AT521229B1 - Process for the production of a peat-free substrate for ornamental plants - Google Patents

Abstract

The aim is to use an environmentally friendly plant substrate for growing ornamental plants. The environmental concept of a substrate, free of peat and in the composition of regional and renewable raw materials, should come into play. In a series of tests lasting several years, this process for the production of such a substrate was developed, tested and finally used in the production of ornamental plants. The process consists of the special deposition process in a period of 0.5 - 3 years, the certified, communally produced organic compost used with additional enrichment of horn shavings, and subsequent admixture in a 3-stage mixing process of the following sustainable raw materials: horn shavings, coarse wood fibers, wood fibers fine, bark humus, clay granules, horn semolina and horn shavings.

Description

description

The invention relates to the production of a peat-free growing medium which can be used for the cultivation of ornamental plants.

In a multi-year series of experiments, the project to develop a peat-free substrate in which summer flowers and spring bloomers can be produced in the usual, good quality was tested.

Even if the use of peat in horticulture only accounts for a small percentage of the total peat extraction, it should not be forgotten that the moors are some of the largest freshwater reservoirs on earth, not to mention the unique fauna and flora, most of which are just occur in these moors.

Substitute materials such as coconut fibers are also not used, as these also do not meet the sustainable environmental concept. Rather, products are used that are made from renewable raw materials in the immediate vicinity.

Compared to the known prior art, the method described below for producing a peat-free soil substrate offers the advantage that additives such as peat or coconut fibers can be completely dispensed with in the composition of the substrate and only regional organic products are used. The success achieved using this peat-free substrate proves that it has exactly the same properties as conventional products.

The ascertaining prior art showed that companies (Bott Peter EP0607876 A1, Rogmans Maria EP3037397 A1, Allplant Entw & Maketing GmbH DE4401279C1 and IUP Inst für Umweltpflege AG WO9114358 A2) developed substrates with similar components, but none of the cited documents shows a method for producing a Peat-free growing medium, in which the components compost and horn shavings are first mixed together and deposited and then mixed with wood fibers, horn shavings and horn semolina and then with bark humus and clay granules to form the finished substrate.

One of the main products is the organic compost (1) from the municipal composting plant. This is made from the contents of the municipal bio bins using a fast process composting process. This rapid process creates temperatures of over 70 ° Celsius during the rotting process. The high temperatures kill most of the weed seeds, which saves us from steaming the compost.

DEPOSITING PROCESS OF ORGANIC COMPOST (4)

Since the fresh organic compost has a very high salt content and is therefore not suitable for immediate use, it is deposited in a special process. A period of deposition of at least 0.5-3 years, in connection with water and horn shavings, stimulates a rotting process in which the salt content decreases and the compost is more compatible with plants. : After the compost has been delivered, it is deposited with a compact wheel loader in dumps approx. 10 meters wide and approx. 3 m high. So that the compost can rot better, approx. 1kg horn shavings (2) per m® are added when the chute is created. After the compost and horn shavings mixture (3) has been created, it is covered with a tarpaulin that is permeable to air and water, which prevents the compost from being contaminated with "fly seeds". In order for the organic compost to rot away at all, water is required. For this purpose, an irrigation line is placed on the top of the bed and thereby the entire compost bed is watered. It is important that not only the top layer becomes moist, but that the compost is also moistened inside and kept moist at all times. Due to the high temperatures (up to over 70 ° Celsius) that can arise during the rotting process, the moisture will escape very quickly. Hence, regular watering is very important. Dry compost would slow down the rotting process very much, if not stop it. In order to promote post-rotting even better, the compost is turned over twice a year (spring and autumn). That means, the film is removed, the compost is turned over with the compact wheel loader and thus one is created again

new chute. Since the horn shavings decompose only slowly and only slowly but regularly release the necessary nitrogen, they are only added to the compost when it is first deposited. This step is omitted for the further "implementations". The tarpaulin is placed over the chute again and the irrigation line is placed on top so that it can be watered regularly again. After 0.5-3 years, the deposited organic compost (5) is so badly rotted that it can be used for a peat-free substrate. The salt content has also decreased at least to the point that it is no longer a problem.

Description of the substances for the 3-stage mixing process (14):

DEPOSED ORGANIC COMPOST (5)

After the communally produced bio-compost was deposited 0.5-3 years by means of the deposition process described above, it is ready for the mixing process with other ingredients (which are explained in more detail below) for the production of the peat-free substrate for the cultivation of young ornamentals . With a proportion of 20 to 55% by volume, it is the main component of the final substrate. The substrate essentially consists of the following additional substances:

Horn shavings (6) and horn grit (7) are used primarily for the coarse and fine wood fibers (8/9) as a storage fertilizer. This type of horn manure is used, which is obtained from the broken horn of slaughtered cattle. The horns and hooves of cattle are usually ground up for horn manure. Horn fertilizer has a neutral effect on the pH value of the soil and, due to its organic origin, contains a lot of nitrogen. The fertilizing effect of the contained nitrogen depends on the soil temperature, moisture, aeration and the grain size. It is available in different grain grades, so horn meal is easiest to absorb from the ground due to its small grain size (<1 mm) and therefore has the fastest effect, coarser horn meal (7) (grain size 1-5 mm) is generally used for garden soil. Horn shavings (6) with a grain size of> 5 mm have a long-lasting effect. The addition of this special fertilizer impregnates the wood material in order to avoid later problems caused by nitrogen fixation. Although the wood fiber is nitrogen-stable, nitrogen is also added when the substrate is mixed so that the wood fiber does not completely remove it from the substrate during the rotting process. For this purpose, organic fertilizer in the form of horn semolina and horn shavings is added to the substrate at 1-5 vol% each. Both serve as storage fertilizers, whereby the horn semolina decomposes more quickly and is therefore also available more quickly and the horn chips decompose more slowly, but remain available for longer.

The wood fiber used (8/9) is mainly made from domestic, fir and spruce woods, which are fiberized in an extruder in a mechanical-thermal manner. By adding a fertilizer, the wood material is impregnated with special nitrogen compounds in order to avoid later problems caused by nitrogen fixation in the substrate. 10-35% by volume of coarse (9) and 10-35% by volume of fine (8) wood fibers are used, as this combination results in the desired soil structure and permeability.

The bark humus (12) used is made from local fir and spruce bark in a hot composting process that lasts several years. The bark compost is needed to lower the PH value of the substrate and it also reduces the high salt content of the organic compost. The bark compost is also nitrogen-stabilized and is added to the peat-free substrate at a level of 10 35% by volume.

The clay granulate (13) is used in the grain size 0-3 mm and in an amount of 10-35% by volume. This is essential because it acts as a "buffer" for the high salt content and as a water reservoir ensures the correct water balance.

3-STAGE MIXING PROCESS (14):

1st stage mixing process (15): In the first step the coarse and fine wood fibers (8/9) are used for nitrogen stabilization

tion horn shavings (6) and horn grit (7) supplied in equal parts.

2, stage mixing process (16):

Here, the 20-55 vol% organic compost (5), as well as the 10-35 vol% wood fibers coarse (9) and the 10-35 vol% wood fibers fine (8), each alternating with a compact wheel loader to form a large pile Compost-wood fiber mixture (11) mixed together.

3rd stage mixing process (17):

Subsequently, the still missing 10-35% by volume of bark humus (12) and the 10-35% by volume of clay granules (13) are added to the already existing compost wood fiber mixture (11). Here, 4 wheel loader shovels from the compost / wood fiber / horn shavings / horn grit mixture and 1 wheel loader shovel from the bark compost / clay granulate mixture are successively mixed together to form a large substrate pile.

In principle, the following process conditions should be observed: The entire mixing process should be carried out with increased humidity to prevent the substrate from drying out.

After all components have been mixed in the substrate for the first time in the appropriate ratio, the substrate is shoveled 3 more times with the shovel of the wheel loader and thereby properly mixed with one another. All of this happens in an outdoor mixing area. In order to have the substrate available for processing, it has to be brought into our “work glass house” with a wheel loader. The substrate is vigorously mixed again using a soil mixer.

Two further mixing steps take place shortly before processing: On the one hand, the substrate is shoveled again with a wheel loader into an electric soil mixer and mixed in this as follows: The wheel loader feeds the substrate into the glass house, empties it into the funnel that is above the conveyor belt. This transports the substrate evenly into the electric soil mixer. This in turn pushes the substrate forward with a powerful swing and thus thoroughly mixes the substrate again. After the entire peat-free growing medium (Viennese original growing medium) (18) has been produced, it must not dry out until it is used and may need to be watered.

MIXING RATIO OF THE PEAT-FREE SUBSTRATE FOR ORNAMENTAL PLANTS (100%)

Deposited organic compost (5) 20-55% by volume

Bark humus (12) 10-35% by volume fine wood fiber (8) 10-35% by volume coarse wood fiber (9) 10-35% by volume clay granulate (13) 10-35% by volume horn shavings (6) 1-5% by volume horn semolina (7 ) 1-5 vol%

Overall, the annual workflow is mixed 2 times. In the culture week 35/36 approx. 130m * ® for the spring flower production and in the culture week 44/45 approx. 500m® for the summer flower production.

[0015] Series of tests have finally shown that omitting even one component causes a very significant deterioration in the development of the plants. Even percentage shifts within the components have made deterioration in the plants visible. It is important to use high quality materials to enable high quality plant production.

The invention is illustrated using an exemplary embodiment, by means of drawings.

It is shown: [0018] Fig.1: Depiction process depiction [0019] Fig.2: Mixing process depiction

Claims (1)

Claim 1. A process for the production of a peat-free growing medium, in particular for the cultivation of ornamental plants, which consists of the following steps: - Step 1: producing a deposited organic compost (5) by mixing organic compost (I) with horn shavings (2) and depositing the compost-horn shavings mixture (3) over a period of 0.5-3 years; and - Step 2: Production of the growing medium in a three-stage production mixing process with the following components: 20-55% by volume of deposited organic compost (5), 10-35% by volume of coarse wood fibers (9), 10-35% by volume of fine wood fibers (8), 10-35% by volume of bark humus (12) , 10-35 vol .-% clay granulate (13), 1-5 vol .-% horn meal (7) and 1-5 vol .-% horn shavings (6), comprising the stages: o Stage 1: Mixing the horn shavings ( 6), the horn meal (7), the wood fibers fine (8) and the wood fibers coarse (9) to a horn shavings-horn meal-wood fiber mixture (10), o Step 2: Mixing the horn shavings-horn meal-wood fiber mixture (10 ) with the deposited organic compost (5) to a compost-wood fiber mixture (11) and o stage 3: Mixing the compost-wood fiber mixture (11) with the bark humus (12) and the clay granulate (13) to form the culture substrate. For this purpose 2 sheets of drawings