What is Humus:
It is known as humus to the mulch or top layer of soil, rich in organic residues that come from the decomposition of beneficial organisms and microorganisms, such as fungi and bacteria. The word humus is of Latin origin meaning “earth”.
Humus is formed through a natural process, produced by the raw material of decomposing plant waste (leaves, stems, wood, roots, among others), and waste of animal origin, specifically, excrement and excreta of microbial animals of the soil, such as worms, and others such as soil bacteria and fungi.
However, the previously identified process depends in its progress on external agents such as humidity, temperature, and the presence of inhibitors, such as heavy or toxic materials. In the formation of humus, various nutrients are released, especially nitrogen, which helps convert humus into an organic fertilizer for agriculture.
Humus is characterized by its blackish color due to the amount of carbon, and there are two types; the old and the new humus. Old humus is identified by its purple and reddish color, due to the time that has passed, while young humus has a brown to black color.
Based on the above, humus brings benefits to the earth, among which the following can be mentioned:
Regulates plant nutrition. Provides nitrogenous products to degraded soil. Allows the soil to be tilled more easily, by improving physical properties. Provides nitrogenous products to degraded soil. Helps with water retention and drainage. Increases the Soil porosity. Provides useful microorganisms to the soil. Serves as support and food for microorganisms.
See also Soil.
Earthworm humus
Worm humus is an organic fertilizer, obtained from the excrement of worms fed on the organic waste where they act. In addition, being an organic and natural fertilizer, it helps in the decomposition of waste and animal fecal matter, as well as urban garbage, which leads to the improvement of the soil, neutralizing carbon and eliminating unpleasant odors.
Vermicomposting is a process that consists of the breeding and care of worms to treat organic waste through the production of humus, allowing the degradation of soils to be reversed, and the reduction of organic matter that goes to the landfill and can be used in the soil fertilization.
Hummus and hummus
These two terms, despite their similarity in writing and pronunciation, should not be confused, since hummus is linked to a “chickpea” food dish from the Middle East, and also from Israel, Turkey, Greece, Syria, Palestine, Armenia , Cyprus.
As such, it is a cream of mashed chickpeas cooked with lemon juice, tahini paste (sesame seed paste, also known as sesame) and olive oil are added, depending on the country other ingredients such as paprika, garlic, among others. In each country it is served differently, depending on their customs.
Finally, hummus means “chickpea” in Arabic.