Organic fertilizers: species and their characteristics. Application of organic fertilizers

How much agriculture is developing on Earth, as many people use organic fertilizers to get good crops. Types and their characteristics must be taken into account when using, as each of them has its own characteristics. Some need to be introduced into the soil in the fall, others at the time of planting, third during the entire growing season. The value of organic matter lies in its beneficial effect on the condition of plants, in improving the soil, in increasing yields and in cheapness, since every farmer can prepare it in his own subsidiary farm.

Organic fertilizer: what is it?

Many will immediately say, they say, this is manure and compost. The answer is correct, but incomplete, because organic fertilizers are wastes of human and animal life, as well as economic and even industrial waste, in which there are substances necessary for the development of plants in the form of organic compounds. Here you can include:

- manure;

- droppings of birds;

- feces;

- yl;

- waste from wood processing plants (sawdust, tree bark and the like);

- peat;

- plants-siderates;

- Compost;

- ash;

- bone meal;

- humus;

- complex organic chemistry.

Chemical composition

As can be seen from the above list, there are a variety of organic fertilizers. The species and their characteristics mainly depend on the source of production, and also on the technological process of fertilizer production. Each of them contains:

- nitrogen;

- potassium;

- phosphorus;

- Calcium;

- a special organic substance (a very valuable element that improves soil structure).

In small quantities, organic fertilizers include:

- water;

- magnesium;

- sulfuric acid;

- silicic acid;

- oxides of some metals and other chemical elements.

We will discuss in more detail what and how much is contained in each type of organic fertilizer.

Manure

This very valuable fertilizer is nothing but the feces of domestic animals, with the exception of cats and dogs. Depending on the type of animal, different organic fertilizers are obtained. Types and their characteristics also depend on the stage of the preparation process, which are the following:

- fresh manure (only in autumn, soil is immediately plowed afterwards);

- Semispringled (the straw in it becomes dark, easily divided into pieces);

- Reparting (homogeneous dark mass);

- humus.

The higher the stage of manure preparation, the more it loses its mass, and the more organic substances decompose in it and the quality rises.

No less important, on what litter is prepared this fertilizer.

Chemical composition of fresh manure (%) on straw / peat

Animal	Phosphorus	Calcium	Potassium	Nitrogen	Magnesium	Organizational matter	Water
Horses	0.28 / 0.25	0.21 / 0.44	0.63 / 0.53	0.58 / 0.8	Up to 0,14 / 0	24.5 / 0	71.3 / 67
Cows	0.23 / 0.22	0.4 / 2.4	0,5 / not more than 0,48	0.45 / 0.6	0.11 / -	20.3 / 0	77.3 / 77.5
Pigs	0.19	0.18	0.6	Up to 0,65	About 0.04	25	72.4
Goats and sheep	0.23	0.33	0.67	0.83	0.18	31.8	46.6

As can be seen from the table, in pig manure there is very little calcium, so lime is added to it.

A good fertilizer is also manure from rabbits. But from nutria, you can use only the manure that has been dumped or add it to the compost.

Methods of storage

Manure from different animals is, among other things, diverse organic fertilizers. Types and their characteristics directly depend on how they are stored. The methods can be the following:

1. Loose styling. From fresh manure make piles up to 3 m wide and up to 2 m high, do not cover. With this method, in stacks (t = +70 ° C), the preparation process takes about 4-5 months, during which it is lost to a third of the original mass.

2. Dense styling. From fresh manure, the same stacks are made as with loose packing, but the manure is densely packed and covered with an airtight film. In such stacks, the temperature does not rise above +35 ° C even in summer. Decomposition with this method lasts about 7 months, and the original mass is lost to 1/10 parts. Dense styling is the most acceptable method of storage.

3. Loose packing with compaction. From fresh manure make a small loose pile up to 3 m wide. On the fifth day it is rammed, and a new loose layer is laid on top. This is repeated until the pile reaches a two-meter height, after which it is covered with a film. Completely reparted manure in this case is formed for 5 months.

How to apply

The use of organic fertilizers, in particular manure, has its own little tricks. So, for warm beds perfect horse manure, because there is little water in it. It is buried in special trenches, tearing along the perimeter of the bed, and after the need for it disappears, scattered across the field. On light soils it is better to use manure from cows, and on heavy soils - from sheep, goats and horses. Under spring in autumn, smell in the soil fresh or half-baked, and humus is brought in the spring. If the fertilizer is small, it is advisable to make it not for the entire site, but only in the holes. When planting trees it is very useful to make up to 10 kg of humus in each hole.

Important! Under no crops can not make fresh manure. It emits ammonia, which is detrimental to plants. There are no general norms for applying fertilizers, as they are different for each crop and directly depend on the quality of the soil.

In the shops you can find an extract of manure. It is also an excellent fertilizer, but only for plants. To improve the condition of the soil, it is useless.

Liquid organic fertilizers, their types and characteristics

There are a variety of fertilizers that you can make yourself without spending money at the same time. Who has the opportunity, they use manure. It can be used in solid form, and it is possible to make liquid organic fertilizers from it - the liquid and the mullein. The latter is prepared by pouring cows' faeces with water. Use it to feed absolutely any plants, even flowers. At the same time take on a bucket of water 1 liter of mullein. Dung slurry is not necessary. It is the liquid part of manure. Liquid herbs include infusions of herbs and even human urine, but more on this later.

Chemical composition of the liquid (%)

Slurry	Nitrogen	Ash	Phosphorus	Potassium	Organic	Water
100 pieces	0,15	1.07	0.01	0.49	0.7	98.2

As can be seen from the table, in this fertilizer there is almost no phosphorus, therefore superphosphate (about 15 g per liter) is added to the slurry.

Litter

It is believed that the best organic fertilizers are obtained from the droppings of pigeons and chickens. A slightly worse quality of wastes of life of geese and ducks.

Keep the bird droppings in a closed container or composting with peat, straw, sawdust, as it very quickly loses its nitrogen component. Bird used for fertilizing vegetables, fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers. In its pure form it is not brought in, but poured into the water (1 part of the oragniks in a bucket of water) and insist up to 3 days. After that, dilute again with water, taking 1 part of the infusion and 10 - water.

Human feces

Some gardeners do not even suspect what exotic kinds of organic fertilizers are. One of them is our feces. Previously, these wastes of life were fertilized absolutely everything, they even went for sale. Now this type of fertilizer is not popular, although it is almost the best. It should be noted that feces call not only feces, but urine, which is also suitable as a fertilizer. The only nuance - from it almost instantly evaporates nitrogen, so the biomaterial must be closed immediately after application with soil.

Chemical composition of faeces (%)

Component	Nitrogen	Ash	Phosphorus	Potassium	Org. substance	Water
Feces	1.6	3.4	1.23	0.55	19.4	77.2
Urine	1	1	0,15	Up to 0.18	4.2	94.8
Mixture	1.1	Not more than 1,3	0.23	0.22	5.7	93

As can be seen from the table, the feces are ideal for improving the quality of the soil.

Of course, many farmers even think about using human stool as fertilizer. For those who are more loyal to this, it is important to know what are the ways of preparing such an organic. To remove the unpleasant smell, "raw materials" should be transferred with peat or, as a last resort, leafy earth. You can also arrange compost heaps from foliage and plant remains, laying feces layer by layer. They should be at least 3 years old.

Urine as a fertilizer is used immediately. For trees, it can not be diluted. For other crops it is desirable to dilute with water in a proportion of at least 1: 4. It is also useful to water urine compost piles.

Peat

To the question: "Which fertilizers are organic?" Many will answer: "Peat." It is widely advertised, it is actively sold to all flower shops, many gardeners and gardeners try to use it. However, in peat there are not so many useful substances for plants to fertilize them indiscriminately. In addition, it should be taken into account that there are different types of peat, significantly different in quality.

Chemical composition (%)

Type of peat	Potassium	Calcium	Ash	Nitrogen	Phosphorus
Lowland	From 0.1 to 0.25	More than 6	From 8 to 15	From 1.8 to 3.3	From 0.1 to 0.6
Horse	0.1	Less than 0.5	Less than 5	From 0.2 to 1.6	Up to 0.12
Transitional	0.1	From 0.5 to 2.5	From 0.5 to 0, 8	From 1.2 to 1.8	0.1

As can be seen from the table, peat, especially lowland, is advisable to use on acidic soils. Apply all types of peat only to improve the quality of soils, regulate their moisture, and to create high-quality compost and for mulching any crops, but not for fertilization.

Sapropel

Some kinds of organic fertilizers are familiar to us by the balneological procedures in the sanatoriums. Such is the ooze of lakes, ponds, any ponds with standing water, called sapropel. Especially a lot of it is used in the Rostov region due to the huge reserves in the lake Nero. Sapropel, representing plant and animal remains, accumulates in reservoirs for decades. During this period, it gradually decomposes, becoming a valuable organic fertilizer, in which there is a lot of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and nitrogen is 4 times more than in manure. Use sapropel can be unchanged or adding to compost. Before introducing it into the ground, it must be ventilated, shoveled and blotted out, so that all substances that are unnecessary to plants leave it.

Sawdust, bark, bone meal

Organic fertilizers are cheap and very useful for improving the quality of soils. Their types and characteristics are as follows:

1. Sawdust. They perfectly loosen the soil, improve its moisture capacity and air permeability, but absorb nitrogen from it. Acidity of sawdust is quite high (pH is about 3-4), therefore, before application they should be mixed with hydrated lime and complex mineral or only nitrogen fertilizers. You can also wet them with urine of animals or liquid mineral fertilizers. It is better to use the sawdust that has been brewed or added to compost heaps.

2. Woody bark. These waste wood industry is used to create a compost. To do this, fresh bark is crushed, piled in a pit, add complex mineral fertilizers, moisturize. Fertilizer will be ready in about six months, during which the pit with bark should be periodically moistened and shoveled its contents.

3. Bone meal. It reduces the acidity of the soil well and is ideal for wetlands. In bone meal there are all the elements necessary for the growth and fructification of plants. The only nuance - you need to use it only skim (evaporated and dry).

Ciderates

The use of organic fertilizers can significantly differ from the methods mentioned above. It is about siderates - plants planted on the field before planting the main crops or after harvesting. These include: sunflower, mustard, lupine, clover, legumes, oats, vetch, radish and other early ripening crops, giving a lot of green mass. The use of siderates is most effective on sandy and humus-poor soils, but can be practiced on any soils. According to the content of useful elements, green fertilizers are almost identical to manure. For example, lupine per 1 m ² gives a green mass of about 4 kg. They contain on average 18 g of nitrogen, 4.8 g of phosphorus, 6.8 g of potassium, 19 g of calcium, 4.8 g of magnesium. The technology of fertilizing the site with siderates is as follows: after harvesting the main crop, the seeds of the selected plant are sown on the field (some can simply be sprinkled over the field, others must be planted in furrows), watered if necessary, and mowed until buds appear. The green mass can be plowed into the ground, piled in compost pits, fed to livestock. Some siderates (mustard, radish, olive) apart from fertilizing the soil, help to destroy bacteria such as root rot, nematodes, late blight and others.

Nettle

If you want to fertilize a small patch, you can make an excellent fertilizer from the nettle. It is cut, folded into a container and filled with water. A nettle fertilizer is prepared 3-5 days, during which the contents of the container should be mixed. To disappeared unpleasant odor, you can add a rhizome of valerian, and to speed up the process, add bread, yeast, leaven. Ready fertilizer is required to strain and use, adding 1 of its measuring part to 10 parts of water.

Complex organic fertilizers

This is one of the best, the most balanced type of fertilizer, suitable both for fertilizing plants, and for improving the quality of soils. For their production in industry, the biofermentation method is used, consisting in the oxidation of organic elements by atomic oxygen. At the same time, this type of chemical energy is released, which is extremely useful for microorganisms necessary for plants. They produce complex organic fertilizers from manure, sawdust, manure, peat and similar natural products. The preparations "ZhTsKKU", "Piska", "KOUD", "GUMI-OMI", "Biohumus" are very popular. Basically, they are all concentrated and very simple to use.