Compost Ingredients What To Put Inside A Compost Pile

I have mentioned in my earlier article about a basic idea on the term Composting. Now to dig a little deeper this article gives an idea about various ingredients of a Compost. There are main three factors of preparing a good compost pile viz. Air, Water and Food. While managing Air and water can be relatively easier, the main struggle people seems to feel with the food, i.e, what to provide in the compost pile. This blog focuses on that part of the compost.

Experts say you can literally put anything(which can be decomposed) into the compost pile. Though there is no right or wrong way of composting, it is better to know some basic points which will create a very high quality compost.  One of the such important point is to make a note on the Carbon Nitrogen ratio(C/N ratio) while you prepare the compost pile.

Depending on the amount of carbon and Nitrogen the ingredients of a compost can be classified into two categories Brown and Green.

Brown items includes dry leaves, straw or hey, eggshells, wood, pine needles, saw dust etc. These materials contains higher amount of carbon and lesser amount of Nitrogen. Green items includes kitchen scraps, grass clippings, fresh manure, vegetable peelings etc. Green materials contains a higher amount of Nitrogen than than brown materials.

The success of preparing a good compost depends on the proper ratio of green and brown materials. It heats up faster, decomposes quickly, does not smell and easy to maintain. Followings are some of the ingredients which you can use to prepare your compost:

Leaves:

These are one of the most commonly used composting ingredient. Be sure which type(dry or green) of leaves you are choosing. Dry leaves can add to your brown elements where as green leaves are more of a green element. Autumn leaves are very good source of carbon. For better compost make the leaves shredded. It will help to decompose faster. The C/N ratio of leaves can vary from 60-80:1.

Straw/Hay:

In case you are having a heavy clay type soil, adding straw or hay into the compost can be very helpful. Straw/Hay decomposes very slowly, so the particles can actually help in opening soil pores. These ingredients contain very low amount of nitrogen but the carbon content is very high.

Eggshells:

As we all know eggshells contain high deposits of calcium. Adding those into your pile can definitely add the nutrients to the compost. Just don’t forget to crush those shells before adding it to the compost and never add whole eggs to the compost only the shells.

Wood ash:

It is a very good source of calcium and potassium besides carbon. It is very alkaline in nature so you can use it to increase the pH of your soil.

Pine needles:

These are very high in carbon content but very slow to decompose. Add only few in the compost. You can use the rest of them into the preparing mulch.

Beside those brown ingredients newspapers can also be used as composting ingredient. Just avoid glossy and colorful papers as these contains chemical which will hamper your organic gardening benefits.

Kitchen Scraps/vegetable peelings:

It is the most preferred green ingredient. It can be found in abundance in every house. Fruits and vegetable peels and other wastes which can be found in the kitchen. Just avoid cooked ones. The oil used in cooking slows down the decomposition. It also attracts different pest such as rodents.

Grass Clippings:

It is a great source for nitrogen. While applying the clippings make sure to use it in very thin layers between the brown materials. A thick layer of clipping can prevent the air flow into the compost pile. It will result in excess nitrogen and smell of ammonia.

Manure:

You can add manure from cows, horse, chickens, bats(guano) etc. but don’t add human feces, or droppings from dogs, cats or pigs. These contains parasites which will result in diseases in your family. Fresh manure is a very good source of Nitrogen.

You can also add coffee grounds or seaweeds depending on the availability. The nitrogen content is higher in green ingredients compared to the brown ones. Nitrogen helps in forming amino acids and protein. So these are a vital food source for the microbes which decomposes the ingredients and make compost for you.

I hope the next time you go to prepare the compost for your garden you will definitely keep those points in mind which are discussed above. Share your thoughts and past experiences of composting with us.

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Aerated Compost Tea Attributes Uses Production Method

CCRES AQUAPONICS

A short video describing the basic biological benefits of compost tea, how to use it and how its produced.





CCRES AQUAPONICS

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Projekt CCRES AQUAPONICS

  

HRVATSKI CENTAR OBNOVLJIVIH IZVORA ENERGIJE

predstavlja Vam 

 Projekt

CCRES AQUAPONICS

Posljednje je desetlje?e akvakultura najbrže rastu?i sektor proizvodnje hrane, ve? je sad svaka tre?a riba koja se na?e na tanjuru uzgojena , manji su troškovi ulaganja, a ve?i je prinos ribe i morskih vrsta.

Uskoro bi zbog ekspanzije ?ovje?anstva, zbog kojeg se svakodnevno izlovljava sve više i više ribe za prehranu, moglo do?i i do nestašice te prehrambene namirnice, ali isto tako i zbog sustavnog zaga?enja mora kemijskim spojevima koji tako?er uništavaju riblju populaciju u prirodi. Zbog toga su mnoge zemlje morale pre?i na kontrolirani uzgoj u kojem je ve?i postotak preživljavanja ribe, bolja iskoristivost hrane te brži napredak ribe, te su razvile akvakulturu, uzgoj organizama u vodenoj sredini pod kontroliranim uvjetima.

Posljednje je desetlje?e akvakultura najbrže rastu?i sektor proizvodnje hrane. Naime, smatra se kako ?e ve? za desetak godina više od polovice prehrambenih proizvoda iz mora biti uzgojeno, a prema nekim podacima, ve? je sad svaka tre?a riba koja se na?e na tanjuru uzgojena. Naime, u akvakulturi su manji troškovi ulaganja, a ve?i prinos ribe i morskih vrsta.
U primjeni akvakulture poseban je svjetski ugled stekao Izrael, koji je uz veliku nestašicu vode upravo u pustinjskim podru?jima napravio velike uzgojne bazene. Izraelska se akvakultura intenzivno razvija te danas obuhva?a uzgoj razli?itih slatkovodnih i morskih vrsta.
Jedna od specifi?nosti izraelske primjene akvakulture su tzv. recirkulacijski sustavi, odnosno sustavi uzgoja akvati?nih organizama u recirkulacijskom protoku vode s minimalnim izmjenama i gubicima vode. Posebno prakti?na metoda u podru?jima udaljenim od izvora vode, osobito pustinjskim predjelima. Svaka se kap vode, naime, maksimalno iskoristi.

U Hrvatskoj akvakulturu najve?im dijelom ?ini uzgoj toplovodnih i hladnovodnih vrsta poput šarana i pastrve u kontinentalnim dijelovima zemlje te uzgoj orade, brancina i školjkaša u marikulturi. Hrvatska je izuzetno bogata vodenim resursima, ali zbog nedostatka tehnologije i slabe zainteresiranosti nije razvila ve?u proizvodnju. Naro?ito bi se u Hrvatskoj moglo poraditi na pove?anju uzgajališta pastrve prema na?elu dobre filtracije vode na farmama, ?ime bi se pove?ala i produktivnost rijeka. Isto tako zbog sve ve?eg zaga?enja morskog ekosustava za o?ekivati je u skoroj budu?nosti da ?e i Hrvatska marikultura morati iskoristiti tehnike recirkulacijskih sustava kako bismo umanjili štetne u?inke kaveznog uzgoja i prekomjeran izlov ribe te tako o?uvali prirodne ljepote našeg mora i biološku raznolikost.

Hrvatski Centar Obnovljivih Izvora Energije 

otišao je i korak dalje kroz 

projekt  

CCRES AQUAPONIC.

                                       Svo uzgojeno povr?e Projekta CCRES AQUAPONICS u sezoni 2011/2012

                                                              karitativno je  podjeljeno slabostoje?im hrvatskim obiteljima.

CCRES AQUAPONICS  je nastao u ljeto 2011.godine spajanjem tehnike recirkulacijskih sustava uzgoja riba i klasi?nog hydroponicsa.
Hydroponics je uzgoj biljaka kod kojeg se korjen biljke nalazi u vodi u kojoj su otopljene hranjive tvari i potrebni elementi za njen rast i dozrijevanje.Jedina mana hydroponicsu je ta da se u vodu ubacuju kemijske tvari potrebne za rast biljke.

                                     Ribe koje su korištene u Projektu CCRES AQUAPONICS u sezoni 2011/2012 su 

                                                             japanski KOI šarani, koje smatramo najboljima za proizvodnju.

                                                            

U CCRES AQUAPONICS-u intenzivna aquakultura integrirana je s intenzivnim stakleni?kih hydroponic sustavom uzgoja povr?a. Organske biljne sorte se uzgajaju u plitkim posudama kroz koje cirkulira voda iz bazena s ribama prepuna organskim hranjivim dodacima, koje ispušta riba, koji služe za rast biljaka bez kemijskih dodataka . 

 

Sve vrste salate, crveni i bijeli luk, bosiljak, paprika i krastavci mogu se uzgajati u sustavu.Ovakav uzgoj je idealan za obiteljsku proizvodnju gdje se na nekoliko ?etvornih metara može posti?i neovisnost od velikih proizvo?a?a i trgova?kih lanaca koji serviraju hranu proizvedenu tisu?ama kilometara od krajnjeg kupca. Recirkulacijskim protokom voda koja se vra?a u bazen s ribama u potpunosti je ?ista i idealna za nesmetan rast ribljih vrsta.

                                                    Svo uzgojeno povr?e Projekta CCRES AQUAPONICS u sezoni 2011/2012

                                                              karitativno je  podjeljeno slabostoje?im hrvatskim obiteljima.

Prednosti su:
- neovisnost
- proizvodnja je mogu?a tijekom cijele godine;
- površina za uzgoj je maksimalno iskorištena;
- nema plodoreda;
- stupanj automatizacije je visok;
- biljkama se dodaju organska hranjiva koja su joj potrebna za rast i razvoj u pojedinoj fazi proizvodnje;
- prinosi su znatno ve?i od uzgoja u tlu, kao i razdoblje plodonošenja;
- potrošnja vode, hranjivih tvari i sredstava za zaštitu bilja svedena je na minimum;
- smanjeno je one?iš?enje okoliša;
- smanjena je pojava bolesti i štetnika;
- proizvodnja je mogu?a na površinama gdje nije mogu? uzgoj u tlu zbog primjerice velike one?iš?enosti, zaslanjenosti, kiselosti tla i sl. ;
- manje ljudskog rada pri obradi, kultivaciji, dezinfekciji i sl.
- nusprodukt su ribe koje se uzgajaju do konzumne veli?ine.

                                                   Svo uzgojeno povr?e Projekta CCRES AQUAPONICS u sezoni 2011/2012

                                                              karitativno je  podjeljeno slabostoje?im hrvatskim obiteljima.

  Ovo su bile kratke crtice o projektu CCRES AQUAPONICS, namjenjene isklju?ivo kao informacija.Mišljenja smo da bi ovaj projekt mogao biti pozdravljen od ljudi kojima je dosta pla?anja visokih cijena svih vrsta salata i ribe.Samo pokretanje i proizvodnja idealna su kao hobi za uzgoj u dvorištu iza ku?e, garaži, podrumu ili malom plasteniku.

                                       Svo uzgojeno povr?e Projekta CCRES AQUAPONICS u sezoni 2011/2012

                                                              karitativno je  podjeljeno slabostoje?im hrvatskim obiteljima.

Naravno da bi ovakav uzgoj mogao pro?i i u intezivnoj proizvodnji.
Na površini od 1 ha mogu?e je proizvesti otprilike 30 000 biljaka raj?ice sa prinosom od oko 400 t/ha, da ne govorim o uzgoju salata koje bi se "brale" svakih 20-tak dana ,što predstavlja puno ve?i prinos u odnosu na uzgoj u tlu na otvorenoj površini. Ovakva proizvodnja predstavlja najintenzivni oblik poljoprivrede, koji sa svojim brojnim prednostima može u potpunosti ispuniti zahtjeve potroša?a za kvalitetnim proizvodom, te proizvo?a?u osigurati dobar posao.

                                       Svo uzgojeno povr?e Projekta CCRES AQUAPONICS u sezoni 2011/2012

                                                              karitativno je  podjeljeno slabostoje?im hrvatskim obiteljima.

Više informacija o Projektu CCRES AQUAPONICS na :
http://ccresaquaponics.yolasite.com/

Za sve dodatne informacije slobodno nas kontaktirajte.

HRVATSKI CENTAR OBNOVLJIVIH IZVORA ENERGIJE (HCOIE)

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Compost Tea Recipe What Is Compost Tea and How To Make It

When we talk about Organic Gardening, one of the main topic we discuss is how to nourish the soil without adding any chemicals. It
is probably the most important factor of organic gardening. One of the options of doing this is to use Compost Tea. This article is all about making this. But before going into compost tea recipe we should first know, what is a compost tea?

What is compost tea?

Compost tea refers to the mixture of compost with water.

Compost tea types:

There are two types of compost tea.

1. Aerated Compost tea

2. Non-aerated Compost tea

 What to put inside a compost pile?

 

How To Make Compost Tea?

Non-Aerated type are the easiest to prepare. You simply need to put the compost in a perforated bag and then put the bag in a container and then fill the container with water. After some times, the water would become dark brown in color.

For aerated version most preferred way is to use Brewers.

Compost Tea Brewer:

It is basically a plastic bucket connected with some pipes to an air pump and a water source. Here, the compost is mixed with water and the mixture is aerated with the help of pump. The extract from this solution is used to fertilize the garden.

5 tips to decompose faster

The Brewer adds fresh oxygen into the water, which helps the bacteria to thrive.

Though people talk about Tea Brewer every time they discuss Compost Tea, it is not the only way to prepare the tea. There are other and more simper ways to this. Here is a video that describe the simplest method to prepare compost tea.

Check out this video and realize it is not compulsory to have a complex compost tea brewer.

Why compost tea?

The beneficial effects of compost tea is much more extended than tradition compost. Best part of using compost tea over traditional compost is that you can use it on both soil and leaves.

You can spray compost tea on the leaves; it will reduce the foliar diseases. As it is in the liquid form it will improve the soil quality by increasing the nutrients available to the plant.

A Compost Tea recipe is not that a complicated matter as it may sound. I hope after reading this article you have a much more clearer view about the subject. I will also encourage you to share with your friends so that they can also try this in their garden.

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Fish Farming Cage systems

CCRES AQUAPONICS





An overview of fish farming cage systems.

CCRES AQUAPONICS

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Difference between Compost and Mulch

In the past we have discussed about Compost and Mulch separately. But sometimes people get confused over the two. So in this article we are trying to give you some comparison so that the concepts never get mixed.

Compost:

Compost is called gardeners gold. For preparing you need to mix different ingredientstogether in proper ratio. Which are then left for decomposition.

Many plants have particular requirement of nutrients. You should keep this in mind while preparing your compost. They are mixed in particular ratio to get the ultimate nutrient mixture for the plant.

The main function of compost is to fertilize the soil. You can use the compost by mixing with the garden soil or with the potting mix (in case of container gardening).

For a good compost it is essential that the ingredients are decomposed properly and should not be smelly like manure. Some people add water with the compost to make compost tea which is then added to the soil for enrichment.

Mulch:

Mulch on the other hand is used to create a barrier between the soil and the environment. It works as a protective cover for the soil. It increases the soil temperature during those cold winter seasons and helps to prevent excess heat to reach the soil during hot summers.

Mulch helps in keeping the moisture level of the soil intact. You would have less wastage of water and certainly less frequent watering schedule.

It works as some kind of a blanket and thus used to keep weeds away.

It differs from compost over the fact that it doesnt require any particular ratio and combinations of ingredients to work. It doesnt need to get those ingredients composted before using.

Though it is better to use organic matters as mulch it is not compulsory and sometimes other materials like plastic etc are also used.

Mulch can increase the nutrients of the soil in the longer run if prepared from organic materials but that is not its fundamental feature. It is more concerned with preserving water and working as an insulator.

All compost can be used as mulch but not the other way around. Both serve particular functions in gardening and they both can be used as soil conditioner. Though it would be foolish to use a nutrient-dense material like compost as a protective coating and not enriching the soil.

Compost and mulch are two age-old concept of gardening that improves the soil quality tremendously. If used properly, these two concept can change your garden soil from unproductive sterile one to a growing heaven.

Have any questions? Why not post it in the comment box:

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Things To Avoid In a Compost Pile

In our earlier article we have discussed on the various ingredients which you can add to the compost pile. Now as we know most of the products which we can see around us can be composted. But to make the process of composting smooth and to prevent any unwanted impacts on the plants we should shun some elements in the process of composting. In this article we will discuss some of them.

Coal/Charcoal:

Avoid coal or charcoal ashes. They are known for their slow decaying rate. This is the reason why archaeologist used charcoals for calculating age of ancient and prehistoric materials which are more than thousand years old. So when our basic purpose is to decompose the materials quickly, it makes sense to avoid such material. Besides coals some times contains excessive amount of sulfur and iron which can be toxic to most of the plants. So just to fill the gap created by shrinking of the compost pile don’t add charcoal or coal ash. The impact might not be as good as you have predicted.

Colored Papers:

Colored, glossy papers usually contains chemicals which some time infested with heavy metals such Lead or Mercury. These chemicals can be very lethal to the well being of the plant as well as for the person who will consume the crop. Though now a days governments around the world have made strict laws to prevent the use of heavy metals in the production of color pigments, we are never quite sure about the contains. So if you are interested in using papers, use the white ones. Paper is basically cellulose so it will break down slowly. Add the paper in small amount and prevent it from forming a layer by spreading them through out your compost pile.

Diseased Plants:

It is basically a common sense to avoid diseased plants or part of them. The pathogens present in the plants can some time survive the heat generated by the compost pile and then it can cause fresh attack on the plants where you are putting your compost. Potato tubers which are affected by wart diseases or the stalks affected by sclerotia should not be put inside the pile. Cabbages affected by club root, celery leaves with blight, onions with mildew are some of the example of the diseased plants which are very hard to destroy and only an “ideal compost pile” provide the necessary condition to destroy these pathogenic organisms. So if you have any doubt about the steady heating of the your compost pile it is better to avoid these plants.    

Pet Droppings:

Cats and dogs droppings contain disease causing pathogens. Cat droppings in particular contains nematodes and other parasites which can enter through mouth and can cause eye or brain diseases. This is also the reason why children and pregnant women are advised not to handle cat litter.

Non-biodegradable Items:

As the name suggests they are not going to get decomposed in the pile. Materials such as plastic, aluminum and other metals, glass, synthetic fibers etc. are not going to add any value to your compost heap. They though, are not necessarily toxic to the plant but it will remain as it is and would be of no help in the composting process. Real rubber is though organic in origin and biodegradable, the rate of degradation is pretty slow. So it should also be avoided.

Sludge:

If you live in a place where there is little or no industry, the sludge from your sewage is may be safe to use in the compost. None the less, it is not a very good idea to use sludge in your compost. Most of the time the toxic materials get infested in the sludge and can cause disaster for your garden. Most of the gardening experts also recommends not to use them. If you are getting treated sludge which are available commercially in different garden centers you may use it but make sure these are treated under EPA’s(environmental Protection Agency) guidance.

Toxic Chemicals:

Never put insecticides or pesticides inside the compost pile. It will kill those organisms which conduct the process of composting. And as an organic gardener we should always be at a safe distance from those hazardous chemicals.

I hope you liked this article. Post your thoughts in the comment box.

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