DIY composter: how to make for the garden and 5 types of devices, materials

In any homestead, vegetable and kitchen waste accumulates, which needs to be put somewhere. A good solution to the issue would be the preparation of compost, which can be used to fertilize the beds. Consider the types, dimensions and manufacture of a composter with your own hands, what materials and tools are needed, how to use composters on the site.

Types of composters

The main production material is wood. Therefore, you can make composters from boards, boxes, old pallets. You can use pieces of slate or make concrete walls. The main thing is that the composter should correspond to certain dimensions, have slots for air exchange.

Drawings and dimensions

For the composting process to work properly, the compost bin must have the same height, width and length. Usually, for a small personal plot, a composter with dimensions of 1x1x1 m is enough. It must be installed on a flat area that would not be flooded with water, at least ten meters from buildings and water sources.

Since the compost does not mature quickly, it is recommended to make a box of 3 identical sections, put fresh leftovers in the 1st, last year's compost in the 2nd, and completely rotted compost in the 3rd.

The boards should be loose, leaving space between them for moisture to escape and air to enter. The design provides a hinged lid that closes the contents from the rain and does not allow animals to get inside. The composter must be strong, support the weight of the waste, and be durable.If it is made from boards, then you need to cover them with an antiseptic so that they last longer. This is important as wood is exposed to moisture, temperature and bacteria. Processing of other materials is not required.

Required tools and materials

To create a composter you will need: bars and boards, pieces of slate, screws, nails, metal corners, hinges. Of the tools you need a hacksaw, screwdriver, hammer, tape measure, shovel.

How to make a composter with your own hands

Let's consider the sequence of making composters from boards, boxes, pallets, slate sheets and concrete. Each option has its own characteristics in manufacturing and application.

From wooden boards

First, you need to dig in the corners of the bars to such a depth that they securely hold the boards when the volume of the garden composter is full.Usually, for a height of 1 m, it is enough to dig in 20-30 cm. For stability, the bars in the ground can be overlaid with stones, pieces of brick or filled with cement.

Fix boards of approximately the same width between the bars, leaving gaps of at least 2 cm between them for air to pass through. Make the side and back of the box deaf, in the lower part of the front - an upward opening door so that you can gradually remove the finished compost. To protect against rodents from the inside, upholster with a metal mesh. Hinge a lid of tightly packed boards on top to protect the compost from rain and snow.

From plank boxes

The composter is made from this material in the same way as in the previous example. Old boxes will come in handy, which need to be disassembled into boards and assembled according to the dimensions that are needed. The sequence of its assembly is similar to the assembly of a composter from boards.

Pallet box

Easiest to assemble. You need to take old pallets and assemble a cube from them. The long side of the pallets must be horizontal. For strength, drive racks into the ground, to which pallets are nailed or connected with metal brackets. Make a lightweight wooden hinged lid.

From slate

Pieces of slate also need to either be dug into the ground and connected with horizontal boards, or attached with nails to 4 bars placed in the corners. You also need to leave gaps of 2-3 cm between the sheets. You need to place the slate composter in a shady place in the garden, as the slate can heat up in the sun, because of this, the temperature in the heap will be higher than necessary.

From concrete

The walls of such a composter are made of monolithic concrete or cinder block. You can use a well ring.Usually they are dug into the ground up to half or up to the upper level, but you can also put them simply on the ground. The top of the concrete composter must also be covered with a removable wooden lid.

This is the most durable structure, but it has drawbacks - no air holes, it is inconvenient to mix the contents.

Operating instructions

In a do-it-yourself composter, you can put all plant residues collected in the garden and in the garden, kitchen waste, manure, tops, leaves, grass, substandard vegetables. You can add thin white paper, small branches, shavings, sawdust, old small boards. When laying, different materials can be stacked in layers, in layers no more than 15 cm thick, later they will be mixed anyway.

Do not stack bones, non-herbivore waste, glass, synthetic materials.Weeds that have already set seeds should also not be added - despite the temperature effect, they remain viable and can clog the area where the compost will be applied as fertilizer. Plant residues with obvious signs of diseases and pests are also undesirable. Temperature doesn't always kill pathogens, so don't risk it.

All waste needs to be shredded to a roughly equal size so they can be recycled at the same rate. After laying, the pile must be moistened and moistened if it dries out. Maintain a humidity level of 60%. The temperature inside must not be below 16°C, otherwise the composting process will slow down or stop. Also, it should not rise too much, which also disrupts the fermentation processes. To maintain a comfortable temperature, install the composter in partial shade or shade so that it heats up evenly throughout the day.

Stir the contents once a month, then the compost will form quickly and correctly. To speed up fermentation, an EM preparation can be added to the residues or watered with fermented herbal infusion. Water with detergents must not be poured into the drawer.

After the section is completely bookmarked, compost maturation lasts at least 1 year. The readiness of the fertilizer can be determined by a dark uniform color, loose structure, and a characteristic earthy smell. You can use 2-3-year-old compost, 1-year-old is not suitable for all crops, older than 3 years already loses some of the nutrients.

Composter in the garden is easy to make from improvised materials with your own hands. It will allow solving two important tasks at once - waste disposal and their processing into natural organic fertilizer. For a standard personal plot, it is enough to build at least 1 composter with a capacity of 1 cubic meter.m. If you need more humus, nothing prevents you from building as many boxes as you need.

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