How to Make Fermented Organic Fertilizer? A Full Breakdown of the Detailed Production Method
Homemade organic fertilizer is generally made by controlling the moisture of livestock and poultry manure such as pig manure, chicken manure and cow manure, together with bulk materials such as fruit pomace, distillers' grains and furfural residue, at around 50%, then mixing them evenly with rice bran, sawdust, cake meal powder and the like. When the temperature of the pile rises to 50°C, start turning the pile, turning once every three days; if the pile temperature exceeds 65°C, turn it once every two days. When the pile temperature drops, the material becomes loose, the original odor of the material is gone, there is a slight ammonia smell, and the pile is covered with white mycelium, the production is complete.
1. Material ratio.
Add 1 kg of organic fertilizer fermentation agent to the fermentation material. The fermentation agent needs to be mixed evenly with rice bran (or substitutes such as wheat bran or cornmeal) at a ratio of 1:5, then evenly sprinkled into the fermentation pile and mixed thoroughly. It is best to add straw or mushroom residue to adjust the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio.
2. Building the pile.
When making the pile, it should not be too small or too low; being too small will affect fermentation. A pile with a height of 1.5 m to 2 m, a width of 2 m, and a length of 2 to 4 m or more gives better fermentation results.
3. Temperature requirements.
The starting temperature should preferably be above 15°C (it can be done in all four seasons, unaffected by the season; in winter, ferment indoors or in a greenhouse as much as possible).
4. Moisture requirements.
The moisture of the fermentation material should be controlled at around 65%. Too high or too low is unfavorable to fermentation: too little water and fermentation is slow; too much water leads to poor aeration, slow heating, and the production of odor.
Method for adjusting material moisture: if the moisture is too high, add straw, sawdust, mushroom residue, dry soil powder, etc.
How to judge whether the moisture is suitable: squeeze a handful of material tightly; it is ideal if water marks appear between the fingers but no water drips, and it falls apart as soon as it hits the ground.
Pig manure organic fertilizer fermentation method_Production process of fermented organic fertilizer from pig manure
5. Turning and aeration.
During fermentation, pay attention to proper oxygen supply and pile turning (turn it several times when the temperature rises to 75°C or above), and keep the temperature at around 65°C; too high a temperature affects nutrients.
6. Completion of fermentation. Fermentation is generally completed within one week; the material turns dark brown and the temperature begins to drop to normal temperature, indicating that fermentation is complete. If there is too much auxiliary material such as sawdust, wood shavings or rice hulls, the fermentation time should be extended until it is fully decomposed.