How to make a bucket for fermenting waste from a regular bucket so that flowers grow by leaps and bounds

An EM container is a special device that allows you to make useful fertilizer from household waste, on which not only garden crops, but also house flowers grow well. With such a miniature plant, you can turn organic waste into compost or nutrient liquid for plants, and at the same time get rid of excess garbage. The device has only one drawback - its high price. We figured out how to make a similar container from a simple plastic bucket and save a lot of money.

Design and purpose

In order to assemble the container yourself, we will need the following:

• Plastic bucket. You can buy it at a hardware store or use what is left over from the renovation, for example, well washed from under the façade paint.
• Fine grid. It will be needed to contain waste. It can be made from fine welded, abrasive mesh, window mesh or any other similar material. You can turn a plastic herring jar upside down and make enough holes in it to allow the liquid to pass below.
• Faucet.You will need an ordinary plastic tap and a piece of plastic pipe; it is inexpensive and also sold in a hardware store.
• Bucket lid. Usually the container already has one, but if it doesn’t, you can pick up any one that will close tightly.

In order to understand how to properly assemble a system, you need to understand how the factory one works. This will help you figure out how fertilizer is made from what you were planning to throw away.
You need a plastic bucket with a capacity of 10-15 liters. Too large will be inconvenient to use, difficult to move from place to place, and the compost will take a long time to prepare. It is optimal to choose an option with 12 liters or close to this volume.
Fermentation or fermentation of organic matter occurs in a standard manner. In order to start the process, it will not be enough to simply collect a bucket for its comfortable implementation; you will need to buy special mushrooms and bacteria, the strains of which are selected by specialists.

Modern preparations will help you quickly get results and make a good fertilizer, universal for all types of plants, so you should not neglect them. Once you make the container, you will need to buy a product to fill the organic waste you put in it. Most often, you can buy the drug at a veterinary pharmacy or store that sells everything you need for home flowers and gardening.

What does a standard EM container design look like?

The design of the device is quite simple, it is well thought out, so when creating a home analogue, we will adhere to already calculated and proven methods:

• It is necessary that the bottom of the container is raised by 3 cm, due to this it is easy to use the tap, which is located in the lower part of the structure.
• In order for the liquid to pass to the bottom and the compost to linger, a mesh is needed, it is also located at the bottom.
• The faucet can be soldered if you have a tool for this, if not, carefully drill a hole so that it can be screwed in.
  
• It is necessary to equip the structure with a tight lid so that there is no smell. If this is not possible, take one lid of the same size and cover the bucket with it, then find a thick plastic bag or film, cover the bucket with it and seal the side with tape. Once the container is full, you still won’t have to open it often, and this option will save you from the smell.

What waste is suitable for composting?

Making a bucket is not enough; you need to understand how the whole mechanism works. Compost is not just a disposal of waste that you don’t want to put in the trash, it’s a useful mass that you don’t need to throw away.

To prepare fertilizer, you can use only natural products, which include the following:

• Porridge, leftover baked goods, pasta, and it doesn’t matter whether these leftovers are fresh or already covered with mold. Anything will do, the main thing is without cellophane or other inorganic additives.
• Sour or fresh dairy products.
• Remains of meat, even rotten ones.
• Fruits and vegetables, tops, regardless of condition. For example, if you have lost something in the refrigerator, you can put it in a bucket of compost or add potato peelings, carrots, or cabbage leaves that were not used for borscht.
• Bark, any leaves or flowers, so if your bouquet has wilted, do not rush to throw it away, it will still serve as fresh flowers.
• Seed husks and any organic vegetable peelings.
• Paper and cardboard also work as long as you wet them first.

What should you not put in compost?

Compost is not a garbage pit, so you will have to carefully monitor and sort what should go there and what should not.

For example, the EM bucket should not contain the following:

• Sticks, branches.
• The bones do not matter what origin.
• Fish.
• Inorganic substances, such as cellophane.
• Metal objects.

How does sourdough happen?

First of all, after selecting suitable waste, you need to grind it so that the pieces are no larger than 2-3 cm. If you want to add squash caviar or a product similar in consistency to the compost, you do not need to do anything with it. The fermentation will occur in a certain sequence, which also cannot be disrupted, otherwise nothing will work.

The following actions need to be taken:

• Sort and shred the waste, then place it in a garbage bag, in which you will first need to punch a few holes. They are needed so that water can leave the workpiece.
• Place the bag in the bucket; so that it does not lie on the bottom, we will need a lattice in the structure.
• Open the bag and moisten its contents with water that does not contain bleach. Settled water will also work if you have a central water supply and there is nowhere to get non-chlorinated liquid.
• Add EM concentrate to the compost, maintaining an approximate proportion of 1:100. This can be done by eye or by first weighing the garbage that you will need for harvesting.
  
• The layer will need to be well moistened; bacteria develop well in damp conditions, so they need a moist, warm environment.
• The package can be removed or placed in a bucket.Cover it with an inner lid or something relatively heavy - this is necessary to compact the mass and force the compost to release juice more actively. In addition, compacting the material will help remove excess air pockets from it and speed up the fermentation process.
• After this, cover the container with the main lid or pack it in cellophane, as we recommended earlier. This is necessary not only to ensure that the unpleasant odor does not escape from the container, but also to prevent air from entering the container.

You can gradually add products for processing. To do this, they are laid in layers, also covered with enzyme. There is no need to stir anything, the main thing is to press firmly on top, not allowing excess air to get into the container. Liquid will gradually accumulate inside. It needs to be drained every 2-3 days or as it accumulates, it all depends on the volume of the bucket that will be chosen for the experiment.
The compost can remain in the bucket for up to two weeks, after which it will need to be removed, the container will need to be washed well, and new fertilizers can be produced, old waste can be disposed of.

What can be obtained using this technology?

The presence of an EM container will be especially useful for summer residents, since it will be possible to obtain a large amount of fertilizers almost free of charge. The production of the bucket itself will cost 200-300 rubles, the bioactive additive is inexpensive, and a factory container would cost 1,500 rubles. The waste that is already generated after cooking can now not be thrown away, but used at the dacha.
You can get an effective fertilizer from them, which not only copes with tasks better than manure, but is also cheaper and does not have such an unpleasant odor.A family of 4 can produce up to 500 kg of biofertilizers in 6-12 months. Such fertilizers will not only be nutritious for plants, but will also allow them to acquire protective properties against various diseases, which manure does not provide. The susceptibility of plants to diseases and pests will become much lower if special preparations are added to the mixture to destroy pests.

The positive aspects of this supplement include the following:

• Microorganisms create biocenoses that protect the plant from harmful microorganisms.
• EM compost is suitable for feeding almost any type of plant; it can be used both for exotic house flowers and for any garden plants, from tomatoes to fertilizing fruit trees. The application of the drug is the same as for vermicompost or humus.
• Compost will ripen 40 days after it is removed from the container; it can be placed in the soil immediately, and it will ripen on its own. In winter, the product can be frozen; it will not lose its properties; when warm weather arrives, it will release useful elements to the roots.
• You can use unripe compost to attract worms; they readily consume it, which is useful for vermicultivation.
• The liquid that you will drain from the container is good for cleaning sewer pipes.

Factory bucket cost

Depending on where you buy the container, its price can vary from 1100 to 1500 rubles. If you make it yourself, you will spend from 200 rubles; you will only need to buy a container and a faucet. Everything else, as a rule, is already on the farm. You can also use an old bucket from under something.The main thing is that it has a tight-fitting lid.

Prospects

You can save on fertilizers, feed your plants and get a good harvest at your dacha. In addition, waste that is usually disposed of can be put to good use without spending money on the purchase of manure and other biological fertilizers. Even a damaged bucket can be used to make a container; the only important thing is that the bottom does not leak.

Conclusion: with a little ingenuity, using scrap materials, you can quickly assemble an EM container for pennies, which will work exactly the same as the factory one. After some time, you will fully appreciate your own efforts, having received a good harvest at your summer cottage. The waste from it can be used to create new compost. This is a relatively fast, inexpensive and effective way to obtain fertilizers, while you will need to spend a minimum of effort and money.