Chapter picture: Sustainable fertilisation with compost

Sustainable fertilisation with compost

Unlike peat, compost returns lost nutrients to the soil. It contains all necessary trace elements in the correct proportion, even if in lesser quantities than commercially-available compound fertilisers. Finished compost alone is not suitable for planting. It must be mixed with garden soil.

Tips for the use of compost can be found under:

Use of fresh compost

Use of fresh compost

Raw compost is the freshest form of compost. It can be used in the same way as farmyard manure. It is unfinished and contains nutrients in a form that cannot be used by plants. However, it promotes soil life very well. Raw compost can be removed for mulching purposes after three warm months.

Lawn compost

Lawn compost

Mix lawn cuttings well with shredded hedge and tree cuttings or with shredded leaves. The added material provides for the necessary aeration. The volume of this mixture is quickly reduced, because the lawn cuttings have a high water content and decompose rapidly. The high wood-content mixture can therefore be enriched, time and again, with well-mixed in, fresh lawn cuttings.

Contents of mature compost %
Nitrogen 0,5 - 1,5
Phosphorus 0,1 - 0,8
Potash 0,3 - 0,8
Magnesium 0,1 - 2,0
Calcium 1,0 - 1,2
Organic substance 20 - 40
pH value 6,5 - 8,0
Nutrient requirements Plant type Compost l/m²
High nitrogen consumers Tomatoes, cabbage 3
Medium nitrogen consumers Carrots, onions 2
Low nitrogen consumers Beans, peas 1
Ornamental plants Roses, fruit 1
Peat bed plants Rhododendron -
Green areas Ornamental lawns 2
Flower meadows 1
Garden soils New gardens up to 50