What to do to make sawdust quickly rot. Sawdust as fertilizer: how to mulch the soil correctly

Many gardeners use sawdust as insulation and mulch for berry fields, fruit trees, flowers and others heat-loving plants. They don’t even realize that sawdust has other beneficial properties. This good basis for the preparation of nutritious organic matter - compost.

Russia has a huge territory, and the land for cultivating crops varies greatly across regions. In many places, sawdust is used to improve the soil structure in vegetable gardens and summer cottages in order to increase the yield - an objective necessity. You just need to do this correctly and consciously.

This type of crushed wood waste cannot be considered a complete organic fertilizer in every condition. Although, first of all, they improve mechanical properties soil. The fertile layer becomes looser, airier, and absorbs moisture well. But in order to understand the influence of the smallest particles of wood on other components of the nutrient layer of the soil, it is necessary to know their properties.

The composition of rotted sawmill waste includes fiber, many useful microelements, essential oils, resins and other substances needed by plants. Decomposed particles from sawing logs saturate the soil with carbon, which serves as a breeding ground for the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms. But only proper compost sawdust has these properties.

Since sawdust is the smallest particles of wood or otherwise crushed waste from sawing wood on sawmills, circular saws, gasoline and hand saws- their reserves are created where woodworking shops, carpentry shops operate, and wood buildings are erected. Quite a few of them also form in summer cottages if construction is going on there. Wood shredded waste is inferior in value and set of nutrients to manure and peat, but greater benefits can be obtained from them due to their availability everywhere. You just need to know how to use them properly.

Wood in its pure form cannot be used as fertilizer. It contains a lot of nitrogen (1–2%), cellulose, lignin, resins, which deplete the soil because they bind many useful material, needed by plants. This situation is caused by the fact that during decomposition in wooden grains, countless colonies of microbes, bacteria, and fungi are formed, which take useful elements from cultivated plants for their nutrition. These are primarily nitrogen and phosphorus. At the same time, the earth begins to oxidize. Therefore, fresh sawdust cannot be added to the soil. They will only exhaust her, but cultivated plants weaken and die. But on top of the ground - it’s possible, but in a small layer. Therefore, sawn waste is used to mulch the area near the trunks of fruit trees in orchards, and to insulate the soil in berry fields in order to retain heat and moisture in the soil. Mulch made from clean shredded wood waste under strawberry bushes will protect the berries from rotting and pests.

With sawdust, the fertile layer becomes looser, airier, and absorbs moisture well

True, it is wiser to use this mulching material only until mid-July, when moisture from the soil rapidly evaporates. In this case, by the end of August, only memories will remain from mulching fresh grains of wood, since due to the energetic activity of worms and frequent loosening, the crumbs from sawing logs will be well mixed with the ground. If you spread sawdust mulch in a thick layer in July, when it rains every decade, then this layer will interfere with the evaporation of excess moisture from the ground. This fact will negatively affect the ripening of annual shoots in berry bushes and fruit trees. It will also become more difficult to prepare them for winter.

For log particles to become a substance useful for plants, you have to wait for a long time until moisture accumulates in them and microorganisms multiply, which saturate the smallest particles of wood with the elements necessary for plants. And rain jets practically do not allow waste from small particles from lumber to pass into the pile. Therefore, crushed wood particles decompose only in the upper layer and at the same time change their color. They start to turn black. This process spreads deeper and after 5–10 years, from a bunch of small particles of wood, good humus is obtained, having different shades Brown. There is a fundamental difference between manure and sawdust in the process of humus formation. Manure rots from the inside, and waste from the sawmill outside. Therefore, many gardeners do absolutely the wrong thing by storing small pieces of wood in a heap on their plots. They will wait for humus for a very long time.

Moisture and living microflora are the two necessary components that will turn harmful fresh sawdust into valuable organic fertilizer.

By understanding the conditions for converting pure wood into useful organic matter, this process can be greatly accelerated. Beneficial bacteria can be introduced by mixing wooden grains with fertile soil, mineral and organic fertilizers, and the necessary moisture will be provided by abundantly watering the mixture with water from a hose.

It takes a long time for log particles to become a substance useful for plants.

Sawdust compost

There are many recommendations for the preparation of nutritious organic matter from fresh waste sawn logs, as the basis of a nutrient mixture, with the addition of various components. Important Note: waste should only be taken from environmentally friendly wood. If the sawn trunks were stored in stacks before processing and were treated with various impregnations, then their shredded waste will do nothing except harm from toxic chemicals. Almost all vegetable, berry, shrub and non-cultivated plants can be composted mixed with sawdust. The exceptions are roots of perennial weeds, bark and wood, which will take years to be fully processed. The smallest grains of wood are composted easily, quickly enough, and acquire the desired beneficial properties. As a result of rotting, the crumbled particles of wood gradually get rid of the harmful properties inherent in the fresh state: slow mineralization and the ability to oxidize the earth.

The process of obtaining organic fertilizer from sawdust with the addition of microflora can be divided into three periods:

Decomposition. During this period, the compost mixture actively begins to generate heat, which contributes to a gradual change in the structure of the components of the conglomerate and enrichment with healthy elements. The result of the transformations is this: they appear in the mix different types beneficial microorganisms: photosynthetic, lactic acid and yeast bacteria, actinomycetes and fermenting fungi. Colonies of earthworms are formed, which significantly accelerate the process of processing organic residues into a nutrient substrate.
Humus formation. During this period the most important factor- Availability large quantity oxygen necessary for microorganisms to actively reproduce. This is achieved by mixing the heap manually, using a shovel or fork.
Mineralization. During this period, complete decomposition of organic residues and the humus elements themselves occurs into oxides and salts. Characterized by high release carbon dioxide and ends with liberation and transition to accessible forms mineral nutrition plants.

Mixing the compost

Sawdust compost in 2 weeks

Useful organic matter is prepared in two ways: cold or slow; hot or fast. The highest quality, healthy, valuable substrate for feeding vegetables and berry bushes obtained using the cold method. But it takes a lot of time. If you want to prepare compost from sawdust quickly, you must fulfill three main conditions:

Prevent heat loss due to self-heating. This can be done by placing the mixture in some container: an iron or plastic barrel, wooden box, a thick, opaque plastic bag. With the hot method of producing compost, its volume is limited to several hundred kilograms.
Provide good natural aeration. In the walls and sides of any container there should be cracks, openings, holes for natural ventilation.
All organic material must be crushed with an ax, knife, or chop before placing it in a container. The size of the chopped fractions should be no more than 10–15 cm.

But there are several more prerequisites for the formation of organic matter to feed vegetables to proceed quickly:

It is advisable that the compost mixture be kept under sun rays;
the container must be protected from wind blowing (to avoid heat loss);
all organic components must be divided into two fractions: wet and green (leaves, chopped tops and weeds, waste from vegetables and fruits, etc.) and coarse and dry - wood chips, waste from working with lumber (shavings, branches, etc.) ;
The compost heap in the container should be laid out in layers of 10-15 cm:
bottom drainage layer of leaves, crushed dry grass;
the second layer is sawdust mixed with coarse and dry fractions, moistened with a solution of urea or liquid mullein;
third layer - mixed wet and green fraction with manure;
the fourth layer is soil from a garden or forest;
fifth layer chopped straw or hay;
then the alternation of layers should begin again, starting with woody debris.

Dry fractions are wetted with water. Optimal height containers for quickly obtaining nutritious organic matter from sawdust - about 1 meter. The base area must be at least 1 square meter. meters. The top of the container is covered with a dense, light-proof material. If the pile is formed correctly, heating will begin in 3-4 days. This should be facilitated by the flow of oxygen through the cracks and the required moisture content of the layers. Every three days the pile needs to be shoveled and after two weeks you should end up with a rotted conglomerate of wood chips that can be used to mulch vegetable beds. Important note: shovel thoroughly to ensure the mixture is evenly mixed. The nutritional mixture will periodically warm up and then cool down - this is normal.

The compost mixture should be exposed to sunlight

compost heap in containers should be laid out in layers of 10-15 cm

All organic components must be divided into two fractions: wet and green.

There should be no odors from the container with nutritious organic matter. If they appear, it means that something in the process of overheating is going wrong.

When the smell of ammonia begins to appear, there is an excess of nitrogen components in the heap (adding a small amount of shredded paper will correct the situation). If it smells rotten eggs- the layers have become compacted and lack oxygen (the compost mass needs to be loosened).

Nutrient organic matter from sawdust helps the soil absorb harmful chemicals (herbicides, pesticides, excess fertilizers and other chemicals). This prevents the accumulation of nitrates in vegetables, berries and fruits, heavy metals, corned beef and other harmful human body substances.

Fresh crumbs from sawing wood products are used in saline soils to improve their health. This type of wood waste is also quite effective in combating negative consequences from applying excessive doses of mineral fertilizers.

Fresh crumbs from sawing wood products are used in saline soils to improve their health.

Experts advise feeding poor lands with sawdust compost for 3-4 years in a row, and fertile lands for 1-2 years. The effectiveness of sawdust soil fertilizer lasts for 4-5 years and is comparable in this indicator to cow manure.

In greenhouses

Both fresh small grains from sawing trunks and any composts based on them are suitable for greenhouses. In the spring, a week before planting seedlings, a layer of fresh crushed tree particles up to 25 cm thick is scattered throughout the greenhouse. Then mineral fertilizers are evenly scattered on top at the rate of 1 square meter. meter:

birch or other wood ash - 300 grams;
ammonium nitrate - 250 grams;
double superphosphate - 200 grams;
potassium sulfate - 120 grams.

Ash

Saltpeter

Superphosphate

Potassium sulfate

The layer of waste from sawmill activity and mineral fertilizers is well shed with water room temperature(20–25 degrees). If they apply organic fertilizers, then their usual dose is increased. For slurry, three times, for a solution of chicken manure, two times. After spilling the sawdust, they are mixed. This work must be done at least a month before planting the seedlings.

Greenhouse cucumbers grown on crushed wood particles every week from seedling growth to harvest finished products, it is necessary to feed with nitrogen fertilizers, and during the fruiting period - with complex fertilizer. In greenhouses, you need to add a new portion to the soil every year. fresh sawdust(if there are no pathogens in the soil).

Onions, seedlings of cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, watermelons and melons are grown on fresh, disinfected with boiling water, crushed wood waste. Seedlings of other vegetables are grown on a nutritious basis from sawdust.

Sawdust in the garden

Experienced potato growers use semi-rotted sawdust to grow early potatoes. To do this, boxes prepared in advance are lined with a layer of particles of crushed lumber about 10 cm high. Then the germinated tubers are laid out on it. The top is covered with sawdust in a layer of about 3 cm. The substrate is maintained in a moderately moist state at a room temperature of about 20 degrees. When the length of the sprouts increases to 6-8 cm, the wood chips along with the potatoes are watered with a urea solution. Tubers along with sawdust are planted in holes and covered with soil. It’s a good idea to take care of heating the ground in advance by covering it with black plastic film. Planted potatoes are covered with straw, hay or non-woven material from a possible drop in night temperatures. Early planted potatoes good care will give early harvest young potatoes.

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 agrotechnical techniques solving 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, organic substances are formed that nourish 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 affects 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.

Several buckets of sawdust are poured onto a plastic film and calcium nitrate is poured 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 support high humidity, and the temperature is 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.

Addition dolomite flour or ash in 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 set 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:

using sawdust without pre-treating the soil with nitrogen fertilizer is one of the fatal mistakes;
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- This 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.

Many are confident in the infallibility of this opinion that manure is the best remedy for beds. So it may be so, but not everyone can afford it. But few people pay attention to the most common sawdust, which correct use can also give excellent results.

Sawdust is not a rare material in almost all summer cottages, since during repair and construction work it appears regularly after wood processing. And a machine of sawdust is much cheaper in cost than the same machine with manure. Usually, sawdust is taken by car to a landfill because it is no longer needed, but in the meantime, it can be added to compost, used as mulch and sprinkled with it. garden paths. Sawdust can also be used as a substrate during germination and seeds. They even grow seedlings on them. However, after these words, it is not recommended to rush into growing seedlings of some cucumbers or tomatoes on bare sawdust or pour them into a bed of currants or strawberries to the point of insanity; you will not gain any benefit from this. Everything has its own subtleties.

The effect of sawdust on the soil

If you sprinkle the soil with sawdust, you will add more loosening agents to it. organic matter, which will allow it to “breathe” better and absorb moisture, which will only be a joy for plants. In addition, sawdust will prevent the formation of a crust harmful to the soil and plants, which means that it will not have to be loosened as often as is usually the case on open soil.

But there is one point here - such benefits arise when using rotted or half-rotted sawdust, which has long been not yellow, but brown in varying degrees of tonality. In order to bring these same sawdust to such a state, on outdoors It will take no less than 10 years. For accelerated process you need living organic matter and water, which is not present in sawdust lying freely on the ground. Just lying sawdust, just like the earth, forms a crust on top, through which water simply does not seep. If you persistently want to speed up the process of sawdust rotting, you will have to add it in small doses to the compost, or apply it to beds in greenhouses in combination with manure, or enrich it with nitrogen, and then use it as mulch.

Another problem is that sawdust obtained from trees of our species tends to acidify the soil. That is why lime must be added to the soil if sawdust is used in large quantities.

Use as mulch

As a mulching material, you can use both rotted or semi-rotted sawdust, and fresh sawdust, which is poured in a layer of 3-5 cm. It is especially useful to do this under raspberry and currant bushes, other bushes and in vegetable beds. Only rotted or semi-rotted sawdust can be added without preliminary preparation, but with fresh ones you will have to tinker a little. If this is not done, they will begin to take nitrogen from the soil, to which the plants will react very badly.

Preparing sawdust is not at all difficult. You need to stretch the film, onto which three buckets of sawdust should be poured in sequential order. After filling the bucket, 200g of urea is added, and then all this is flavored with ten liters of water. The same is done with the other two buckets in turn. Then the entire mixture is covered with another film on top and pressed tightly with stones to achieve a good seal. After two weeks, the sawdust will be ready for use.

It is better to carry out these actions in the first half of summer. The fact is that during this period moisture actively evaporates, leaving the soil. By the end of summer, thanks to the work of earthworms and loosening, the sawdust will be well mixed with the soil and will be beneficial. If they are poured in the second half of summer, then with a large amount of precipitation they will prevent excess moisture from evaporating from the soil, which will complicate life for the same berry growers, since they will not be able to fully develop annual shoots, which means it will be much more difficult to prepare them for winter.

If you filled the beds with too thick a layer of mulch, and it did not mix well with the soil, then if there is a lot of rainfall, you need to loosen the soil as thoroughly as possible. If there is little rain, then the operation can be postponed until the fall, but it still needs to be done, with a shovel or a flat cutter, but thoroughly mix the sawdust with the soil, otherwise in the spring the layer of sawdust will slow down the process of thawing the soil, which is undesirable. This is especially true for those areas where early sowing is carried out.

We use sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses

For greenhouses and greenhouses, sawdust is simply an irreplaceable wealth. They can be applied either together with manure or with vegetation residues. When mixed with sawdust, both plant residues and manure will heat up much faster in the spring. The rate of overheating will also increase, and as a result we will get excellent compost, which is very nutritious and diverse in terms of nutritional elements, and it is also quite loose and permeable to air. However, there are certain subtleties here too - if you add fresh manure, then it will also require fresh sawdust, which will draw excess nitrogen out of it, and if the manure is rotted, or you do without it at all, then you need rotted sawdust, since they do not need excess nitrogen. needed.

Sawdust can be added with equal success both in spring and in autumn. The effect will be even greater if you add other fragments of soil that you will be forming with them. In the fall, it will be especially useful to place straw, leaves, grass or vegetable tops on the beds. In the spring, put manure on this layer, sprinkle it with lime and add fresh sawdust in a small volume and mix this mixture with organic residues. Then this manure needs to be covered with straw or leaves, a layer of soil should be poured on top and ash should be added to it. mineral supplements. To achieve better heating, pour boiling water over the beds and then cover with film.

A mixture of sawdust and compost

Let's return to the moment when we need rotted sawdust. To do this, they need to be added to compost. To compost, 1 cubic meter sawdust, 100 kilograms of manure and 10 kilograms of bird droppings must be added. This mixture should lie for a year, periodically watered with water and covered so that useful elements are not washed out of it. Remember to periodically add hay, grass clippings, leaves and kitchen waste to this compost. If there is no manure, it is better to mix sawdust with urea (the same proportion - 200 grams for 3 buckets). Instead of urea, you can use diluted mullein or a solution of bird droppings.

To speed up the rotting process of sawdust, before adding compost, do not forget to moisten it generously with water. It’s better if it’s slurry or, again, kitchen waste. It wouldn’t hurt to add soil to the sawdust at the rate of two or even three buckets per cubic meter of sawdust. Earthworms and various microorganisms will only accelerate the decomposition of sawdust.

If, before use, sawdust was stored near any abandoned areas, where everything is usually overgrown with grass, they still need to be composted. The compost heap must be subjected to strong heating - up to +60 degrees so that the weed seeds located there are killed. This heating can be achieved by pouring boiling water over the compost and quickly covering it with foil.

Sawdust for strawberries

Sawdust will be useful as mulch for strawberries. The fruits simply will not touch the ground, which will significantly reduce their degree of damage from gray rot. Adding a thick layer of sawdust in the fall will prevent strawberries from freezing in winter, and will prevent many weeds from germinating in the next season. Just remember that sawdust is needed specifically from coniferous species trees, and before mulching they need to be treated with urea. In this case, they will become a hindrance to the weevil.

We form beds in the lowlands

Using sawdust, you can raise the level of the beds if they are located in low places. To do this, you need to dig a trench around the future bed, which will be 40 cm wide and up to 25 cm deep. We use the earth taken from the trench to raise the level of the beds, but fill the trench itself with sawdust. This action will bring several benefits in the future. To begin with, you can easily approach the beds even after rains, if there is sawdust between them. In addition, by filling the trench, you will not allow the bed, and in particular its edges, to dry out. Sawdust will prevent weeds from germinating, which will simplify your care of plants and soil in this place. Well, when the sawdust rots, it can be added to the garden bed to insulate the soil, making it softer and more productive.

Sawdust for raised beds

Raised beds are usually made so by having a thick layer of organic matter and a small amount of soil in which plants grow happily. Sawdust can also be involved in the process of forming such a bed. To do this you need to remove upper layer soil, which is fertile, then place a layer of hay or straw in a trench a meter wide, onto which you need to pour a layer of sawdust (of course, again mixed with urea). It is advisable to put a layer of fallen leaves on top, and then return the removed layer of earth to its place. If you do not want to allow the soil to fall off the edges of the bed, it is better to lay layers of turf along its edges with the roots facing out or a layer of straw and grass. Remember that in such a bed the plants need moisture much more, so it is better to protect the edges of the bed with film to reduce its evaporation from the soil.

We germinate seeds in a sawdust substrate (video - growing cucumber seedlings on hot sawdust)

For such germination, you will need to take a shallow container, which will be filled with wet sawdust. Seeds are planted in this, which are then again sprinkled with a layer of sawdust. For most seeds, powdering is not necessary as they germinate much better in light. Another thing is that in the absence of a top layer, the seeds can dry out quickly, so you need to check their moisture several times a day. If you do not have this opportunity, it is better to pour earth on top.

The container is placed in plastic bag, which is not closed, and then placed in a warm place. The battery, if it is not very hot, as in winter, may become good place. It is worth remembering that nightshade crops, and many other seeds, like temperatures up to +25-30 degrees. When seedlings appear, the temperature can be reduced to +18-26 degrees, and at night even to +14-16 degrees. These are general figures because for different cultures and the temperature is different.

As soon as the shoots appear, the container is removed from the bag, and the sawdust is sprinkled with a layer of fertile soil half a centimeter thick. The container is placed under a fluorescent lamp, and as soon as the first true leaf appears, the plant is planted in a separate container.

We get an early harvest of potatoes along with sawdust

Do you want to get an early potato harvest on your plot? Sawdust will help with this. To begin with, you will need potatoes early varieties and already germinated in the light. Next you will need boxes and old sawdust moistened with water. The boxes need to be filled with sawdust in a layer of up to ten centimeters, and then potatoes should be placed on this layer with the sprouts facing up. On top you will need to sprinkle them with a substrate of the same sawdust two to three centimeters thick. These actions need to be performed two weeks before planting potatoes in the beds.

The humidity of sawdust must be maintained at the same level. They should not contain too much moisture, but they should not become dry either. The temperature should not be higher than +20 degrees. As soon as the sprouts reach a length of 6-8 centimeters, it is time to plant them in the beds in the prepared holes, covering the tubers along with the sprouts with soil. Before planting, it is advisable to warm the soil by covering it with film, and after planting, lay straw or hay on the beds, and then cover the top with film again. This will prevent the tubers from freezing. Potatoes after such actions will give results several weeks ahead of schedule.

As you can see, the sawdust turns out to be very useful assistants in many matters. It is only important to use them for their intended purpose, following all the instructions and not forgetting that when dry, sawdust is only suitable for filling the space between the beds to make it convenient to walk.

Every gardener knows that good harvest can only be obtained on fertile soil. Therefore, he carefully prepares for the onset of the summer season by fertilizing his plot. Nowadays, there are many new products in the field of fertilizers, but the good old methods are also widely used along with modern drugs and have never failed. One such method is the use of sawdust.

Summer residents often wonder whether rotted sawdust can be used as fertilizer. The answer is obvious - it is not only possible, but also necessary, because sawdust is essentially a pure organic material. The main thing is to prepare them correctly before use. Sawdust not only enriches the soil, but also makes it looser and serves as an excellent mulch. In addition, they are more accessible with financial side.

Using sawdust to fertilize the garden

Apply rotted sawdust in its pure form to vegetable beds They are not recommended because they greatly acidify the soil. Many plants simply will not survive on such soil. However, it is thanks to the process of decay of sawdust that the earth is saturated with oxygen. To neutralize acidity, sawdust fertilizer should be properly prepared:

Pour fresh sawdust into the prepared hole.
Sprinkle them with lime on top.
Leave to rot for at least two years.

To speed up the decay process, a pile of sawdust is watered with liquid kitchen waste without any impurities. household products. When the sawdust rots, they fertilize the soil, spreading it over the beds.

It is better to fertilize with sawdust in the first half of summer, so that by autumn they have time to completely decompose. If you apply fertilizer at the end of summer, due to high humidity During the rainy season, water from wood waste will not evaporate well.

Using sawdust as mulch

Sawdust serves as a good mulch for different cultures not only in the garden, but also in the garden. Rotted sawdust can be immediately scattered on the beds in a layer of 5 cm, but fresh sawdust must first be prepared. To do this, lay them out in layers, alternating approximately in the following proportion: 3 buckets of sawdust - 200 g of urea. Cover the top of the pile with film and leave for 2 weeks. After the specified time, the sawdust will be ready for use.

Shrubs such as raspberries are mulched with a thicker layer - up to 20 cm.

Mulching with sawdust will allow you to water the beds less often, since the moisture will not evaporate so quickly, and will maintain the loose structure of the soil. In addition, the presence of mulch between the rows will create obstacles to the growth of weeds.

Sawdust in greenhouses and compost

Rotted sawdust is added to greenhouse beds in spring or autumn to speed up seed germination. Such soil warms up faster. For greater benefit, they are mixed with manure, also rotted.

Sawdust is good to add to compost. At the same time, they must rot within a year so that the compost is more nutritious.

Using sawdust in the garden - video

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. This process can be accelerated by placing wood in compost, where it is processed and enriched with various nutrients.

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 mineral fertilizers, otherwise wood waste They will “suck out” all the useful substances from the soil. 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 wood chips small fractions. 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. Sawdust is also in demand as a 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 it plastic film, and a layer of earth is thrown 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.