Materials Required for Compost Making

Back to: Agricultural Science Primary 4

 

Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking about the materials required for compost making. Enjoy the class!

Materials required for compost making

Meaning of compost

Compost is made of decayed organic materials, such as leaves, grasses, animal dung, food leftover and urine, which are added to the soil to improve its fertility for good plant growth.

Materials required for compost making are:

1. Leaves
2. Soil
3. Dung
4. Ash
5. Water
6. Straw etc.

Let us take a look at these materials one after the other:

 1. Leaves and grasses:

The leaves and grasses gathered must be dry, this will hasten its decaying process.

2. Soil: Add soil to a decomposing compost pile to help the pile break down faster. Rather than waiting for the microbes to grow and develop slowly, the addition of soil provides a boost of microbes to speed up the process. Adding soil also helps keep insects in control.

3. Dung: Addition of animal dung to the compost will add generous amounts of organic matter to your soil. This is an essential requirement for the healthy growth of plants.

4. Ash: Adding ash to compost is good Since ashes do not contain nitrogen and will not burn plants, they can be useful in the garden, especially in the compost pile. Wood ash compost can be a valuable source of lime, potassium, and other trace elements.

5. Water: The composter contents should be moist like a wrung-out sponge. If the contents are too dry, it will take overly long to compost; and if too wet, the contents may begin to smell.

6. Straw: Straw is a valuable addition to the compost pile, as it decomposes quickly and helps heat the mixture. You can add it directly from the bale or add it at the end of the season after you have used it as mulch along garden rows. Straw has an added benefit in compost, it helps entrap air in the compost which in turn helps keep things aerobic and composting nicely.

General evaluation

1. Explain the term compost.
2. List the materials needed to make compost.

Weekend assignment

1. Why is it needed for compost to be moist?
2. Which of the materials causes the compost to generate heat?
3. Animal dung adds ——— to the soil.
4. Compost is mixed with soil. What is the reason for this?

 

In our next class, we will be talking about Steps in Compost Making (Practical).  We hope you enjoyed the class.

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