Mäusdorf decomposition guide

What is the Mäusdorfer Rottelenker?

The Mäusdorfer Rottelenker, roughly “Mäusdorf decomposition guide”, is a collective preparation: a mass in which the forces of the compost preparations are concentrated. It is dried and ground and can therefore be scattered as a powder. It is used mainly in slurry, manure and deep litter, and also in compost and on the land.

It was developed by Christian von Wistinghausen and W. Scheibe at Mäusdorf, as a further development of the birch pit preparation after Max-Karl Schwarz and along the lines of the cow pat pit after Maria Thun (Wistinghausen et al., application, ch. 5.6). In the sources it is also called “barrel compost Mäusdorfer Rottelenker”.

How it is made

The base mass is made in the birch pit, with eggshells, basalt meal, bentonite, herbal additions and the compost preparations. It is turned several times and prepared again and again. Part of it partly rotted, part half rotted, the material is mixed, prepared once more, enriched with plenty of valerian preparation, dried and ground (Wistinghausen et al., application, ch. 5.6).

Use in slurry, manure and the barn

• Slurry: about 10 grams per cubic metre, i.e. 1 kilogram per 100 cubic metres, soaked in a bucket of water or spread dry as a powder over the slats. Repeated every two to four weeks or more often.
• Barn: for about 50 livestock units around 100 grams a week, scattered dry in the dung passage, on the slurry slats, in the pre-pit, in the deep litter or on the growing manure heap.
• Spreading: when spreading manure, liquid manure or slurry, scatter about 100 grams per hectare onto the trailer or into the tank.

The earlier the Rottelenker goes into the manure, the earlier the guidance of decomposition begins. All quantities after Wistinghausen et al. (application, ch. 5.6).

Use in the garden

In horticulture the Rottelenker is scattered continuously over the growing compost heap. Three tablespoons, soaked in a bucket of water, are enough for about 100 square metres: sprinkle onto the soil with a hand brush or twig broom before planting and after harvest. Soaked and stirred briefly again and again, it is also suitable for mulch, green manure and crop residues (Wistinghausen et al., application, ch. 5.6).

Rottelenker and barrel compost

Both preparations bring the compost preparations onto the land, even where no compost and no manure is spread. Barrel compost after Maria Thun matures in the cow pat pit, is stirred for 15 to 20 minutes and sprayed, to incorporate green manure and crop residues, for the winter furrow and on meadows. The Mäusdorfer Rottelenker is dried and ground and is mainly scattered, in slurry, manure and the barn.

In the garden barrel compost is the usual form: like the Rottelenker it is sprayed onto the soil before sowing and after harvest.