Preparing sawdust for mulching. Effective use of sawdust as fertilizer

Mulching – This agrotechnical technique , reducing moisture loss in the soil and improving the structure or composition of the soil.

In addition, mulch protects the plant from:

overheating and freezing of roots;
slugs;
weeds.

Any garden and garden plants receive nutrition and substances necessary for growth in the form of aqueous solutions, which they absorb with the help of roots.

Therefore, the lower the soil moisture, the more difficult for roots extract nutrients from the ground, so the soil must be constantly moistened.

However, frequent watering often leads to rot, so it is extremely important increase the interval between waterings and reduce the rate of water loss from the soil.

Water leaves the soil four ways:

it is consumed by plant roots;
it seeps into deep layers of soil;
it evaporates due to heating by the sun's rays;
she is carried away by the wind.

The influence of the first two points cannot be stopped or slowed down.

Therefore it remains influence water evaporation due to heat and wind. Mulch, that is, material covering the ground, reduces the intensity of soil heating and also separates the soil surface from moving air, which is why water losses caused by these factors are reduced.

After rotting, the mulch from natural materialsmixes with the soil and improves its structure, making the soil looser. Thanks to this, plant roots have easier access to water, because in loose soil the moisture is distributed more evenly, so it naturally compensates for what the roots have consumed.

In summer, mulch protects the soil from sun rays, thanks to which the plant roots do not overheat. In winter, the mulch layer protects the roots from frost, serving as a heat insulator.

If the water in the soil and roots freezes, then will increase in size and rupture the root cells, after which they will no longer be able to perform their functions normally. Thanks to the heat-insulating properties of mulch, the water in the roots does not freeze even in severe frosts, and in the spring it is easier for the plant to wake up from sleep and resume growth.

In addition, mulch protects the beds from slugs and weeds, because the former experience discomfort when moving on a very uneven surface, and the latter cannot grow normally through a thick mulch layer.

Impact of wood waste on the earth: pros and cons

To understand how mulch from wood sawing waste differs from mulch from other materials, you need to understand how sawdust affects the soil.

The transformation of wood into humus (humus), that is, a substance suitable for absorption by plants, occurs due to the activity huge amount various bacteria and fungi.

This process occurs with any organic matter, due to which any plants, animals and other living organisms turn into humus after death.

During the life of microorganisms that ensure the decay of wood, various acids are released, only some of which are necessary to obtain humus.

Other acids do not affect mechanical properties soil, but changes the acid-base balance of humus, and then the soil with which it comes into contact.

This effect appears most strongly during the decay of softwood sawdust, so even partially rotted waste from sawing wood acidifies the soil, changing the acid-base balance and making the soil unsuitable for some plants.

In addition, bacteria and fungi that ensure the decay of wood consume a lot of nitrogen, extracted both from sawdust and air, and from the soil with which they come into contact. wood waste.

Therefore, with any use of sawdust, it is necessary to take into account the consumption of nitrogen by bacteria and the reduction in the level of this element in the soil.

Some of the acids secreted by bacteria and fungi are danger to young seedlings and shoots, which have not yet had time to grow a strong bark that protects them from pathogens of various diseases.

Therefore, mulching young seedlings with fresh sawdust leads to damage to their skin and infection with pathogens of various diseases.

If a decrease in nitrogen levels and an increase in acidity can be compensated for with lime or ash, as well as nitrogen-containing fertilizers, then the only way to protect seedlings– use only completely rotted material for mulching.

To compensate for the change in the acid-base balance of the soil after the use of sawdust mulch, the soil is sprinkled with ash, dolomite flour or slaked lime (fluff).

The alkali from these drugs reacts with acids , because of which the latter turn into salts with the release of water.

These processes happen slowly: Therefore, both the increase in acidity and the decrease occur over a period of several months.

That is why adding ash or other reagents along with applying a layer of sawdust mulch keeps the soil from changing acidity if the amount of reagents corresponds to the amount of acids released from wood waste.

How to prepare mulch?

For mulching you can use various materials, the most popular of which are:

polyethylene film;
pulled or mown weeds;
forbs (hay);
straw;
a mixture of various organic materials (weeds, hay, straw, etc.) with rotted manure or compost;
needles;
sawdust.

Polyethylene film, especially black or two-tone, suppresses weed growth well and makes the garden bed beautiful appearance, but has no effect on slugs.

In addition, on a hot summer day the ground under such a film heats up to dangerous levels, which often leads to the death of roots.

Low vapor permeability of this material leads to increased humidity on the surface of the earth and the appearance of mold and colonies of harmful bacteria, as well as the rapid proliferation of woodlice.

In addition, the film cannot protect against frost, so other materials must be used along with it.

In any garden bed or greenhouse, various weeds constantly grow, which taken away from cultivated plants nutrients and moisture, so they are weeded out or torn out.

Picked, mowed or pulled weeds can also be used as mulch, which better than film protects from heat and cold. However, such material often leaves weed seeds in the ground, which eventually germinate and then have to be pulled up or weeded out again.

A few days after laying on the ground, in the pulled out weeds the transformation into humus begins. Moreover, it is carried out by the same fungi and bacteria that ensure the rotting of sawdust.

As a result, the soil becomes slightly acidic, and the free acid damages the thin skin of the seedlings, making them vulnerable to disease.

Weeds rot much faster than sawdust due to the lower lignin content in the trunk, so they have time to completely rot before the onset of frost.

This leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of frost protection, because as a result of rotting the thickness of the weed layer is greatly reduced.

The situation is the same with forb hay, straw or pine needles - these materials quickly rot and can also contaminate the area with seeds, which will lead to the appearance of extra plants in the garden bed or greenhouse.

Due to rapid decay, spring mulch cannot protect plant roots from frost, and due to the presence of mulch, weeds do not grow in the beds, which can be used for autumn mulching, so you will have to buy hay or straw.

If it is possible to buy these materials, then they effectively protect roots plants from frost.

Since the rotting of any type of organic matter is ensured by the same fungi and bacteria as sawdust, their effect on the soil is approximately the same.

The only difference is that the dried stems of any herbs are much less dense than sawdust, therefore, with the same volume, they differ greatly in weight.

At the same time, the number of microorganisms that ensure decay, as well as the amount of acid they secrete and nitrogen consumed from the ground, is directly related to the mass. Therefore, the effect of mulch from hay, straw and pulled weeds on the soil is much greater less than that the influence that sawdust has.

In addition, the shape and structure of sawdust better suited for loosening soil, than any other materials.

After all, torn stems, as well as hay or straw, consist of long elements, and the waste from sawing wood, in size more like very coarse sand or very fine gravel.

Therefore, the soil with them allows water and air to pass through well. A mixture of any stems, as well as hay or straw with droppings/manure, compensates for the consumption of nitrogen by microorganisms, and lime or ash compensates for the increase in acidity.

However, even in this combination these materials may not be as effective as mulch , like sawdust.

After all, woodlice do not breed under the sawdust, and weeds do not grow, because the density of the mulch layer is much higher and the reserves in the weed seed are not enough to push through such a mass of wood waste.

If the total mass of weed, hay or straw mulch was equal to the mass of sawdust mulch, then the level of change in the acid-base balance, as well as nitrogen removal, would also be the same.

That's why Negative influence to the ground sawdust and these materials are the same, but the benefits of sawdust are much greater.

The maximum effectiveness of any mulch, including winter mulch, is achieved only with the planting of green manure.

After all, even a mixture of rotted waste from sawing wood with droppings or manure cannot fully compensate for all the substances spent on the growth of cultivated plants.

But a combination of mulch and litter or manure with planting properly selected green manures completely compensates for all spent substances and allows you to effectively grow crops in one area for many years.

Moreover, green manure and even the best mulching cannot replace each other because they have different purposes.

Preparation of raw materials

To prevent sawdust from harming the soil and plantings, they must be properly prepared to make mulch, completely or partially converted into humus(humus).

To do this, you can use either clean wood waste of any species, or a mixture of sawdust with any feces, as well as nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

To begin the fermentation process, in which various bacteria and fungi will process the wood into humus, it is necessary provide high humidity and temperature over +15 degrees.

After all, the number of microorganisms must exceed a certain minimum threshold, after which they will be able to effectively process organic matter.

Adding manure or humus to the fermenting mass reduces temperature requirements.

After all, excrement already contains most necessary microorganisms, and much more than the minimum amount.

After reaching minimum quantity, microorganisms begin to process the material, releasing thermal energy, so the pile of a mixture of sawdust and droppings/manure is warm inside even on frosty days.

By adding lime, ash or dolomite flour to rotting sawdust or a mixture with droppings/manure, you will get mulching material with excellent fertilizing properties and neutralize components that change the acidity of the soil.

This is especially important if you want to use material that is not completely rotted for mulching.

For natural decay of waste sawing wood takes 2–4 years, depending on temperature and humidity. Adding droppings/manure reduces the period of complete rotting to six months at above-zero temperatures or slight frost.

If, along with excrement, you add a drug that accelerates the growth of bacteria, then sawdust They will completely rot in 3–4 months.

For more information about these processes and the preparation of sawdust for application to the ground or use as mulch, read the article sawdust compost.

Is it possible to use fresh sawdust, and how to apply it correctly?

When choosing waste from sawing wood for mulching certain plants, keep in mind that not completely rotted conifers sawdust acidifies the soil much more strongly than deciduous wood.

Therefore, hardwood sawdust is better suited for mulching with not completely rotted material.

If you wait until the wood waste has completely rotted, then There is no difference between conifers and deciduous trees.

For every plant use their own methodology adding mulch, so the method of mulching peppers will not work with strawberries or raspberries.

In addition, mulching annual plants differs from the same procedure in beds or in greenhouses with perennial plants in that no need to protect roots plants from frost.

How can it be used as winter protection?

After harvesting, it is necessary to restore nutrients spent on plant development and loosen compacted soil.

If perennial plants are planted in beds or greenhouses, then their roots must also be protected from frost.

To do this, you can either increase the layer of summer mulch or add winter mulch. For processing soil under annual plantsgreen manure is first planted, then cover the ground with winter mulch, which loosens the soil and fills it nutrients.

Best suited for this mulch based on:

sawdust of any species;
droppings or manure;
slaked lime;
a drug that accelerates the decomposition of compost.

Moreover you don't even have to wait mulch rotting.

Indeed, thanks to a drug that accelerates the proliferation of bacteria, as well as droppings or manure, microorganisms that process organic matter will reproduce and perform their function even at sub-zero temperatures.

Therefore, it is enough to scatter the thoroughly mixed composition throughout the greenhouse or garden bed, after which microorganisms will turn it into humus, which will loosen the soil and compensates for the loss of nutrients and microelements.

If you want to mulch a garden bed or greenhouse, where perennial plants are planted, then consider the following:

Only completely rotted material is suitable for laying directly on the ground;
Partially rotted material is also suitable for laying on a layer of summer mulch, but around the plant trunks you will have to leave a free space of 10 cm in diameter, otherwise the plant trunk will suffer.

Therefore for perennial plants It is not advisable to use material that has not completely rotted, because it will loosen the soil and provide it with nutrients, but will not protect plant roots from frost.

Completely rotted humus from sawdust and animal excrement is free from these shortcomings.

Nevertheless, winter mulching cannot fully replace the use of green manure, because even mulch based on the above composition compensates for the loss of only essential substances, but cannot replace what green manure restores.

That's why maximum effect achieved when winter mulching carried out only after collecting green manure, Moreover, the green manure is scattered over the bed before laying the mulch layer.

Video on the topic

This video details the use of sawdust for mulching.

Conclusion

Sawdust is good material for mulching any plants. At correct use such mulch protects plants from:

How to keep soil moist in hot weather long time? How to protect plants from freezing in winter? How to curb the growth of weeds in garden beds? Such questions are often asked by inexperienced gardeners.Mulching with sawdustsoil is one of the agricultural techniques that solves these problems.

Advantages and disadvantages of mulching with sawdust

Mulch the soil with sawdust, that is, covering the surface of the earth with them must be done competently. This procedure is not always beneficial. Advantages:

cheapness;
retain moisture in the soil well;
promote greater soil permeability;
protect roots from temperature changes;
when they decompose they form organic matter, feeding the earth with vital elements;
retain heat in the soil and prevent it from freezing in severe winters;
allow air to pass through;
prevent the spread of weeds;
prevent the berries from coming into contact with the soil, which means they reduce their spoilage;
mulch is a home for beneficial microflora;
pine mulching sawdust prevents the development of fungal diseases and repels some pests;
pine sawdust, especially pine , drive away some pests and pathogens.

Despite the impressive list of advantages, mulching has its disadvantages:

fresh sawdust influence the acidity of the soil, increasing it;
sawdust large size they rot for a long time, and for the decomposition process they need nitrogen, which they take from the soil;
also, the decomposition period depends on the type of tree - sawdust from soft deciduous trees rots in 10–15 months, from pine and other representatives of conifers - 2–3 years;
pine sawdust prevents the development of not only pathogenic microflora, but also beneficial ones.

What sawdust can be used

Crops react differently to the application of sawdust mulch.

plants love chopped wood from deciduous trees, except oak, poplar and walnut. It is better not to use oak, as well as waste from poplar and walnut. They secrete substances that inhibit the growth of many crops;
sawdust from coniferous trees acidifies the soil , therefore it is applied to plants that prefer an acidic environment - potatoes, greens, carrots, tomatoes and representatives of the pumpkin family;
It is prohibited to use waste from chipboards, as they contain hazardous substances.

For mulchingThey use different sizes of material.

Very fine fractions are not used. It cakes into lumps and forms a hard crust on the surface.
Large sawdust forms a loose and deep layer that is difficult to compact.
Large chips insulate plants winter

Sawdust in its pure form is sprinkled on paths in plots and flower beds, and on passages between beds. You should not cover the ground with fresh sawdust in the fall. This wood material has low thermal conductivity. If you cover cold ground with it, it will not thaw for a long time in the spring and will not warm up well. For mulch It is better to use rotted or semi-rotted material that is painted light or dark brown.

For a healthy harvest potatoes After hilling it, sprinkle the grooves with sawdust. They will help retain moisture and prevent weeds from germinating. Mulching bushes raspberries helps its root system to overwinter without negative consequences. Bushes of tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and many flowers - hydrangeas, roses , lupins also respond well to this procedure.

Mulching must be combined with the addition of nitrogen. fertilizers

For cucumbers they practice mulching with wood chips small fraction. Each bush is sprinkled in a circle, this protects the plant from sucking pests. Coniferous sawdust is used as biofuels. They are poured into the base of the cucumber beds , water it well with slurry and increase it in height with soil.

Wood waste under the influence manure will hum and generate heat all season. Large wood shavings are placed in planting holes for grapes and flower vines. They act as a heat insulator, protecting plant roots from deep cold. Coniferous It is better to use sawdust for mulching carrots , they will drive away the carrot fly. To insulate mulch, the “dry” method is most often used, which is suitable for most crops - clematis, grapes, rose bushes.

The advantage of this method lies in the fact that plants overwinter in a dry, warm place where excess moisture does not penetrate. They are covered with sawdust, covered with polyethylene on top and covered with earth. Events are held in late autumn.

Winter garlic needs mulching not to protect it from freezing, but to preserve soil moisture and prevent cracking of the ground. Therefore, a “wet” method of covering is suitable for garlic: mulch from shavings sprinkle the soil near the plants, without adding soil and without covering the beds with polyethylene. Mulching pine sawdust protects garlic from diseases and pests.

You should not sprinkle such mulch on plants that like an alkaline environment - cabbage, beets. This will adversely affect their growth.

Timing of work

For sawdust to start “working”, it must rot. This requires high temperatures, which is why optimal timing Their uses are spring, summer - warm seasons. During this same period, it is necessary to protect the roots of plants from the scorching sun and prevent rapid evaporation of moisture. Wood mulch can be handle strawberry plantations, raspberry bushes, tree trunks of fruit trees. Winter mulching is carried out with a mixture consisting of:

from sawdust;
plant residues;
rotted manure.

Technology

Before what to processsoil with mulch, you need to find out its acidity and, if necessary, adjust this parameter by introducing additional components.

Preparation of material

The sawdust itself are not a fertilizer. On the contrary, they, like a sponge, suck elements from the soil, depleting it. Therefore it is necessary from them make mulch. It is easy to prepare with your own hands. Preparation starts with acquisition wood material. It must be of high quality, without pathogenic microorganisms and pests.

On plastic film pour out several buckets of sawdust and calcium nitrate on top (70–80 g per 1 bucket of material). Then water it with water, cover it with film and leave it for a week.
Urea is most often used for saturation of the material with nitrogen. Fold it in a heap, water each layer with a urea solution (200 g per 10 liters of water), then cover with film. Every 14 days, the sawdust is shoveled so that it is saturated with oxygen. They are used when they turn black.

Technology preparation is to settle on the material sufficient quantity microorganisms that will begin to process wood into organic matter. To do this, it is necessary to maintain high humidity and temperature above +15°C. To prepare mulch takes time, so it is better to do it in spring or autumn, making compost pits. Sawdust, manure and plant waste - tops, mown grass, leaves - are placed in them in layers. If there is no time, then compost prepared from fresh sawdust. For 1 bucket of sawdust take:

superphosphate in granules - 30 g;
ammonium nitrate - 40 g;
calcium chloride - 10 g;
slaked lime - 120 g.

The mixture is infused for 2 weeks.

Adding dolomite flour or ash to rotted sawdust neutralizes components that change soil acidity.

Features of spring and summer mulching in open ground and greenhouses

In spring, annual crops are mulched immediately after planting. For this purpose, only sawdust from deciduous trees is used. oak cannot be used. Root vegetables - carrots, turnips, garlic - are sprinkled with mulch after thinning, when the tops of the plant have reached a height of 5–7 cm. The mulch layer is made 3–4 cm thick.

It is added to perennials after warming up. soil , after removing the old mulch layer or digging it up with soil. They are not mulched in the summer, as they do not have time to prepare for winter. Raspberries, currants, apple trees, bushes strawberries mulched in spring before flowering. Sawdust should be added before the second decade of June, then by mid-summer there will be no trace left of the layer.

It is better to use mulch in the greenhouse apply in spring, mixed with others nutritional components- manure, urea. Plants are mulched when they begin to actively develop. This allows you to reduce the watering rate and protects the roots from overheating. Use of pine sawdust in a greenhouse for growing tomatoes and cucumbers helps reduce the development of diseases and numbers harmful insects. The mulch layer should be 5–7 cm.

Preparing beds and plantings for winter

In the garden They make high beds on which vegetable and flower crops grow well.

Remove the top fertile layer and put it aside.
A layer of mown grass, tops, and straw is laid on the resulting base.
Sawdust, well moistened with a urea solution, is placed on it.
Again, plant remains, which are covered with deposited soil.

To prevent the bed from crumbling around the perimeter, make sides from mown grass. Plants in such a bed need more water.

Gardener mistakes

Novice gardeners sometimes complain that mulching does not bring the results they expected. This occurs due to a violation of the process technology. Let's look at the main mistakes:

use of sawdust without pre-treatment of the soil nitrogen fertilizer- one of the fatal errors;
it is forbidden use freshsawdust - this entails an increase in soil acidity;
incorrectly selected size of wood waste for plants - large shavings, used only in the garden for mulching around the trunks of trees and shrubs or as insulation for the winter;
adding sawdust to unheated soil.

Sawdust mulch- it's good material and fertilizer , which is suitable for many types of soil. The result of mulching will be noticeable after 3–4 years, since the formation of a fertile layer is a very slow process. But the quality of the strawberry or raspberry harvest can be assessed in the same season. But be sure to take into account peculiarities using mulch so as not to harm the crops.

Using sawdust as mulch allows you to achieve amazing results in the growth and development of a plant, but only if you follow certain rules.

Mulching is the surface covering of garden soil with mulch, which can be crushed bark, pine needles, sawdust, etc. natural materials. This agrotechnical technique allows you to avoid many problems with the health of cultivated plants on the ground and in the greenhouse. Using sawdust as mulch allows you to achieve amazing results in the growth and development of a plant, but only if you follow certain rules.

Properties wood chips and shavings

Sawdust mulch is suitable for use on all types of soil. What's good about this material:

Does not release moisture from the ground, thereby helping to maintain the balance of water during dry periods and in hot areas;
Prevents weeds from germinating. This is one of the main reasons for using wood waste as a mulch;
Fresh sawdust is used as bedding for berries - the smell of the tree repels some pests from the fruit, and clean, small chips keep strawberries and wild strawberries clean;
Mulching the soil allows the roots of some plants to survive winter period;
Wood chips serve as fertilizer. True, for this you need to fulfill some conditions.

It is worth noting that mulching with sawdust cannot be done in the form in which it is. The fact is that wood does not saturate the soil with useful substances, but, on the contrary, draws them out like a sponge. Sawdust material becomes useful if it is added to the main mixtures for fertilizer or kept for a year or two in compost heap. At this time, bacteria settle on the surface of the chips, which saturate the wood with useful microelements released during rotting and proliferation of microflora.

What are the benefits and possible harm?

Sawdust is often used by gardeners to improve the quality of life of plants, but people do not always know about the true benefits of the intake and are not able to accurately assess its harm. However, in most cases, there is still a positive effect from their use. Sawdust in the garden - good or bad?

Advantages of sawdust:

With proper preparation, you get excellent humus, similar in properties to traditional manure, which, as you know, costs a lot.
Sawdust scattered on paths in the garden prevents the spread of weeds.
Retain moisture in the soil, especially in spring. To do this, it is necessary to mulch the soil in the fall.
Promote natural soil aeration several years after use.
Coniferous shavings and wood chips practically do not tolerate pathogenic microbes, which eliminates the risk of plant infection.

Harm from wood waste:

Sawdust in its pure form is not a fertilizer. According to some reports, they absorb minerals from the soil and the soil becomes depleted. To be more precise, nitrogen, necessary for the life of microorganisms, is drawn from the fertile layer.
Fresh sawdust oxidizes the soil.
When using sawdust of unknown origin, it is possible to infect plants with certain diseases. To eliminate this drawback, you should not take material from unknown sources.

What sawdust should I use?

Shavings different trees Not suitable for all plants:

Waste from deciduous trees, except oak, is suitable for all crops.
Conifers saturate the soil with acid, therefore they are suitable only for lovers of such an environment - tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and others.

Several fertilizer recipes

Sawdust in its pure form is only suitable for filling paths in order to retain moisture and stop the development of weeds. In other cases, preparation of raw materials is required.

For sawdust in the garden to become useful, it needs to rot. To achieve the desired condition, they will have to lie in a pile for at least 10 years while bacteria convert the wood into a useful substrate. To speed up the process, you should make compost from sawdust. In combination with manure and additional additives, the fertilizer matures faster due to thermoregulation in the desired range and maintaining a sufficient level of moisture.

The following are several recipes for making fertilizer from sawdust, which are used by gardeners throughout the country. It is recommended to bookmark from the beginning of summer as the necessary material becomes available.

Recipe 1: Wood and Ash

Stack:

Wood sawdust – 200 kg;
Urea, rich in nitrogen (up to 47%) – 2.5 kg per heap;
Ash required to alkalize the soil – 10 kg;
Water – 50 liters;
Grass, food waste and sewage – up to 100 kg.

The shavings and grass are laid in layers, ash is added and the “pie” is filled with urea dissolved in water. You can cover the pile with a polyethylene film, but small pores should remain in the surface: this way the temperature and humidity level will be optimal, and oxygen access will remain.

Recipe 2: Organically Enriched

For poor soil that requires a significant dose of fertilizer, prepare the following compost from sawdust:

Wood waste – 200 kg;
Cow dung – 50 kg;
Fresh cut grass – 100 kg;
Organic waste (food, feces) – 30 kg;
Humates – 1 drop per 100 liters of water (no more).

When this fertilizer ripens, a significant amount of nitrogen is released.

Fresh sawdust fertilizer

As already mentioned, fresh sawdust does not benefit the soil as a fertilizer for the garden. If you have not done composting in advance, but it is necessary to saturate the soil, use a sawdust mixture with the following additives on a bucket of wood chips:

Ammonium nitrate – 40 g;
Granulated superphosphate – 30 g;
Slaked lime– 120 g (glass);
Calcium chloride – 10 g.

The mixture must be infused for 2 weeks. To do this, spread plastic outside and scatter the ingredients on it.

Mix and leave to release necessary elements and conducting chemical reactions. After this, add the resulting mixture to the soil when digging the beds. The soil will receive a sufficient dose of ammonia, the acid-base balance of the soil will be leveled, and the release of useful substances will occur immediately after the first watering. The soil should be fertilized in the amount of 2-3 buckets per 1 square meter plot. This procedure promotes natural loosening of the soil.

How to do mulching correctly

Sawdust at the dacha is useful not only for speeding up the composting process, but also for winter shelter plants, their fertilizers and protection from pests.

It is good to use prepared sawdust as mulch in the first half of summer, when seedlings and plants are just gaining strength and need protection from weeds, loss of soil moisture and disease attacks. By mid-summer, there will be no obvious trace left of the powder - it will be mixed with the soil by rain and worms.

Basically, sawdust saturated with fertilizers is lined in the passages. This must be done between the beds with tomatoes, potato rows and other plants.

Other vegetables grown in the garden - onions, carrots, beets, garlic, turnips - also need protective powder. It needs to be done after picking, when the plantings are thinned out and have reached a height of 5-7 cm, they are covered with a 3-4 cm layer of sawdust.

Raspberries are one of the main favorites of mulching in the garden. It is necessary to preserve the soil moisture necessary for setting berries. Prepared sawdust is generously poured under the bushes. published

Many people don't know about beneficial properties sawdust, using them on your site only as mulch or insulation material. But With certain processing, sawdust can be used as fertilizer. Or rather, as a basis for an organic nutritional complex. The best way recycle them - put them through compost. This will help subsequently use them to enrich the soil with nutritious organic matter, and for the pre-winter hilling of heat-loving plants.

Sawdust as fertilizer

It is strictly forbidden to apply pure sawdust as fertilizer! This is the most common mistake a gardener can make. Waste from the wood processing industry of small and medium fractions, introduced into the soil in its raw form, greatly depletes it, binding not only manure, but also part of the phosphorus contained in it.

If you follow the theory that recommends using sawdust as fertilizer, then you need to apply it in the fall. They say that they will rot over the winter, and by spring they will turn into a nutrient. But for the normal process of decay to occur, high temperatures are required, which are not observed in winter. Accordingly, the decay process is slowed down. In the spring sawdust garden plot thaw out whole and unharmed, just thoroughly wet. This happens not only because the soil freezes, but also because wood waste contains a lot of phenolic resins, which are preservatives.

Wood itself is not a fertilizer; it contains only 1-2% nitrogen, the rest is ballast substances, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lingin, which form the trunk of the plant and serve as conductors of nutrients dissolved in the liquid. However, when it sits, various microorganisms settle on the surface, which saturate the wood with useful substances. If sawdust lies for 2-3 years in one place in the garden, it begins to turn black - this is a sign of the formation of humus. Placing the wood in compost, where it is processed and enriched with various nutrients, helps speed up this process.

Compost enriched with sawdust matures faster as it helps create and maintain the pile. high temperature. In spring, this pile warms up rather than traditional humus. The resulting substrate is usually more loose, breathable, and nutritious. Its use helps to more effectively fertilize the soil with sawdust.

How to make compost from sawdust

It is best to lay the pile at the beginning of summer, when there is already material for composting, and there is still time for this substrate to overheat. Sawdust compost is prepared from the following ingredients:

Wood sawdust – 200 kg;

Urea -2.5 kg;

Water - 50 l;

Ash -10 l;

Grass, leaves, household waste – 100 kg.

Urea is dissolved in water, and this solution is poured over a “pie” consisting of layers of wood shavings, grass, and ash.

Another sawdust compost recipe includes more organic matter, and is used for plants that require significant doses of nitrogen. You can prepare it like this:

Oak sawdust – 200 kg;

Cow manure – 50 kg;

Mowed grass – 100 kg;

Food waste, any feces – 30 kg;

Humates – 1 drop per 100 liters of water.

Fertilizing the soil with sawdust fresh is also sometimes used, but with the obligatory enrichment of them with mineral fertilizers, otherwise the wood waste will “suck out” everything useful material from the ground. The following proportions are recommended for making the mixture:

Wood sawdust – a bucket (coniferous sawdust is not recommended for direct application);

Ammonium nitrate – 40 g;

Simple granulated superphosphate – 30 g;

Slaked lime – 120 g;

Calcium chloride – 10 g.

The resulting mixture is applied during digging to crops that require loose soil, at the rate of 2-3 buckets per 1 square meter.

Mulching with sawdust

The use of small shavings as mulch has long been practiced by domestic gardeners. Many gardeners use this method of cultivating the surface of the soil in their country house to suppress weeds, conserve moisture and improve soil structure.

Very often the passages between the beds are filled with sawdust, thus preventing weeds from germinating. This substrate is also used for potatoes, after high hilling, sprinkling it on the resulting furrows. This layer keeps the soil between the rows moist, which in a positive way affects the harvest. Moisture is well retained under the sawdust and the soil does not overheat, which creates optimal conditions for potatoes.

Cucumbers are often grown using fine wood chips. Pine sawdust is used not only to fertilize the land in composted form, but also as biofuel. They are laid in the foundation high beds, and water thoroughly with slurry. Then the bed is expanded with earth, and the heat source, which is created by wood waste rotting with manure, warms it up qualitatively throughout the season.

Raspberries are another fan of mulching with sawdust. They help this shrub retain moisture at the roots, which allows you to increase the number of berries during fruiting and improve them taste qualities. Thanks to this method, raspberries can grow in one place for up to 10 years, since they root system does not dry out and, accordingly, does not degrade.

Almost all plants can be mulched with sawdust, subject to additional application of nitrogen fertilizers. After all, even superficially covering the soil, wood shavings It draws out useful nutrients from it quite strongly. But at the same time, she creates comfortable conditions, which allow plants to grow and develop better, so the advantages of mulching with sawdust are much greater than the disadvantages.

Video: mulching beds with sawdust using strawberries as an example

Sawdust as a loosening agent for soil

Why do many gardeners, despite little nutritional value, still use sawdust as fertilizer in their gardens? They are an inexpensive and easy to transport substrate with a large volume and low weight. But, since it takes time to process them into nutrient-rich organic matter, sawdust is often used fresh to loosen the soil. They are introduced:

In greenhouses, during preparation soil mixture for cucumbers and tomatoes, pre-mixed with mullein (3 buckets of sawdust, 3 kg of rotted cow manure and 10 liters of water).

Rotted sawdust can be added when digging the soil in the garden. It will become loose, and there will be no need for frequent watering, and in the spring such soil will thaw faster.

This woody substrate can be dug into the rows when planting vegetables with a long growing season. This will allow plant roots to use the space between the rows, under the thickness of the compacted earth.

Sawdust as a covering material

Residues from wood processing in the garden are used not only as fertilizers and mulch. Also sawdust are in demand as covering material. They are used in different ways. For example, stuffed into bags and wrapped around the roots and shoots of plants. This type of shelter is considered the most reliable.

For roses, grapes and clematis, which are left in the beds, protect the vines bent to the ground by covering them with a layer of sawdust along the entire length. To prevent field mice from getting under the covering substrate, it is necessary to sprinkle it in late autumn, just before frost, otherwise rodents will ruin all the plants over the winter. It would be even better to make an air-dry shelter over the wintering shoots. To do this, they knock together a frame from boards in the form of an inverted box, and fill it with sawdust on top, then put plastic film on it, and throw a layer of earth on top. The construction of such a mound gives an almost 100% guarantee of protecting the plant from any cold weather. Sawdust for insulation must be used very carefully. If they are used as a “wet” shelter, when the embankment is not protected from water in any way, they get wet and then freeze into an ice ball. Such insulation is suitable only for a small number of plants; the rest may rot under it.

But what is to the death of the rose, is to the benefit of the garlic. It winters well under a “wet” shelter of pine sawdust, since the phenolic resins contained in their composition perfectly protect this plant from pests and diseases.

Large sawdust can be used as a heat insulator by placing it at the base of planting holes. They will serve as a barrier to deep cold when planting such southerners as grapes and flowering vines.