the issue of convenience: it is undoubtedly more convenient to walk along wide paths.
In no way am I advocating redoing the layout of your garden. If for some reason only wide, bare paths are acceptable to you, then no problem - create a system of wings that block the wind. Most effective option – green hedge, this will reduce carbon dioxide losses. Another quote from the publication: “The passages are never loosened, watered, or fertilized, they are only firmly trampled down by your walking along them.” Apparently it works well on sandy soil. On my loam after rain you can’t walk along such a path - it’s mud. Don't come in spring. Paths under organic matter are much more convenient in this regard. They are always clean. The top layer -3-5 cm is always dry. Even after rain it dries very quickly. This top layer does not overcook precisely because it is dry. On loam, such paths are a clear advantage.
Another disadvantage, in my opinion, of clean wide compacted paths is that a huge amount of moisture is lost from their surface. In summer they get very hot. In our area, at the end of June, such paths are covered with cracks up to 20 cm deep and as thick as a finger. Such paths work to overheat the beds. The opposite situation occurs if the paths are covered with mulch. Compost paths have a minor drawback - they take longer to warm up in the spring than bare paths. But for development cultivated plants it has no effect. The beds are raised, and due to this they heat up quickly. This is enough for small plants - the root system is still small.
Good luck everyone!
Oleg Telepov, member of the Omsk Potato Growers Club
What is better - compost heaps or mulch on beds and paths? To prove that you are right in such a dilemma is the same as declaring: “it is better to sleep than to be underfed.”
In fact, there is no dilemma if you understand the essence of what I do. I’ll try to formulate this very essence very briefly: the basis of my technology is composting plant residues in paths and beds. I moved the compost pile to a place where it would be accessible to plant roots - in paths and beds. I am fully in favor of composting, but with some reservations. Let's compare two options: composting in paths and composting in composters, compost heaps etc. What's the difference?
- The process of operating a compost heap can be simplified as follows: we collect all organic residues in a heap. We maintain microbiological activity in the heap. We take them out into the beds ready compost. We embed it in the soil of the beds. The process of operating compost paths is twice as simple. We collect organic residues on the paths. We support microbiological activity in the paths. That's all.
- Composters occupy separate place on the site. Composting in paths requires no additional space at all.
These two points alone show great benefits compost paths in front of the compost heap.
- When composting, carbon dioxide is lost in heaps, which is the main building material plants. When composting in paths, carbon dioxide is released in the place where plants are able to use it most fully - in the root zone of crops.
- Most of it is lost in compost heaps. organic matter, the heap decreases in volume by 4 times. Nothing is lost in the compost trails. During the decomposition of organic matter, it also plays the role of an effective mulch, which retains moisture, evens out temperature fluctuations in the soil, and helps to enhance microbiological activity in the bed and paths.
- The compost pile attracts worms. But only when the temperature in the pile drops do the worms start working in the pile (vermicomposting). In addition, the compost heap will distract worms from the surrounding beds, if the same beds are not created for worms. comfortable conditions, as in a heap. The area of the compost paths is much larger than the area of the compost heap (with the same volume of organic material used), which means that more worms are attracted. The worms work there all the time - the temperature in the paths does not rise. And the waste products of the worms are distributed both in the paths and in the beds through the efforts of the worms themselves. And the worms will lay their offspring right there, in the paths.
- Compost paths do not have the disadvantages of a compost heap. The layer of organic matter in them does not exceed the critical volume required to heat the heap. There is no increase in temperature and everything associated with it.
- In compost heaps, when heated, most weed seeds die. Weed seeds do not die in compost paths. But this is only for the good - free green manure, the seeds of which do not need to be purchased and sown. But on paths with a thick layer of organic matter, to my regret, there are few weeds.
- Proponents of compost heaps are forced to take all weeded weeds and post-harvest residues into the heap. If you have compost paths, this is not necessary. We leave everything in place.
- Compost heaps perform one single role - preparing compost. Compost tracks are also a system automatic adjustment humidity and temperature in the beds, depending on the season.
And here is another argument against the use of composting in paths and beds: “Your proposal to increase humus in the soil by mulching beds and walkways with raw organic matter is equivalent natural process– accumulation of humus in the soil over many years. The gardener wants to increase soil fertility as quickly as possible...” The question shows a clear lack of understanding of the role of paths as small-volume composting sites. All processes that occur in the paths are equivalent to the processes in the compost heap, except for heating. Accordingly, no less humus is formed in the same time. But for me, the accumulation of humus is not an end in itself. Humus is only an important “addition”. In the process of life, the microcosm decomposes organic matter into solutions that it consumes for its nutrition. These same solutions can be absorbed by plants - this is their main nutrition. That part of the solutions that was not absorbed by plants and microbes combines with the mineral part of the soil, forming slightly soluble stable particles - this is humus.
This process in my garden occurs intensively in the paths. If there are compost paths, the decomposition of organic matter on the surface of the bed is not so important, although it is useful. The main thing here is to retain moisture, stabilize the temperature, protect the soil structure from destruction, and create comfortable conditions for the worms. These functions can best be performed by undecomposed organic matter. But my practice shows that even under drought conditions and without watering, organic residues on the surface of the bed decompose, although less intensively than under moist conditions. In addition, these processes can be controlled. If organic matter is crushed, decomposition will go faster. In my practice, I don’t grind anything. I simply select the mulch for the crop according to the size of the organic fragments. For example, I mulch tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes with hay, straw, and other large-sized organic matter. Carrots, beets, daikon, radish - leaves, that is, smaller organic matter.
The paths contain various organic matter, both small and large, both quickly decomposing and long-decomposing. This is done deliberately. This heterogeneous structure of composted materials ensures constant aeration. This prevents putrefactive decomposition from occurring. All of the above does not mean that I am against chopping up organic matter for mulch and composting. But my practice proves that you can do without chopping.
This comparative analysis shows that track composting technology is less labor intensive than using compost heaps. And, in addition, it performs many related functions. I conducted this analysis for myself. Just wondering if maybe I'm really doing too much compared to composting in piles? It turns out that my approach is less labor-intensive. Good luck with your gardening endeavors.
Oleg Telepov,
Omsk
Using compost.
Give back to the earth plant nutrients, what was taken from her is the idea compost. Weeds, food waste, paper, leaves - all this is suitable for making compost. Making compost- this is also science.
The decomposition of plant residues is carried out by microorganisms, most of which do not harm and are even beneficial to plants, but at the same time they compete with or destroy microorganisms harmful to plants - pathogens of plant diseases. That's why compost and another organics contribute to the improvement of soil from pathogens of plant diseases.
There are several ways to use compost and other organic matter:
1. Compost is prepared in a compost heap and, when mature, is applied to the furrows and onto the surface of the beds.
2. A “high” bed is made, where weeds and other plant debris are laid.
3. “Semi-ripe compost” is placed in a bed with sides of 15-20 cm and sprinkled with a little earth.
Benefits of tall compost beds
High or raised beds, with or without sides, have the following general features: after winter they quickly warm up and are freed from excess moisture, while the rest of the soil remains cold and excessively waterlogged for a long time. High ridges vital for places that are waterlogged in spring.
Warm, well-aerated soil allows plants to get an earlier start. At the same time, the most vulnerable part of plants - their roots, do not suffer from a lack of oxygen and low soil temperature. In such conditions, plants grow quickly, quickly develop a deep root system and resist pathogens and adverse conditions well.
In warm soil high ridges Beneficial soil microorganisms that have frozen out during the winter quickly multiply, reducing the danger plant diseases. Finally, high ridges, stuffed compost or manure, begin to warm up due to microbial decomposition of organic matter, warming and nourishing plant roots.
Disadvantages of tall compost beds
To the disadvantages high ridges The possibility of their drying out due to insufficient and irregular watering should be taken into account.
Compost beds cannot provide balanced nutrition plants. Therefore you should use mineral fertilizers as supplements. You can use Mittleider mixtures 1 and 2. In the first year of use compost bed dose nitrogen fertilizers in mixture 2 can be reduced.
Using compost on the surface of the beds
Usage mature compost on the surface of the ridges - this is a classic of vegetable growing, generally recognized by foreign and domestic vegetable growers. Mature compost mixed with complete mineral fertilizer also placed in planting furrows and holes.
Sometimes used semi-ripe compost as mulch on the surface of beds in combination with seedling method. Good results are obtained in dry summers, when compost mulch not only nourishes without increasing the concentration of the soil solution to limits dangerous for plants, but also protects the soil from drying out.
However, one should beware of carryover plant pathogens on semi-decomposed plant residues, although the high biological activity of compost suppresses most pathogens of plant diseases - this is the healing role of organic matter.
Also, due to the high biological activity of semi-ripe compost, sowing seeds into it does not always give positive results. But when using seedling method always get good results.
Compost beds with sides 15-20 cm high
Are very promising compost beds with low sides 15-20 cm high, for example from boards. You can first dig a trench to the depth of a spade bayonet, sprinkle a small layer of sand 5-7 cm on the bottom and fill the bed with semi-ripe compost up to the sides. Above compost Be sure to cover it with soil. You don’t even have to dig a trench, just fill it up semi-ripe compost between the sides and sprinkle it with soil. The width of the ridges can be any: from narrow - 45 cm to much wider.
It is convenient to build such beds in the fall, using semi-ripe compost and plant residues of the current year, which accumulated during the season in compost heap(in the compost yard). When laying compost and plant residues, they should be well moistened, it is advisable to use biological products"Kyussey" type - effective microorganisms (EM) or dung infusion.
When using geometry narrow Mitlayder ridges(narrow ridges and wide passages) we essentially have "Mitlider" ridges on organic matter. This is reminiscent of the Mitlaider ridges with a two-layer soil, where the top layer on the beds between 20 cm high board sides is covered with a mixture of sawdust and sand. The only difference is that in Mitlider method are used mineral fertilizers, because sawdust contains very little nutrients V accessible form, and in compost apply less mineral fertilizers.
Some differences are as follows: the process of decomposition of sawdust in a sawdust-sand mixture proceeds mainly along the path of humification, and the mixture gradually, over 2-3 seasons, turns into loose, rich in relatively stable humus soil. Compost basically decomposes, settles, humus also formed, but less stable, organics breaks down, releasing nutrients at significantly higher activity soil microflora. However, when compost decomposes, the resulting nutrients are not balanced in composition and quantity (there is often an excess of nitrogen and a deficiency of calcium and magnesium). Therefore, corrective application of mineral fertilizers, which requires some experience from the gardener. You can also use standard Mitlider's top dressing with a decrease in the share of nitrogen fertilizers in them for compost beds first year of use.
A layer of compost improves the structure of the soil and protects it from drying out during dry times. During the decomposition process of both sawdust and compost, carbon dioxide is released - an absolutely necessary substance for plant nutrition, especially in greenhouses or greenhouses, where there may be a shortage of it.
"Classic" high compost bed
High compost bed
Manufacturing "high" compost bed allows you not to wait for the compost to mature, but to use unrotted weeds And plant remains. High compost bed may or may not have sides, then vegetables are also grown on gentle slopes. Often it is enough to dig a trench to the depth of a spade bayonet and slightly less than the width of the ridge. If the soil is heavy and clayey, then a layer of sand, at least 5-10 cm, should be poured onto the bottom of the trench. Then cut branches of trees and shrubs, raspberries, etc. should be placed on the bottom. They lay on them weeds and others plant remains, moisturize well, you can water it with infusion of manure or preparations of beneficial soil microflora, sprinkle with lime or dolomite and complete mineral fertilizer (this is a must), stamp your feet and turn the soil back over. The result was a “high” bed. On top you can plant zucchini, pumpkins, cabbage and other plants that require good nutrition, and at the edges are plants that need less nutrients. In the second and third years, you can plant root crops and other plants in the center. Excellent harvests guaranteed 2-3 years. Excess selected soil from waste compost is used to fill flower beds, shrubs and tree trunk circles trees.
Structure of a high compost bed
If the soil is heavy and clayey, then a layer of sand, at least 5-10 cm, should be poured onto the bottom of the trench. A wire mesh at the base of the bed protects the plants from voles (rats) and moles. Next, they lay down a layer of shredded wood, branches, raspberry chips - all the trimmings from the garden instead of burning them. Use branches no thicker than a finger and as long as a pencil. Chips are placed on top of them - this forms the airy core of the ridge. Next, layers of moistened leaves and plant residues are laid. It is advisable to sprinkle each undecomposed layer with lime or dolomite and add a handful of complete mineral fertilizer.
Next layer - semi-ripe compost, and from above - mature compost, mixed with garden soil. On top along the ridge it is necessary to make a groove (or earthen sides) for irrigation and retention of water. For impregnation irrigation inside a high compost bed, at a depth of about 20 cm, you can place plastic pipe or a hose with holes with a diameter of 3-4 mm.
Dimensions high ridge
The bed is an earthen rampart or mound about 80 cm high in the center, tapering off at the edges, 1.8 m wide and of arbitrary length.
Note
There is virtually no need to burn any plant residues: pruning of trees and shrubs goes into compost beds, with the exception of thick branches that are used as firewood.
Features of the high ridge
* when forming a high bed, leftovers are placed in it healthy plants. However, in practice, such a rule is difficult to fully implement. Therefore, you can do this: do not use compost, especially semi-ripe one, for the crops from which it was prepared for 3-4 years. For example, compost from potato tops should not be used for potatoes and tomatoes until 3-4 years have passed and it has been disinfected. Do the same with other plant residues;
* abundant watering is the main condition for obtaining high yield on high bed;
* unlike a compost heap, a high bed should only be placed on sunny place. All crops that are recommended for growing in high beds are very light-loving (pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, white cabbage). Otherwise, crop loss and excess nitrates cannot be avoided;
* when organic matter decomposes, heat is released, and the soil in a high bed will be 5-7 degrees warmer. Therefore, a common practice is to grow warm-season crops on compost heaps.
* in the first year, compost beds contain a lot of nitrogenous nutrients, so for the first two years it is not recommended to grow nitrate-accumulating vegetables on a high bed: lettuce, spinach, beets, chard, radishes. Therefore, in the first year, crops are grown that require increased nutrition: cabbage, celery, pumpkin - zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers. However, it should be taken into account that, say, a pumpkin quickly depletes the compost. After a year, you can plant plants with average nutrient consumption: endow, head lettuce, beets. In the third year, plants with medium and low nutrient consumption are planted. The photo on the left shows the raised compost bed in its second year of use. IN mixed culture Kohlrabi, lettuce and onions are planted on it.
*except for the main crops grown along midline, plant accompanying crops with lower nutrient consumption along the edges of the ridge.
