Compost accelerators get the rot going. Hobby gardeners who are close to nature appreciate this because the waiting time for the valuable natural fertilizer is significantly shortened. This guide explains how you can easily make compost accelerators yourself, introduces you to recommended products and gives tips for competent use.
How to make compost accelerator?
Compost accelerators are useful helpers to stimulate the decomposition process in the compost heap. They can be made using yeast, sugar and water, from plant manure or by colonizing compost worms. Commercially available accelerators contain dried microorganisms and natural ingredients.
- You can make compost accelerators yourself with yeast and sugar or from plant manure.
- Settlement of additional compost worms accelerates humus formation.
- Good commercial compost accelerators are powders and are made up of living microorganisms and natural ingredients.
Which compost accelerators are there? – Overview
The selection of compost accelerators is large
If decomposition in compost takes place in slow motion, impatient hobby gardeners can speed up the process. This can be done with a compost accelerator. These are liquid or powdered agents that supply new microorganisms and encourage existing microorganisms to become more active. The conversion process then kicks into high gear, so that instead of 12 months you only have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for ripe, nutritious garden compost. You can make a quick composter yourself or buy one. The following table provides an overview:
| Home remedies | Organic compost accelerator | AF products |
|---|---|---|
| with yeast | Compost worms | Humofix |
| with sugar syrup | Plant manure | Oscorna compost accelerator |
| Neudorff Radivit | ||
| Beckmann quick composter | ||
| Dehner organic compost accelerator |
These aids perform their beneficial task in existing and newly created compost. If you fill a raised bed with compost, each layer benefits from a portion of rotting accelerator. The aim is to provide an ideal living environment for hard-working soil creatures and compost bacteria. Where there is enough food and cozy warmth, the compost helpers work like crazy, multiply explosively and produce nutritious humus in record time.
Make your own compost accelerator – home remedy recipe
A great compost accelerator can be made from sugar, yeast and water
The home remedies for a DIY compost accelerator are on the kitchen shelf. Water provides the necessary moisture. Sugar serves as an energy supplier for the hot rot. Fresh yeast contains fungi that decompose organic matter. The following recipe has proven to be excellent in practice. How to make your own compost accelerator:
Ingredients and accessories
- 0.5 kg sugar or 200-250 ml sugar syrup (molasses)
- 8 l warm, collected rainwater or stale tap water
- 1 cube of fresh yeast (alternatively in a sachet of dry yeast)
- Wooden stick or wooden spoon
- Bucket
- Watering can
- optional: compost thermometer
Application
Fill the warm water into the bucket, crumble the yeast cube and stir vigorously. As you stir, the yeast dissolves and oxygen is added. Now add sugar or molasses and stir again until everything is dissolved. Now the solution should rest for an hour. Stir the finished DIY compost accelerator vigorously one last time before pouring the liquid into the watering can. Water the compost heap and mix the material. In the following 2 to 3 days the temperature rises and thermal fermentation takes the desired course. With a compost thermometer you can monitor the process in order to intervene at temperatures below 15° and above 80° Celsius.
Excursus
Sugar-water accelerates horse manure rotting
Composted horse manure is very popular as organic fertilizer in natural gardens. Knowledgeable hobby gardeners and horse owners use their pets' stable manure as a natural heat source in cold frames and greenhouses. If the decomposition process in horse manure comes to a standstill, a home remedy can help. Mix 10 liters of hot water with 200 milliliters of sugar syrup and 2 handfuls of horn meal. Spread the solution over the horse manure using the watering can. Heat fermentation is activated within a short time.
Settling compost worms – This is how it works
Compost worms can be purchased from specialist retailers or ordered online
Compost worms are the main players in the compost pile. The special subspecies of the well-known earthworm usually finds its way to the garden compost on its own. Does the immigration of beneficial insects into the compost heap or raised bed leave something to be desired? Then you can increase the population. For this purpose, worm farms offer live compost worms. How to engage farmed compost worms as compost accelerators:
- Order compost worms (per m³ of compost, equivalent to 450 l, at least 1000 worms)
- Delivered with 1.5 kg of worm humus per 1000 copies
- apply to the compost on the day of arrival
Please give preference to reputable suppliers who only deliver live compost worms from Monday to Thursday in a sufficient amount of worm castings for animal-friendly transport. In the summer time, worm farms are a testament to competence and send compost worms along with reusable cooling packs.
Tip
Did you know that mature compost soil from the previous year is the best compost accelerator? The application works very simply by inoculating a newly created compost heap with a few shovels of mature compost soil. This starting aid contains tons of hard-working microorganisms that get to work straight away.
Plant manure as a compost accelerator – instructions
Plant manure is not only available to the hobby gardener as an organic liquid fertilizer. After the fermentation process, nettles, comfrey or valerian leaves serve as great compost accelerators for free. The following instructions explain how to properly produce a plant manure and use it competently:
Ingredients and accessories
- Tub or rain barrel
- 10 l rainwater
- 1 kg leaves of non-flowering nettles, comfrey or valerian plants
- Wooden stirring stick
- rabbit wire
Manufacture and application
Stinging nettle manure is a great compost accelerator
Place the container in a remote, partially shaded corner of the garden. Throw in the collected leaves and pour the rainwater over the greenery. To prevent curious children or pets from falling into the manure, cover the bin with rabbit wire. Stir the liquid daily for the next two to three weeks. The fermentation process is complete when the bubble formation has stopped. Remove the fermented leaves with a sieve or ladle.
It is important to pay attention to the correct dilution, because pure plant manure is too concentrated to be used as a compost accelerator. The rule of thumb is a mixing ratio of 1 part plant manure and 9 parts water. Pour a liter of manure into a 10 liter watering can and fill to the brim with rainwater. Use this solution to irrigate an unwilling compost heap of at least 1 cubic meter in volume.
Compost Accelerators – Top 5
Hobby gardeners with limited time are turning to ready-to-use commercial products to get their hesitant compost going. Premium quality offerings are based on natural ingredients such as nitrogen, potassium, horn meal and trace elements. The main components are dried, living microorganisms and fungi. The following overview lists purchasing sources and prices for five recommended compost accelerators:
- Humofix: from 3 EUR/piece, directly from the Benedictine Abbey of Fulda, on Amazon or Ebay
- Oscorna compost accelerator: from 9.48 EUR/5 kg on Ebay, Haas, Rubart, Westfalia, Amazon
- Neudorff Radivit: from 16.49 EUR/5 kg on Amazon, Ebay, in garden centers and hardware stores
- Beckmann quick composter: from 7.75 EUR/2.5 kg on Amazon, Rubart, Ebay, in garden centers and hardware stores
- Dehner organic compost accelerator: from 9.90 EUR/5 kg at Dehner, Amazon, Ebay
Our frontrunner comes straight from the monastery garden and is out of the ordinary in many ways. Humofix consists of 5 medicinal herbs, oak bark, milk sugar and honey and is dissolved in water. The compost activator is extremely economical to use. Just a bag with 1.2 grams of herb powder accelerates the rotting process in 2 cubic meters of compost.
Application
Commercial compost accelerators of the best quality are made up of natural ingredients. The main components are organic NPK fertilizer, plant materials, fungal substrates, living microorganisms and compost bacteria. As a rule, 1 kilogram of the powder is enough for the conversion process to run at full speed in 2 to 3 cubic meters of compost. How to use the funds correctly:
- Application: Sprinkle powder directly onto the compost
- Distribution: distribute in stages to each 20 cm high layer
- Dosage: 25-30 g per m²
- Supplement: Apply 3-5 cm of sifted garden soil
The effectiveness is optimized if you turn the compost at least once. Good ventilation ensures that the activated microorganisms do not run out of air. Please cover the compost with reed mats or compost fleece to protect against heavy rain.
Frequently asked questions
Which compost accelerators are suitable for lawn clippings?
Lawn should dry before composting
Before using compost accelerators for lawn clippings, important preparatory work must be taken into account. Let the grass clippings wilt first. Then mix dry leaves, chopped twigs or soil with the lawn clippings in a ratio of 1:3. This measure is important for good ventilation and smooth oxygen supply to the microorganisms. As a compost accelerator, sprinkle algae lime and horn shavings over every 20 centimeter high layer. Alternatively, spray the lawn clippings compost with Humofix.
Can you use compost accelerators at any time of the year?
Yes, you can use compost accelerators all year round. It is important to note that frost-free weather conditions are important for a smooth effect. Even at temperatures below 15° Celsius, decomposition begins to stall. If temperatures fall below freezing, the rotting process comes to a complete standstill, making the use of compost accelerators useless.
Do compost worms also help as a compost accelerator in horse manure?
In fact, the earthworm species Eisenia Andrei, Eisenia hortensis and Eisenia fetida have proven to be excellent helpers in turning horse manure into humus in a very short time. If there are enough compost worms, horse stable owners won't have to sit on useless horse manure for long. The esteemed provider Wurmwelten.de offers 6000 compost worms in vermicompost, which enthusiastically dedicate themselves to a 6 cubic meter pile of horse manure and process it into humus.
Tip
With compost accelerator, autumnal piles of leaves are transformed into fertile humus by spring. Simply sweep it up onto tree slices, distribute the turbo composter and secure it with some soil against the autumn wind. Please don't forget to pile up one or two piles of leaves untreated as a life-saving winter quarters for hedgehogs and other small animals in need of housing.
