If filled well and cared for properly, it doesn't take long until high-quality compost is created from garden waste. How long does compost take to be ready and when is it ready for use in the garden?
When can I use my compost in the garden?
Compost is finished and ready for use in the garden when it has a loose, crumbly structure, a slight forest smell and a dark brown to black color after about six to nine months. To be sure, you can do the cress test.
When is compost ready?
When compost is ready depends on what materials you used. The temperature that prevailed during the so-called hot rot also plays an important role.
A well-built compost is ready after about six to nine months. Materials that rot slowly, such as thuja, walnut leaves or similar, can take significantly longer to rot.
To shorten the time, mix the compost regularly and dig it up at least once a year.
The different types of compost
- Young compost (fresh compost)
- ripe compost
- Compost soil
Fresh compost is very nutrient-rich and must therefore not be added directly to the roots of plants.
Mature compost is a fertilizer that releases nutrients slowly and is therefore suitable as a long-term fertilizer. Over-fertilization is almost impossible with this compost.
This is what compost looks like when it's ripe
- Stable crumbs
- easy
- slight smell of forest
- dark brown to black
Thicker components such as nutshells or pieces of branches should be sieved out. They then go back into the compost and can continue to rot there.
The cress test
If you want to check whether your compost is really ripe, do the cress test. To do this you need three small flower pots, two of which you fill with compost and one with cotton wool or similar material.
Sow cress. If, after seven days, as many cress plants have developed in the compost pots as in the cotton pot, the compost is ripe.
Use tire compost soon
The sooner you use mature compost, the better it is. It develops into compost soil. The longer you wait before using it, the more the valuable nutrients will degrade.
You can steam compost soil and use it as growing soil. This soil is also ideal as mulching material.
Tip
For fertilization in the garden, calculate around three liters of compost per square meter of garden area. The amount also depends on which plants you want to fertilize.
