Mawandiwe Irrigation Club Makes Organic Fertilizer
On March 13th, 2019, members of the Mawandiwe Irrigation Club were trained on making organic fertilizer by using locally sourced materials.
There are many advantages to using organic fertilizer, not the least of which is the financial savings. One 50kg bag of inorganic fertilizer, diluted and mixed with compost products can produce upwards of five 250kg bags of organic fertilizer. That’s over five times the fertilizer yield. The organic fertilizer also improves soil fertility and structure, retains moisture and provides nutrients that benefit the crops!
Materials:
Chicken or pig manure 20kg
Maize bran 20kg
Ash 10L
Water 8L
Inorganic fertilizer 10kg (MK 4,400)
The following pictures show farmers making a 50kg organic fertilizer at Mlezi
Step 1: Measuring manure
Step 2: Measuring and adding maize bran to the manure
Step 3: Thoroughly mixing manure with maize bran
Measuring manure
Measuring and adding maize bran to the manure
Thoroughly mixing manure with maize bran
Measuring and adding ash to the mixture of manure and maize bran
Thoroughly mixing ash with manure and maze bran
Measuring and adding organic fertilizer
Thoroughly mixing inorganic fertilizer with the mixture of manure, bran and ash
Sprinkling water onto the mixture slowly and keep mixing the material until it is a little bit wet
Putting the manure in a sack with a plastic inside and tying the bag with a rope to avoid exchange of gas and influence chemical reaction. The bag is then put on a cool dry place for 21 days and drying the material on the sun to be used or stored for future use.