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Should you cover compost for the winter: gardeners were told about the pros and cons
29.09.2024 11:09
Compost is the best fertilizer that a gardener can make on his own and without much expense.
The only difficulty arises with the onset of cold weather. It is believed that over the winter the fertilizer can freeze, which means the process of rotting plant waste will stop.
Let's find out whether it is worth covering compost for the winter and how to do it correctly.
Summer residents agree that fertilizer needs to be covered, but they can’t agree on what materials to use for this.
To cover or not to cover?
Most experienced gardeners advise covering the compost heap.
Firstly, it allows maintaining the temperature, due to which the process of converting plant waste into useful fertilizer will not be interrupted even in winter.
Secondly, you can protect the fertilizer from precipitation, which washes out nutrients from it.
What to cover with
You have to choose between film, spunbond, and also popular advice - straw, hay and other plant residues.
When to cover with film
Plastic film keeps the compost pile warm.
If the fertilizer was prepared in small quantities and according to all the rules, then the pile will not freeze over the winter and in the spring the gardener will receive valuable fertilizer saturated with humic substances.
An alternative solution is composting in plastic bags.
When to cover with spunbond
It is recommended to cover a large pile with spunbond.
The fact is that, in addition to heat and beneficial microorganisms, fertilizer requires a certain amount of moisture and oxygen.
This material will help maintain humidity and anaerobic processes inside a large pile of future compost.
This will maintain the temperature, the number of microorganisms and worms on which the maturation of the compost depends.
