Biohumus is a granular bioactive fertilizer obtained from organic waste processed by the California red worm. Its use provides a good development of plants, an increase in yields by 30–70%. Knotted fruits are less affected by disease. They are distinguished by a more delicate pulp, pronounced taste and aroma. The production of vermicompost at home is not particularly difficult and does not require significant costs.
Properties and composition of vermicompost, its advantages
Biological humus is a fertilizer that surpasses ordinary compost and manure in its composition and nutritional value. Its addition to the soil in the ratio of 10–20% to the total volume allows the soil depleted or containing a large amount of salts to be healed. In the process of processing there is a complete disinfection of organic matter, their cleaning from helminth eggs. Biohumus contains in an optimally balanced form many useful components:
- Mineral elements in the form well absorbed by plants.
- Enzymes. They provide the conversion of organic residues into nutrient compounds.
- Substances that prevent the propagation of pathogens.
- Phytohormones. They improve the growth and stress resistance of plants.
This type of ecologically safe fertilizer contains 4–8 times more humus than cow manure or compost obtained from plant debris. Its advantages include good moisture capacity, friability, compatibility with other types of organic fertilizers, no need to use significant energy costs in the production and use. The ability to sell surplus products allows you to recoup expenses and receive a certain income.
Components for biohumus production
Before starting the production of vermicompost at home, you should prepare a substrate for vermicompost and the necessary inventory items. The composition of the substrate includes:
- Overripe cow dung and chicken droppings.
- Plant tops in fermented (silage) or dried form (hay).
- Vegetable peeling, leftover unused products.
- Overripe sawdust, foliage of trees.
- Peat and lime (2% of the total weight of the mixture) to improve the quality of vermicompost.
California worms for biohumus are also needed, the function of which is to process the nutrient mixture. As an inventory you will need boxes from wooden planks or plastic, a spatula for a set of substrate, a sieve with cells with a diameter of 2 mm.
Features of growing California worms
California worms are practically no different from ordinary earthworms. But they carry out the processing of organic substances in a form convenient for assimilation by plants much faster. When using them, you can get the finished fertilizer after 1-1.5 weeks. The cost of one individual varies in different regions of the country: from 25 kopecks to 1 ruble. The following rules should be followed when using California worms to prepare vermicompost:
- Breeding at home requires maintaining certain values of the temperature regime. Its lower boundary should not be lower than + 4 ° , and the upper - above 40 ° . Lower and higher values can lead to the death of biological material.
- In winter, worms are placed in containers with a nutrient substrate and brought into a room with the required air temperature or covered with insulation material. It provides a free flow of air into the soil mixture.
- For the normal life of this invertebrate species, it is necessary to maintain the humidity of the compost heap at the level of 70–80% by regular irrigation with water in hot weather. In addition, they should be protected from direct sunlight by placing in the shade.
Preventing the death of California worms in severe frosts will allow covering their places with the arrival of autumn with a layer of compost 40 cm or more thick. After snowfall, additional protection will be provided by warming the embankment with a thick snow cover.
Nutrient preparation
The production of vermicompost at home requires special preparation of the substrate before launching worms into it. First a wooden box, a plastic container, or a hole in the ground is prepared. It is recommended that their depth be from 70 to 100 cm. To prevent the penetration of technological worms outside the pit, you can finish its bottom and walls with any natural material.
Then, a mixture prepared from well-overripe manure, ripened compost, refined vegetable tops, and food waste is placed in a container or pit. The substrate must ripen. To do this, it can withstand the necessary time, regularly moisturizing with warm water and stirring every 2-3 days. Initially, under the influence of processes occurring in the mixture, the temperature rises to 40–50 ° . At the end of the fermentation of the components, its values decrease and remain stable.
Vermicultivation Technology
When the substrate is fully ripened, California worms are launched into it . Breeding at home allows you to get them in sufficient quantities for the desired volume of the mixture. The laying rate is 700-1500 pieces per cubic meter of substrate. You can determine the suitability of a mixture for launching worms by first placing 50 individuals in it. If they feel good, add the rest, evenly distributing on the surface of the substrate.
The acidity of the prepared mixture should be within 6-8 points. Periodic gentle cultivation will provide free access to the inner layers of air necessary for the breathing of worms. Regular irrigation with standing water heated to 20 ° C will create a fairly humid environment. To support the optimal temperature and humidity of the substrate, the container is covered with a layer of straw.
Vermicompost collection
During the first 1-2 months, the worms adapt to the new environment. Then they begin to actively multiply and process the components of the mixture into vermicompost. Every 10 days, an additional introduction of a nutrient substrate as a top dressing is necessary. After 3-4 months, you need to check the number of worms. If it has increased significantly, you can proceed to their separation and the use of finished fertilizer for its intended purpose.
There are 2 ways to release vermicompost from the worms in it. One of them uses screening of the substrate through a sieve. The worms are then transferred to another container. In the second method, feeding is delayed for several days. Then they add a new portion of the substrate to the surface of the box. When hungry worms rise up, they are separated and moved to another place.
Application of vermicompost
The production of vermicompost at home is a definite benefit. It can be used not only for fertilizing a household or summer cottage, but also to implement. To reduce the cost of obtaining this environmentally friendly and highly effective material will allow the presence of pets that provide the process with a sufficient amount of manure.
Surplus vermicompost can be sold to neighbors in the country, to farmers. With a significant volume of production - on the market or in bulk in your own online store. Worms may be in demand by fish and poultry farms. In order to realize biohumus, the price per 1 kg of which varies from 10 to 20 rubles, it should be offered to potential buyers in a convenient package for use.
Product packaging
In dry form, vermicompost is packed in bags made of polyethylene. When producing liquid humus in concentrated form, the best option is bottling in plastic bottles. Like the widely used "Em" preparations, they contain many useful soil microorganisms that improve soil fertility and ensure that high yields are obtained by the most environmentally friendly methods.
When packaging in bags, biohumus should be weighed first. The price for 1 kg may be indicated on the label or not be put up for wholesale sales of the material. The cost of goods in different regions is significantly different. As well as liquid preparations "Em", it is desirable that the packaged biohumus contains instructions outlining the properties of the material and the rules for its use.
Instruction for use
Vermicompost is in demand not only for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. It is widely used in floriculture, to restore the depleted and lost its natural properties of the soil. It can also be used to reduce the number of harmful insects, since the microorganisms that make up the drug are able to break down the chitin of their outer skeleton.
In what quantities and how best to use biohumus - the instruction covers in detail all the issues that arise when using fertilizer. The time of its introduction into the ground is not limited. The drug has a prolonged effect, giving good results for several years. Concentrated vermicompost is diluted three times. It is recommended to add it to water when watering plants and spraying trees.
Application features
The drug is used for the preparation of soil mixtures. Biohumus is especially useful for seedlings. It is enough to add 1 part of the product to 3-5 parts of peat. Before planting the grown plants in the soil, add about 150 g of fertilizer to the wells, mixed with the ground. The planted bushes are abundantly watered, and the soil surface around the seedling is mulched with a small layer of vermicompost.
You can protect plants from damage by insect pests by adding funds to the soil or by surface treatment of their vegetative parts with its aqueous solution. A good effect is given by regular feeding of vegetable crops, trees, shrubs, flowers. For these purposes, it is sufficient to introduce 0.5 kg of vermicompost per 1 m 2 every 30 days under the plants.
Use of vermicompost for soil restoration
Biohumus quickly increases the nutritional value of the soil, supplementing it with a complex of substances necessary for the good development of plants. The soil microorganisms contained in it contribute to the conversion of plant and animal residues into easily digestible compounds.
The addition of vermicompost to the soil, which has lost fertility due to the excessive application of chemicals, increases the content of useful elements in it, improves the soil structure, and neutralizes the increased acidity. This allows you to create an environment in which earthworms can participate in the formation of a fertile soil layer. An increase in the concentration of humus most directly affects the quantity and quality of the resulting crop.