Advice for the gardener: what can be added to the compost, what cannot be put there. Checklist with explanations

Composting is an integral part of the work of almost every gardener. It is a valuable organic fertilizer. Consider what you can compost and what you shouldn't.

Compost: what to put in a pit or heap for cooking

Almost any plant residues from the garden can be added to the compost in layers, including tops, green mass in the form of mowed grass, weeds, kitchen waste (protein food is also possible small quantities, remnants of pasta, fish, eggshells, cleaning from vegetables), fallen leaves and fruits from trees, shredded branches, straw, plant stems, old mulch.

All this mass is well decomposed in the compost pit with the help of soil microbiota and earthworms.

Summer residents and gardeners in the pit lays pieces of cardboard boxes, egg trays, brown and white paper without color printing,

What you can't compost

Basically, no waste is put into the compost that does not rot in the soil. It can be various plastic, plastic bags, synthetic fabrics. Also, you do not need to put large bones in the compost, fatty foods, meat waste in a large quantity, as this can attract neighboring animals, which will begin to unearth a mass from organics.

Do not use plant residues that are infected with viral and fungal infections. Better to burn them.

I treat the tops of potatoes and tomatoes that are infected with late blight with the drug "Trichodermin" and urea (fertilizer that accelerates the decomposition of the plant mass), which excludes the further spread of fungal spores diseases. Therefore, these plant residues can be placed in compost and watered on top with a solution of Trichodermin.

Oak leaves and coniferous litter are not recommended for use in compost, since these natural materials decompose for a long time in the soil. It is undesirable to lay castor oil plant in the pit, as well as field horsetail, bindweed.

In addition, there is no need to use color-printed newspapers and magazines. Weeds with ripe seeds should not be used to prepare valuable organic matter.